September 2016 Freelance Income Report

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Another month has come and gone, so it’s time to analyze the numbers. Can you really earn money working part-time from home? My answer to that is an enthusiastic, “Yes!”

September was not a month of growth for me. I purposefully cut my work hours, and slowed down my pitching. As a certified teacher, I need to complete 15 quarter credits every five years to keep my certificate renewed.

I picked this quarter to knock those requirements out, and have added a full load of online courses to my plate. Knowing that my time would be affected, I chose to slow business growth. You can’t do it all all at the same time after all.

September’s Income

In September, I had $1775 deposited in my account from freelance writing, VA work, and course sales. The vast majority of that was from writing.

I’m learning that writing is how I’m able to earn the most per hour at this time. It’s also the more flexible of the services I offer, which is a perk when life gets crazy!

September’s Expenses

This month marks the year anniversary of this website. That meant it was time to renew my domain and a couple of other things associated with it.

So my expenses were a bit higher than normal, coming in at $254.99.

Other than website expenses, I also paid PayPal fees, ordered another batch of images for my posts, and paid for my email subscription service, and my Google business email.

Plans for October

I’ll continue working on a reduced basis for the rest of this quarter. Then, after the new baby joins our family early next year, I’ll plan on resuming business growth.

It’s okay to slow down when you need to.

I have enough room in my schedule to look for clients who are a great fit for me, and will hopefully be working on a trial basis for a potential VA client (pushed from September due to an illness).

At the same time, I know I don’t need to feel guilty turning down work that isn’t a good fit. It’s a freeing feeling, knowing that I can be selective. 😀

Paying Off Debt

I have a new goal with my business income. Once October is over and our barn is stocked with enough hay to make it through the winter, and our three steers are butchered (and all those fees are paid for!), I’m going to move to trying to rapidly pay off our remaining debt.

We started at over $100K in 2008. Since then, we’ve paid off everything but my student loan. We owe just under $30K.

But, we have been called into the ministry and are excited for the next journey the Lord has for us. We’re looking forward to becoming missionaries and serving as a family at Missionary Acres down in Missouri.

We’d love to apply to candidate school next April, but before we will be eligible, we have to get our debt down to $18K. That’s the maximum allowed with this mission board, because it’s an amount that can be paid off during the first five-year term.

So $11,000 is standing between us and the next candidate school. We know that the Lord can pay off the debt, and we’re excited to watch him work in his timing.

We think my business will be a great benefit in working towards this goal.

So while my business is reduced currently, having such an important goal really motivates me to do as much as I can with my limited time!

How Was Your September?

Are you actively growing your business or are you in a different season like I am? I’d love for you to share your progress in the comments.