Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend. I can hardly believe it’s already June—the year is flying by.
We kept the weekend low-key: plenty of relaxation plus a bit of side-hustle work.
I have Thursday off this week for our engagement photo session. W isn’t thrilled—he doesn’t enjoy being photographed—but I want pictures of the two of us with the dogs. Fingers crossed they turn out well. I’m aiming for natural, candid shots rather than the typical overly posed photos. I’ll share some of them once I get them back.
Here’s a small, funny coincidence: a reader emailed to say the blog has been helpful. As we exchanged messages, we realized she went to the same high school as me and lives in the same town. Small world!
Also, a reminder that Google Reader is shutting down soon. If you used it, remember to move your subscriptions to another reader. I’ve been liking Bloglovin so far—what are you switching to?
Student Loan Update
My student loans are almost paid off—what a relief to say that. I expect them to be fully cleared by the end of this month. I’ve had a few delays along the way, but the progress has been strong. Not having to send large sums (my minimum payment used to be under $500, but I’ve been paying well above that) toward loans every month will feel incredible.
Spending
We did spend a bit this week: we bought W some new clothes for our engagement photos. The purchase was about $200, but the clothes were needed and worth it.
Extra Income (does not include income from our main jobs)
Extra income was decent last week, though I’m still waiting on several payments. I hope these are finally processed this week—some of them are overdue from when I was on vacation in St. Thomas earlier last month.
I also launched a new blog this weekend: Diversified Finances is now live. It’s still in its early stages, so there isn’t much content yet. I wanted to share it right away rather than keep it a secret. The new site will focus on diversifying income streams and pursuing financial independence.
You might wonder why I started a second blog. I decided to keep Making Sense of Cents focused more on broad personal finance topics and move much of the side-hustle content to the new site. After reviewing my past posts, I realized nearly all of them revolved around side hustles. I have dozens of ideas for future side-hustle posts, and creating a separate blog felt like the right move. I plan to post on Diversified Finances two to three times per week, though I won’t overload it.
As for my monthly extra income reports, I haven’t decided where they should appear. They might fit better on the new site, but they’ve become a staple here. What would you prefer—should I publish those reports on Making Sense of Cents or on Diversified Finances? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Being Healthy
I’ve been making strong progress with healthier habits. I did indulge a bit yesterday, but overall I’ve been eating well and exercising consistently.
I try to run or walk at least a mile with our dog—our other dog, a French Bulldog runt, generally doesn’t join the walks. I also aim to run about four miles every other day and to do some form of workout daily. Having a home gym in the basement and a cute running partner makes it easier to stick to the routine. I’m considering a monthly goal of 100 miles of running or walking. It’s ambitious, but I think it’s achievable.