Income Report: April

It's been another crazy month with all things coronavirus. I've been thinking long and hard about what this will all mean in 6, 12, 24, etc months from now. Things will most certainly change. And I know that I still haven't stepped up to the plate to make sure I will adapt to it properly. This isn't just about me, it's about my family.

So I've taken a bit of time to rethink my goals and approach (again). The more I talk about this, the more I know how pressing it is.

I can look back on these income reports and see similar patterns. Similar excuses. By next month's report, I intend to have in place better systems, accountability, defined goals, energy and so on.

I just know that what's gone before won't work in the future. And I'm kind of scared that I'm sleepwalking right into it - only with my eyes open. And that includes stepping up more for my day job, not just my hustles.

I've run out of excuses. Things need to change.

Anyway, this has been my month.

Resume Writing: $0. I actually have a new client here but I'm not going to book it here until I get confirmation on it and get paid. That will come to about $192.

Additional Writing: $230.  I have my regular writing gig which is ticking over well right now.

Stock Dividends: $176. No passive income approach is foolproof. And thanks to the coronavirus and the fact that some companies have been forced to suspend dividend payments, I've taken a bit of a hit with some payments that would have been due to me in April. Still, I will continue to apply this approach for the long term.

Interest: $15. Lower interest rates have hurt anyone relying on leaving money in the bank. I've taken a bit of a hit here but it's not where my focus is going to be. Still, I can't ignore it as an income element.

Ebooks: $2. Quiet. Amazon isn't working much for me. But I know that going into more trying times these books will help people (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).

Coaching: $0. No sessions.

Other: $75. I redeemed points from a couple of credit cards this month in the form of cashback and a supermarket voucher. Cash is cash. It all counts.

Total: $498. Not bad. I can certainly push on from here. That's my focus going forward. 

Income Report: March

We are living in challenging times. When I wrote last month's report, I had no expectation that we would be in such a state of social and economic lockdown.

I now have no doubt that when we come out of all of this, many things would have changed. Some good - hopefully, we'll be able to make more time for our fellow man and the environment. Some, not so good - the economic ramifications are going to be sizeable and possibly lasting.

As for building side income, I still completely believe that we should all have that in our makeup. Some that are able to navigate all of this the best are those that aren't 100% reliant on their day job for cash flow and meaning.

At the same time, the idea of striving for millions of pounds, dollars or whatever the relevant currency, isn't top of my list. Maybe it never was. But I do feel that sometimes "enough is enough". The time I would be spending to build a bigger and more lucrative enterprise could perhaps be better invested in time spent with friends and family. That's today's viewpoint anyway.

Fundamentally, though, I still have the desire to keep creating so that I have options. A portfolio career provides that. So I'll continue to work on my site Finance Jobs Hunt, attract more writing gigs and make sure I can monetize more online. 

In the meantime, in terms of this month:

Resume Writing: $0. I've decided that I don't want to continue to freelance for the UK company at the moment. At the same time, the onset of the recession will provide so many opportunities for me to build my own thing.

Additional Writing: $176.  My new PeoplePerHour writing gig continues. It's a regular writing option for me, which is good.

Stock Dividends: $0.  No dividend payments for me this month, though dividends remain a cornerstone for me.  It's an investment strategy that works. I bought some more exchange-traded funds this month. It's about the long game.

Interest: $28. It ticks along but is never going to move the dial.

Ebooks: $3. Still need to push this more. I've signed up for Feiyr.com and am waiting to get some momentum with my collection (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).

Coaching: $0. No sessions.

Other: $0. 

Total: $207. Nothing major this month. But now's the time to double down before the recession wave kicks in. My job is safe enough for now. But that can change overnight. Now I need to get things moving.