Is it really June already?! The month went by way too quick again.
I want to thank everyone who commented on my last income report where I questioned whether or not to do these anymore. You guys seriously made me feel SO much better. I think I tend to think/worry a bit too much 🙂
May Online Income (Highest Yet!)
My May online income was the highest it’s been yet. And while I have some other stuff in the works to get it back to this level I can tell you right now that my June income will probably go back down to the $5 – $5.5k mark.
For May I earned a total of $6,708.41
(Just as a reminder this is the amount that I actually received. That means I may have technically earned portions of this income anywhere from 30-90 days ago and am just now getting paid for it. I always report the income I actually receive for the month.)
It broke down to
- Freelance Income (Writing/VA work) $2,663.45
- Blogging $4,044.96
For those interested the blogging income broke down like this:
- Ad Networks: $1,702.30
- Affiliate Commissions: $1,422.66
- Sponsorships: $920
My expenses for the month were a bit higher too since I decided to outsource a few things I don’t have time to do. Expenses for May came to $436. This made my net income $6,272.41.
I also think it’s helpful to take a look at actual take home pay after taxes as those taxes reduce the amount quite a bit!
I also recently added a how to start a blog page that will walk you through setting up a blog with GoDaddy for only $12 for your first year. I’ve tried several different hosts throughout the years and GoDaddy is who I use and trust.
Blogging Income Growing
It’s fun to see my blogging income growing despite the fact that around ninety percent of my work from home time is spent doing stuff for other people. This makes me wonder if I’d be able to make more money blogging for myself if I invested more time there.
The problem though is that it takes a lot of time to grow blogging income. For instance, the reason I do well with ad networks is because the majority of my traffic comes from Google. However, those posts that do well in Google aren’t the posts that are popular with regular readers plus they take a ton of time and effort to write and take several months before they start doing really well.
Right now my summer babysitting schedule is pretty loose. Especially considering the babysitter now lives 30 minutes away from me (will be even farther once we move) so I have to spend two hours a day in the car to drive my girls back and forth from the babysitter. Not so fun.
These are all things I’ll have to weigh in the future. I’m not making any quick and sudden changes at the moment.
What’s Going on with the House?
So, I got the house all ready for sale last week and then my realtor’s (who is a long-time family friend) father passed away. I didn’t want to bother him last week. I thought about having him come out and list it now but since our move date is supposed to be June 10th. I’m thinking of waiting until we’re completely out of the house to list it.
This would make it so much easier seeing as I wouldn’t constantly be cleaning up after two kids before showings.
Either way I’ll still show you all the pictures and the cost break down soon. What do you think – is it better to list a house with furniture in it or bare? I don’t know that it’s going to make much of a difference in my neighborhood.
How was your May?
Seeing this income report makes me happy! This is great news about your income. I love how your income grow seems to be growing and you don’t spend as much time as you do your other work. I would love some Google traffic myself. Any pointers shoot me an email. Again, glad that last month our support helped you Alexa.
I will email you!
Congratulations on the income!!! Woo hoo!!
When we moved last year, our little ones were 2 and almost 1. We had to sell our house before moving, but I would NOT recommend that!! It was really stressful for me keeping the house clean, keeping up with dinners and then having to load up the girls (and the dogs) on short notice to get out of the house. It affected their nap schedules, their bedtime routines, etc. If you can afford to move and THEN list your house, I would absolutely do it! I personally don’t think having furniture makes a difference, but I’m no interior designer lol!
Good luck!!
Yeah that’s the problem here. My kids are five and six and even though I’ve boxed up 90 percent off their toys I still feel like I’m constantly picking up. It is so hard to keep a house spotless with kids! And leaving for showings would also be pretty inconvenient. I think we’re so close to moving that it might just be better to wait and list it.
Great job! I love seeing your income reports every month, reminds me that it is possible. 🙂 The babysitter thing will be tough, I wish you best of luck on that and that I hope you find a solution to that issue soon.
Thank you! I’m trying to work ahead on the writing portion of everything so that I can do the things that take less focus while they’re home. It seems to be working for today 🙂
My realtors like to have the house vacant and clean … then they go in and lightly stage it. Put a bed in the biggest bedroom so people can figure out that their own bed will fit. A table and chairs in the dining / kitchen …. the problem is that most folks don’t have good skills at measuring empty space. They want to know if their stuff will fit. Sometimes they use air mattresses on a bed frame and then put a new comforter on it.
Yes at this point I’m thinking vacant may be the solution but that’s what I worry about – about the rooms looking to small without furniture. We’ll see how it goes!
Congrats, this is awesome! It has definitely come through a hard work and I must say you have done excellent job 🙂 Sometimes we do have to outsource some services, however, it allows us to focus on things that matter the most. Thanks so much for sharing your income report with us 🙂
Your welcome! Outsourcing a few things has definitely made me feel better. I don’t have to feel guilty now about not doing the things that need to be done 🙂
Over $6K this month??? You’re on fire! That’s awesome!
Thank you!
Whoa! It’s been a while since I stopped by, but I’m pretty sure last time I checked in you were just hoping for more than 3k. You are killing it! You need to tell me your secrets haha. I’ve done such a terrible job at trying to monetize my site (as in not tried at all).
I really like that you broke down your blogging income. I see so many successful bloggers who earn a ton of money as VA’s, etc. so it’s great to see how your actual blog makes money! Thanks for sharing, it’s so incredibly helpful.
Congratulations on your highest income yet! I laughed when you said it might go down to 5k in June. That’s still rockin’ it!
Nice earnings Alexa – well done.
I’m putting together an income report roundup and would love to feature your blog on it if I may?
Let me know what you think.
Raj
Wow! You really inspire me with your updates. $6k is fantastic! Congratulations! I know ou have worked hard to earn it. Im going to check out your how to start a blog page, maybe you can help me get on track. Good luck selling your house. I think you should lightly stage it. I ready a study where houses sold for more that had furniture in them vs those that were empty.