This was my first full month of being completely debt-free, and I have to say it was amazing! I went on a (much needed) weekend road trip, took tons of photos and had a fantastic time.
Getting out of debt didn’t just give me more money in the budget for fun stuff, it also gave me the freedom to spend more time traveling and focusing on projects I’m passionate about.
I hit some major goals this month (a few by accident), and while some of them are very exciting for me as a writer and freelancer, the one I’m most proud of is my recent personal finance goal!
40% of my income this month was from side freelancing gigs and blogging. That’s a benchmark I never thought I’d reach when I started writing almost a year ago. And I’m fast approaching a new goal to surpass my day job income with freelancing income. Here’s the breakdown (via Mint).
Total Income for June
My freelancing income consists of several income streams:
- A little advertising income on this blog
- Social media and content manager
- Writing and blogging for clients
- Freelance accounting/bookkeeping.
I didn’t start advertising on my blog until recently, since I wanted to build a strong readership and community before I had ads all over the place. I’m still very selective with my ads and only endorse products/services I use personally.
For these reasons, I don’t make a lot of money from the blog, but this month it was a nice chunk of change and I’m thrilled! Thanks for all your support, your wonderful comments and emails. You guys are rock stars!
Other Awesomeness
As you might already know, ReadyForZero is one of my favorite personal finance tools and was a major player in helping me become debt-free. This month they launched a new set of resources and they featured Careful Cents, along with some other great blogs, in their budgeting tips section.
They’ve added links for Credit Card Debt, Student Loan Debt, Debt Consolidation, Budgeting Tips. If you haven’t checked it out yet, now is the perfect time!
Anyways, now onto the regular monthly update.
Once a month I like to feature other blogs, authors and posts I enjoyed reading. There are so many awesome bloggers that share a wealth of information, I can’t help but pass it on.
Top 5 Favorite Posts
The Key to Career Success: Experimenting – Alexis Grant. I’ve been a fan of Alexis and her blog, The Traveling Writer, for several months now. I also just finished reading her most recent ebooks and they are SUPER inspiring for any young professional!
Why Balance in Life is Complete Bullsh*t – Grad Meets World. Amanda makes such an accurate point, and this is a realization I recently came to as well. You can’t separate your work-life from your home-life; they are still apart of YOUR life.
What Do You Really Want to Be in Life? – DinksFinance. Kristina asks a question that we should all ask ourselves periodically throughout life. If I had to choose only 2, I’d like to be happy and well-traveled.
Leaving Your Heart Out of Financial Decisions – Modest Money. In this post from Jeremy, he discusses how we all struggle with using willpower when it comes to buying things we really want.
Frugal Decor Ideas: How to Decorate on a Budget – ImpulseSave. I’m moving soon and Deborah points out, that this is a great opportunity to redecorate and find money-saving inspiration for my new place.
Popular Posts I’ve Written
How to Save Money on Your Daily Cup of Coffee – ReadyForZero
10 Ways to Save Money on Books – Careful Cents
Featured in the Media
I started off 2012 with the goal to get featured on a major media websites, like Lifehacker or The Consumerist. And I’m super excited to announce; this month I was featured on The Huffington Post!
Here’s the complete list of places I was mentioned in the media recently.
How I Paid Off $14,000 and Became Debt Free – Huffington Post Money
Savings Confessions and 4 Blogs to Follow – Shoestring Magazine
Guest Posts
This year I plan to publish at least one guest post per month. Below is the list of guest posts for June (or guest posts here on the blog).
6 Creative Ways to Keep Business Expenses Low – The Frugalpreneur
3 Ways Technology Helps You Stay on Track – Adaptu
Non-Traditional Ways to Cut Your Grocery Budget – My Alternate Life
This year is almost half-way over. How is the progress with your goals coming along? Are you celebrating anything exciting? Do you have any practical or inspiring tips that help you stay motivated?
Photo Credit: CGirls
- Get access to exclusive content, not published anywhere else.
- Tips on getting organized and being more efficient.
- Advice on building a business around your life.
- A personal invite to the Freelancers Club!
I'm an ex-small business accountant who aims to help freelancers get out of debt and organize their life. And through the recently launched 
Pingback: GMW Monthly Report: June 2012 | Grad Meets World