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Bridal Shower and $3,645 in Extra Income

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 70 Comments

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Bridal Shower and $3,645 in Extra Income

A goal of mine…

Hey everyone! Happy Monday. The weekend went by way too quickly. Saturday was a pretty productive day and I was able to do a decent amount of freelancing projects.

On Sunday, I went to a bridal shower for my good friend and it was a lot of fun.

I know that I was supposed to post our engagement photos last Wednesday, but I’m still working on finishing that post up, so those will be here either tomorrow or Wednesday.

Life without student loans has been AMAZING. I tried to reward myself by shopping for some new clothes but couldn’t find anything. Oh well!

Being able to pay off my student loans is definitely a reward in itself.  To think that just last year I had $40,000 in student loans and today I do not is INSANE to think about. I would always read blogs and think “eh, that’s not possible.” But now I know it is!

Spending

We didn’t do a ton of spending this past week. I gave my friend her bridal shower present and paid for a part of her Chicago bachelorette party, but those expenses have been factored in for quite some time.

We do need to start saving for our vacation to New Orleans. I’m not sure how much that will cost, but I’m assuming it will cost somewhat of a decent amount, even though we are driving.

 Bridal Shower and $3,645 in Extra Income

Extra Income (does not include income from our main jobs)

Extra income was very good last week. I have been waiting on several payments and received payments for others fairly quickly, which made last week awesome.  I love not having to chase payments for months. I also added a “hire me” tab above on Friday and hope to increase my freelancing before I make the jump to complete self-employment.

I would like to add more freelancing to my list, and I would especially like to add a little more after I make the switch and have more time. In the beginning, I do see myself relaxing more and enjoying more of my time, as I will have an extra 50-60 hours available each week. Thank you all for your input last week and telling my that I need to enjoy life. Now, if only I could listen to myself.

I still don’t know when my for sure self-employment switch date will be. I’m still a little afraid to give up such a stable income form my day job, but I do know that I need to get over that. Life can’t be all about playing it safe.

 

Posts from my blog:

  1. We’re bike people and $1,975 in extra income – We bought a bike! And we’ve been using it…
  2. My student loans are gone – What more can I say? My student loans are gone!
  3. The benefits of paying off your student loan debt early – Jordann paid off her student loans also!
  4. Simple ways you can get rich slowly – This is a post about how you can get rich slowly. Are you working on increasing your expenses or increasing your income?

 

Link love:

  1. Loving Where You Live Planting Our Pennies – This is something that W and I have been thinking about a lot lately. We still haven’t found a house that we love, which means that we will be staying in our current house longer and won’t sell it just yet. We have been loving where we live more and it’s been nice.
  2. Are you better off than you were in the past? Money Life and More – Lance did a follow-up to my post. I always love seeing how other bloggers are doing!
  3. My life without cable 3 months later Cubicle Sherpa – I would love to be able to get rid of cable, I just don’t know if I can do it! How much do you spend on cable per month?
  4. No more lists – I’m saying yes to everything Blonde on a Budget – I need to work on saying yes to more things. I tend to think so negatively.

 

 

Being healthy

We have both been doing really good with being more healthy. We did eat unhealthy sometimes, but for the most part we ate really well and very clean. We have been riding our bikes a lot. I also try to run at least 2 miles each day – not a ton, but we are also riding our bikes, lifting and other workouts. I’ve also been doing at least 100 squats per day which hopefully helps with something!

We also have been talking about eventually being able to bike the Katy Trail. This is a trail that goes from St. Louis to Kansas City, Missouri and is around 300 miles. This sounds incredibly scary to me, but we would both love to be able to do this. Have you ever done something like this? How long did it take?

Have you been doing well with your extra income, spending and being healthy?

 

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About Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Michelle is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a blog about personal finance and traveling. She discusses how her business has evolved in her side income series. She paid off $40,000 in student loans by the age of 24 mainly due to her freelancing side hustles. Click here to learn more about starting a blog!

Comments

  1. GamingYourFinances says

    Wow! The side income is just amazing, you’re an inspiration! I’ll need to put a little more thought into making some side income in the future.

    Reply

  2. Allison says

    Great job! I was confused when you showed a pic of the Katy Trail bc we have one here in Dallas. I was about to say…..why are you in Dallas? Lets hang out!

    Reply

  3. Holly@ClubThrifty says

    Great job on your extra income last week!

    I think it’s funny that you said you’re going to have an extra 50-60 hours a week once you quit your job! That’s going to be crazy!

    Reply

    • Michelle says

      I know! It will definitely be crazy. I know that eventually I will be super busy with my side hustles and it will probably take up all of my time, but in the beginning I will definitely just enjoy myself.

      Reply

  4. DC @ Young Adult Money says

    I hate chasing payments as well! Probably my least favorite thing to do. I’m getting a lot better at tracking who owes me what as well as details of advertising agreements. I seriously can’t wait until you go freelance full-time and I can’t wait to hear about the transition. Definitely will be nice to have some more time to yourself.

    Reply

  6. Thomas | Your Daily Finance says

    Sounds like your are on a roll here Michelle! You manage 3 blogs total and work full time thats a lot but you are making it work. I was waiting on those picture so we will see them soon hopefully. Nice job on the income and with the hire me tab I am sure you will get to 10-15K per month soon. My weekend went by too fast as usual. The beach and park with the boys and then at home with the wifey and baby relaxing. A lot of work on the blogs and stupid Alexa was playing mind games with my rankings. LOL

    Reply

  7. Matt Becker says

    When are you heading to New Orleans? That’s actually where I met my wife, so it holds a special place in my heart. It’s a fun city, but make sure you don’t wear shoes you actually care about if you head out to Bourbon St. It’s fun out there, but your feet will get GRIMY.

    Reply

  8. John S @ Frugal Rules says

    I want to know where the weekend went as well…it went by way too fast! Great work this week. I’ve had a slower month, but have picked up a good bit in affiliate, so it all balances out in the end. 🙂

    Reply

  9. Alexa says

    Wow, Michelle. It looks like you are really ramping up your business income. I’m so happy for you. It looks like you will surpass last months income if you keep going at this rate. Congrats!

    Reply

  11. Connie says

    wow, great job on the extra income!
    i’ve been trying to be more healthy too with exercise and the right diet but it’s just so hard to keep on track!

    Reply

  12. Jaclyn Arnett says

    Wow, Michelle. What a great week for you! I’d kill to earn that much in extra income in three months. You should do consulting for other bloggers who want a piece of the pie (or maybe you already do?!) 🙂

    Reply

  13. SavvyFinancialLatina says

    That’s awesome Michelle! I have been relaxing a lot this summer. It’s weird for me, but I started to think about it, and I just finished my MBA in May. I told myself I would take it easy this summer, but I just have so many ideas and plans!

    Reply

  14. Christopher @ This that and the MBA says

    I would love to make the switch to self employed. I am way to risk averse to do that. I cannot wait till you do and you can share your story. Then I can live through you 🙂 While I do not share my income on my site, my side hustles have really been paying dividends lately. So much so I have hired 3 people to help me with it and a few writers on my main site. I think I just bought my 11th site now, while not all making great passive income it does bring in a decent cash flow.

    I think one of the things that you do the best at is making your rounds. You are very loyal reader to many sites and that makes many repeat readers on your site….I love reading your income stories as well, because whenever I tell anyone that they can make any money online, I usually get the deer in headlights look.

    Reply

    • Michelle says

      11 sites? WOW! That is awesome! And aww thanks 🙂 I definitely am a loyal reader to TONS of websites. I love knowing what’s going on in everyone’s lives haha

      Reply

  16. Kate says

    You are amazing? If you don’t mind me asking, what program do you use to track your income/spending? Your screen shots look so user friendly.

    Reply

  17. Andrew@LivingRichCheaply says

    I haven’t really gotten side income…been meaning to monetize my blog and should get on that. As for spending, I haven’t been as frugal and haven’t been researching the best prices. Baby came a week ago, and I just buy things that makes my life easier and is convenient cause I’m too tired! =)

    Reply

  18. Walt@My Wealth Desire says

    Wow earning extra income aside from your day job will help you to get out of rat race. I will wait if you will give us in details how you earn that much. I know you will earn more and more with your new “Hire Me” tab. Good Luck.

    Reply

  20. Mrs PoP @ Planting Our Pennies says

    That’s some amazing side income, Michelle! Keep it up and transitioning should be a treat for you. =).

    And thanks for mentioning our post, too!

    Reply

  21. Squirrelers says

    What a week! I think most people would probably take that as a month’s worth of side income.

    I’m sure it’s great to be rid of those student loans. I know I was thrilled to be done with them. Debt really sucks, and it’s so much better without it.

    Reply

  22. Girl Meets Debt says

    Anytime I have money and budget in a shopping trip, I can never find anything I like either. It’s so annoying. And you’re young, life can’t be all about playing it safe 😉

    Reply

  23. Greg@Thriftgenuity says

    Looks like all around nice work. I’m sure it feels really good to be rid of the student loans.

    Reply

  29. Brian @ Luke1428 says

    “Life can’t be all about playing it safe.” It’s very easy to play it safe. Safe is comfortable and reassuring. Risk is scary. It creates fear in our minds. But I’m beginning to believe that it’s in facing our fears and taking on more risk that we achieve life’s greatest rewards.

    Reply

  31. John@MoneyPrinciple says

    To some that sounds like a main income! But well done anyway. May it keep rolling in but the secret really is to be managing more than a single blog it seems. Hope you have a good time in New Orleans – never been although I have been to Old Orleans many years ago, which is a little nearer to us.

    Reply

  35. Lindsey @ Cents & Sensibility says

    Hey Michelle! I was wondering what happened to your engagement pics! I am looking forward to seeing them sometime this week! New Orleans should be fun! Congrats on the income this week. 🙂

    Reply

  37. Canadian Budget Binder says

    Well done with the extra income. I don’t make any extra income yet although once I get moved over I hope to start. I did start writing for a large Canadian Site who contacted me that I hope to continue writing for and anyone else who wants me. Have a good one Michelle! Cheers

    Reply

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