There is no better feeling than taking control of your finances. Just imagine being able to, on the spur of the moment, take that Caribbean vacation you have always dreamed about. Maybe you want to help put your kids through college. Or maybe, you want to put into motion that dream you and your loved have of building a new home.

The nine to five daily grind can be a tough thing. Most times, it is hard enough to make regular ends meet with day to day employment, let alone live happily off of the income your day job generates. Most regular employment does not afford spur of the moment vacations or lofty castles in the sky such as building or maintaining a home of your very own.

At this point, it is important for you to take control of your finances to implement a stream of money that your household budget has not already consumed before it's earned. Financial Analysts know that financial freedom comes when a household has multiple streams of income. Analysts also know that Network Marketing is a highly recommended business model to build residual income because of the ability to leverage your time from the work of others. So let's talk about residual income.

What is residual income?

Residual income is income that is generated from somewhere other than your primary source of income. Residual income occurs after the initial effort to generate the income has already occurred, such as purchasing real estate for rental properties. Purchasing the rental property is the initial effort and the monthly rental payments are the residual income resulting from that initial effort. And it didn't even take away from your day job!

Another example of residual income is with network marketing team building. You make the initial effort to have people join your team and purchase products and they repeat the process and so on. Depending upon the company's compensation plan, you will receive benefits of those purchasers below you long after your initial efforts.

Be sure not to confuse residual income with linear income. Linear income is generally classified as income that can be calculated using a numerical formula; it is directly related to the number of hours that are invested in creating the income. Having a day job usually qualifies as having a linear source of income; having a network marketing business, as well as a day job, qualifies as having residual income as well or multiple streams of income. This is a good thing!

OK, so now you have made the decision to find a network marketing business to build residual income, now what?

How do you start? Where do you start? What company is the best? Where do you get prospects? What if you don't like to sell? These are all questions that can be overwhelming and often stop people before they get started. But finding the right resources on the Internet can save a lot of time, effort and money.

Before jumping into any company that looks good on the Internet or the latest fade that your friends or family recommend, do your own due diligence and investigate. After all, you are putting in your money, efforts and precious time! Start looking at professional organizations that list the names of companies to see if the name of the company is listed. For direct sales, network marketing or multi-level marketing, check with the Direct Sales Association. This organization is over 100 years old and certifies companies that meet a strict code of ethics. It is strongly recommended to only look at companies that are listed with the DSA!

In addition, you may want to find groups or organizations that are willing to help you by providing free resources. You should be able to find information on the Internet to guide you along. Search for key words such as: home based business, work from home, online business, free training, etc. If you have to pay anything, look at the training and on-going support. A few of these online marketing groups also help you to understand how to select the best business. If you can find a successful mentor to guide you, you have found the key!

Building residual income is one of the best decisions you can do to ensure financial security for not only yourself, but your family and generations to come. It is a way to make sure that, even though the primary source of income may dry up due to illness, lack of work or other issues, money is still streaming into the household and your family is protected. This is real peace of mind!