I'm going to keep doing these reports until I get bored, even though the dollars aren't falling off the money tree just yet. I'm no Pat Flynn but at least I'm one of those real-world triers.
It's the end of the year and it's time for that traditional look back on what was and what might have been.
I guess from a finances perspective, the biggest thing for me was a new job. The opportunity had been in the background for a while (18 months to be exact) and it finally came to fruition in the middle of the year. It doesn't detract from the fact that I want to build sustainable business incomes (in fact, after six months back in the cubicle it has given me more incentive).
But as one friend once said to me some months into joining a startup after leaving his job: "Never underestimate the value of a regular income." And I certainly am not taking it for granted right now. For one thing, it's helped give me more cash to reinvest in dividend yielding stocks, which is part and parcel of the passive income segment of my strategy.
In the main, my income generators kicked on this year, with some useful one-off contracts. Unfortunately, my new job prevents me from doing them at the moment but at least I know what's possible.
Given that Christmas starts early in my head, I pretty much wrote off most of the month when it came to generating more income. I've managed to launch my new ebook, which is based on my own experiences of how to generate income on the side. But I've stepped away from the resume writing gig, simply because I couldn't get too excited by it. Something has to give on that front.
I still think I'm on the right track, particularly as my main focus will be on generating income through various websites. I have the domain names - I'm just having a bit of trouble sorting out WordPress. This is all about building stuff rather than chasing short-term freelance gigs that I was doing before. It's still about the long game.
December wasn't that good on the money front. But I have a good feeling about 2019.
So how was December?
Resume Writing: $0. It's been a long time since I didn't do any work on this front but I simply didn't have the time or inclination. I still plan to do some in 2019 but the focus really is to shift from the "trading time for money" model to a more passive approach.
Additional Writing: $0. I didn't do any extra writing so nothing to show here.
Stock Dividends: $576. My goal is to keep building up my dividend income. I'm really not applying the most sophisticated approach, and I know I should be more refined. But I kind of like seeing regular income, some of which gets reinvested back into buying more stocks. I won't be making this much each month (it depends on when the stocks in question pay the dividend), but I'm happy to have it as part of my approach.
Interest: $20. It's ticking along in the background so I can't complain. When interest rates rise I should start to see a bit more here.
Ebooks: $2. In 2019 I'm actually going to make some effort with marketing, rather than simply hoping/praying someone will discover my books. They could be the best books in the world, but if no one knows they exist how are they meant to buy them? I now have four (Beginner's Guide to Online Side Hustles, Cryptocurrency Job Hunting for Non-Techies, The Simple Guide to a Winning LinkedIn Profile and Craft a Winning Resume). I'll work on marketing these before starting on my next.
Coaching: $0. Everyone was too busy with their Christmas fun to even consider being coached. "New year, new start" - now, that could be another matter.
Other: $0. Nothing on the Amazon Merch and Amazon Affiliate Income front.
Total: $598. It's just as well I don't need this money to survive on as December was very quiet, and essentially simply dividend (i.e. passive) income. Still, I need to work on my income streams, just in case I do need to rely on it in the future.
Roll on, 2019! Time to think and act bigger. That will require some upskilling. I'll also be including this part of my journey.
It's the end of the year and it's time for that traditional look back on what was and what might have been.
I guess from a finances perspective, the biggest thing for me was a new job. The opportunity had been in the background for a while (18 months to be exact) and it finally came to fruition in the middle of the year. It doesn't detract from the fact that I want to build sustainable business incomes (in fact, after six months back in the cubicle it has given me more incentive).
But as one friend once said to me some months into joining a startup after leaving his job: "Never underestimate the value of a regular income." And I certainly am not taking it for granted right now. For one thing, it's helped give me more cash to reinvest in dividend yielding stocks, which is part and parcel of the passive income segment of my strategy.
In the main, my income generators kicked on this year, with some useful one-off contracts. Unfortunately, my new job prevents me from doing them at the moment but at least I know what's possible.
Given that Christmas starts early in my head, I pretty much wrote off most of the month when it came to generating more income. I've managed to launch my new ebook, which is based on my own experiences of how to generate income on the side. But I've stepped away from the resume writing gig, simply because I couldn't get too excited by it. Something has to give on that front.
I still think I'm on the right track, particularly as my main focus will be on generating income through various websites. I have the domain names - I'm just having a bit of trouble sorting out WordPress. This is all about building stuff rather than chasing short-term freelance gigs that I was doing before. It's still about the long game.
December wasn't that good on the money front. But I have a good feeling about 2019.
So how was December?
Resume Writing: $0. It's been a long time since I didn't do any work on this front but I simply didn't have the time or inclination. I still plan to do some in 2019 but the focus really is to shift from the "trading time for money" model to a more passive approach.
Additional Writing: $0. I didn't do any extra writing so nothing to show here.
Stock Dividends: $576. My goal is to keep building up my dividend income. I'm really not applying the most sophisticated approach, and I know I should be more refined. But I kind of like seeing regular income, some of which gets reinvested back into buying more stocks. I won't be making this much each month (it depends on when the stocks in question pay the dividend), but I'm happy to have it as part of my approach.
Interest: $20. It's ticking along in the background so I can't complain. When interest rates rise I should start to see a bit more here.
Ebooks: $2. In 2019 I'm actually going to make some effort with marketing, rather than simply hoping/praying someone will discover my books. They could be the best books in the world, but if no one knows they exist how are they meant to buy them? I now have four (Beginner's Guide to Online Side Hustles, Cryptocurrency Job Hunting for Non-Techies, The Simple Guide to a Winning LinkedIn Profile and Craft a Winning Resume). I'll work on marketing these before starting on my next.
Coaching: $0. Everyone was too busy with their Christmas fun to even consider being coached. "New year, new start" - now, that could be another matter.
Other: $0. Nothing on the Amazon Merch and Amazon Affiliate Income front.
Total: $598. It's just as well I don't need this money to survive on as December was very quiet, and essentially simply dividend (i.e. passive) income. Still, I need to work on my income streams, just in case I do need to rely on it in the future.
Roll on, 2019! Time to think and act bigger. That will require some upskilling. I'll also be including this part of my journey.
