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Published: April 2, 2018

2 Comments Finance Reports

March 2018 Finance Report

Below you’ll find all my finance details for March 2018.

I was in Moscow until March 10th, road-tripped for ten days around Spain, then spent the rest of the month in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

First time seeing one of these finance reports? Click here for a quick intro.

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

March 2018 finance graph

Total Income € 4,851 $ 5,915
Total Expenses € 3,943 $ 4,808
Profit/Loss € 908 $ 1,107

Income

March 2018 income

Consulting / Project Management 1 € 2,723 $ 3,320
3M1K 2 € 1,605 $ 1,957
Authority Hacker Pro affiliate payment 3 € 270 $ 329
Aweber affiliate payment 4 € 201 $ 245
Book sales (via Amazon) 5 € 23 $ 28
Patreon 6 € 16 $ 20
Cheap Flight Checklist 7 € 9 $ 11
Book sales (via ebizfacts.com) 8 € 4 $ 5
Total Income € 4,851
$ 5,915
Last Month € 3,964 $ 4,833

That’s about how much I expected to pull in for the month.

Expenses

March 2018 expenses

Food & Drink

Eating out € 279 $ 340
Groceries € 257 $ 314
9 Total € 536
$ 654
Last Month € 383 $ 467

Housing & Utilities

1 month at shared apartment in Las Palmas 10 € 700 $ 854
5 nights at Copenhagen apartment 11 € 419 $ 511
7 nights at Faroe Islands apartment 12 € 394 $ 480
Total € 1,513 $ 1,845
Last Month € 1,160 $ 1,414

Health Care

Doctor visit in Moscow € 14 $ 17
IMG Global Health Insurance 13 € 0 $ 0
Total € 14 $ 17
Last Month € 0 $ 0

Travel & Transport

Flights: Podgorica (TGD) to London (STN) 14 € 177 $ 216
Flights: Moscow (DME) to Tivat (TIV) 15 € 141 $ 172
Flights: London (STN) to Cork (ORK) 16 € 87 $ 106
Rental car: 3 days in Gran Canaria 17 € 66 $ 80
Parking (Gran Canaria, Toledo, Madrid) 18 € 62 $ 76
Taxis in Sevilla (including to/from airport) € 59 $ 72
Fuel for rental car (twice in Spain) € 50 $ 61
Rental Car: 8 days in Spain 19 € 31 $ 38
Highway tolls in Spain € 17 $ 21
Taxi to airport in Moscow € 12 $ 15
Ubers in Moscow 20 € 6 $ 7
Buses in Gran Canaria € 4 $ 5
Bus in Sevilla € 1 $ 2
Total € 714 $ 870
Last Month € 587 $ 716

Business Expenses

Outsourcing 21 € 289 $ 352
1 month coworking in Las Palmas 22 € 150 $ 183
3M1K Affiliate Payment 23 € 123 $ 150
Elegant Themes 1-year subscription 24 € 56 $ 69
Thunderbolt-HDMI cable 25 € 50 $ 62
TransferWise fees 26 € 35 $ 43
PayPal fees 27 € 30 $ 37
Phone credit € 25 $ 30
SmarterQueue 28 € 19 $ 23
Postage € 10 $ 13
Virtual Post Mail 29 € 8 $ 10
Patreon fees 30 € 2 $ 3
Gumroad fees € 2 $ 2
Amazon Web Services (storage) 31 € 1 $ 2
ActiveCampaign mailing list software 32 € 0 $ 0
Teamwork project management software 33 € 0 $ 0
MemberMouse 34 € 0 $ 0
Dreamhost web hosting 35 € 0 $ 0
Google Drive storage (1TB) 36 € 0 $ 0
Total € 802
$ 978
Last Month € 5,723 $ 6,978

Gifts & Donations

Flowers 37 € 34 $ 41
Monthly Love & Courage podcast donation 38 € 5 $ 6
Phone charger 39 € 4 $ 5
Waking Up podcast donation 40 € 3 $ 4
Total € 46 $ 56
Last Month € 78 $ 95

Books 41

The Fish That Ate The Whale 42 ***** € 8 $ 10
Grinding It Out 43 **** € 7 $ 9
The Take 44 *** € 2 $ 3
Total € 17 $ 21
Last Month € 19 $ 24

Clothing

Adidas running shoes € 65 $ 79
Highland Creek boots € 25 $ 30
Laces € 3 $ 3
Total € 93 $ 113
Last Month € 0 $ 0

Miscellaneous Expenses

Carry-on suitcase 45 € 86 $ 105
Toledo zip line (including photo/video) 46 € 33 $ 40
Toiletries € 23 $ 28
Netflix subscription € 11 $ 13
Banking fees (Irish bank) € 12 $ 14
Entry to Sevilla Cathedral € 9 $ 11
Monthly banking fees (Hong Kong bank) 47 € 7 $ 9
Entry to castle tower in Segovia (x2) € 5 $ 6
Amazon Movie Rental: Blade Runner 2049 48 *** € 5 $ 6
Entry to Iglesia de Santo Tome in Toledo € 4 $ 4
Umbrella € 4 $ 4
Azimo transfer fee 49 € 3 $ 4
Kitchen cleaning supplies € 3 $ 4
Amazon Movie Rental: Dumb and Dumber 50 **** € 2 $ 3
Monthly banking fee (Dutch bank) € 1 $ 2
Total € 208 $ 254
Last Month € 398 $ 486

Expense Summary

Housing & Utilities € 1,513 $ 1,845
Business Expenses € 802 $ 978
Travel & Transport € 714 $ 870
Food & Drink € 536 $ 654
Miscellaneous Expenses € 208 $ 254
Clothing € 93 $ 114
Gifts & Donations € 46 $ 56
Books € 17 $ 21
Health Care € 14 $ 17
Total Expenses € 3,943 $ 4,808
Last Month € 8,348 $ 10,179

I was aiming to keep everything down around $3000 for the month. Failed miserably at that. Spent more than anticipated booking flights and accommodation for upcoming travel.

Biggest Regret?

With the travel expenses mounting, I’m starting to regret planning so many trips this year. The few days in Copenhagen and week in the Faroe Islands are proving especially expensive, and we probably shouldn’t have planned that one. Although when we’re actually there I’ll likely be loving it and feel it was money well spent.

Only other thing from March was the replacement Thunderbolt-HDMI cable that set me back €50. Could have saved that expense if I’d been more careful and hadn’t left my original one in Bulgaria. D’oh!

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
Total € 1,010 $ 1,169

Where That Leaves Me

I had €11,040 / $13,462 to my name at the end of February.

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 €11,511 / $14,185. 51

Outlook For April

I’ve got about $2,500 in income lined up already from consulting work and 3M1K payment plans. Not sure beyond that, but there are some opportunities I’m looking at that could earn me a lot more.

Expenses are tough to predict. Right now I’m thinking $3,000 but depending on circumstances I may invest a good bit in some personal projects. $4,000 should be the maximum though.

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.

About The Author
Niall Doherty – Founder and Lead Editor of eBiz Facts Born and raised in Ireland, Niall has been making a living from his laptop since quitting his office job in 2010. He's fond of basketball, once spent 44 months traveling around the world without flying, and has been featured in such publications as The Irish Times and Huffington Post. Read more...

2 thoughts on “March 2018 Finance Report”

  1. Hey Niall, thanks for sharing your always interesting monthly financial stats again.

    I’m wondering (and can’t be the only one) what your long term goals are. Seems that you’re gradually saving around a grand a month which is pretty good even by Regular employment standards, only you’re doing it while living an abundant and free life, working for yourself, doing interesting work etc.

    Aside from the travel and the freedom, this could be achievable in regular employment, I mean with some extra skills you could earn handsomely and even love your job. And eventually most of us stop traveling and settle down in our later years. Even those who move abroad somewhere, 90%+ is my rough estimate eventually return home.

    Are you still finding yourself? Do you have plans to double or triple your income by focusing fully on something else rather than your web design work? I remember you looked into SaaS and that particular course you did is controversial, there are a whole load other resources out there now for Saas (indiehackers is great but there’s plenty more). Do you even want to ‘get rich’ or you’re happy with the status quo for the rest of your life? Bearing in mind if you eventually settle your earnings will probably be hit more by taxes.

    My situation is different, I did affiliate marketing but it was never a real ‘business’. I have a career now and have been trying to save seed money but highly stressed and taking a toll on my health, including cross-over into my personal life i.e. heavy drinking. but am at a cross-roads. I am simultaneously planning to create a real business this time, probably SaaS but with the same skill set I can do a medium term (before end of year) correction to my career, I may actually end up loving my career or at th least I will have a backup plan. I’ll be reinvigorated as I will focus strongly on learning next three months, both technical skills and languages, as well as eat better, quit drinking and exercise regularly. That is my plan and despite the naysayers I intend to follow through on it. Just wondering if you plan a reboot yourself, have been thinking about one or have some long term plan or are happy as is.

    Reply
  2. Before reading your email, I thought I have been doing well with my reading. I’ve finished 6 so far and I only set 10 as a goal this year. 17! We only finished the first quarter of the year! Haha.

    Reply

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