June Freelance Income

Hi everyone!! I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July! I have to admit…this was our first Fourth of July spent away from family and it was the first holiday that I actually felt incredibly homesick. Of course, on Christmas and Thanksgiving I would have preferred to be with my family, but having the girls made it a bit easier. I’m not sure why I was so homesick over the weekend. Maybe because the Fourth is typically a “party” holiday meant to be spent with family and friends?

However, we ended up having a really great day BBQing outside in our cul de sac with our neighbors. The kids had water balloons and a slingshot so they were entertained for a good four hours. We missed the fireworks because our girls go to bed early, but we definitely heard them all night long. The ‘perks’ of living in the country!!

As most of you know, I accepted a full-time job that starts later this month!! I am so, so excited to get started. Between our 9-day vacation last month and the news of my new job this month, I’d be lying if I said I was still just as focused on freelancing as I have been in the past. To be honest, I am ready for a change.

In the meantime, I’ve been really really enjoying my family and this beautiful state that we live in. Just last night, we bought bikes (and child bike seats that attach!). John and I went for a ride this morning while the girls were at daycare. Kids at daycare = we have fun!!

Since my girls are about to start daycare full-time, I’ve also been really cherishing my time at home with them. We’ve gone on lots of playdates, visited the library for story time each week, went to Chick Fil A a few times and have gone to numerous parks.

Before, I’ve been all about hustling as much as I possibly can and accomplishing as much as time would allow. Now, I’m in more of a relaxation / life is short kinda mode. I do realize things are about to change as I start my new job, but the HUGE difference is I will have only ONE thing to focus on, rather than a dozen. So much of freelancing is staying organized, pitching, follow up with editors, finding new clients, learning new writing styles and more that it’s very easy to feel overwhelmed. In just a few short weeks, I’ll have ONE client, ONE style of writing and ONE main focus. Honestly, I think that will free up a lot of my time (or at least my “brain” time) to enjoy what life has to offer.

Anyways, I guess that long preface was to share that my income for June was quite low. It’s actually the lowest it’s been since I first started freelancing three months ago.

June Freelance Income: $845

The good news is that for July I’m already almost to that amount, haha, but I digress.

All of this income was earned through freelancing and not through my blog. I actually did earn $83 from my blog in June but was paid on it in July. That income will be shared next month.

However, the good news is for those of you that are looking to earn a little bit of money on the side without having to work a ton, freelancing could really be the answer you are looking for. I’ve probably worked an average of 2-4 hours per WEEK in the past two months and am still earning a decent amount. $845 is low compared to some of my other months, but it’s still an extra $845 for the month. If you’re a SAHM looking to bring in some additional money or maybe you just want to accelerate your debt payments, I would HIGHLY recommend freelancing. And don’t worry – if you aren’t quite sure how to get started…I have a post for you on Thursday, July 9th that will help immensely.

On the agenda for this week: As of now, I have two hours of work max, which I’ll probably do tomorrow. My husband starts his new job on Monday and my 30th birthday is this Friday. He has a few odd jobs this week but we’re hoping he’s home for the majority of it. For my birthday, we’re going on a boat tour that serves lunch! 🙂 The bikes were also my present. Funny story with that – we bought two bikes, four helmets and two child seats at Walmart last night for $408. My husband swiped his zero-balance credit card and it was declined. Um, embarrassing. So I pull out my zero-balance HUGE limit credit card and somehow it was also declined!!!! I was mortified. It was pretty crowded and I can only imagine all the other people standing there feeling bad for us that we have no money and can’t afford bikes for our family as we stood to the side and called our banks.

So…we spoke with our banks thinking maybe they declined our cards because the transaction was so high (though…we had recently purchased and paid for plane tickets for three…). Anyways, both the cards were declined again and we ended up just paying debit (no points, wahhhh!!). I texted my mom and she said a friend of hers card is also ALWAYS denied at Walmart for literally no reason. So, I’m guessing it’s just a Walmart thing. We have no balances, high limits, and use our cards and pay them off monthly. No fraud or unusual activity on the accounts, either. So…I’m just going to assume it was indeed a Walmart thing. Nonetheless, it was still very embarrassing and was a great reminder about just how important it is to manage your money well. I never want to be in a situation like that where my card is actually declined because it’s maxed out.

I’ll be back with a fun post for you all on Thursday! Hope your week is off to a great start!