It is the new year, and we always want to increase our income. Some ways may include taking on more jobs in the same line of work or expanding by adding complementary services. Another strategy is increasing the fee charged per appointment or using both. However, focusing solely on exchanging time for money has its limitations.

Time is finite, and while you could have seven different notary or non-notary specialties, your time becomes the ultimate constraint. Delegating overflow jobs through a signing service is one way to scale. Still, it comes with its challenges: managing calls, hiring the right notary, reconciling payments, and handling inevitable issues when things go wrong.

What if there was another way? I’m talking about passive income—taking your money and putting it to work to make more money for you. The great thing about this is that you already have the money; it’s just a matter of setting aside a small portion for investment. You don’t need thousands of dollars to get started—even small, consistent contributions can grow over time into a larger pool of money.

In my book, Beyond Loan Signings, found on Amazon,  I discuss allocating your income as it comes in. This blog focuses specifically on what to do with part of the profit allocation. Here are the first five strategies I have used:

1. High-Yield Savings Accounts (HY Savings) - 4% to 5%

A High-Yield Savings account is a great way to start earning more interest on your money. Unlike traditional savings accounts, HY accounts often have no minimum deposit requirements and offer significantly higher interest rates. For example, I moved my savings from my business bank, which paid less than 1% interest, to an online bank, Ally Bank (www.ally.com). Ally’s High-Yield Savings account was offering 4.5% interest! They also provided a $250 bonus for transferring new money into the account.

Each month, I transfer funds from my checking account to this savings account, making it harder to access and ensuring consistent growth. Over two years, I was amazed at how quickly my savings grew, thanks to the higher interest rate.  I earn over $1000 yearly, not $10-20. Want a boost? You may already know many banks allow you to establish automatic transfers from your checking account into a savings account (s). Set aside an amount of your paycheck or profit to automatically move into your savings account to boost it without doing any extra work!

Autosaving promotes financial discipline, so before you can spend it, you save some portion of your income consistently, helping you reach your financial goals more quickly. Also, reducing the temptation to skip or delay savings contributions.

This idea helped me put aside 10% of my total income for 2024 and has netted me over $1700 in interest for 2024.

2. Certificates of Deposit (CDs) - 4.5% to 5.5%

CDs are another excellent tool for earning higher interest on your savings. They’re ideal for long-term savings that you don’t need immediate access to. I’ve chosen CDs with short terms (3–11 months) that offer special rates above 5%. If the renewal rate is still higher than my HY savings account, I let the CD roll into a new term. CDs and HY savings accounts together have been instrumental in helping me grow my money.

I added over $2000 in interest from the 5 CDs I opened at the end of 2023. Some have matured already as they were short terms.

3. Cashback Rewards - 2% to 4%

Using reward credit cards with no annual fee can generate significant savings if you pay off the balance each month. I prefer cashback rewards over travel miles and use personal and business cards to maximize returns. My personal card, from Golden 1, and my business card, from Costco, offer 2% to 4% cashback on purchases. In 2024, I earned nearly $1,000 in rewards between the two cards.

Here’s my strategy:

• Transfer personal cashback rewards directly into a savings account to ensure I don’t spend them.

• For business rewards, opt for direct deposit at the end of the year and allocate them to your business savings.

This simple habit has added over a thousand dollars to my yearly savings.  Remember, I pay off all of the balance every month, or the interest eats up the rewards.

4. Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA) - Tax Reduction

If you or your spouse is self-employed, you can reduce your taxable income by taking advantage of a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA). Section 105 of the IRS code allows sole proprietors, partnerships, or S corporations to hire their spouses as employees and offer them tax-free medical reimbursements. Here’s how it works:

• Hire Your Spouse: The spouse performs tasks for the business (e.g., bookkeeping) and runs payroll through a service like QuickBooks. I spend that extra to ensure I am correctly calculating tax liability, but it is unnecessary; you can use less expensive software. 

• Submit Medical Expenses: The business can reimburse out-of-pocket expenses with after-tax dollars, including co-pays, prescriptions, and even health insurance premiums.

• Tax Benefits: The reimbursement becomes a tax-deductible business expense, reducing taxable income for the spouse’s business.

For example, I work part-time for my spouse’s business. I submit our family’s medical expenses, paid from our personal account to his business, for reimbursement. This strategy has significantly reduced our tax liability while covering expenses we already paid. 

I recommend using a third-party service like Baseonline.com (www.baseonline.com) to create and manage the required documentation and confirm the qualifying monthly receipts for your HRA.

We typically experience a yearly tax savings of about $1500.

Final Thoughts

Building wealth isn’t just about earning more—it’s about making your money work harder for you. Whether opening a High-Yield Savings account, leveraging cashback rewards, or taking advantage of tax-saving strategies, incremental and consistent efforts will lead to significant financial growth. The key is to start with what you have, even if it’s just a small portion of your income. When you add up what I suggest, the savings could be as much as 1 month’s salary.

Remember: it’s not about how much you make but how much you keep and grow. Start today, and watch your financial freedom flourish!