Below you’ll find all my finance details for January 2019.
I spent the month in Chiang Mai, Thailand, except for a week-long vacation in Phu Quoc, Vietnam.
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 | € 3,240 | $ 3,711 |
Total Expenses | € 2,587 | $ 2,963 |
Profit/Loss | € 653 | $ 747 |
Income
Consulting / Project Management 1 | € 2,261 | $ 2,589 |
Freedom Business Builder 2 | € 386 | $ 442 |
Aweber affiliate payment 3 | € 251 | $ 287 |
Chase Sapphire Reserve credit 4 | € 211 | $ 242 |
SafetyWing affiliate payment 5 | € 97 | $ 111 |
Book sales (via Amazon) | € 34 | $ 39 |
Total Income | € 3,240 |
$ 3,711 |
Previous Month | € 2,852 | $ 3,278 |
I was aiming to pull in €3,000 in January. Mission accomplished.
Expenses
Food & Drink
Eating out | € 408 | $ 467 |
Groceries | € 138 | $ 158 |
Total | € 546 |
$ 625 |
Previous Month | € 463 | $ 532 |
Eating out is very cheap in Chiang Mai but I do so at least two times per day. It’s actually more expensive to buy groceries and cook your own meals, but I also like to do that occasionally. I also spend quite a bit on coffee.
Housing & Utilities
1 month at Chiang Mai condo 6 | € 545 | $ 624 |
Electricity bill, Chiang Mai condo (2 months) | € 64 | $ 73 |
1 night at Saigon hotel 7 | € 0 | $ 0 |
Total | € 609 |
$ 697 |
Previous Month | € 578 | $ 664 |
Health Care
SafetyWing travel insurance 8 | € 32 | $ 37 |
Eye care | € 7 | $ 8 |
Total | € 39 |
$ 45 |
Previous Month | € 52 | $ 60 |
Travel & Transport
Last-minute Vietnam visa 9 | € 164 | $ 188 |
Flight: Gran Canaria to Cork 10 | € 154 | $ 176 |
Flight: Dublin to Amsterdam 11 | € 70 | $ 81 |
Checked bag fees for 3 flights | € 35 | $ 40 |
6 day scooter rental in Phu Quoc, Vietnam | € 30 | $ 34 |
Taxis / tuktuks / songthaews in Chiang Mai | € 24 | $ 27 |
Scooter fuel | € 4 | $ 5 |
Total | € 481 |
$ 551 |
Previous Month | € 33 | $ 37 |
Business Expenses
Teamwork project management software (annual payment) 12 | € 230 | $ 264 |
Course: Earn More Writing 13 | € 174 | $ 199 |
Course: The Business Of Travel Blogging 14 | € 86 | $ 99 |
Course: Social Media Marketing Agency 2.0 15 | € 85 | $ 97 |
Hub 53 flexi plan (x4) 16 | € 42 | $ 48 |
Course: The 67 Steps 17 | € 32 | $ 37 |
SmarterQueue 18 | € 19 | $ 22 |
Google Drive storage (1TB) 19 | € 17 | $ 20 |
MemberMouse 20 | € 17 | $ 20 |
1 month home Internet in Chiang Mai | € 14 | $ 16 |
Phone credit | € 13 | $ 15 |
SSL certificate | € 13 | $ 15 |
YouTube Premium 21 | € 10 | $ 12 |
Virtual Post Mail 22 | € 9 | $ 10 |
PayPal fees | € 2 | $ 2 |
Outsourcing 23 | € 5 | $ 6 |
Amazon Web Services (storage) 24 | € 1 | $ 1 |
Upwork fees | € 1 | $ 1 |
Dreamhost web hosting 25 | € 0 | $ 0 |
Total | € 772 |
$ 884 |
Previous Month | € 1,334 | $ 1,533 |
Gifts & Donations
Flowers | € 19 | $ 22 |
Effective Altruism Fund 26 | € 9 | $ 10 |
Monthly Love & Courage podcast donation 27 | € 5 | $ 6 |
SamHarris.or subscription 28 | € 4 | $ 4 |
Patreon: The Blindboy Podcast 29 | € 3 | $ 3 |
Total | € 40 |
$ 45 |
Previous Month | € 40 | $ 46 |
Books 30
Side Hustle *** 31 | € 5 | $ 6 |
The Success Principles *** 32 | € 0 | $ 0 |
Total | € 5 |
$ 6 |
Previous Month | € 1 | $ 1 |
Clothing
Total | € 0 | $ 0 |
Previous Month | € 87 | $ 99 |
Miscellaneous Expenses
US banking fee 33 | € 22 | $ 25 |
Ice skating in Chiang Mai (x2) | € 16 | $ 18 |
Toiletries | € 14 | $ 16 |
Netflix subscription | € 11 | $ 13 |
Monthly banking fees (Hong Kong bank) 34 | € 8 | $ 9 |
Sunscreen | € 7 | $ 9 |
Vietnam SIM card | € 6 | $ 7 |
Laundry | € 5 | $ 6 |
Chiang Mai arcade | € 3 | $ 3 |
Monthly banking fee (Dutch bank) | € 2 | $ 2 |
Notebook | € 1 | $ 1 |
Total | € 95 |
$ 109 |
Previous Month | € 106 | $ 122 |
Expense Summary
Business Expenses | € 772 | $ 884 |
Housing & Utilities | € 609 | $ 697 |
Food & Drink | € 546 | $ 625 |
Travel & Transport | € 481 | $ 551 |
Miscellaneous Expenses | € 95 | $ 109 |
Gifts & Donations | € 40 | $ 45 |
Health Care | € 39 | $ 45 |
Books | € 5 | $ 6 |
Clothing | € 0 | $ 0 |
Total Expenses | € 2,587 |
$ 2,963 |
Previous Month | € 2,693 | $3,093 |
I was aiming to keep everything under €3,000 for the month, so happy with how it shook out.
Biggest Regret?
The last-minute Vietnam visa was silly. If I’d checked that in advance it would have cost only about $50, rather than almost $200. Worst thing is, I’d been to Vietnam before, so I should have known better.
Only other regrettable expenses was the $25 US banking fee. I wasn’t paying attention when I made the transfer and did it the wrong way around. I didn’t have money in the account I told them to transfer from, hence the fee.
Where That Leaves Me
I had €12,570 / $14,446 to my name at the end of December.
Taking into account all my January 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 €13,832 / $15,841. 35
Outlook For February
I’ll earn about €2,000 from my freelance work, and another €300 or so from payment plans on my course. I don’t expect any other major income streams, maybe some affiliate stuff here and there, so I’ll consider anything above €2,500 a decent month.
As for expenses, I’ll be heading back to Europe (Gran Canaria) so living expenses will increase, especially rent. If I can spend less than €2,500 I’ll be doing well.
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.
Hey Niall. After meeting you at a dinner party in Amsterdam I’ve followed your newsletters with interest. Always a great read, so thank you! Am now moving into consultancy and wondered if you have any advice about bank accounts for digital nomads? As you take such care with your finances. Best, Nick
Hey Nick, thanks for the comment.
Bank accounts are tricky because they vary widely depending on the country.
Main thing though is to try get a checking account that doesn’t charge you ATM fees anywhere (or at least keeps them to a minimum). You want to be able to rock up to any city in the world and get local currency straight from an ATM without having to worry about fees.
For credit cards, get the one with the best travel rewards. It may even be worth it to pay an annual fee if you get certain benefits, like airport lounge access.
Hope that helps!
Hi,
I love your ideas, your website and your philosophy.
Genuine question not criticism.
Do you ever worry about your total net worth even thopugh your lifestyle is amazing and self-sufficient?
Thanks
Ricardo
Hey Ricardo,
Good question. And yeah, I do worry about it. One big, unforeseen expense and I could be in trouble. Having travel insurance guards against that somewhat, but there are plenty of other things that could go wrong.
So while I’m quite happy and comfortable day-to-day, I’m nowhere near satisfied with my current net worth and it’s something I’m looking to increase significantly. That’ll take hard work and discipline, of course.
Well done Niall!
Thanks, Evan!