The beauty of passive income grows with time, especially in the current economic climate. Investors have been facing a perfect storm of trade path changes, elevated interest rates, and persistent inflation, leaving many between a rock and a hard place in search of outperformance. Passive income, where you can earn money 24/7, is a sure-fire way to combat the economic uncertainty, but it can be hard to come by unless you know where to look.
There's no such thing as a binary choice (it's got to be option A or B) when it comes to creating monthly passive income. Investors have dozens of options to choose from, many of which involve publicly-traded securities (and many of which don't). Some investors may choose to look at private investments in rental properties, private equity, and other sources to create meaningful passive income streams for retirement.
Many Boomers in 2025 need dependable passive income, and one outstanding way to achieve this is to invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Unlike open-end mutual funds, ETFs trade on major exchanges like stocks. They own financial assets, including stocks, bonds, currencies, debt, futures contracts, and commodities such as gold bars. Having more passive income can help cover rising costs, such as mortgages, insurance, taxes, and other expenses.
According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), passive income generally includes earnings from rental activity or any trade, business, or investment in which the individual does not materially participate. It can also include income from limited partnerships, stocks, bonds, and other similar enterprises in which the investor is not actively involved. The more passive income can help cover rising costs, such as mortgages, insurance, taxes, and other expenses, the easier it is for investors to set aside money for future needs as they prepare for retirement. Dependable, recurring dividends-especially those paid monthly-are a recipe for success.