Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday. I changed my mind and decided to post my April goals and extra income update TODAY instead of tomorrow. I figure that there won't be a huge difference by missing just one day, so why not?! I did receive a couple of payments yesterday that I've been waiting on, and that helped increase my extra income for the month.
April was another awesome month. I wasn't able to crack the $8,000 level of extra income just yet (this is after expenses), and I was actually $3 lower than last month's amount. Still great to me though 🙂
If you are looking to start a blog, don't forget to read my post How To Start a Blog. It gives step by step instructions on starting your own. And one of my most popular posts this money was How To Make Money Blogging.
We did some wedding planning last month and booked and paid the deposit for our wedding photographer (she has SUPER cute pictures!) and also chose our wedding date. Our photographer is AWESOME and I'm glad we found her. Check out her website Harper & Brothers. The wedding will be on June 7, 2014. WOOHOO!
Next weekend my sister and I are going to St. Thomas, WOOHOOO! We're going for 3 days/4 nights for her birthday. It'll be a fun time and I'm very excited. We haven't gone on vacation together since we were probably in elementary school, so it'll be a new experience.
In April, I made $7,859 in extra income, after most expenses. In case you are new to my blog, “Extra Income” consists of all income that I make that does not include my salaried job that I have in the financial services industry. Extra income also does not include any money that W makes, as he doesn't do anything for extra income and is mostly commission at his work (so it fluctuates every month anyways).
As I say every month in my income update posts: this is not all super easy. None of it is. I spend enough time to make this a full-time job on top of my already full-time job. Luckily, I do enjoy what I'm doing so it's not like I'm dreading anything. The goals that we have are also a great motivator. I just keep thinking about how badly I want my student loans gone, and also how badly we want a new house next year. Read further on my Extra Income page.
This is for the month of April and after most fees and expenses (expenses were a little over $700 and include payments for staff writing on my blog and work with FITnancials, PayPal fees, etc.) being taken out. April's number above includes a rent payment from my sister.
April was another great month. I've come a long way from the just the beginning of last year when I was ecstatic about $50 in extra income in a month. Don't get me wrong, $50 is still awesome, but I never thought that I would be to the point where I am today. I look up to so many other bloggers and if it weren't for them, I really don't think I'd be anywhere near the level that I'm at today!
You can find my 2013 goals update here.
Blog
The new blog design is here! There are still some minor tweaks that will be finished up today but for the most part, it is 99% done. I'm in love and love everything about it. What do you think? It's definitely an upgrade over my old design!
Also, even more people know about my blog now. It's pretty much not a secret from anyone besides people who I work with. It's crazy to think that just in a month time that my blog is no longer a secret. Some of my friends text me and include sentences from my blog which I find funny since they are actually reading my blog. We have our engagement photos this month, and I plan on posting those on my blog. Look for those in the next couple of weeks!
My sister's blog is still going great. Please subscribe to FITnancials if you haven't yet. She has many plans for her blog, and just earned her personal trainer fitness certification last month. She's doing awesome! And she's about to start her first semester in college as well.
Staff Writing
This is what I wrote for the past two months and this section is still pretty much the same.
“I'm not doing as much staff writing as I used to. It has slowly dwindled down since the Fall (I started turning down some writing opportunities, while one was hit by the Page Rank issue recently). Thankfully this is something that has worked out for the best, as now I can focus my time on other things. Right now I only write for one personal finance website and one hotel's travel blog.”
As you can see below, I made approximately $600 in staff writing last month. However, I am thinking about ramping this back up again. I'm looking to diversify and may be looking for staff writing assignments in the near future 🙂
April Goals Update
- Cook 5 days a week. PASS. We have been doing awesome with this lately. We are eating in more and saving a ton of money. Eating in is also nicer because we can eat in peace in our own home. We then also have time to do other things because we don't have to drive somewhere and sit at the restaurant and wait while it's being cooked.
- Run 4 times a week and lose 3 pounds. PASS. I've been running more but haven't lost any weight. Must be gaining muscle… I'm fine with that!Â
- Make an extra $6,000 this month. PASS. Did awesome with this! See below…
- Choose a wedding date. We need to talk to W's family and come up with a date that will work since we will be using the family's property. PASS. June 7, 2014 everyone! It was even announced on the family's website so it is official.
- Sell 25 items from my closet. FAIL. I completely forgot about this goal.
- Go to Lowes or Home Depot and spend tons of money. PASS. We spent a lot of money in April at Lowes, and plan on spending more tonight because we need a new dryer. A new dryer isn't exactly what I wanted, but oh well. It broke last night. We were drying clothes and tried doing another load and it just broke instantly. Oh well! Luckily we have a gift card that will cover a new dryer from Lowes.
May Goals
- PAY OFF MY STUDENT LOANS! This is my main goal for the month. I am on track to pay them off this month and I could not be any happier.
- Cook 5 days a week. I think this goal will always be on the list.
- Make a couple of awesome desserts. I never make dessert but I think it's an awesome goal to have.
- Run 4 times a week and lose 5 pounds. I kind of failed at this last month. I know the number isn't important, but I would still like to lose more fat of course.
- Make an extra $7,000 this month. My goal for April was $6,000, and this month I increased it by a bit to $7,000. I think I will get to that, but you just never know.
- Sell 25 items from my closet. I have a TON of things in my closet, and are goal is to slowly declutter our house so that we will be ready to sell.
- Replace the garage door. Our garage door was dented right after we bought our house four years ago. Our truck (it's a classic 1961 Apache that we adore) slipped gears and flew into reverse into the garage. I've been looking at carriage doors for a replacement. I'm guessing that this will probably be around $1,000 to replace. Have you ever done this before? Is it easy to do yourself? What is the normal costs for DIY versus paying a company?
- Have an awesome birthday! This is my birthday month 🙂
Extra Monthly Income in April
- Staff writing – $600
- Blog (consulting as well as advertising such as direct advertising and Adsense, but after all expenses) – $5,309
- Blog – Affiliate Income – $1,600
- Virtual Assistant tasks – $0
- Selling Clothes – $0
- Miscellaneous (not related to blogging and online income)- $0
- Mystery Shopping – $25 (I received some referral payments)
- Rent (I rent a room out to my sister) – $325
Comparisons and 2013 total
- Total income for April: $7,859
- Income in March: $7,862
- Difference: -3
- Total so far in 2013:Â $28,227 (AWESOME!)
How did you do in April? What are your extra income goals?
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Happy_Homeowner says
May 2, 2013 at 1:35 pmHot damn…nice work, lady 🙂
My recent post The Inconsistent Side of Freelancing: $3K Less Income in April
MakingSenseofCents says
May 6, 2013 at 12:15 pmThanks girl!
@StumbleForward says
May 4, 2013 at 6:13 pmThe new site design is awesome Michelle, as for the income it looks great even if you were $3 short of last month. Also congrats on setting the wedding date, June is a great month to get married.
My recent post How To Build A Niche Site Series Part 5: Promotion
MakingSenseofCents says
May 6, 2013 at 12:15 pmThanks! I love my new design as well.
Elwood says
May 5, 2013 at 1:14 pmIncredible work on the side income, Michelle. Your income posts are super motivating when you look at the progress you've made in just the last year. Keep up the great work!
My recent post Creating Side Income Through Blogging
MakingSenseofCents says
May 6, 2013 at 12:15 pmThanks! I'm very shocked that my side income has increased by so much in just one year.
Lindsey @ Cents says
May 5, 2013 at 11:51 pmHey lady, I hadn't been by your site since the makeover, your site looks amazing! You are makin' it happen, as usual.
Cheers
Lindsey
My recent post What should have happened: Epic Fail
MakingSenseofCents says
May 6, 2013 at 12:15 pmThanks Lindsey! 🙂
Smart Money Junction says
May 6, 2013 at 12:13 pmHaha what a coincidence. Your March and April incomes are almost the same !!
My recent post 4 Ways To Avoid Investment Mistakes In Your Portfolio
MakingSenseofCents says
May 6, 2013 at 12:16 pmI know! I was very surprised that they were so similar.
Hanna says
May 22, 2013 at 10:17 pmYou are doing great on your goals! Good luck with May goals! It's my birthday month , too!
My recent post Aloha Live Show at Queen Kapiolani Hotel (Waikiki) deal