. I already posted a breakdown of my 2011 expenses. Here's my modest income for the year, ranked from highest to lowest amounts.
Net unemployment $18,092
Contract job #1(April-May) $5576
Freelance writing (9 clients total, but most of this was from 2 clients) $5525
Contract job (this was my final check from contract employer from 4th quarter of 2010) $2,375
IRS refund $1,937
Contract job #2 (Nov-Dec) $1485
Online surveys $803
In-person surveys, focus groups, product testing $605
Academic research studies (Yale and UConn) $548
Credit card rewards (Chase, Citi, Amex) $425
Other (1 day as a poll worker, Xmas cash, etc) $405
State tax refund $39
Manufacturer rebates $31
Found money $11
Craig’s List sale $10
Total $37,867
If you exclude the nearly $14,000 I spent on vinyl siding this year, my net income exceeded expenses by $3,434.
One interesting thing of note: I made roughly the same amount of money from my freelance work, done all year long at about $50 an hour, as I did from a 2-month contract job, working full-time at just $20 an hour.
It just goes to show you how steady full-time work at a modest hourly rate will help your earnings grow much faster than intermittent work that pays more than double your rate at the full-time job!
My ranked 2011 Income, All Sources
December 27th, 2011 at 08:40 pm
December 27th, 2011 at 08:55 pm 1325019352
December 28th, 2011 at 12:48 am 1325033291