"Passive income" sounds nice, doesn't it? You simply invest your money and the cash rolls in. Of course, nothing is that simple when it comes to finances, but there is a lot to be said for income earned regularly with minimal effort.

There are many stocks that have long-term records of steady, predictable dividend payments. The field narrows somewhat when you push the past-performance window back by decades, and then further narrow it to those that have kept up with or even outpaced the greater market -- and that you can reasonably expect to do the same for decades to come.

Three to consider are Altria Group (NYSE: MO), Realty Income (NYSE: O), and the Fidelity 500 Index Fund (NASDAQMUTFUND: FXAIX). The chart below shows how much these three stocks have generated in total returns and how much they've increased their dividends since 1988, when the Fidelity index fund was introduced.

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Source Fool.com