We can’t be sure our jobs will even exist next year.

We can’t be sure that home prices will always rise.

We can’t be sure that our retirement nest egg will continue to grow.

We can’t be sure that our company retirement fund won’t be swallowed up by fraud or bankruptcy.

Our parents could be pretty sure about all these things. But we can’t. And our children won’t be able to either.

This is another reason why the second income I make with my money-making website, CoffeeDetective.com, is so valuable to me.

It’s safe and reliable.

Over the last eighteen months the number of visitors to my site has more than doubled, as has the income. The economic downturn hasn’t impacted it at all. Unless, of course, my site traffic would have quadrupled over the last eighteen months, without the downturn. But 100% growth is OK by me at a time when other investments and assets are spiraling down in value.

This second income also gives me a strong feeling of independence.

The more I grow my site and its income, the less I have to worry about shenanigans on Wall Street. I feel in control. My future wealth is not in the hands of people I don’t know, or economic circumstances I can’t predict or control.

And both my risk and opportunity are spread wide and far. If one person decides not to click on an AdSense ad on my site, another person will. If someone in Connecticut  chooses not to buy a coffee maker through one of my affiliate links, someone in Colorado will. It’s like the ultimate, global mutual fund.

And while I might worry about what income I’ll achieve with my consulting or coaching business this month, I won’t worry about the income from my own website. Plus or minus a few percentage points, it’s always there. And consistently growing.

If there is another source of income more reliable and safe as this one, I have yet to find it.

Buy New Path to Riches from Booklocker.com (also available as e-book)

Buy New Path to Riches from Amazon.com.

In my case I have some sites that make less than $500 a month each. While my best site, CoffeeDetective.com, makes closer to $4,000 a month.

As for what to do with that extra money, there are several ways to use it.

1. Save for retirement.

That’s what I’m doing. I’m no spring chicken and I have been freelancing most of my life, which means I don’t have a big fat retirement fund waiting for me. Right now, instead of investing money in a fund, I’m investing time in my websites. By the time I retire, I hope to have a monthly revenue of $10,000 a month from my sites.

2. Save for your first home or a bigger one.

One of my sons is using the money he makes from his money-making website to put together a deposit for a place to live. Nice for him, because he doesn’t have to put aside money from his pay check, and nice for me, because I won’t have to find a a big chunk of money to help him out. : )

3. Put money aside for your children’s education.

If you want your children to go to college, you’re probably trembling at the thought of the costs involved. So why not build a website and put aside its revenues in a special college fund account?

4. Pay off credit card debts.

A long list of experts tells us to put aside 10% of our pay check to go towards paying down our credit cards. Good advice, but not always easy to do. But if you have a second stream of income coming in from your website, you can use that to pay down any debts you might have.

You can probably think of other ways you could use some extra money right now.

The nice thing about making a second and quite separate income is that you can choose not to have it swallowed up in the family bank account, but put it aside for a specific purpose.

And you don’t have to be serious and sensible with every penny you earn this way. Maybe you should put some of this extra money aside for vacations, long weekends, special dinners or a bigger TV.

Once the money flows in, it’s yours to do with as you wish.

Buy New Path to Riches from Booklocker.com (also available as e-book)

Buy New Path to Riches from Amazon.com