How "Lisa" Started Her Passive Income Portfolio From Scratch And How You Could Too

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Hello real money believer,

Life is more expensive today than ever, and many people are feeling stressed, worried, and even a little scared about their finances and the future. Some think about holding a garage sale, driving for Uber part-time, or picking up extra shifts. Those options might help temporarily, but they’re inconsistent, time-consuming, and frankly exhausting.

There’s a simpler, more reliable, and surprisingly enjoyable way to create extra income: building your own passive income portfolio. You don’t need a huge lump sum or decades of investing experience — just a plan, consistent contributions, and a strategy focused on generating income.

Yet most people don’t build their own passive income portfolio, and there’s a reason. We often delegate our finances to others, assuming someone else knows best. But the reality is that relying entirely on others can leave you feeling disconnected, stressed, and underwhelmed by results. Real control, security, and growth come when you take the reins yourself — and this is exactly what Lisa discovered.

"Lisa": A Client Case Study

Lisa is 45, working a 9-5 job, and had been investing through a financial advisor for over ten years. She started with $15,000, which her advisor put into a balanced growth fund. After a decade of earning roughly 6% annually, her investment grew to about $26,800.

On paper, this seemed fine. But here’s the problem: Lisa was investing for growth only. That fund paid very little actual income, so despite the growth, she saw no meaningful cash flow. She usually received just one annual statement, felt disconnected from her finances, and admitted she was frustrated, underinformed, and stuck.

She wanted something different — a system that was simple, reliable, and helped her invest consistently while giving her real control and security over her money.

Her goals were clear:

• Generate predictable income to supplement her salary

• Build a pathway to leave her 9-5 in 10 years and gain more freedom

• More control over her investments and practical habits like paying herself first, automating vacation savings, and creating rules for consistent investing

• Security and stability to balance market swings

• Ownership of real money through physical gold and silver

• A strategy that was easy to follow yet effective in growing wealth

Lisa also had a reasonable company pension, which she knew would provide additional income in future years. Her goal wasn’t just to build income now, but to complement her pension with a personal plan she controlled.

Step 1: Defining Goals, Needs, and Comfort Level

Our first coaching session was all about understanding Lisa’s life, goals, and comfort with risk. She wanted a clear, predictable path toward leaving her 9-5 in 10 years and a sense of control over her money.

Lisa admitted she needed a simple, structured approach because she wasn’t naturally disciplined with investing. She wanted to incorporate practical habits like paying herself first, automating savings for vacations, and consistently investing a set amount each month.

This session set the tone for a stress-free, enjoyable approach. Lisa realized that investing didn’t have to be intimidating or overwhelming — with the right system, it could actually be empowering, fun, and consistent.

Step 2: Projecting Desired Monthly Income

Lisa’s initial $26,800 balance became the foundation of her plan. Together, we mapped out her first major goal: creating $1,000 per month of predictable income within three years.

By combining her starting balance with monthly contributions of $500, dividend reinvestment, and carefully chosen high-yield ETFs, she saw how her portfolio could quickly start producing meaningful cash flow. For the first time, she could picture income she could actually use — not just “growth on paper” like her old balanced fund.

Looking further ahead, we projected her 10-year path to leaving her 9-5. Assuming she sticks with her plan, Lisa could comfortably exceed $3,800–$4,000 per month in income, with a portfolio value between $370,000–$380,000.

Step 3: Choosing the Right Tools

Once her targets were clear, we moved on to building her portfolio. We structured it for both income and security, combining high-yield ETFs with physical precious metals.

For her TFSA:

• BANK (Evolve) — 17% annual yield, pays monthly

• UTES (Evolve) — 18% yield, annual yield, pays monthly

• HHIS (Harvest) — 24% yield, annual yield, pays monthly

• SDAY (Hamilton) — 19% yield annual, bi-weekly payout

For her RRSP:

• WPAY (Roundhill) — 30% annual yield, pays weekly

• XPAY (Roundhill) — 20% annual yield, pays monthly

To balance the natural market swings, we added the Sprott Physical Gold and Silver Trust (CEF), which holds segregated physical metals. This gave Lisa ownership of real money — a source of security and long-term stability. She preferred to own this over storing metals at home.

Step 4: Account Setup and Purchases

Lisa used a DIY online broker, Wealthsimple, as she opened a TFSA and RRSP account, to get started in purchasing her ETFs and setup automations:

• ETF purchases

• Dividend reinvestment

• Savings rules for personal goals such as pay her first, vacations

She purchased the ETFs herself, giving her some knowedge and xperience with the process and more control — a big shift from the once-a-year updates she used to get. Now she can see her progress any day she wants, reinforcing her sense of empowerment.

Step 5: Receiving and Deciding on Distributions

Once her portfolio was live, we created simple rules for handling dividends and distributions:

• Take cash for bills or unexpected expenses, when needed

• Reinvest dividends to accelerate growth as the default

• Allocate dividends to diversify, such as adding more precious metals, as needed after a quarterly review

These rules meant Lisa didn’t need perfect discipline — the system itself kept her consistent.

Seeing Progress and Feeling Empowered

Today, Lisa is on track to hit $1,000 per month in income within three years. Over time, her cash flow could reach $5,000 per month, creating a personal pension plan she fully controls.

Looking at the 10-year mark:

• Portfolio value: $370,000–$380,000 CAD

• Monthly income: $3,800–$4,000 CAD

• Combined with her company pension, she’ll have multiple streams of income — giving her freedom and security to leave her 9-5 with confidence

Compare that to her old balanced growth fund. After 10 years, her $15,000 had grown to $26,800, but with very little income. She wasn’t investing for cash flow, only for growth, and the result was frustration and disconnection. Her new approach flips that on its head: she’s generating consistent income while still building long-term wealth.

Emotional Takeaways

Lisa went from feeling anxious, disconnected, and powerless to confident, in control, and even enjoying the process. She realized that delegating financial control added stress and limited her results. Taking charge allowed her to feel empowered, motivated, and less worried about the future.

With income-focused investing, Lisa now has practical habits, automated systems, and control over her money. She doesn’t need perfect discipline — the system keeps her on track.

She says she would never go back to growth-only investing, constantly worried about price swings and left waiting for results that never felt tangible. Now, with predictable income, portfolio flexibility, and the security of physical metals, she feels calm, confident, and excited about her financial future.

“Working with David completely changed how I think about my money and financial attitude and habits. With the high-yield income strategy and precious metals, I feel more in control, confident, and excited about my future. Seeing my investment income hit my account and grow every month is motivating, and I finally understand how to make my money work for me. I can’t imagine going back to worrying about price swings or low returns in a balanced fund — this approach just makes sense for me, and it’s actually fun!”

Even starting at 45 with limited investing experience and imperfect spending habits, Lisa is finally building a high-yield income plan that feels like a personal pension. By taking control, using simple rules and automation, choosing high-yield ETFs, adding physical precious metals for security, and factoring in her company pension, she’s created predictable income, diversified wealth, and long-term stability.

Her story shows it’s never too late to take control, start small, and build your own passive income portfolio from scratch — one consistent step at a time — while keeping options open for how to use or grow that income and ultimately achieve freedom from a 9-5 job in 10 years.

To your financial health 🥂,

David LeBlanc

The Precious Metals Coach + Money Mindset Mentor

"Real Money For We The People"

preciousmetalscoach@proton.me