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$9,554 in August Extra Income – Looking for Affiliate Income

Last Updated: July 30, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 123 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

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Find out how I made $9,554 in blogging in 1 month.Hey everyone! I hope all of you had a fun and relaxing long weekend. On Monday, I published my August Goals and Life Update, and in it I stated that my goal was for $10K in side hustle income.

I sort of reached this goal. Before fees and expenses, yes, I reached this goal, but once you account for fees and expenses, I did not.

August was a slower month than usual. I also took a vacation, so I will blame not being able to reach my $10K goal on that. However, I did receive an uptick in the amount of bids I put out. I received many emails from business owners who were interested in hiring me. Hopefully some of these pan out!

Since August was a slower month (but not horrible by any means), it did give me a slight taste of self-employment. I was able to take a vacation and still almost reach my income goal.

In August, I made $10,310 in extra income, before expenses. Just last August, I made $1,603 in extra income. I am definitely happy and proud of my progress.What a difference one year makes! I never even thought that I would be anywhere near this amount. I always thought that other freelancers who posted their income were just “lucky.”

I know that this is a lot of “extra income” but please keep in mind that I spend many, many hours every single day on my side hustles. This is definitely not passive income. I have also been growing this for quite some time, and for around one year I was not making a single dollar, but I was still putting full-time hours into my side jobs. Taxes also take approximately 30% to 40% of my extra income. This is something that not everyone thinks about.

There were some expenses, and they are listed below. In case you are new to my blog, “Extra Income” consists of all income that I make on the side, and 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 either.

As I say every month in my income update posts as a reality check: this is still work. 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.

 

 

My extra income in August before expenses and fees.

This is for the month of August and before fees and expenses (expenses that lower the amount above include approximately $755, which includes payments for staff writing on my blog, work with FITnancials, PayPal fees, etc.) being taken out.

August’s number above includes a rent payment from my sister. So after all expenses and fees, I made approximately $9,554. In the amount above, I do not count the amount that I bring in to blogs that I help run, I only include the amounts that are my actual earnings from my services.

You can find my 2013 goals update here.

Blog News

I don’t know if I have much new with blog news to share. Everything is going great! Last month was my 2 year blog anniversary and I still cannot believe that it’s been two years since I started blogging. Like I always say, life has changed so much, and I don’t know what life would have been like if I didn’t start my blog.

My sister’s blog is still doing well. Please subscribe to FITnancials if you haven’t yet. Lots of new things are happening to her, and she is planning a move to Chicago soon. Follow her while she tries to plan her move to Chicago.

My newest blog Diversified Finances is doing really well also. Being able to talk so much about self-employment and get direct feedback from readers is great. If you want to continue hearing all about my switch to self-employment, because follow me over there! I love being able to talk about self-employment on my new blog, and I’m sure those of you who aren’t interested are happy that 100% of my posts on Making Sense of Cents aren’t related to self-employment anymore 🙂

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

Lately, my staff writing has been decreasing, but I really would like to ramp it back up again. I really enjoy writing, and I have so many ideas for blog posts.

Many of you have asked how I am able to make $600 a month from staff writing. I have one lucrative job where I make a decent amount for staff writing, and that is how. Don’t undersell yourself!

So, here’s a shameless plugin: If any of you need a staff writer or just a random content writer, please let me know. Whether you need a couple of articles every week, or just a single post with no on-going relationship, I am your girl. I can write regular content, content to fill in gaps in your writing schedule, content for advertising and so on. My turnaround is fairly quick and I would definitely say that I am reliable 🙂

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 and Social Media Management

My blog management side hustle is going well. I manage different aspects of several different blogs, and that is what has helped me ramp up my extra income in the past couple of months. All of my new services make me extremely happy. Every little thing all make the switch to self employment possible. I would still like to help more website owners, as I have time open for that, and it is something that I truly enjoy.

I have started bidding on more social media management jobs as well. I’m really hoping that some of these come through, as social media is something that I am very interested in.

Lately, I have been receiving many, many emails on readers and other bloggers who are wanting me to be a blog consultant for them. I receive at least a couple of emails each week, and I have been thinking about starting this back up again. I do have a question: what is something that you are looking for if you were looking for a blog consultant? What value would you see in it?

Also, I am thinking about starting a niche site. The technical terms and everything sound so confusing but I’m very interested in seeing whether or not I could create a successful niche site. Can anyone recommend any really good articles on niche sites and starting one? Do you have one? What do you think?

Are you interested in becoming a virtual assistant? Don’t forget to also read about what exactly a virtual assistant does.

 

Affiliate income – I’m on a quest.

Affiliate income has definitely been on my mind lately, but I haven’t done anything related to affiliate income in quite a while. Thank you all for clicking on my links from months ago, and I’m glad readers are still finding helpful information in my older posts. However, I would really like to increase my affiliate income by publishing new posts.

I have been looking into more and more affiliate programs, and I have received many emails in the past month about different affiliate programs that I can join and review for you all. I will only review products and insert affiliate links for products that I think are useful.

What would you like to see more of? Reviews on budgeting programs? Classes? Maybe credit cards? Let me know!

 

Offline side hustles.

I have been thinking about offline side hustles a lot lately. There are a lot of things that I would like to do, but it will have to be a secret for now.  I have tons of ideas but I’m not sure about anything. They would be more of a hobby, with the hopes of making a couple of dollars while I am at it.

Once I make the switch to self-employment, I definitely want to ramp everything up as much as I can. I want to work my hardest towards earning income and I really want to get my freelancing services out there.

What offline side hustles do you have?

 

My Extra Income over the past year.

Extra Monthly Income in August (after expenses)

  • Staff writing – $600
  • Blog (managing other bloggers’ websites, my blogs – direct advertising and Adsense) – $8,204
  • Affiliate Income – $425
  • Virtual Assistant tasks – $0
  • Selling Clothes – $0
  • Miscellaneous (not related to blogging and online income) – $0
  • Mystery Shopping – $0
  • Rent (we rent a room in our house to my sister) – $325

 

Comparisons and 2013 Extra Income total (after expenses, but before taxes)

  • Total extra income for August: $9,554
  • Income in July: $11,117
  • Difference: -$1,563
  • Total so far in 2013: $66,711 (WOOHOO!)

 

 

How did you do in August? What are your extra income goals?

 

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123 Comments
Filed Under: Extra Income, Life Tagged With: Career, Extra Money, Life

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. Little House says

    September 4, 2013 at 8:50 am

    You rock! You’re doing outstanding. It’s really very impressive.

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      September 4, 2013 at 6:59 pm

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  2. debtfreeoneday says

    September 4, 2013 at 10:23 am

    This post gives me hope that I will be able to work my way out of debt someday and have a job that I enjoy. What an inspiration! I don’t know how you have the time to do all this Michelle but somehow you manage it! Totally amazing!

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      September 4, 2013 at 7:01 pm

      Thank you 🙂

      Reply
  3. The Warrior says

    September 4, 2013 at 12:08 pm

    Welp, if this doesn’t prove that being focused and consistent leads to success, I don’t know what does.

    Keep up the great work. Love watching the progress here.

    The Warrior
    NetWorthWarrior.com

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      September 4, 2013 at 7:02 pm

      Thank you 🙂

      Reply
  4. Michelle says

    September 4, 2013 at 7:02 pm

    Thanks!

    Reply
  5. Michelle says

    September 4, 2013 at 7:07 pm

    Thank you Marissa 🙂

    Reply
  6. Tie the Money Knot says

    September 4, 2013 at 7:20 pm

    Awesome! A time management post would be a good to read, to see how you’re able to pull off all of this!

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      September 5, 2013 at 7:04 am

      I kind of have a post on this on my other blog. I’ll expand on this topic soon though! 🙂

      http://diversifiedfinances.com/spending-time-on-side-hustles/

      Reply
  7. Tara @ Streets Ahead Living says

    September 4, 2013 at 8:16 pm

    I agree with Tie the Money Knot… I’d love to know your work schedule and how you do it all!

    I’d also know more about how you set your pay for different consulting gigs and how you got into them in the first place. I like the idea of commenting for others as that too is something I enjoy.

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      September 5, 2013 at 7:05 am

      Here’s my schedule 🙂

      http://diversifiedfinances.com/spending-time-on-side-hustles/

      I haven’t really done too many consulting gigs, but every single time I have been asked directly.

      Reply
  8. Matt Becker says

    September 4, 2013 at 9:18 pm

    Nice work Michelle! It’s nice to know that you can take a vacation and still have a great month. Affiliate income is definitely something that’s been on my mind recently as well. I think it’s great to be able to recommend a product you love and make some money from it. And if you do it right it can become somewhat passive. I’ll be interested to hear your experiences with it.

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      September 5, 2013 at 7:06 am

      Thank you Matt!

      Reply
  9. SuburbanFInance says

    September 4, 2013 at 9:34 pm

    I would love to make more passive income in the form of affiliate.. that’s my next goal

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      September 5, 2013 at 7:07 am

      Same here!

      Reply
  10. Athena says

    September 4, 2013 at 11:28 pm

    Congrats on the extra side income! I made $330 last month, only short of my $500 per month goal. I did start a staff writing position which will be helping me get my name out and add to my resume! I also scored a part time second job after school which should add a nice cushion.

    I have a question if you wouldn’t mind. How do you bid for social media jobs?

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      September 5, 2013 at 7:08 am

      Sounds like you are doing great Athena!

      And for the social media jobs, I was asked directly to bid on projects.

      Reply
  11. Marissa@Thirtysixmonths says

    September 4, 2013 at 11:58 pm

    Good job! I wish I can also take a vacation and earn that much. I’m so jealous but very motivated at the same time. I’m also interested with Affiliate Marketing. It’s something worth considering and looking into. I’ll be noting that in my list as well.

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      September 5, 2013 at 7:09 am

      Thanks Marissa!

      Reply
  12. SavvyFinancialLatina says

    September 5, 2013 at 9:54 am

    Great job on the side income!!! It’s amazing!

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      October 3, 2013 at 4:05 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  13. Lisa E. @ Lisa Vs. The Loans says

    September 5, 2013 at 11:37 am

    I always look forward to your extra income updates – so inspiring! If you were to pick up some more affiliate posts, I’d like to see maybe some book reviews or personal finance tool reviews. Not so much credit cards, but that’s just me 🙂

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      October 3, 2013 at 4:05 pm

      Thank you so much 🙂

      Reply
  14. Eva @ Girl Counting Pennies says

    September 5, 2013 at 3:32 pm

    Michelle, you’re doing great, such an inspiration!

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      October 3, 2013 at 4:06 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  15. TB says

    September 5, 2013 at 10:57 pm

    I am so happy I discovered this blog! I can’t wait to dive in and hopefully come out with some helpful tips.

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      October 3, 2013 at 4:06 pm

      aww yay 🙂

      Reply
  16. Alexandra @ Real Simple Finances says

    September 6, 2013 at 4:26 pm

    For offline side hustles, I have been using care.com and sittercity.com to find babysitting/petsitting gigs. So far I have only secured one, but with my busy school schedule that’s sort of understandable! I’m meeting someone else tonight, so cross your fingers it leads to something. 🙂 I also just get a job teaching at a local YMCA on Saturdays. The job comes with a membership, so that’s just an added perk!

    Reply
  17. rosie says

    September 10, 2013 at 12:25 pm

    Awesome, Michelle. On the moth they call ‘ghost month’, you managed 10k! I’m working my way through affiliate marketing. Glad I find your blog.

    Reply
  18. Chad | The Stock Market and I says

    October 13, 2013 at 8:00 am

    I am doing this backwards but it is nice to see the progression month to month. I also like to see all of the different ways you are looking at monetizing your side business. It gives the rest of us a lot to think about.

    Reply
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My name is Michelle and I'm the author/owner of Making Sense of Cents. Learning how to save money and make more money changed my life. It allowed me to pay off $40,000 in student loans, start my own business, and I now travel full-time.

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