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About a year ago, I quit sharing our monthly income statements due to some negative feedback I received from some butt-hurt peeps.
Apparently, you’re not allowed to be frugal if you’re a relatively high-earner these days, folks. And – gasp – you shouldn’t complain about how expensive something is if you are make more than the median household income for wherever. {Example: When I complained aboutObamacareand said I refuse to participate}
Since then, I’ve had a change of heart. I miss sharing my income with all of my online peeps who hope to one day make a living blogging, writing, and basically being awesome. And I’m pretty sure I no longer care if people think a healthy income disqualifies me from writing about frugality or saving money.
Meanwhile, I also want to keep ongoing tabs on my income in order to track our progress. And since I have this here ol’ blog, it seems like the right thing to do.
- Related: How I Earn a Living On the Internet
With that being said, behold our online income for the month of October 2015:
This total includes all of the money that I madefrom our various income streams – some passive, some not:
- Credit CardSales from Free Travel Advice(kinda passive)
- Consulting (not passive)
- Freelance Writing (not passive at all)
- Affiliate Advertising (passive)
- Ghost Writing (not passive)
Meanwhile, our expenses were pretty weak last month. Aside from a little bit of advertising, we spent very little to keep our online business running. Here they are:
- Internet: $51
- Writing Services: $260
- Blog Hosting: $15
Total: $326
And don’t forget, I also pay a whole butt-load of taxes every quarter. Since my last quarterly tax payment was due September 15th, I didn’t pay any this October. Still, I did save around 30% of my income to send to the man come January 15th.
Online Income: What We Did Right
To be honest, I’m pretty amazed I made much of anything during the month of October. Not only did I go on a press trip to Jamaica, but I also spent a 4-day weekend at my in-laws and went to Italy for eight days. By the end of the month, I really only worked 12 full work days – and my husband worked around 15. Considering the fact that we took so much time off, pulling in 17K is pretty sweet!
With that being said, I’m not sure it’s a real representation of how much I “earned” last month. As a freelance writer, the easiest way to take a vacation is to “get ahead” on my work so I don’t have to do anything while I travel. In other words, part of the work I invoiced for during October was actually completed in early September. Unfortunately, that’s one of the many downsides of self-employment. When you work for yourself, there are no paid vacations – that is, unless you give yourself one somehow.
Online Income: Where We Fell Short
Although we made a nice income during October, there were areas where we fell short. For the most part, our biggest weakness is that most of our income is earned through our labor and not passive at all. As the months roll by, we hope to boost our passive income sources so that we can work less for the same amount of money. Our plan is to do that through strategic affiliate placements, my free travel advice service, and direct advertising with big clients.
Another goal of ours is to finish writing a book. Unfortunately, this goal seems almost impossible at this point. With all the writing I do on a daily basis, my brain fries easily. Sometimes it takes everything I have to get my assignments done! With that being said, I do have a plan; I just need to execute it. In the meantime, Greg is really working on our affiliate stuff so I can hopefully work less in the coming months and turn my attention to some of our other goals.
Remember, It All Started With a Blog
If you’re on the fence about starting a blog as a side hustle, consider this: Just five years ago, my husband and I were both stuck in uninspiring jobs that sucked out our collective life force. Just five years later, we’re completely self-employed, earning a very nice income, and basically doing whatever the hell we want.
Even though I could have earned a nice income writing on the side at any time, our blog is what helped us take our efforts to the next level. It was scary and difficult at first, but most things worth doing are. If you’re considering it, read our post on the topic and feel free to email us with any questions!
- Related: Quit Your Day Job: How to Start a Blog
Have you thought about starting a blog? If not, what is your side hustle?
