February 2017 Freelance Income Report

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Whew, February seemed to fly by. Baby Bryson joined us on the 8th, and now he’s already three weeks old. I can’t believe it! He’s sure a cutie though, and we love him so much!

Now it’s March, and time for another freelance income report. I purposefully took this month slow (since I was recovering from labor and all that good stuff!) so I knew it wouldn’t be quite as high as last month.

I’m still thrilled with the amount of money I was able to earn, working on a part-time basis, from the comfort of my home. No commute, woo-hoo!

So let’s talk numbers, shall we?

Income

In February, I earned just shy of $2500, coming in at $2493. Here’s the breakdown:

Content Editing: 72%

Virtual Assistant Work: 17%

Writing: 11%

It’s the first time in a long time that writing was my lowest earning category! But, that’s because I did much of my work last month so I wouldn’t have as many deadlines this month.

I’m still enjoying the content editing, and my deadlines worked out perfectly this month, and I thankfully didn’t have any due for almost a week after Bryson’s birth. That was a huge blessing!

Expenses

I thought my expenses this month would be lower than in January, but I was wrong. My cheap little laptop that I used for almost two years decided to stop being efficient.

All of the keys that my right pinky finger types on decided to start sticking. Do you know how many words contain the letter a? I didn’t mind the q and z sticking so much, but a is pretty essential!

And, I think I just had too many files saved for the slow processor to handle. It started taking 15 minutes to reboot. That’s a lot of wasted time!

So my husband felt I should purchase a new laptop. We went shopping, and I found a great deal at Staples. I spent almost triple what I did on my last laptop, with the bill coming in at $652 and some change.

They didn’t have that particular model in stock, so I had it shipped to the house. It took a couple of days, but it’s now here. This is actually the first blog post I’m writing on the new machine. The keyboard is a bit different from my old one, and it feels so weird to type on it! But, I know I’ll get used to it in a couple of days.

This laptop also has a number pad, which will help me boost my efficiency when working on bookkeeping tasks for one of my VA clients. Yay!

Including the laptop, my expenses in February were $718.93. Here’s the breakdown:

• Equipment (Computer): 91%
• Marketing: 5%
• Subscriptions: 4%
• Education/Training: 1%

So other than that computer, I had really low expenses this month. That’s a good thing!

Looking Forward into March

Much of March will look the same. I’ll continue working with my clients, and doing the content editing for a grade four ELA curriculum. I didn’t think I’d enjoy that job nearly as much as I have!

Back to Pitching

Since I’m feeling better after delivery, and slowly getting my energy back, it’s time to get back to pitching. I sent a couple of pitches in late February, and plan to send more out in March. I’d love to land some more gigs!

If you’re in need of a content writer or virtual assistant, I’d love to share how I can help you! Please send me an email at lisatannerwriting at gmail dot com.

Paying Down Debt!

I’m so excited that we are sending $1500 towards my student loans in March. That’s from money earned in February, and it’s the biggest amount we’ve been able to knock off this final debt at one time to date. We’re slowly getting this monster loan paid down. Our baby goal is to get the balance to $18,000, which is the debt limit for the mission board we’re planning on working with.

Finishing My eBook

I didn’t get as much done on my eBook in February as I was hoping. But, I enjoyed many evenings snuggling with a newborn instead of typing, and I don’t regret that!

Now that we’re getting adjusted to life, it’s time to hit the book again. I’d love to finish it this month and get it proofread.

Editing My Kindergarten Reading Curriculum

Another task I’d love to cross off my to-do list in March is editing my kindergarten reading curriculum. I’d also like to find some beta testers. It’s called Teaching Reading Through Play, and is a play-based curriculum with 36 weeks of short lessons. Want to learn more? Contact me!

How Was Your February?

Did you meet your goals for February? I’d love to hear how your business went. Anything you’re struggling with when it comes to balancing diapers and deadlines? Please comment and I’ll do what I can to help!