• With just $100 and a little bit of research, you can start your own passive income stream.
  • Consider investing that $100 in low-cost EFTs or REITs .
  • Start collecting monthly checks by buying a website tied to advertisers and affiliates.
  • Read more stories from Personal Finance Insider.

Passive income isn't just for the wealthy.

With a little bit of time and research, anyone can start investing in a passive income stream with as little as $100. We asked three financial experts how they'd invest $100 to start making money in their sleep, and here's what they said.

1. Low-cost ETFs

An exchange trade fund (ETF) combines many individual securities, such as stocks or bonds, into a single investment.

Financial advisor and founder of investment firm Verbatim Financial John Stoj says the best way to invest $100 is to buy a low-cost ETF, and keep adding $100 to it every chance you get. "Do that for years and years, and before you realize it, your investment will have grown to the point where you can live off of it," he says.

As of June 2021, the 1o-year-average stock market returns are 9.2%, although investment returns are neither predictable nor guaranteed. Experts still recommend having an emergency fund with three to six months worth of living expenses in cash as a part of your investment strategy.

2. Real estate investment trusts

Former Wall Streeter and TikTok financial literacy educator Vivian Tu suggests putting your money in a real estate investment trust

REITs are companies that own, operate, and finance income-producing real estate properties. User-friendly apps like Elevate.Money and Fundrise make it really easy to invest in real estate without having to manage properties on your own.

"Real estate investing doesn't always mean flipping a house," Tu says. "REITs are a great way to access real estate investments without needing a ton of money."

3. Website domains

"One of the simplest ways to invest $100 today is to buy a website," says Taylor Kovar, CFP and CEO at The Millionaire Marriage Podcast

Digital business owners list their websites or apps for a number of reasons — to make a profit from their initial investment from building their product or to step away from the business altogether, according to Flippa.

When you own a website, you can easily set up advertising and affiliate links. Each time someone clicks a link on your new website, you'll get paid a few cents, which can add up to larger-than-expected monthly checks. Kovar suggests going to sites like Flippa.com or Newsy.co to see which websites are on sale. 

You can filter your search based on your budget. Each listing also has an estimated monthly profit. For example, a website called Best Stocks has an asking price of $10 and an estimated monthly profit of $596 a month. 

Disclosure: This post may highlight financial products and services that can help you make smarter decisions with your money. We do not give investment advice or encourage you to adopt a certain investment strategy. What you decide to do with your money is up to you. If you take action based on one of our recommendations, we get a small share of the revenue from our commerce partners. This does not influence whether we feature a financial product or service. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. Read our editorial standards.