For as long as I can remember, I wanted passive income.

Money that came in without being tied to my time or energy. Income I didn’t have to show up for. The kind of financial life where you don’t have to worry.

I think this is a universal desire for anyone who didn’t grow up rich. You see what financial stress does to a family and you make a silent promise to yourself: I’m never going to live like that.

So I built toward it for my entire adult life.

Here’s what I didn’t expect when I got there.

I still worry.