Income Report: May

The long walk to FIRE continues...

Actually, I was into the idea of multiple streams of income a long time before FIRE became a more mainstream concept.

And as my blog comments have indicated over the last few years, it's a slow and steady process. That's code for: "it's tough".

Tough to execute, tough to stay motivated when you're in a full-time job that easily pays the bill. But I'm convinced that I need to remain on this course. We have no control over the bigger picture world of trade wars, recessions, The Man and job cuts. That's why I need to keep pushing. Control the controllable.

But I won't deny it's tough. When you see these guys online sipping pina coladas and hanging out on private yachts, ignore them. There's so much nonsense online. Liars, jokers and scam artists. And the select few that are making it big but distorting it for the rest of us.

Still, it's worth the effort. We should all be working towards some version of the above. That's my view.

I'm encouraged by the fact my site Finance Job Hunter is getting traction. It needs a bit of a tweak on design. I also need to get into the rhythm of writing blog posts. But I see loads of potential out there.

I'm continuing to work on myself and I know I'm getting into a better place mentally.

So how was last month?

Resume Writing: $145. I did a bit of work there. I don't want to be trading too much time for money here but it's good to have the cash.

Additional Writing: $0.  Nah, I haven't looked into anything here. If I do end up writing, it's got to be financially worth it.

Stock Dividends: $1,000.  This is a strategy that continues to work. With the cash from work and from my side hustles, I've continued to buy dividend stocks. There's never a consistent monthly figure. And I'm probably not doing it as effectively as possible. But this is a long-term approach that I like. This is a time-honored investment strategy that works.

Interest: $17. It ticks along but is never going to move the dial.

Ebooks: $2. Quite quiet at the moment, though I did make a sale on Kobo. Amazon isn't working right now so time to try some other platforms for my portfolio (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 over the month. However, two people reached out to me on the coaching platform Noomii to find out about my services. I have a profile there but in order for me to connect with potential clients, it'll cost me $397. I'm not sure whether I can justify it just yet, given that I'm not in a position to work on too many clients. I'll have to have a think about how I want to take this forward.

Other: $0. Nothing doing here.

Total: $1164. It was all about the dividends really. It won't be like that every month but it's great to know that passive income is the main driver. Now time to take everything to the next level... 

Income Report: April

My new obsession is about becoming future proof.

To be fair, a lot of this side hustle thinking has been about that anyway. It's the idea that I can stay on top of my future. That could mean being fully FIRE'd up, where I have enough saved to be able to live the life of sangrias and pink umbrellas on the beach.

It could also mean building enough skills and side hustles to navigate myself through the ever-changing world of work. At the end of the day, it's about me taking charge and not letting external circumstances dictate everything.

A lot of this is about attitude. It's about owning your shit and rolling with it. This isn't an overnight thing but it's something to play with.

The point of mentioning all of this is because my income building enterprise is still taking some time to gain traction. But if it was easy everyone would be doing it. I've also consciously slowed down on trading my time for money. That means some of the services I've been providing have been on pause while I try to build stuff.

Ultimately, though, I realize it needs to have the balance. The service provision side brings in cash flow and I can easily see some traction. Longer term, it's about building online income streams. That's where my site Finance Job Hunter will come in. It's going very slow, I need to do a design revamp and I have to work on the blogging aspect. But directionally it's showing my intent.

I still need to work on myself but I know I'm getting into a better place mentally.

So how was last month?

Resume Writing: $140. I got back to a bit of writing. I feel a bit rusty but I know it's something I can build upon and leverage. Cash is cash is cash.

Additional Writing: $0.  I've had a few offers but I have decided not to proceed. I have revamped my PeoplePerHour and Upwork profiles, raising my minimum fee. So if I do get offered work I may actually now start to take it up.

Stock Dividends: $363.  My goal is to keep building up my dividend income. I've bought a few more dividend stocks of late. While there's no consistent monthly figure, it's a long-term strategy I buy into. I even reinvested the cash back into buying more stock. This is a time-honored investment strategy that works.

Interest: $17. It doesn't look like interest rates will be rising fast anywhere soon so I can't expect this to kick on. But it's there.

Ebooks: $2. Still not kicking in. I've worked on the SEO on a couple of them so we'll see whether that works. I've also listed expanded versions of a couple of them on Fiverr. We'll see what happens. (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 over the month.

Other: $0. Nothing doing here.

Total: $522. It's better than last month. But I can certainly do more. Importantly, passive income made up more than my active income. All I need to do is multiply it all by 10 and I'd be happy...Onwards and upwards.

Income Report: March

Ok, it wasn't a great month. In fact, it was as bad as I've had in terms of income streams.

In a nutshell:

Resume writing: Zero

Other writing: Zero

Coaching: Zero

Dividends: Zero

Other income: Zero

A bit of a pattern, right? I had opportunities. I turned down a bit of resume writing. I also had writing offers through PeoplePerHour. I just wasn't in the mood over the month to trade time for money. The goal is to build up passive income streams, not to be beholden to another kind of employer.

The one thing I did manage to do is get my website up and running. I'm looking forward to taking the long road to monetizing Finance Job Hunter. It builds upon my side hustle experience and my career area.

Exciting times ahead.

But for now, I'm just going to write off March as a month of rest and reset. But I must get back to business in April.

Income Report: February

I just received a bonus. The first from a full-time role in many years.

It was far more than I made in an average month or two or three when I was working for myself. Great, right?

And yet it still left me with some weird mixed feelings.

I am grateful, truly grateful. But it's thrown me a little. I've been dabbling with the world of side hustles and working for myself for while, with the ultimate goal of not wanting to rely on a day job for my freedom.

But having been back in the world of the cubicle for about nine months, I've lost a bit of focus. There's less hunger. Less intensity. I've lost a bit of mojo.

My fundamental philosophy relates to not relying on "the Man", the government, anyone else. That requires being in a position to dictate personal and financial freedom. Working for myself kind of gave me that, limited as the income was.

Getting a regular income is great. I just have to make sure I don't get complacent and forget that I can't rely on a job. Things always change. The world of work will move on with or without me. That's why I know that I need to get back to building my side hustles, particularly as income generation has been pretty average in recent months.

One advance I did have this month was the building of my website (finally). Now I need to build up the blog and monetization strategy. Fundamentally, it's geared around what I've learned through my career coaching / resume writing side hustle, and focused on the finance industry (which is my background). So we'll see how my site Finance Job Hunter gets on. Slowly but surely.

And so to this last month:

Resume Writing: $71. I really didn't make much time for resume writing this month. I couldn't motivate myself, to be honest. The background work, the after-work calls, the re-writes. When I'm ready, I know the work is there. I just need to get psyched up and throw myself back into this.

Additional Writing: $0. I've had a few writing offers in recent months but none of them appealed. Too much time required for the money they were willing to pay. But I still want to have this as an income generator in the future. This isn't going to be about selling my soul to Freelancer or Upwork for less than I'm worth. No, I'm keeping in mind specialist content providers like Copylab that would pay pretty well.

Stock Dividends: $0. Ok, this approach does work. It's just that dividends don't get paid every month. I've bought some more stocks this month and plan to buy more with my bonus. As a result, I'll expect this figure to pick up a fair bit later this year.

Interest: $17. It doesn't look like interest rates will be rising fast anytime soon so I can't expect this to kick on. But it's there.

Ebooks: $0. Not a good month. The first month in a while I haven't sold any. I blame those damn Amazon algorithms. They keep changing.  Anyway, my books have been ticking over for a while now, making me a few dollars in the process, so I can have months like this once in a while. I am looking to add more ebooks to my existing 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 over the month again.

Other: $0. Familiar pattern.

Total: $88. Well, that wasn't a great month was it? My lowest month on memory.

But that's fine. I'm all about the "slow and steady" approach. I'm convinced that once I get all my ducks in a row there will be a meaningful shift.

So, hopefully, I can build a bit of momentum with  Finance Job Hunter. I'll keep working on it and keep experimenting with my other income streams.

Income Report: January

The new year has started slowly for me. I think I'm stuck in some form of winter-driven apathy.

My one big success is that I've finally got around to starting a blog. It's still a work-in-progress so I won't push it here right now. But it's part of my strategy for income generation this year. Now I need to work out how to monetize. And if it becomes clear that it isn't going to work then I'll pivot onto the next idea. Ultimately, I'm going to continue to push on.

This month I've also got quite heavily into my word for the year: "investing". There are the obvious connotations, of course. But I'm really talking about it from the angle of investing in myself. Because at the end of the day, the more you invest in yourself, the more recession-proof you can become.

And at the moment, it's not about uplifting my skills (although that's something I want to do). It's been about working on the internal dynamics. I could have all the strategies, tips, tricks and techniques lined up for my side hustles, but if I don't have the right self-worth, the right focus, the right grasp about what makes me tick, then all I'll do is self-sabotage. And I'm good at that. Very good.

So I've been working with a hypnotherapist to work on my deepest darkest limiting beliefs. I also had a session with a trainee coach who needed a guinea pig. It's not going to be an overnight thing. I've been carrying my baggage for a few years now and I can't expect everything to change after a couple of sessions. But I genuinely feel that this is one of the missing parts in my journey. It's about getting to know myself better and to properly understand my "Why".

We often know exactly what we need to do. But we've all got to  ask ourselves what's holding us back from committing and executing.

Resume Writing: $280. I've finally done a bit of the resume writing again. However, I want to diversify my writing income streams. Still, cash is cash is cash.

Additional Writing: $0.  Having a full-time job can be a bit of a drag when it comes to managing my side hustles. I had the chance to earn $520 on a writing gig. Unfortunately, for that I would have to have been available to do a client call during my work day. That simply wasn't an option. Still, it's nice to know there are options still out there.

Stock Dividends: $0.  My goal is to keep building up my dividend income. The one thing I haven't noted down is the dividend payment schedule. In December I got $576 in dividends. Last month, not a penny. Go figure. It's not that hard to get the information. I simply hadn't thought about it. Either way, I haven't got this cash element to add.

Interest: $17. It doesn't look like interest rates will be rising fast anywhere soon so I can't expect this to kick on. But it's there.

Ebooks: $5. I made a bit on my collection of books. But I must focus on marketing them in 2019. They aren't going to be found on Amazon by themselves. (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 over the month.

Other: $165. I re-added some designs on Amazon Merch but no takers just yet. But my main random "money making" angle during the month was to take my box of loose coins that I have been collecting over the last year to a coin bank and convert them into notes. Strictly speaking, I always had the cash. But the fact that I'm using what I already have is exactly the point of being smart and efficient with your money. I'm going to try to apply this same principle in less obvious contexts to see what other cash I can bring in.

Total: $467. The only way is up! This was my lowest income level for a very long time. But that's fine. I'm investing in myself for the longer term at the moment and I can expect bigger and better numbers as my world evolves

Income Report: December

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.

Income Report: November

I think a lot of people think that the push for financial freedom, "FIRE", or any version of the story, is something that can be achieved overnight. Clearly, that's not the case. It's a tough old grind, where you start in one direction before being shoved in another.

I might not have been focused all the time but I have tried to move in a positive direction. And I'm still a long way from where I want to be. Now that I have a full-time job, I don't have to chase short-term income to help pay the bills. I can build stuff. And that's really my focus now. This includes a new website and a new ebook. It's about playing the long game.

So while it wasn't a great month income-wise, I'm moving in a direction.

So how was November?

Resume Writing: $60. This is the lowest month I've had in a long time. Essentially, I wasn't able to make time for more work, even though there was plenty there. I did one LinkedIn gig and that was about it. I don't

Additional Writing: $116. I did a few of my consistent gig and that's great. I've also woken up to the fact that there's a hell of a lot of work out there that pays pretty well if I go out and look for it. It's not something I'm planning to do now but it's good to know.

Stock Dividends: $1297. This was my biggest earner this month. The long-term strategy remains in place - keep buying dividend yielding stocks and reinvest the dividends when I can. The payouts aren't going to be like this every month but it's nice when it does happen.

Interest: $20. I hadn't thought about adding this into the mix in a low-interest rate world. But now that rates are rising I'm making a few dollars on my cash holdings.

Ebooks: $2. I'm not sure what's happening with the algorithms on Amazon but my books haven't been seeing the traffic this month at all. In fact, had I not sold a book on the last day of the month it would have been my first month without a sale in over a year. My three books (Cryptocurrency Job Hunting for Non-Techies, The Simple Guide to a Winning LinkedIn Profile and Craft a Winning Resume) are there and I'll be spending a bit of money in marketing them in the new year. In the meantime, I aim to finish writing another ebook before the end of year.

Coaching: $128. I did one session this week and so it's good to have that ticking over.

Other: $0. Nothing on the Amazon Merch and Amazon Affiliate Income front.

Total: $1623. A very good month, ultimately because of the dividend income. Without it, I would have made $326, which is a lot less than my normal underlying income. But money is money and it all counts.

December's going to be a low month and I'll be prepping for 2019. I need to think and act bigger.

Income Report: October

It wasn't a great month for me in terms of side income. I was out of town for a whole week for business (i.e. the day job) and wasn't able to push on with all my grand plans.

There is a bit of groundhog day with a lot of this and I know that if I don't get things sorted sooner rather than later the world of business interests might pass me by.

I want it to be a strong end to the year, but I vaguely remember saying that last year. I've reviewed what I do already but I'm really keen to push my passive income world to kick on.

Anyway, how was October?

Resume Writing: $637. I did a bit of work here for my consistent freelance work provider. But I also had a bite from a local customer wanting to know more about my service. If I don't win this job I really need to review my approach and pricing because I'm yet to get any work independently. Maybe it's my pricing, maybe it's fact that I'm looking to provide a streamed down version of my services.

Additional Writing: $0. I've been too distracted to do my usual career writing side gig. I've got a couple of commissions that I intend to do over the coming week, which should give me a bit of money for November.

Stock Dividends: $0. I continue to buy stocks that give me a bit of a dividend payout but I didn't receive any dividend payments over the month

Ebooks: $6. I've had my books listed on Amazon for some time now. My three books (Cryptocurrency Job Hunting for Non-Techies, The Simple Guide to a Winning LinkedIn Profile and Craft a Winning Resume) are all ticking along. I saw a sale on Kobo and have added Barnes and Noble to the mix. It ticks over. That's all I have to say.

Coaching: $0. No coaching this month. I've got a session next week so that will reinvigorate this space.

Other: $0. Nothing on the Amazon Merch and Amazon Affiliate Income front.  Yes, dull, dull, dull

Total: $643. Better than last month but hardly pulling up trees, as I'd like to say. But as long as I start developing some of my long-term aspirations, I'll be happy.