press
Entrepreneur logo HuffPost logo Gizmodo logo LifeHacker logo NBC Today Show logo
eBiz Facts is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a commission. Learn More

Published: April 2, 2020

3 Comments Finance Reports

March 2020 Finance Report

Everything I earned and spent in Bali and Tbilisi

Below you’ll find all my finance details for March 2020.

I spent the first two weeks of the month in Ubud, Bali, then moved to Tbilisi, Georgia.

First time seeing one of these finance reports? Click here for a quick intro.

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

March 2020 finance graph

Total Income € 4,654 $ 5,129
Total Expenses € 3,569 $ 3,933
Profit/Loss € 1,085 $ 1,196

🤑 Income

March 2020 income graph

Affiliate income (see below) € 4,240 $ 4,673
Bali villa refund 1 € 179 $ 197
Patreon 2 € 157 $ 173
Book sales (via Amazon) € 47 $ 52
Bulgaria airport shuttle refund 3 € 31 $ 34
Total Income € 4,654
$ 5,129
Previous Month € 6,030 $ 6,650

I was shooting for $4000 total income, so March turned out better than expected.

👍 Affiliate Income

Affiliate payments in February came from…

Affiliate Related Content
Authority Hacker Authority Hacker Review
ConvertKit ConvertKit Pricing vs. Popular Alternatives
Earn More Writing Earn More Writing Review
GoSub How To Earn $1k/Month Subtitling Netflix
Respondent Respondent Review
SafetyWing Digital Nomad Travel Insurance
Survey Junkie Survey Junkie Review

Here’s a progress chart for affiliate income since starting eBiz Facts…

eBiz Facts affiliate income March 2020

Note that, to keep things simple for myself on a day-to-day basis, I practice cash accounting rather than accrual accounting. 

“Under the cash method of accounting, sales are recorded when cash is received, and expenses are recorded when cash is sent out. It’s straightforward and intuitive. The problem with the cash method, however, is that it doesn’t always reflect the economic reality of a situation.” – Accounting Made Simple

The economic reality of affiliate marketing is that some companies pay their affiliates every month, while others have irregular payment schedules. As a result, my affiliate income looks more inconsistent month-to-month than it actually is.

💸 Expenses

March 2020 expenses graph

🍽 Food & Drink

Groceries € 368 $ 406
Eating out € 212 $ 234
Total € 580
$ 639
Previous Month € 549 $ 605

🏡 Housing & Utilities

1 month at Tbilisi Airbnb € 523 $ 576
25 nights at Tbilisi Airbnb € 447 $ 492
Cleaning fees € 20 $ 22
Total € 989
$ 1090
Previous Month € 551 $ 608

💪 Health Care

Dentist visit € 39 $ 43
1 month gym membership in Ubud € 36 $ 40
SafetyWing travel insurance 4 € 33 $ 36
Total € 107
$ 118
Previous Month € 90 $ 100

🛫 Travel & Transport

Flights: Bali to Dubai to Tbilisi 5 € 477 $ 526
Indonesia social visa extension 6 € 49 $ 54
Taxis in Tbilisi € 45 $ 50
Taxis in Bali € 18 $ 20
Total € 591
$ 651
Previous Month € 171 $ 188

💻 Business Expenses

Outsourcing 7 € 776 $ 855
PayPal fees € 159 $ 175
Pigeon 8 € 26 $ 29
Patreon fees 9 € 21 $ 23
Phone credit (with SIM card) € 14 $ 15
Zoom 10 € 14 $ 15
YouTube Premium 11 € 11 $ 12
Google Drive storage (1TB) 12 € 9 $ 10
Kinsta web hosting 13 € 9 $ 10
Pangian Pro 14 € 9 $ 10
Virtual Post Mail 15 € 9 $ 10
Respondent fees € 7 $ 8
Copycall 16 € 5 $ 6
Amazon Web Services (storage) 17 € 5 $ 5
Upwork fees € 3 $ 4
Trends trial € 1 $ 1
Dreamhost web hosting 18 € 0 $ 0
Sendy 19 € 0 $ 0
SocialBee 20 € 0 $ 0
Teamwork project management software 21 € 0 $ 0
Total € 1,078 $ 1,188
Previous Month € 2,606 $ 2,874

🎁 Gifts & Donations

Gift for my girlfriend € 25 $ 28
Tip for Bali taxi driver € 17 $ 19
Effective Altruism Fund 22 € 9 $ 10
Flowers € 6 $ 7
Monthly Love & Courage podcast donation 23 € 5 $ 6
SamHarris.org subscription 24 € 4 $ 4
Patreon: The Blindboy Podcast 25 € 3 $ 3
Patreon: Úna-Minh Kavanagh € 3 $ 3
Total € 71
$ 79
Previous Month € 41 $ 45

📚 Books

Accounting Made Simple € 0 $ 0
Company of One € 0 $ 0
The Mother Tongue € 0 $ 0
The Story of Earth € 0 $ 0
Total € 0
$ 0
Previous Month € 0 $ 0

I bought all the above books with Amazon gift cards.

👕 Clothing

Total € 0
$ 0
Previous Month € 0 $ 0

🤷‍♂️ Miscellaneous Expenses

Toiletries € 85 $ 94
Laundry € 19 $ 20
Kitchen supplies € 16 $ 17
Netflix subscription € 11 $ 12
Monthly banking fee (Hong Kong bank) 26 € 8 $ 9
Quaterly banking fee (Irish bank) € 5 $ 5
Glovo subscription 27 € 4 $ 5
Grocery bags € 2 $ 2
Monthly banking fee (Dutch bank) € 2 $ 2
Mosquito repellant € 1 $ 1
Total € 152
$ 168
Previous Month € 74 $ 81

💸 Expense Summary

Business Expenses € 1,078 $ 1,188
Housing & Utilities € 989 $ 1,090
Travel & Transport € 591 $ 651
Food & Drink € 580 $ 639
Miscellaneous Expenses € 152 $ 168
Health Care € 107 $ 118
Gifts & Donations € 71 $ 79
Books € 0 $ 0
Clothing € 0 $ 0
Total Expenses € 3,569
$ 3,933
Previous Month € 4,082 $ 4,501

I was hoping to spend less than $3000 for the month. Leaving Bali early and paying for almost two months of accommodation in Tbilisi messed that up.

😢 Biggest Regret?

Leaving Bali a couple of weeks earlier than planned and moving to Georgia proved expensive, but no regrets about that. If we had stuck to our original plan we would have been stranded in Bali due to the pandemic.

Overall, I can’t say I have any significant regrets for March.

2020 So Far

Here’s how I’m doing this year in terms of profit and loss:

January € 1,734 $ 1,924
February € 1,948 $ 2,149
March € 1,085 $ 1,196
Total € 1,299 $ 1,421

📊 Where That Leaves Me

I had €11,416 / $12,588 to my name at the end of February.

Taking into account all my March 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 €10,832 / $11,938. 28

🔮 Outlook For April

I should finally be able to keep expenses under $3000 thanks to staying put in Tbilisi and not being able to go outside and do much or plan any travel.

And I expect my income to be between $3000 and $4000.

📲 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.

About The Author
Niall Doherty – Founder and Lead Editor of eBiz Facts Born and raised in Ireland, Niall has been making a living from his laptop since quitting his office job in 2010. He's fond of basketball, once spent 44 months traveling around the world without flying, and has been featured in such publications as The Irish Times and Huffington Post. Read more...

3 thoughts on “March 2020 Finance Report”

Leave a Comment