Below you’ll find all my finance details for December 2019.
I was in Kuala Lumpur for a few nights mid-month, but other than that stayed put it Bali, mostly in Ubud.
I’ve been tracking everything I earn and spend since January 2011, just a few weeks after quitting my day job. Every month since, I’ve published one of these finance reports.
Sharing this info publicly keeps me accountable and hopefully gives you some insight into how I earn a living online.
Patrons get to see each new report before anyone else.
💵 Summary
| Total Income | € 2,500 | $ 2,801 |
| Total Expenses | € 2,610 | $ 2,923 |
| Profit/Loss | € 109 | $ 122 |
🤑 Income
| Affiliate income (see below) | € 2,351 | $ 2,633 |
| Patreon 1 | € 127 | $ 143 |
| Book sales (via Amazon) | € 22 | $ 25 |
| Total Income | € 2,500 |
$ 2,801 |
| Previous Month | € 4,007 | $ 4,415 |
I was expecting $4000 for income, but some affiliate payments were delayed. That sets me up for a nice January though.
👍 Affiliate Income
Affiliate payments in December came from…
Here’s a progress chart for affiliate income since starting eBiz Facts…
💸 Expenses
🍽 Food & Drink
| Eating out | € 428 | $ 480 |
| Groceries | € 197 | $ 221 |
| Total | € 625 |
$ 700 |
| Previous Month | € 635 | $ 700 |
🏡 Housing & Utilities
| 1 month at Ubud villa | € 375 | $ 420 |
| 1 night at Canggu guesthouse | € 17 | $ 19 |
| Total | € 392 |
$ 439 |
| Previous Month | € 660 | $ 727 |
💪 Health Care
| Doctor visits | € 121 | $ 136 |
| Massages (x3) | € 38 | $ 42 |
| SafetyWing travel insurance 2 | € 33 | $ 37 |
| Total | € 192 |
$ 215 |
| Previous Month | € 170 | $ 187 |
🛫 Travel & Transport
| Indonesia social visa (including agency fee) | € 152 | $ 170 |
| 1 month scooter rental in Ubud, Bali | € 84 | $ 94 |
| Taxis in Kuala Lumpur | € 44 | $ 50 |
| Taxis in Bali | € 26 | $ 29 |
| Checked bag at airport | € 17 | $ 19 |
| Scooter fuel | € 6 | $ 7 |
| Passport photos | € 4 | $ 4 |
| Parking | € 1 | $ 1 |
| Total | € 333 |
$ 373 |
| Previous Month | € 161 | $ 178 |
💻 Business Expenses
| Outsourcing 3 | € 451 | $ 505 |
| PayPal fees | € 100 | $ 111 |
| Elementor Pro 4 | € 33 | $ 37 |
| Pigeon 5 | € 26 | $ 29 |
| Ahrefs subscription 6 | € 24 | $ 27 |
| Phone credit (Bali) | € 22 | $ 25 |
| Patreon fees 7 | € 17 | $ 19 |
| Phone credit (Kuala Lumpur) | € 16 | $ 17 |
| Zoom 8 | € 13 | $ 15 |
| ExpressVPN | € 12 | $ 13 |
| Kinsta web hosting 9 | € 12 | $ 13 |
| YouTube Premium 10 | € 11 | $ 12 |
| Google Drive storage (1TB) 11 | € 9 | $ 10 |
| Virtual Post Mail 12 | € 9 | $ 10 |
| Copycall 13 | € 5 | $ 6 |
| Amazon Web Services (storage) 14 | € 4 | $ 5 |
| Respondent fees | € 3 | $ 3 |
| Upwork fees | € 1 | $ 2 |
| Dreamhost web hosting 15 | € 0 | $ 0 |
| Sendy 16 | € 0 | $ 0 |
| SocialBee 17 | € 0 | $ 0 |
| Teamwork project management software 18 | € 0 | $ 0 |
| Total | € 768 | $ 860 |
| Previous Month | € 779 | $ 858 |
🎁 Gifts & Donations
| Effective Altruism Fund 19 | € 54 | $ 61 |
| Christmas gifts | € 30 | $ 34 |
| Monthly Love & Courage podcast donation 20 | € 5 | $ 6 |
| Flowers | € 4 | $ 5 |
| SamHarris.org subscription 21 | € 4 | $ 4 |
| Patreon: The Blindboy Podcast 22 | € 3 | $ 3 |
| Patreon: Úna-Minh Kavanagh | € 3 | $ 3 |
| Total | € 103 |
$ 115 |
| Previous Month | € 36 | $ 40 |
📚 Books 23
| Anseo ***** | € 8 | $ 9 |
| Atomic Habits 24 | € 0 | $ 0 |
| Total | € 8 |
$ 9 |
| Previous Month | € 31 | $ 34 |
👕 Clothing
| Adidas runners | € 83 | $ 93 |
| Total | € 83 |
$ 93 |
| Previous Month | € 57 | $ 63 |
🤷♂️ Miscellaneous Expenses
| Toiletries | € 28 | $ 31 |
| Laundry | € 22 | $ 24 |
| Netflix subscription | € 11 | $ 12 |
| Cinema: Last Christmas (x2) | € 9 | $ 10 |
| Currency exchange fee | € 9 | $ 10 |
| Monthly banking fee (Hong Kong bank) 25 | € 8 | $ 9 |
| Disney+ subscription | € 6 | $ 7 |
| Kitchen supplies | € 5 | $ 6 |
| Mosquito repellent | € 4 | $ 5 |
| Monthly banking fee (Dutch bank) | € 2 | $ 2 |
| Batteries | € 1 | $ 1 |
| Stationary | € 1 | $ 1 |
| Total | € 105 |
$ 118 |
| Previous Month | € 84 | $ 93 |
💸 Expense Summary
| Business Expenses | € 768 | $ 860 |
| Food & Drink | € 625 | $ 700 |
| Housing & Utilities | € 392 | $ 439 |
| Travel & Transport | € 333 | $ 373 |
| Health Care | € 192 | $ 215 |
| Miscellaneous Expenses | € 105 | $ 118 |
| Gifts & Donations | € 103 | $ 115 |
| Clothing | € 83 | $ 93 |
| Books | € 8 | $ 9 |
| Total Expenses | € 2,610 |
$ 2,923 |
| Previous Month | € 2,614 | $ 2,880 |
I was expecting to spend about €3000 for the month, so happy enough with how it shook out.
😢 Biggest Regret?
Nothing major. The last two months I’ve been spending a lot on food and drink, but the convenience factor makes it worth it. Saves me a lot of time and energy.
Overall I felt my money was well spent in December.
🗓 2019 In Review
Here’s how I did for the year in terms of profit and loss:
| January | € 653 | $ 747 |
| February | € 529 | $ 601 |
| March | € 242 | $ 272 |
| April | € 240 | $ 269 |
| May | € 171 | $ 196 |
| June | € 1,906 | $ 2,163 |
| July | € 45 | $ 50 |
| August | € 173 | $ 190 |
| September | € 2,940 | $ 3,215 |
| October | € 1,273 | $ 1,424 |
| November | € 1,393 | $ 1,535 |
| December | € 109 | $ 122 |
| Total | € 3,840 | $ 4,266 |
Pretty content with that overall.
It was a year of transition so I was expecting to spend more than I earned as I invested in getting eBiz Facts off the ground. At the end of the year, I’m right where I was aiming to be.
📊 Where That Leaves Me
I had €11,778 / $12,975 to my name at the end of November.
Taking into account all my December income and expenditure, and the most recent exchange rates – I have accounts in EUR, HKD and USD – my total bank and cash balances now work out to €11,697 / $13,102. 26
🔮 Outlook For January
If all the expected affiliate payments come through, I’ll be right around the $5000 mark, which would be my best month yet. That will make up the majority of my income.
As for expenses, I’ll be buying flights to Europe, renewing some subscriptions, spending a bit more than usual on outsourcing, and might pick up another course to review. If I can keep everything below €3000, I’ll be happy enough.
📲 How I Track All This
Curious as to how I track everything I earn and spend? Check this video…
💬 Feedback Welcome
Thoughts? Questions? Speak up in the comments below.
🗂 Archived Finance Reports
I’ve been posting these monthly finance reports since January, 2011. You can view all my old reports via this page.
