Hello everyone! Yes, you read that correctly — I surpassed the goal I set in November and earned $5,770 in extra income during December. I thought this target was ambitious after making $5,514 in November, but I exceeded it even though December is usually a slower month because of the holidays. If you’re curious about other income updates, check out my Extra Income page.
- This is proof of my online income since some of you have asked. The breakdown below is for December and reflects amounts before fees and expenses. My total expenses were around $600, and the figure in the post title is my actual pre-tax income after expenses. Other categories listed include cash I received from my sister for rent. In short: $6,045 plus $325 in rent minus $800 in expenses equals $5,770.
As you can see, December was another strong month for extra income. Our household extra income was actually over $1,000 higher because of additional money W earned, but I only report my own income here.
Both W and I have increased our earnings substantially. My gains came mainly from online side jobs (my salaried job remains steady), while W’s income rose after taking a new job in September. He previously stayed at a lower-paying job mainly for the benefits.
December was also memorable personally — we took an amazing last-minute vacation to St. Thomas, where I got engaged. The trip was fantastic and reinforced our desire to travel more.
I’m also launching a new fitness-and-finance blog this month. I’m putting final touches on it now. My sister will run the site to track her fitness progress (she’s lost around 40 pounds and already has an Instagram following of over 2,500). Because she wants to improve her money habits, the blog will blend fitness content with simple finance lessons. I hope you’ll enjoy it once it’s live.
You can find my 2012 yearly goals update and five-year plan on my site.
December Goals Update
- Keep our food budget down to $400. PASS. We did well overall. I didn’t track every purchase perfectly, but I’m confident we stayed under $400.
- Workout at least 4 times a week and lose 3 pounds. FAIL. No excuses — this one didn’t happen.
- Make an extra $2,500 this month. PASS. See the income breakdown below.
- Start decorating the dining room and GET CARPET MICHELLE. FAIL. This remains a running joke and will probably stay on my list for a while.
- Have fun on vacation and spend no more than $1,500. We had a fantastic trip and stayed well under budget — I estimate we spent about $1,000 total.
- Read 2 books. FAIL. I nearly finished the final Hunger Games book but didn’t complete two books.
January Goals
- Keep our food budget down to $400. This will remain a standing goal since it’s an ongoing area of focus. The days of spending thousands on groceries are behind us, and I’m pleased with our progress.
- Workout at least 3 times a week and lose 2 pounds. I relaxed this target slightly after missing December’s goal. We’re planning to research home gym equipment this month — if you have experience, I’d love to hear about costs and recommendations.
- Make an extra $4,000 this month. I raised this target substantially. It’s higher than last month’s goal but still below what I made in November and December. I believe it’s achievable with focused effort.
- Make sure the new blog starts off strong. I’m applying lessons learned from my own blog: launching with a professional WordPress design, building a newsletter from the start, and avoiding early mistakes.
Blog Goals
- Twitter Followers: Goal was 1,850; I’m at 1,930. Target for the near future is 2,050. PASS
- Alexa rank: Goal was 60,000, and I’ve reached that. I don’t focus heavily on Alexa since many larger bloggers are around 100,000, so it’s not a major priority. PASS
- Guest post at least 2 times this month. FAIL
Extra Monthly Income in December
- Online Income (staff writing, blog revenue, virtual assistant work): $5,645
- Selling Clothes: $100
- Miscellaneous: $300
- Mystery Shopping: $0
- Rent: $325