When I sit down to do my monthly recap I’m always amazed at how fast the month went. I’m not singing that tune this month though.
Good riddance, February!
February Happenings
Right at the beginning of February I lost my babysitter. She very unexpectedly had to move out of state when her mom’s health started deteriorating.
Telling her goodbye was such a sad thing.
She’s watched both of my girls since they’ve been two months old. I’m closer with her than I am with the majority of my own family. She called me on a Sunday to tell me she’d be leaving in two days. Ava and I went to tell her goodbye on a Monday and it was so hard to do.
Since I’ve considerably upped the number of hours I work over the past few months, and since I have commitments to the people I work for, I knew trying to work with Ava home all day long was going to be a real challenge – and it was.
I had so much work come in the second week of February I actually started to feel a sense of overwhelm – something I haven’t felt in a while. Luckily, one of my online BFFs helped me with some of the stuff that had to be done on this site and Megan started writing on Wednesdays.
I actually got help in February and I am so glad that I did! This might be something I need to do more of going forward.
Then to top it off we got insane amounts of snow! I don’t know how many days school was cancelled but I can tell you that it was cancelled the entire third week of February. And then last Thursday and Friday Kailyn was running a fever and had to stay home from school.
So instead of trying to work with one kid I had to work with two kids for about half the month.
Despite all of this I still was able to pull in my best income month yet. I also finished my eBook, had it edited, and am now working on the final touches!
This book should be ready to go on the 16th (that’s the plan right now.) If you want to get started freelance blogging I am one hundred percent confident that this book will get you there! It’s everything I know and have learned over the past 2+ years of freelancing – how to pick your niche, find jobs, price your services, and a whole lot more!
I get asked how to get started freelance blogging often so I’m really glad I got everything I know out into an eBook.
February Income
February was my best income month yet. However, it was also my biggest expense month. That’s okay though because I’m getting closer to where I want to be!
As a reminder this is for payments that I actually received in the month of February.
February income totaled – $4,660.28
The income broke down like this:
- Freelance Jobs – $2,703.40
- Blogging – $1,956.88
To break down the blogging income even further it came from the following sources:
- Adsense – $784
- Media.net – $549
- Sponsored Posts – $528 (A good portion of this was from posts done in December)
- Affiliate Income – $95.88
Woohoo. I am so glad to see income up for this blog. The funny thing is that I was totally strapped for time in February and spent very little time on this blog. It’s kind of nice that the income stayed up. (And the ad network income will be about the same for March too!)
P.S. If you’re interested in starting a blog too, check out How to Start a Blog for Only $12 per Year. This post walks you through setting up your own WordPress blog through GoDaddy, my favorite hosting company.
Because I did neglect this blog a bit my pageviews actually declined….a lot. In January I had a total of 170,000 pageviews. In February it dropped down to 138,000 but is picking back up again.
I seriously owe the increase in pageviews from 36,000 in September to 170,000 in January to diligently implementing everything I learned in Elite Blog Academy.
But like I said expenses were higher this month too.
- $73 – Monthly recurring costs (Long Tail Pro, Aweber, Akismet, Hootsuite, Viral Woot)
- $400 – editing my eBook, writing, help with this blog
Total expenses $473
Net Income Before Taxes – $4,187.28
I also put back $1,100 for taxes so my ACTUAL take home income was $3,087.28
So I did end up pulling the budget target of at least $3,000 after taxes. That feels pretty good!
As is, right now March is looking like it will be on the lower end of the $4,000 range (as long as all payments come in) but since it’s the beginning of the month I still have plenty of time to try and up that number a bit. I do plan on investing a little money into writing/helping with this site in March but since I don’t have to pay for editing of my eBook again the expenses should be lower.
(I’m also thinking of cancelling a couple of the subscriptions I use. I like all these tools but I’m not sure that I use them enough to justify the costs.)
I also put a little more than $1,600 of this income into savings. This month, since I’m now working with a dual income, I want that savings number to significantly go up.
I have plenty of online business plans for the future but as of right now I’m still adjusting to working with Ava at home. I’ll have to do an update of all those goals when I can figure out how to make the time to actually implement them!
How was your February?
Wow, impressive month, considering the challenges you had! That’s too bad about your babysitter- it’s always hard to say goodbye to someone close.
Yes it was so hard. She was just about the only person I trusted my kids with!
Whew Hoo! You broke 4k !! That is so cool !!!!!!!
~ Christie
Yes. Wooohoo. More than two years in the making – I finally did it!
So impressed with your progress. I can’t wait to read your ebook. Feb wasn’t as great for. I am working on my novel, fiction, so there is no money until it is finished and published but I am confident that will happen. Sometimes it is hard to appreciate the work when you are the only one who sees it. That’s why I keep coming back to your site. I live vicariously through your successes and hope to match them someday with my own. Keep up the inspiring work.
Thank you so much Trina! And I’d love to read your book when you are finished! I’ve thought about writing a fiction book before but I never make it past a couple hundred words.
I am so proud of you!! Keep up the good work.
Thank you 🙂
My kids will be going to school Spring break sadly. Congratulations on a great month, Alexa. Sad to hear about your babysitter. I so dislike saying goodbye. On a happy note, I can’t wait to read your e-book!!
Thanks!
School was cancelled again this week – earl dismissal on Wednesday, no school Thursday and no school Friday! We got another 12 inches of snow Wednesday so I’m thinking Kailyn might have to make up school on spring break as well.
Congratulations, Alexa! I’ve been a reader since almost the beginning and it’s so wonderful to watch as you grow and develop your online business!
Can you tell me how much the elite blog academy cost?
Thanks so much Carrie. I appreciate you being here from the beginning 🙂
I think I paid $250 for Elite Blog Academy but it’s $300 for the next enrollment (unless the price was raised again) I’ve made all of my money back on it and did it pretty quickly. However, I had a couple years worth of content to start out with. If you’re just starting blogging I’d recommend that you set up a blog and get used to it for six months or so before paying for a course. That way you can figure out if it’s something you’re going to like 🙂
I absolutely love your blog.I have just started a blog myself and am looking for the best ways to monetize and make it successful. I have been working from home as independent contractor cutomer service rep, but I am ttrying to get away from that and into freelance writing. I have found your blog very helpful on my blog and ideas of to do. I am looking forward to reading your other posts in t freelance writing as well as other topics. Thanks for all of your insight.
Thanks so much, April. And best of luck to you!!
Great job with the February income! That’s a very impressive amount.
Thanks!
Great job Alexa…glad to hear you’re having so much success!
Congrats on your February income. Sounds like you had a challenging month, but you managed to get through it. 🙂 Sorry about your babysitter, that can be so tough to say goodbye. Thanks to technology, though, you’ll be able to stay in touch right? It won’t be the same, I know.
Can’t wait to read your eBook! I have several people that I will suggest it to as well.
So encouraging that throughout all of these trials (losing your sitter, snow, etc.) that you were still able to be focused on the end goal. When I read everything you accomplished this month I actually said “Dang!” out loud! Get after it, Alexa!
I can’t tell you how happy I am to also see your comment “since I’m now working with a dual income”. YES. Congratulations again!