Milwaukee man who invested almost $7,000 installing two vending machines reveals how much they've made him in a year

One guy decided to invest in tech that that you probably walk past every day, putting almost $7,000 into installing two vending machines.

After placing the machines inside a school teachers’ lounge, the YouTuber tracked every dollar over 12 months.

What seemed like an easy passive income stream actually proved to need more effort than expected, and he might start branching out.

But the final results show exactly how the business performed after a full year in action.

How much money the vending machines made

The YouTuber, Financial Wolf, spent $6,996 setting up the two vending machines.

Over the course of a year, they brought in $7,160.50 in total revenue.

That might sound like a win, but the reality is a bit more complicated.

After paying a 25 percent commission to the school where he installed them, and spending around $2,500 on stock, his actual take-home profit came to $2,870.37.

So while the machines did make money, he’s still not fully in profit when it comes to recovering his original investment.

In the short term, though, they proved fairly consistent and over two weeks, for example, the machines generated $434.10, with the majority of that coming from card payments rather than cash.

Why he’s pivoting his business plan

Financial Wolf found that running vending machines isn’t entirely passive.

He had to deal with restocking, machine faults, and even stock going to waste when it expired before being sold.

He also admitted that location played a huge role, and a teachers’ lounge isn’t the most profitable place compared to busier environments.

Because of that, he’s now looking into phone charger vending machines, which can offer higher margins.

These allow people to rent portable chargers in places like bars or venues, and if they’re not returned, they are charged a fee that can generate extra profit, and even so, his current setup still works out at around $53 per hour for a few hours of work each month.

So while it’s not a huge money-maker, his vending machines are a steady side hustle that’s helping fund his next move into more profitable vending ideas.