Hi Reader,

Last week, I shared our April budget. This week, I want to pull back the curtain on the income side, specifically the stuff that isn't a regular paycheck.

My husband and I both have standard W-2 positions. I get paid every other week, and he gets paid on the 1st and the 15th. He also has a disability that makes up the predictable base. Everything else I'm about to talk about is variable, and some months it's more, some months it's less.

Freelance contracts

I do operations work for two different clients on a contract basis. Both are remote, both are ongoing, and neither is the kind of thing I could have landed without the experience I built in my full-time role.

One of my clients was a previous employer. I worked with them on some extra tasks, and I'm currently building a warehouse management system from scratch. I charge $30/hr, and although the time ranges a lot from month to month, it's a great way to bring in an extra $100 here and there.

The second client is one I found through BELAY. They actually bought out my contract this year, and they're some of my favorite people I've ever worked with. I do some operations, social media, and a little of the many-hat-wearing with them for $1,125/mo.

Combined, the two contracts will bring in $1,253.45 in April. I invoice at the end of the month, so that work was done in March and pays out this month.

Tax Refund

We got a $3,913.28 refund this year, which is not normal for us.

Our goal every year is to get as close to zero as possible. A big refund sounds like a win, but it's really just an interest-free loan to the government. We'd rather have that money in our hands throughout the year, where it can actually do something.

We're not mad about it. But we are adjusting our quarterly payments for this year, so it won't happen again.

The total

Outside of our W-2s and disability, the extra income this month is making it possible to throw an extra $1,806 at debt on top of minimum payments while also saving $2,000 toward our anniversary trip.

It doesn't happen every month at this level. But this is what a decent month looks like.

Talk soon,