Bienvenidos to all you legendary email subscribers. This is my February finance report, as prepared from my new digs in Cusco, Peru. I’ll be here for a few weeks, catching up on the work stuff.
As usual, I’ll share with you all the details of my finances below, along with a few notes that I think you’ll find interesting. Keep in mind that I spent the first half of the month split between Korea and Japan, and the second half on a cargo ship across the Pacific. Diving in…
February Expenses
Food and Drink
| Eating out | € 87 | $ 120 |
| Groceries | € 70 | $ 97 |
| Total | € 157 |
$ 217 |
Way down from the €321/$433 I spent in January, but that’s mostly because I had all my meals on the cargo ship paid for since November.
Housing and Utilities
| Jam Hostel, Kyoto (6 nights) | € 66 | $ 91 |
| Khaosan Hostel, Kyoto (3 nights) | € 36 | $ 50 |
| Capsule Inn Miyako, Yokohama (1.5 days) | € 19 | $ 26 |
| Total | € 121 | $ 167 |
Up from zeroes last month, but still pretty low. I had my accommodation on the ship already paid for.
Travel
| Busan-Osaka ferry | € 127 | $ 175 |
| Kyoto-Yokohama bus | € 28 | $ 39 |
| Kyoto metro | € 7 | $ 9 |
| Kyoto bus | € 5 | $ 7 |
| Osaka metro | € 4 | $ 5 |
| Osaka-Kyoto train | € 3 | $ 4 |
| Yokohama metro | € 2 | $ 3 |
| Total | € 175 | $ 242 |
Way down from the €520/$701 I spent on travel in January.
Business Expenses
| The Foundation | € 434 | $ 599 |
| AWeber email marketing | € 36 | $ 50 |
| Amazon Web Services (ebizfacts.com CDN) | € 4 | $ 5 |
| Total | € 474 | $ 654 |
Down a bit from €882/$1,189 last month. Notes…
The Foundation
This is an online course teaching people how to build a software business. The $599 payment is one of six, due monthly. I didn’t take advantage of the training materials in February as I was offline aboard the ship, but I’m still happy with the investment and planning to devote a mucho tiempo to this again soon.
Gifts and Donations
| Donation to The Human, Earth Project | € 72 | $ 100 |
| Total | € 72 |
$ 100 |
Way up from almost nothing last month, and close to the goal of donating 15% of my income each month.
Books
| Total | € 0 | $ 0 |
Down from €39/$53 in January. No need for me to buying books right now with a bunch of good stuff unread on my Kindle.
Miscellaneous Expenses
| Toiletries | € 26 | $ 36 |
| Skype credit | € 18 | $ 25 |
| Kyoto club entry | € 6 | $ 8 |
| Kyoto monkey park entry | € 4 | $ 6 |
| Bowling in Gimhae | € 3 | $ 4 |
| Laundry | € 2 | $ 3 |
| Postcard and stamp | € 1 | $ 2 |
| Total | € 61 | $ 84 |
Up from the €45/$61 I spent on miscellaneous in January. Toiletries were more expensive than usual as I stocked up on a few items before jumping on the cargo ship to get rid of my few remaining yen.
Expense Summary
| Food and Drink | € 157 | $ 217 |
| Housing and Utilities | € 121 | $ 167 |
| Travel | € 175 | $ 242 |
| Business Expenses | € 474 | $ 654 |
| Gifts and Donations | € 72 | $ 100 |
| Books | € 0 | $ 0 |
| Miscellaneous expenses | € 61 | $ 84 |
| Total Expenses | € 1,061 | $ 1,464 |
Way down from January’s expense total of €1,809/$2,440.
February Income
Away from the minuses and on to the pluses…
| Freelance web design | € 250 | $ 345 |
| Coaching | € 125 | $ 173 |
| Reader donations (muchas gracias!) | € 109 | $ 150 |
| Amazon affiliate payment | € 14 | $ 20 |
| Amazon book royalties | € 12 | $ 17 |
| Total Income | € 511 | $ 705 |
Way down from January’s income total of €918/$1,238, but actually better than I expected given that I was offline for half the month and living in hostels most of the remainder.
Notes…
Coaching
I’m not actively seeking coaching clients, but open to taking on one or two people if it’s a good fit. I can help people with freelancing online (particularly web design) and with building better habits. If you’re interested in working with me, shoot me a quick message here.
Where that leaves me
I had €3,201/$4,317 to my name at the end of January. After applying the most recent exchange rates (I have accounts in EUR, HKD and USD), those totals had shifted slightly to €3,132/$4,323. Taking into account all my February income and expenditure, my total bank and cash balances now work out to €2,567/$3,543.
Here’s how I’m doing so far this year:
- €891/$1,202 in January
- €550/$759 in February
- €1,441/$1,961 overall
Outlook for March
I’m writing this at the end of March, so I already know for the most part how the month has shaken out. I’ll just tell you here that I spent the first fortnight still aboard the cargo ship and then splashed a little cash on a room in Cusco for three weeks and a quick trip to Machu Picchu.
Feedback welcome
Thoughts? Questions? Speak up in the comments below.
