Here be all my finances for October. I started the month living in Berlin, spent a long weekend in Amsterdam, and moved to Tenerife on the 25th.
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 | € 1,802 |
$ 1,979 |
Total Expenses | € 3,201 |
$ 3,515 |
Profit/Loss | € 1,399 |
$ 1,536 |
Income
3M1K 1 | € 1,194 | $ 1,311 |
Freelance web development 2 | € 409 | $ 449 |
Bicycle 3 | € 100 | $ 110 |
Coaching 4 | € 45 | $ 50 |
Affiliate payment: Kinowear Bible 5 | € 24 | $ 27 |
Book sales (via Amazon) | € 17 | $ 19 |
Book sales (via ebizfacts.com) | € 13 | $ 14 |
Total Income | € 1,802 |
$ 1,979 |
Last Month | € 3,788 | $ 4,258 |
I was expecting a dip in income, so not a huge surprise here. The goal was to reach €2k. Didn’t quite make it.
Expenses
Food & Drink
Eating out | € 300 | $ 329 |
Groceries | € 157 | $ 172 |
6 Total |
€ 457 |
$ 502 |
Last Month | € 334 | $ 375 |
Housing & Utilities
3.5 weeks at Berlin apartment 7 | € 500 | $ 549 |
15 nights at shared apartment in Tenerife 8 | € 290 | $ 318 |
1 night at New West Inn, Amsterdam | € 59 | $ 65 |
Deposit for shared apartment in Tenerife | € 50 | $ 55 |
Total | € 899 |
$ 987 |
Last Month | € 651 | $ 732 |
Health Care
International health insurance (monthly payment) | € 101 | $ 111 |
Total | € 101 |
$ 111 |
Last Month | € 101 | $ 113 |
Travel & Transport
Myanmar tour deposit 9 | € 706 | $ 775 |
Flight change: Berlin to Tenerife 10 | € 126 | $ 138 |
Ov-chipkaart / Amsterdam public transport | € 15 | $ 16 |
Bust: Tenerife South Airport to Puerto de la Cruz | € 14 | $ 15 |
Berlin metro | € 12 | $ 13 |
Taxi in Berlin | € 10 | $ 11 |
Total | € 883 |
$ 970 |
Last Month | € 103 | $ 116 |
Business Expenses
Postage 11 | € 219 | $ 240 |
2 weeks at Coworking in the Sun in Tenerife12 | € 139 | $ 153 |
Outsourcing 13 | € 119 | $ 131 |
VAT payment 14 | € 84 | $ 92 |
PayPal fees | € 56 | $ 61 |
ActiveCampaign mailing list software | € 41 | $ 45 |
Teamwork project management software 15 | € 22 | $ 24 |
MemberMouse 16 | € 18 | $ 20 |
Stripe fees (for 3M1K payments) | € 14 | $ 15 |
Divi Responsive Page Builder 17 | € 10 | $ 11 |
Virtual Post Mail 18 | € 9 | $ 10 |
Vodafone SIM 19 | € 9 | $ 10 |
Phone credit (Berlin) | € 5 | $ 5 |
Gumroad fees | € 2 | $ 2 |
Google Drive storage (100GB) | € 2 | $ 2 |
Amazon Web Services (more storage) | € 1 | $ 1 |
Total | € 750 |
$ 824 |
Last Month | € 1,882 | $ 2,116 |
Gifts & Donations
German chocolates 20 | € 15 | $ 16 |
Total | € 15 |
$ 16 |
Last Month | € 54 | $ 61 |
Books 21
Deep Work ***** 22 | € 15 | $ 16 |
Psycho-Cybernetics 23 | € 12 | $ 13 |
The Alabaster Girl 24 | € 9 | $ 10 |
Total | € 36 |
$ 40 |
Last Month | € 21 | $ 24 |
Clothing
Sports shorts | € 7 | $ 8 |
Total | € 7 |
$ 8 |
Last Month | € 0 | $ 0 |
Miscellaneous Expenses
Spanish lessons 25 | € 29 | $ 32 |
Netflix subscription | € 10 | $ 11 |
Toiletries | € 6 | $ 7 |
Tupperware | € 3 | $ 3 |
Amazon Movie Rental: Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason *** | € 3 | $ 3 |
Monthly banking fee (Dutch bank) | € 1 | $ 1 |
Public toilets | € 1 | $ 1 |
Total | € 53 |
$ 58 |
Last Month | € 230 | $ 259 |
Expense Summary
Business Expenses | € 750 | $ 824 |
Housing & Utilities | € 899 | $ 987 |
Food & Drink | € 457 | $ 502 |
Miscellaneous Expenses | € 53 | $ 58 |
Travel & Transport | € 883 | $ 970 |
Health Care | € 101 | $ 111 |
Gifts & Donations | € 15 | $ 16 |
Books | € 36 | $ 40 |
Clothing | € 7 | $ 8 |
Total Expenses | € 3,201 |
$ 3,515 |
Last Month | € 3,376 | $ 3,795 |
I was aiming to keep my expenses under €2.5k for the month, so didn’t do very well there. Business expenses were higher than expected (damn postage), and I spent more than planned on food, flights, and accommodation.
Biggest Regret?
If I could go back a couple of months, I don’t think I’d bother running that giveaway for Mark Manson’s new book. It has eaten up significant time and money. Hasn’t been worth it.
Where That Leaves Me
I had €8,666/$9,742 to my name at the end of September.
Taking into account all my October 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 €7,343/$8.063. 26
Outlook For November
Lots of uncertainty on the income front. I’ll be on the hunt as usual for new freelance projects, but hard to predict what will come of those efforts. I probably have about $1k lined up already, and 3M1K should pull in another $1k, so I’m estimating $2k minimum and will aim for at least $3k to stretch myself.
As for expenses, I may look to rent my own apartment here in Tenerife, so may have to put down a deposit and a month in advance for that. I’ll also be paying for more Spanish lessons and starting surf lessons. Nothing else out of the ordinary planned. I do need to book flights to Ireland for Christmas but may be able to get them free with credit card miles. I’ll aim to keep everything under $2.5k.
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.
Curious as to how I track everything I earn and spend? Check this video…