Hey everyone. Happy Tuesday! To the left is one of our engagement photos. I promise a post FULL of them will be soon 🙂
As you can see from the title of this post, June was a great month. I don’t know if July will be a repeat of this, but I’m hoping so. I have been adding more and more to my side hustles, and my lack of free time definitely shows for it. Good thing that I enjoy everything I do!
In June, I made $11,993 in extra income, after some expenses.
There were some other expenses, and they are listed below. In case you are new to my blog, “Extra Income” consists of all income that I make that does not include my office 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 too much for extra income (he just started something a few weeks ago) and he 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. The fact that I plan on making the jump to self-employment is the biggest motivator that I will ever need! Read further on my Extra Income page.
As always, if you have any questions about my monthly extra income that you would like me to include next month, please let me know.
This is for the month of June and before some fees and expenses (expenses that lower the amount above include around $1,800, and include payments for my virtual assistant, staff writing on my blog and work with FITnancials, PayPal fees, etc.) being taken out. June’s number above includes a rent payment from my sister. So after all expenses and fees, I made approximately $10,192. In the amount above, I do not count the amount that I bring in from blogs that I help run, only the amounts that are my actual earnings.
You can find my 2013 goals update here.
Blog News
There were some hosting problems with my blog last week, but for the most part, that should be resolved now. There might be some last minute kinks from switching my hosting, but everything should be working.
My sister’s blog is still doing well. 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 and started a job as a personal trainer also. She’s doing great! And she actually just started her first semester in college as well. I feel like a mom sending her child to college, haha!
My newest blog Diversified Finances is going well also. I haven’t posted on there too often, (about one to two times per week) but that is the plan for right now anyways.
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 blog. Also, one of my most popular posts this past month was How To Make Money Blogging.
Staff Writing
This is what I wrote for the past four 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 $750 in staff writing last month. I’m still not sure where I want to take this and if I want to ramp this up anytime soon. Time is the main factor right now.
I made a post titled So You Want to Be a Freelance Writer?, so please read further about this topic in that post.
Update on my newest side hustles – Blog Management and more
My blog management side hustle has been going well. I now manage different aspects of several different blogs, and that is what has helped me ramp up my extra income last month. This is all awesome of course since I plan on making the switch to self employment.
Some of you have also said that I should start an e-book. I have been debating this now for some time, and once I have more time, I would like to pursue this more. What are some good e-book ideas? Freelance writing, having a blog, something else? Let me know!
Are you interested in becoming a virtual assistant? Don’t forget to also read about what exactly a virtual assistant does.
Extra Monthly Income in June (all after expenses)
- Staff writing – $750
- Blog (consulting, managing blogs, & direct advertising and Adsense) – $7,917
- Affiliate Income – $1,200
- Virtual Assistant tasks – $0
- Selling Clothes – $0
- Miscellaneous (not related to blogging and online income)- $0
- Mystery Shopping – $0
- Rent (We rent a room out to my sister) – $325
Comparisons and 2013 Extra Income total (after expenses, but before taxes)
- Total extra income for June: $10,192
- Income in May: $7,641
- Difference: +2,551
- Total so far in 2013: $46,040 (AWESOME!)
How did you do in June? What are your extra income goals?
DC @ Young Adult Money says
June was a great month for me as I made a decent amount through advertising deals and was able to finally hire a staff writer. I like that you make a decent amount from staff writing, but with a regular 9-5 I really don’t think I will pursue it (though I thought about it in the past!). It’s absolutely inspiring to see that you went from ~$600 to in May 2012 to over $10k in June 2013!
Michelle says
The staff writing that I do isn’t too bad. I only write for one blog now, and it’s only twice a week. The topic is very easy to write about also, and I can write the articles in less than 30 minutes.
Free Money Minute says
Why would you write for other blogs and not just write for another one of your blogs? Is it more profitable for you to do this. Seems like it would benefit you in the long run to just write for yourself? Just trying to understand what is takes. Thanks!
Michelle says
There are many positives of writing for other blogs: getting your name out there and diversifying a little more so that my income is solely from my own sites.
Lance @ Money Life and More says
You’re killing it Michelle! Keep up the good work and let us know more of your tips for success. It seems like expanding is a viable way to increase your income! We’ve recently tried to start a second blog by my fiancee, Tori, at http://adventuringdollars.com/
Michelle says
Good luck with your new blog 🙂
Laurie @thefrugalfarmer says
First of all, super cute engagement pic!! Second, you are kicking it on the side hustle stuff!!! So, it looks like most of your income comes from helping others with their blogs, is this true? Do you charge a monthly fee to manage their blogs? What does management look like, from your end of things? Share your wisdom, girl! (this is where an e-book could be super successful for you, too).
Michelle says
Most of my income comes from my blogs, with around 25% from other blogs. I’ll probably break that apart next month. I get a percentage of their earnings for now 🙂
Laurie @thefrugalfarmer says
A breakdown would be great. I’d love to see whether it comes mostly from sponsored posts, affiliate links, etc….Thanks, Michelle!
Bailey says
Very inspiring, Michelle. Congrats on the milestone!
I “discovered” your site by way of Young Adult Money and really enjoy reading your content. It’s genuinely useful, and a very easy read.
Re: this post, I’d also love to see a breakout of your blog income. I really appreciate your openness about revenue but I’d love to know the proportions of consulting, blog management, and adsense. You’re the new benchmark for my capitalistic goals 😉
I look forward to your August followup post! 🙂
Kim@Eyesonthedollar says
Aww, aren’t you all adorable! I think you could quit the day job at any time, but milking both as long as you can has to put you in a great spot.
Michelle says
Thanks Kim. But, boy, am I tired!
Matt Becker says
Great picture! And great work on the extra income. The increase from the previous months is pretty impressive. Sounds like the new business venture was a success.
Michelle says
Thanks Matt!
John S @ Frugal Rules says
Great work Michelle! June was a great month for us as well and continuing to see a solid upward trend as the blog gets older. My main goal for this month is to get restarted on my redesign now that the previous plan is no longer possible.
Michelle says
Thanks John!
Pauline says
Well done! I think an ebook could be nice, it is not my thing but it is basically like writing 20 posts and you can make a nice little cash from it. I’d rather give a free ebook with aff links though.
Michelle says
Yeah I’m not sure what I will do. It’s a hard decision!
Ree Klein says
Your success is so inspiring, Michelle. The pic is awesome, you two seem so happy!
Michelle says
Thanks Ree!
Allison says
Damn. That’s all I have to say!
Michelle says
Haha thanks!
Grayson @ Debt Roundup says
I don’t even know what to say Michelle. First, awesome job. These numbers are impressive. Second, how did you get started in the blog management space? I have a lot of experience with this as I have been writing and working with blogs for about 7 years. I would love to branch out to include more things, but I am afraid of the time commitment. Having a baby really puts a damper on the amount of time you can dedicate to things.
Michelle says
Thanks Grayson. And I have been asked by various blogs to do this by them directly emailing me. And yes, I don’t think I could do all of this if there was a baby in the mix!
Michelle says
Thanks Jordann! I definitely think you will be able to reach $4K.
Cat Alford (@BudgetBlonde) says
A truly awesome month! Congratulations Michelle. You work so very hard!!
Michelle says
Thanks Cat!
Stefanie says
I’m so in awe of your extra income. I don’t think I’ve broken 10k this year let alone in the month! Just starting to work towards monetizing my blog to supplement my “crappy actor salary”. Thanks for all the advice and inspiration!
Michelle says
Welcome 🙂
debtperception says
Wow, you’re doing amazing with the extra income! If I could make anywhere near that my debt would be paid off really quick!
Michelle says
Thanks!
Keren says
Nailed it!! My first big side income goal is $500. I’m not quite there yet. I just got accepted to write for a studio so I’m stoked to start that project! Fist pump!
Michelle says
WOOHOOO Keren 🙂
Andrew@LivingRichCheaply says
I have a hard enough time managing one blog, I don’t know how to manage multiple blogs and doing staff writing! $10K extra income is amazing…definitely something to aspire to.
Michelle says
It’s definitely tiring. I wake up early, spend time during lunch and come home after work to work on them some more!
Budget and the Beach says
Congrats as always on the blog income. Glad to see your pic up too!
Michelle says
Thanks!
Alexa says
Very nice!! I am sure this is very encouraging to you since you are wanting to quit the day job. do you have a date for that yet? Also, love the chart that shows the last years comparison. All of your hard work has paid off and you really deserve it!!
Michelle says
No date set yet. I have something in mind though, and it is pretty soon 🙂
Holly@ClubThrifty says
You did awesome as usual. I think you have earned the right to quit your job, Michelle!
Michelle says
Thanks Holly!
kathleen says
A five digit month! HOLY COW. You are killing it, kid.
Michelle says
Thanks!
Darlene at BlogBoldly says
Hi Michelle!
Not sure how I stumbled upon your website..but absolutely love it.
What a beautiful extra income number you just hit. 🙂
You go girl, darlene 🙂
Michelle says
Thanks Darlene 🙂
Rachel says
That is a ton from affiliates! I need to step up my game on that clearly- haha!
Michelle says
Haha I need to up mine even more. Need to make some new posts on it!
Done by Forty says
That’s so cool! Congrats on hitting a five-digit monthly income number and, as others have posted, it’s great to see the progress from last year. Pretty inspiring stuff there!
Michelle says
Thanks! 🙂
Michelle says
Thanks anna!
Michelle says
I agree! That’s why I’m not sure if an ebook would be good in my case.
femmefrugality says
HOLY MOLY! I’m speechless. Great job! And I agree—the 12 month difference is inspiring! You guys are cute!
Michelle says
Thanks!
Jacob @ iHeartBudgets says
Wow, $10k is crazy money! Nice work, Michelle. And nice work launching a new service and having it be so successful! June was a huge month for you, not only in terms of income, but going public and all. How is that going by the way? More haters?
Michelle says
Thanks Jacob! And no haters at all. I’m glad that everyone is being nice 🙂 I was afraid at first (well, I still am), but it’s been going well so far.
Dave says
Really nice work here – I didn’t realize you had so much going on outside of what we were working on. You should add your income reports to Matthew Woodward’s round up – I think you’re good for the top spot! http://www.matthewwoodward.co.uk/
Michelle says
Yup, I’m working on a lot! And I still have my full-time job on top of this income, so life has been crazy 🙂
Jen @ The Happy Homeowner says
Holy shitballs! 🙂
This exactly the kind of motivation I need to crawl out of my hole….WELL DONE!!!!! 😀
Michelle says
haha thanks girl!
Nick @ ayoungpro.com says
You are rocking it Michelle, good for you! I would love to read an ebook from you about starting up a freelancing business. I am in discussions (with myself) about starting up some freelancing and I have no idea where to go and what to do.
Michelle says
Thanks Nick! And that is actually a great idea for an ebook. Thanks 🙂
E.M. says
First – you two are super adorable. Second – way to go on the extra income! You’re definitely killing it. I love the chart depicting how far you’ve come, and I know you’ll continue upward!
Michelle says
Aww thanks 🙂
Elle @ ForHerByHer says
This is so inspirational! You’re officially the ‘Side Hustle Queen’ in my book. Congrats on breaking the $10K barrier. I’ve always wondered how you manage to balance your day job and side hustle, considering how much you do. I had a great june as well. I actually ended up making more at my side hustle as a Resume Writer than my day job this month.
Beautiful picture by the way 🙂
Michelle says
Thanks Elle 😉 And that’s awesome about your side hustle.
The Norwegian Girl says
WOW! that´s amazing! Such a great achievement, Michelle! Making the switch to self employment should go just fine for you! You´re clearly a really skilled blogger!:-)
Michelle says
Thanks! 🙂
Girl Meets Debt says
I love how you skip the $9K mark and totally jumped into the 5 digit $10K mark lol. And you’re site was down for quite a few days too! Superstar 🙂
Michelle says
Haha last month was INSANE! I still can’t believe how busy I was with my side hustles.
Lena at On My Side of the World says
OK, your numbers are impressive, good job! But what I love even more is that adorable picture of the two of you! Can’t wait for more 🙂
Michelle says
Haha yes I love this picture 🙂
Sarah says
Congrats! Awesome job on the extra income! I’ve been following your blog for about a year and love the way you write. I think you should definitely write an ebook. Maybe one about creating a blog (I know you’ve written a few posts about this in the past – you could maybe expand on that). Or a story about your financial journey (You could use material from past blog posts). Anyways, good luck!
Michelle says
Aww thanks Sarah. You win comment of the month! 🙂 I’m glad that you enjoy the way that I write and that you’ve been a long-time reader, makes me happy.
Michael @ The Student Loan Sherpa says
This is amazing! Congrats on hitting 5 digits… I’ll be thrilled if the day ever comes that I start hitting 3 digits. I have so many ideas, but I don’t want to put any more money into the site until I get some out.
Michelle says
Thank you Michael! I’m sure you’ll be there in no time 🙂
Lindsey @ Cents & Sensibility says
You are a marvel, as usual, Michelle. I didn’t realize you had expanded into managing/consulting/etc. with blogs – very cool! Is it the technical side of things? Or is it more the advertising side of things? Or is that a post for another time?
Your engagement picture is beautiful! I’m looking forward to the full spread!
Michelle says
I handle delivering posts, writing, social media, advertising, and so on. For one blog, I manage the entire thing. I’ll have to make a post on it 🙂
SavvyFinancialLatina says
Great job!!!! This is awesome 🙂
Michelle says
Thanks 🙂
Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank says
That graph speaks volumes doesn’t it – you have come so far! I can only dream of getting to those kind of figures.
Michelle says
Thanks Glen 🙂
Christopher @ This that and the MBA says
Wow that is pretty amazing. Glad to see your business taking off, I do not know how you do it. I have managing a few sites, VA and link builders and I find it so tough to manage all. I have gdocs spreadsheet updated but man it can get confusing when i take on something additional.
Great job glad to see you rocking it….
Michelle says
Yup, it’s hard to manage it all. And I’m really bad at being organized so that makes it even harder!
AverageJoe says
Great pic! Way to rock another month. I’ve gone in the opposite direction until September….with my kids graduating, this is a rare time I want to spend lots of time away from work.
Michelle says
Thanks!
Tina @ My Shiny Pennies says
You look beautiful! I just noticed your feed isn’t showing up in Feedly. I’m going to have to look into that.
Michelle says
Is it not showing up at all or is it showing up as an error? Please let me know 🙂
Marissa @ Thirtysixmonths says
Good job! I really don’t know where you find the time to do everything!
Michelle says
It’s hard!
Jules@Fat Guy,Skinny Wallet says
Awesome job! What an excellent month for you!
Michelle says
Thanks Jules!
Michelle says
Haha thanks 🙂 I still cannot believe it either.
Little House says
I’m am really impressed! You’re doing a great job and could totally be self-employed as a full-time blogger. Way to go!
Michelle says
Thanks!
Liquid says
Awesome possum Miss 😀 Wow look at that chart. Just goes to show that hard work really does pay off, and it doesn’t look like the income growth rate is slowing down any time soon. You’re a great inspiration to the pf blogging community 🙂 You two look really good together. I saw the other pics you uploaded on twitter last week.
Michelle says
Thanks! 🙂
Alexandra @RSF says
Way to go, Michelle! I have been silently reading your blog for some time now, and you are such an inspiration. In fact, you’ve helped inspire me to start my own blog. Keep up the good work, and thanks for showing us that with time and talent, our work will pay off!
Michelle says
Glad I can be an inspiration 🙂
Zach says
I have just started my blog and love reading about your blog and its success! Any advice for someone just starting out and just learning about making money with a blog?
Michelle says
Thanks Zach! For advice… Hmmm.. There is so much to learn and know! My main tip would be to network with your readers and other bloggers 🙂
Michelle says
Thanks 🙂
Michelle says
Thanks Rita!
Daniel says
Damn you are just killing it! When are you taking the jump to full-time?
Michelle says
Thanks Daniel! And sometime soon 🙂
Connie says
Amazing! I’ve been reading your blog for some now and I just had to finally comment. We’re the same age and I think it’s amazing and quite inspirational how much you’ve accomplished in such a short period of time. Kuddos to you!
Michelle says
Thank you Connie!
Roger@lifelaidout says
Wow, $10k in a month is amazing…that would even be impressive for a year or two! And looking how quickly you’ve been able to grow your “side” income is definitely inspiring. Congrats and keep up the good work!
Michelle says
Thank you 🙂
Monica @MonicaOnMoney says
@Michelle– Wow! That is very inspiring, I’ve recently started my blog and I love how you’ve tracked exactly how much you make with a side income (or many side incomes in your case!). I’d like to start staff writing, any suggestions (or articles to read) to get started? Thanks!
Michelle says
Thanks Monica! I have tons of posts on staff writing. Enjoy! 🙂
https://www.makingsenseofcents.com/2013/01/you-want-to-be-a-freelance-writer.html
https://www.makingsenseofcents.com/2013/02/staff-writing-is-the-perfect-side-hustle.html
https://www.makingsenseofcents.com/2013/06/how-to-become-a-successful-staff-writer-for-blogs.html
Monica @MonicaOnMoney says
@Michelle- Thanks for providing links to those articles! They’re exactly what I’ve been looking for! Reading them now 🙂
Michelle says
Welcome!
Michelle says
Wow, I have no idea how you make that much side income – guess I should be reading further. I don’t have a lot of spare time with 2 kids in sports & work, that pretty much sucks up every day of my life LOL – but maybe down the road I can look into it more. Way to go!
Michelle says
Thank you Michelle!
Shobir | Find Some Money says
This is such an inspiring post, thanks for sharing. I am happy that you’ve made a life changing amount of money on top of your regular salary. Your positive energy makes me return to this blog nearly every day. So far I managed to hustle and make about $3000 this month but reaching that $10k milestone like yourself will be awesome. Are there any tips you can give to maintain focus and positive energy? where do you get all the energy to keep up?