How I earn and spend my money – May 2011 finance report
*** Explanatory bit for new readers / skip this if you know the dealio ***
I quit my 9-to-5 job back in November and I’m currently transitioning into sustainable self-employment. The plan is to earn the majority of my income online so I can travel indefinitely and work from anywhere with an internet connection, like a geeky Jason Bourne.
One of my main goals with this blog is to lay down a blueprint so others can learn from my journey and achieve their own freedom.
The biggest problem with leaving 9-to-5 is giving up the steady paycheck that comes with it. You’ll often have to endure a few lean months before you begin to see real money trickle in from your entrepreneurial ventures. That’s where I’m at right now, and I’d like to reveal exactly what that’s like and how I’m making it work. You can see just how much my lifestyle costs and how I afford it.
Four quick notes to help you understand how I track everything:
- I round my expenses up and my earnings down. The idea here is that I’ll be left with a few extra Euros at the end of each month and I can go buy myself a nice frock or something.
- Earnings don’t count until the money is in my bank account or the cash is in my hand.
- I record what I spend and earn each day in a spreadsheet on Google Docs, or just on paper if I don’t have Internet access. I try to track absolutely everything.
- I’m intentionally going over the top by accounting for 20% tax on all my income. It will never be quite that high since I’ll have a certain amount of tax free allowance and I can write off a lot of items as business expenses, but I like to put aside that little bit extra just to be safe.
*** End of explanatory bit ***
A slight change to the format this month: I’m now making my finance reports available exclusively to email subscribers. Same deal with my monthly traffic reports. To get access, enter your email address in the box below (click here if you don’t see it).
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Let me know via the comments if you have any questions.
Well thought Niall – good way to get email subscribers without being too pushy. Just signed up now
Thanks, Emmett. I should give credit where it’s due though: The idea came from Think Traffic.
Hi Niall. I love that you’re sharing how you earn and spend your money. Funny thing is, I was thinking about that yesterday as I was thinking about meeting you at WDS! Was hoping to have more time to talk in Portland but never connected up for any length of time after our walk.
Also love the creative way to get email subscriptions!
Thanks, Peggy. Would have liked to have more time to talk at WDS, too. That conference could have lasted a month and we probably still wouldn’t have had enough time to converse properly with all the cool people there!
You might want to rethink about your new back-links strategy. Google employ the best engineers around the world just for these type of strategies. It might provide a short term benefit but in the long run it can backfire. Cheers! Tal
Thanks, Tal. I appreciate that. I’m viewing my affiliate marketing efforts as nothing more than a big experiment right now. I’ve discovered that many of the link-building tactics I’ve tried don’t sit well with me, and I won’t be continuing with them long-term. Throwing lots against the wall, seeing what sticks
To be honest mate I’m a bit disappointed. I don’t want to sign up for emails but I do enjoy seeing how your getting on with your finances as you go about your travels. I especially wanted to see how your donations are going as I sent you a few euros recently. Still, you’ve got to do what it takes to build your mailing list. I hope your finances are on the up
Thanks, Ste. I figured not everyone would be thrilled about having to sign up, but yeah, I gotta try build up that list, see how it works out.
Thanks again for the donation. I really appreciate it!
Great article, I am trying to do something similar, I have not left my day job yet, hope to have my site up and running first before I give wrok away, Thanky you for some great tips.