Hey everyone! Happy Monday. This weekend was incredibly busy, and I feel like I didn’t accomplish much.
We leave for New Orleans next week, so I need to finish some side-hustle tasks before we go so I can truly relax on vacation.
Also, this week marks two years of blogging at Making Sense of Cents for me. I’ll publish a special post and host a giveaway on Wednesday with an iPad and $250 in cash as prizes.
Spending
Spending was fairly low last week. I bought a pair of wedges for a wedding I’m in; they weren’t expensive and I’ll wear them again.
Next week’s spending will be higher because of New Orleans. We found an amazing deal on a four-star hotel: $500 for four nights, including taxes but plus parking. It’s right on Bourbon Street, which seems ideal.
Originally we booked a lower-quality, two-star hotel with another couple, but I spotted this much better deal and jumped on it. We canceled the original reservation and booked two rooms for four nights each at roughly the same total rate as the cheaper hotel. I’m still surprised how affordable it was—apparently that’s what you get booking at the last minute.
Gas will likely be a couple of hundred dollars round trip per couple since it’s about a 10-hour drive and we’re taking a Jeep. Food and drinks will probably be the biggest expense, though I don’t expect our total trip cost—including hotel, gas, food, and incidentals—to exceed $1,500. That’s a conservative estimate.
If you have must-do recommendations for New Orleans, please share. The four of us have never been and are excited to explore.
Extra Income (does not include income from our main jobs)
Extra income started strong in the first ten days of August. I’ve been working to expand my side-hustle earnings and have several promising leads that I hope turn into real opportunities. I also have other projects I’d like to pursue—I just need more time. I can’t wait for the day I suddenly have an extra 50 hours per week to dedicate to everything.
I still haven’t picked a firm date to switch to full-time self-employment. I’m hesitant to give up the steady paycheck from my day job; slow days in a row often make me nervous.
Recent posts from my blogs:
- $11,117 in July Extra Income – My monthly extra income report. I exceeded my goal, which felt great. August’s results are still uncertain.
- July Goals and Life Update – A personal update on goals and life; things are going well.
- Things people say when I tell them I am making the self-employment switch – Reactions to my plan to go self-employed have been strong and sometimes surprising.
- Cheap ways to stay healthy – Tips for maintaining health without breaking your budget.
Being healthy
So far, August has been a struggle on the health front. I’ve eaten a bit better at times, but not consistently. I haven’t run in ages, and workouts have been almost nonexistent. I’ve been a bit lazy about staying active.
We haven’t used our bikes at all this month, which I’d like to change. The recent rainy weather hasn’t helped, so I’ll blame a little of it on that, but I need to get back into a routine.