July was a big month for Inspired Budget! I’m a teacher, so having summer off has allowed me to work on Inspired Budget much more than I can during the school year. I also had a big 1 year sale on my Budget Binder Bundle at the end of June and I launched my Budget Better Than Ever Online Course this month as well! And because I used to wonder how much money someone could actually earn from blogging, I thought I’d share my income and expenses. I’m proud to say that I almost tripled my income from June. I’m letting you in on all the details in my July blogging income report!
Why I’m writing a blog income report
Before I give you all the juicy numbers, I want to take a moment to explain exactly why I’m writing a blog income report. It’s an odd thing to write and you may be wondering why on Earth I’m willing to share this information. Well, let me tell you that I’m pretty much an open book (sometimes to a fault) so I’m going to give you all the details. I’ve listed out several reasons why I decided to publish my income from my blog.
- I want to be able to look back years from now and see where I started. We all have a beginning and I feel like I’m still in the beginning stages of this business! Of course, I hope to continue to produce an income from Inspired Budget and I hope that income grows over time.
- I want others to know that it’s possible to blog as a side hustle! So often people need extra income to pay off debt and save money. I’ve been there and I sometimes wonder if we could have become debt free a lot sooner if I had started this blog 5 years ago.
- Ultimately, I want to inspire others to go for their dreams! After originally thinking about starting a blog, I gave myself a hard time. All the doubts flooded my mind. What if no one wants to read my work? What if I never made a dime? I’m so thankful that I ignored my insecurities and went for my goals! I hope you too can reach your goals and kick the insecurities to the curb! So this post is also to inspire you to start a blog of your own is that is your goal!
Some quick disclaimers
One of my goals is to be transparent with all my readers! I want to tell you how this blog is running and I never want to hide something or lead you to believe something that is false. So for that reason, I’m going to set some disclaimers here about my income.
- The income that I am sharing today is only what has cleared my bank account in July. I am not counting any income that has not entered my bank account yet!
- I am trying to be realistic and know that I may not be able to repeat this income in August. With school starting back up for me I will not have nearly as much time to work on Inspired Budget. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to generate a consistent income from Inspired Budget!
- Blogging takes TIME. This is definitely not a get rich quick attempt! During the school year (when I’m working as a full-time teacher) I am putting in anywhere from 10-15 hours each week on my blog. During the summer, I’ve been working Inspired Budget for about 30-35 hours each week. The good news is that I’m doing something that I generally LOVE, so the time goes by fast!
The numbers you’ve been waiting for!
Okay, here’s the information that you actually came for! During July 2018 I made $5,067.21. I cannot believe that I earned more than $5,000! I didn’t think this was possible and I’m so darn proud of myself (enter jumping up and down here). I’ve broken down my income below.
- Budget Binder Bundle: $2,928.39 I had a huge sale at the very end of June and into the beginning of July. I’m happy that so many people now have a plan in place to help them stay organized with their finances!
- Budget Better Than Ever Course: $1,929.00 I feel that my launch on my course went well, but I do hope to reach more people in the future. I truly do want to teach others how to budget and face their financial truth!
- Google Ads: $126.43 I have a few ads on every blog post. I most likely won’t reach the payout threshold for August.
- Etsy: $60.96 I’ve been directing all of my sales to my website, so I’m not making as much on Etsy which is perfectly okay. Etsy’s fees just increased, so I’d rather sell on my website.
- Amazon: $22.43 I promote a few products here and there (but I try to never overdo it). I usually don’t make a ton from Amazon as an affiliate, but every penny counts.
But wait! Don’t forget about my expenses!
Please remember that this amount does not include any of my expenses. A blog takes money to run (although it doesn’t take a ton of money), so I’m sharing my expenses with you so you have a realistic picture of what it looks like to have a blog! Thankfully, my blog expenses aren’t high this month, so that means more money to keep! I spent a total of $320.12 in July for Inspired Budget. I’ve listed out my July expenses below:
- Etsy Fees: $12.24 These fees are from June. Also, Etsy’s fees just increased. I refer all my sales to my website because the fees are lower.
- Thinkific Online Course Software: $49.00 I use Thinkific to run my Budget Better Than Ever Course. It’s so easy to use and I highly recommend it if you plan to build an online course! This will be a recurring cost that I pay each month.
- Adobe Creative: $21.64 I have a monthly subscription to Adobe Creative so I can edit videos for my course. It’s a year subscription so I’ll pay Adobe monthly.
- WalMart: $12.30 I had to buy something for my computer. I honestly don’t remember the name of it. But since I use it for my business, I consider it a business expense!
- Tailwind: $14.99 Since Boardbooster is no longer an option, I signed up for Tailwind. I still need to get the hang of using it to schedule my pins to Pinterest. By the way, if you sign up for Tailwind with this link, then you’ll get a month for FREE!
- Convertkit: $119.00 I make sure to send out emails weekly to my readers! They are full of info and links to articles.
- Quarterly Sales Taxes: $90.95 I had to pay my state sales tax. Unfortunately, I think I overpaid, but it’s all a learning experience!
My net profit
After all my expenses I made $4,747.09 in July. This is by far the most I’ve ever made in one month and I’m so excited! I immediately sent 30% into savings to cover taxes in the future. I also paid myself $2,000 and left the rest in checking to help cover expenses in the future. I’m excited because I’m using my income from Inspired Budget to take my husband on a vacation somewhere tropical next summer!
Blogging and business tools that I know and trust
If you’re thinking of starting a blog, you might be overwhelmed by where to start. There are so many options out there and trust me, I did my research when it came to what I invested in for Inspired Budget. Here are the blogging and business tools that I know and trust.
- The Get Legit Toolkit: This course is absolutely amazing if you’re starting out your business and want it to be legit! It taught me how to set it up Inspired Budget the right way, prepare for sales tax, and set up my business bank account. It seriously covers everything that you need to do to set up and run your small business! It’s not just for people who set up a blog. If you want to run an Etsy shop the right way, then you should totally take this course. Not to mention that Janet, the creator of the course is super helpful as well!
- Convertkit: After living with Mailchimp for about 9 months, I was so happy to switch to Convertkit! The platform is very user-friendly and I’ve learned so much about how to make my email marketing better.
- Bluchic Theme: I transferred to a paid theme back in April so that I could sell my products on my website. And let me tell you that I absolutely love my Isabelle theme! Bluchic has other great options as well. So if you are just starting with a blog, I highly recommend you invest in one of these gorgeous themes. I wish I had done it sooner!
- Siteground: I use Siteground to host my website. Let me tell you that at the beginning of this blogging journey, I had a ton of questions! Siteground’s 24-hour chat was key to me not losing my mind during this entire process. I highly recommend them and I have not had one issue using Siteground! Plus, it costs less than $4 a month to set up your own blog!
- KateMax Stock Photography: I don’t have time to stage and take all my own pictures (this is still a side hustle for me, not my full-time job) so I love having access to great stock photos. I purchased a year membership back in May and don’t regret it one bit!
What happened for Inspired Budget in July
Like I said earlier, July was big for Inspired Budget! I finished up (and collected money on) a sale that I had on my Budget Binder Bundle. Before the sale, I set a goal to sell 100 bundles, and I exceeded that goal, so that’s exciting!
I also launched my Budget Better Than Ever Course! I’ve been working on it for months, so it was a big relief to get it out in the open for the world to see. It is packed full of information to walk people through how to budget. The course also touches on how to pay off debt, save money, and how to make this whole budget thing stick. I’ve compiled my lessons and tips from the past 7 years of budgeting and paying off debt all in one place! I am so excited to see people’s lives change through this course!
So what’s next, you ask!
Since summer is coming to an end and I return to work in one week (enter crying face here), I’ll be taking it easy on Inspired Budget. I’ll still be posting once a week in August and I’ll promote my products here and there, but I’m not working on creating anything new right now. Instead, I’ll be finishing up with a few clients, engaging in my exclusive Budget Better Than Ever Facebook group, and hanging out on Instagram. I hope to make money in August, but I don’t expect to recreate my July income by any means.
