Welcome to the February online income report, where I reveal how I earned money online last month. This update reviews my results for the month and tracks progress over time.
If you’re new here, you may be wondering why I publish these income reports each month. If you’re already familiar, feel free to skip ahead.
This began as my extra income report because, at first, it focused on side income from part-time projects. In those early reports I listed all income earned outside of my day job. In October 2013 I left my position as a financial analyst, and since then these monthly reports reflect the many ways I earn a living online.
People often ask why I publish my income publicly. Some think it’s odd, while others appreciate the transparency. I publish these reports for three main reasons:
- Before I started blogging I didn’t know much about side hustles or making money online. I thought raises at a full-time job were the primary path to higher earnings. If others hadn’t shared monthly income reports, I may never have tried side hustling. I publish my reports to show how side hustling can change lives, highlight legitimate ways to earn from home, and motivate readers to improve their finances.
- Publishing income reports helps me review progress, learn from mistakes, and identify areas for improvement. I treat these reports like a business journal to track performance month to month.
- I want to demonstrate that earning income on the side is possible. There are many legitimate online income paths, and I share my experiences to help others explore them. I also published a “Monthly Income Report Roundup” that highlights other bloggers who share their earnings — I’ll update it soon, so contact me if you’d like your report included.
I genuinely love being my own boss. Life has improved dramatically since I started working for myself, and I wake up excited most mornings. Sharing these reports is part of how I encourage others to make changes that lead to a more enjoyable life—whether that means more time with family, creative pursuits, or travel.
How was my blog income in February?
I wasn’t sure how February would go since we moved and now live full-time in our RV, but the month went very well.
My business is growing, revenue increased significantly, and I have many ideas for the rest of the year. I genuinely enjoy my work and feel fortunate for the opportunities it brings.
I earned $49,607 online in February, before expenses.
If you’re interested in starting your own blog, I created a tutorial to help you start a WordPress blog cheaply, with hosting starting at an affordable monthly rate. Self-hosted WordPress is essential for serious monetization, as it appears more professional and allows complete control over your site. My income grew substantially after I switched to self-hosted WordPress.
Related articles:
- How To Make Money Blogging
- How I Make Working From Home Work For Me
- How To Become Financially Stable and Keep The Job You Love
- Becoming a Work-Life Balancing Master
The $49,607 figure is for February and is reported before fees and expenses. Some costs—approximately $4,700—were incurred for virtual assistants, staff writers, technical support, and Facebook advertising (I spent about $3,000 on Facebook ads in February), plus newsletter and payment processing fees. That total does not include taxes. After expenses, I made roughly $44,907.
Below are links to some past monthly income reports; I publish an update every month. Visit my income page to see the complete history of reports going back several years.
- $672 extra in May (2012)
- $6,523 in January extra income (2013)
- $11,927 in October income – I finally left my job (2013)
- $12,640 in January income (2014)
- $23,758 in February income (2015)
- How I made $300,000 online in 2015
Blog news.
Making Sense of Cents is doing well, and I’m focused on growing traffic. I experimented with Facebook ads in February and spent a significant amount, but I’m pausing ads this month to prioritize organic traffic growth. That said, I’ll continue improving my Facebook strategy because I liked the results I saw.
Pinterest remains a major source of referral traffic. I use Tailwind to save time and automate tasks, and I’ve seen traffic increases as a result. I’m also planning to test BoardBooster because other bloggers have had success with it, and I’ll report back next month.
Many readers ask how I stay connected to the internet while traveling in our RV. I use a Verizon MiFi device that keeps me online in many locations—reliable mobile connectivity is essential since public Wi-Fi can be slow or insecure.
Overall, traffic increased in February, with around 550,000 pageviews.
Top new posts on Making Sense of Cents last month:
- 7 Items You Should And Shouldn’t Buy Used
- What To Do After You Pay Off Debt
- Make Money Online As A Freelance Writer Or Virtual Assistant
- The Complete Budgeting Guide: How To Create A Budget That Works
- The Complete Credit Score Guide – Improving Your Credit Score Has Never Been Easier!
- How Much Does It Cost To RV?
- 8 Items To Sell Around Your Home For Extra Money
- What To Do When You Can’t Pay Your Bills
- How Blogging Saved My Life
- How To Work From Home Selling On Amazon FBA
- My Opinion Of The Great Renting vs Buying Debate
Featured Question: Should my blog be self-hosted?
Featured Question: Should my blog be self-hosted?I answer one reader question in each monthly income report—leave a comment if you’d like your question featured.
Yes—if you want to monetize a blog, use self-hosted WordPress. I recommend starting with self-hosted WordPress through a reputable host. Free platforms like Blogger or WordPress.com can look unprofessional, and you may have limited control or risk losing your site. Self-hosting gives you ownership, full control, and a more professional presence that helps monetize your blog.
For proof, review my past income reports — my blogging income increased significantly after switching to self-hosted WordPress. Key benefits of self-hosting include:
- A more professional website that can attract advertisers and partners.
- Complete control over design, plugins, and monetization options.
- Ownership of your content and the stability that comes with it.
Past featured questions covered topics such as increasing affiliate income, required pageviews to earn money, building and selling websites, and where blog income comes from.
My plans for the website and online income.
Having goals keeps a business moving forward. Current priorities include:
- Promote more. I’m improving at promoting my content and seeing strong results—Pinterest provided roughly 170,000 clicks in February. I aim to grow that considerably this year.
- Accept more interviews. I participated in a few interviews in February; I plan to take more opportunities moving forward.
- Double my income. I aim to double 2015’s income, which would require averaging about $53,000 per month. It’s ambitious but attainable with focused effort.
- Diversify affiliate income streams. I want multiple reliable affiliate sources rather than relying on a few programs.
- Create an ebook. I’m developing an ebook to help others increase affiliate income—eventually this may expand into a course. Input from readers on desired topics would be appreciated.
- Increase pageviews to 1,000,000 per month. It’s a quantifiable target I’d like to reach by year-end.
Staff writing.
I wrote two articles for clients in February and plan a few more in March. I’m pacing client work to focus on the ebook and improving my blog.
Related articles:
- So You Want to Be a Freelance Writer?
- Staff Writing is the Perfect Side Hustle
- How To Become a Virtual Assistant
- What Does a Virtual Assistant Do?
Affiliate income.
In February I generated roughly $36,179 in affiliate income and about $55,000 across all affiliate activity for the month. Affiliate income has grown rapidly over the last year and provides a relatively passive revenue stream that supports full-time travel and other pursuits.
Many affiliate programs pay out 60–90 days after the referral month, so some earnings won’t appear in reports until later.
I offer an online course, Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing, where I share strategies I use to generate significant affiliate revenue. The course outlines actionable steps bloggers can use to increase their affiliate income.
Breakdown of payments received in February ($49,607):
- Affiliate income – $36,179 total:
- Bluehost – $20,285
- Survey companies – $5,078
- MOTIF Investing – $5,060
- Ebates (paid quarterly) – $4,190
- Digit – $520
- Izea – $345
- 30 Days Or Less To Freelance Writing Success – $297
- $5 Meal Plan – $174
- Miscellaneous affiliates – $230
- Sponsorships – $10,571
- Staff writing and client work – $1,469
- Display advertising – $1,388
Keep in mind that as a self-employed person I cover taxes (typically over 30%), health insurance, and other costs an employer might otherwise provide.
For a detailed overview of blog monetization methods, see How To Make Money Blogging.
Comparisons and 2016 online income total (before taxes):
- Total income in February 2016: $49,607
- Total income in January 2016: $44,782
- Difference: +4,825
- Total in 2016: $94,389
How was February for you? Are you interested in earning income online?
If you’re interested in starting a blog, see the tutorial on how to start a WordPress blog affordably. Self-hosted WordPress is essential if you want to monetize professionally and grow your online income.