Below you’ll find all my finance details for April 2018.
I was in Gran Canaria until April 19th, then Moscow for the rest of the month.
I’ve been tracking everything I earn and spend since January 2011, just a few weeks after quitting my day job. Every month since, I’ve published one of these finance reports.
Sharing this info publicly keeps me accountable and hopefully gives you some insight into how I earn a living online.
Patrons get to see each new report before anyone else.
Summary
| Total Income | € 7,456 | $ 8,999 |
| Total Expenses | € 3,862 | $ 4,662 |
| Profit/Loss | € 3,594 | $ 4,337 |
Income
| Consulting / Project Management 1 | € 6,733 | $ 8,126 |
| 3M1K 2 | € 694 | $ 838 |
| Patreon 3 | € 17 | $ 20 |
| Book sales (via Amazon) 4 | € 12 | $ 15 |
| Total Income | € 7,456 |
$ 8,999 |
| Last Month | € 4,851 | $ 5,915 |
Expenses
Food & Drink
| Groceries | € 293 | $ 354 |
| Eating out | € 181 | $ 218 |
| Total | € 474 |
$ 572 |
| Last Month | € 536 | $ 654 |
Housing & Utilities
| 17 nights at Moscow apartment 5 | € 564 | $ 681 |
| Deposit for Amsterdam apartment 6 | € 500 | $ 603 |
| Deposit for Montenegro apartment 7 | € 150 | $ 181 |
| Total | € 1,214 | $ 1,465 |
| Last Month | € 1,513 | $ 1,845 |
Health Care
| Medical tests |
€ 58 | $ 70 |
| Doctor visit in Moscow | € 17 | $ 21 |
| IMG Global Health Insurance 8 | € 0 | $ 0 |
| Total | € 75 | $ 91 |
| Last Month | € 14 | $ 17 |
Travel & Transport
| Train: Edinburgh to London (x2) 9 | € 95 | $ 115 |
| Rental car: 3 days in Gran Canaria 10 | € 57 | $ 69 |
| Fuel for rental car in Gran Canaria | € 46 | $ 56 |
| Taxi to airport in Moscow | € 33 | $ 40 |
| Train: London to York (x2) 11 | € 30 | $ 36 |
| Taxi to airport in Gran Canaria | € 25 | $ 30 |
| Ubers in Moscow 12 | € 8 | $ 9 |
| Parking in Gran Canaria | € 4 | $ 4 |
| Moscow metro | € 3 | $ 4 |
| Total | € 300 | $ 362 |
| Last Month | € 714 | $ 870 |
Business Expenses
| Accountant 13 | € 709 | $ 855 |
| Outsourcing 14 | € 289 | $ 349 |
| ActiveCampaign mailing list software upgrade 15 | € 152 | $ 184 |
| Dreamhost web hosting 16 | € 127 | $ 153 |
| Audioblocks subscription17 | € 82 | $ 99 |
| Phone credit | € 23 | $ 28 |
| TransferWise fees 18 | € 22 | $ 27 |
| SmarterQueue 19 | € 19 | $ 23 |
| PayPal fees 20 | € 13 | $ 16 |
| Dreamhost domain registration | € 12 | $ 14 |
| Postage | € 8 | $ 10 |
| Virtual Post Mail 21 | € 8 | $ 10 |
| Patreon fees 22 | € 3 | $ 3 |
| Amazon Web Services (storage) 23 | € 1 | $ 1 |
| Elegant Themes 24 | € 0 | $ 0 |
| Teamwork project management software 25 | € 0 | $ 0 |
| MemberMouse 26 | € 0 | $ 0 |
| Google Drive storage (1TB) 27 | € 0 | $ 0 |
| Total | € 1,467 |
$ 1,771 |
| Last Month | € 802 | $ 978 |
Gifts & Donations
| Flowers | € 30 | $ 36 |
| Phone charger | € 13 | $ 16 |
| Monthly Love & Courage podcast donation 28 | € 5 | $ 6 |
| Waking Up podcast donation 29 | € 3 | $ 4 |
| Total | € 51 | $ 62 |
| Last Month | € 46 | $ 56 |
Books 30
| Start Something That Matters *** | € 12 | $ 15 |
| A History Of The World In 100 Objects 31 ***** | € 7 | $ 9 |
| Total | € 20 | $ 24 |
| Last Month | € 17 | $ 21 |
Clothing
| Levi jeans | € 110 | $ 133 |
| Sunglasses | € 23 | $ 28 |
| Black t-shirt | € 5 | $ 6 |
| Sports socks (3 pairs) | € 5 | $ 6 |
| Total | € 143 | $ 173 |
| Last Month | € 93 | $ 113 |
Miscellaneous Expenses
| Banking fees (Irish bank) | € 45 | $ 54 |
| Toiletries | € 26 | $ 31 |
| Sunscreen | € 12 | $ 14 |
| Netflix subscription | € 11 | $ 13 |
| Monthly banking fees (Hong Kong bank) 32 | € 7 | $ 9 |
| Mosquito repellent | € 6 | $ 7 |
| Beach lounger rental | € 5 | $ 6 |
| Amazon Movie Rental: Belle and Sebastian *** | € 3 | $ 4 |
| Monthly banking fee (Dutch bank) | € 1 | $ 2 |
| Kitchen cleaning supplies | € 1 | $ 1 |
| Total | € 118 | $ 142 |
| Last Month | € 208 | $ 254 |
Expense Summary
| Business Expenses | € 1,467 | $ 1,771 |
| Housing & Utilities | € 1,214 | $ 1,465 |
| Food & Drink | € 474 | $ 572 |
| Travel & Transport | € 300 | $ 362 |
| Clothing | € 143 | $ 173 |
| Miscellaneous Expenses | € 118 | $ 142 |
| Health Care | € 75 | $ 91 |
| Gifts & Donations | € 51 | $ 62 |
| Books | € 20 | $ 24 |
| Total Expenses | € 3,862 | $ 4,662 |
| Last Month | € 3,943 | $ 4,808 |
I was aiming to keep everything down around $4000 for the month. Didn’t quite make it.
Biggest Regret?
That Audioblocks subscription wasn’t a good idea. I already have a subscription to Epidemic Sound for the same purpose.
Also, I had to pay that accountant in Ireland to shut down a business that I never should have opened in the first place. My business setup in the US is way better and cheaper, and I wish I’d gone that route from the start.
But hey, I did manage to earn $4000 more than I spent last month, so can’t dwell on the regrets too much.
2018 So Far
Here’s how I’m doing this year in terms of profit and loss:
| January | € 2,466 | $ 3,070 |
| February | € 4,384 | $ 5,346 |
| March | € 908 | $ 1,107 |
| April | € 3,594 | $ 4,337 |
| Total | € 2,584 | $ 3,168 |
Where That Leaves Me
I had €11,511 / $14,185 to my name at the end of March.
Taking into account all my March income and expenditure, and the most recent exchange rates – I have accounts in EUR, HKD and USD – my total bank and cash balances now work out to €15,533 / $18,747. 33
Outlook For May
I should earn about the same amount from consulting work again, so around the $8,000 mark there. If I get my course relaunched by the end of the month I could also see some income from that.
As for expenses, I have a $5,000 payment due to my coach, and will probably need to pay for some upcoming travel adventures as well. I’ll aim to keep everything below $8000 so I can finish another month in the green.
How I Track All This
Curious as to how I track everything I earn and spend? Check this video…
Feedback Welcome
Thoughts? Questions? Speak up in the comments below.
Archived Finance Reports
I’ve been posting these monthly finance reports since January, 2011. You can view all my old reports via this page.
By that I mean you have likely raised your rates and are more selective about the type of client you work with now.
Could the consulting income upsurge be connected to the large investment in coaching? I think it might 🙂
Yup, the coaching has certainly helped 🙂
I’m seeing a ‘9 things investing in coaching gave me’ blog post in your future 😀
Out of curiosity, why are you employing an accountant at this stage? Seems like it is taking a disproportionate amount on income on the expense side.
Hired him to manage the shut-down of my business in Ireland. It’s a bit of a process. That expense includes putting an ad in the newspaper and all other fees associated with the shut-down. All done now so I won’t be paying an accountant in Ireland anymore.