Personal Income Statement, June 2008 (Net Income: $4,364)

In June I managed to save over $4,000 of my income for myself after all expenses were paid. That doesn’t mean that my net worth grew during June, however, as I explained earlier today. While I was able to add to my savings and investments, poor performance in the stock market caused my accounts to decline, which I hope is a temporary situation.

This post contains a look at my income and expenses for the month of June, though some lines are ignored to present a report that is a mix between an income statement and a cash flow report. I don’t bother with unrealized gains or losses here, but I don’t include money transferred to savings as an expense.

Continue reading this article to see my financial data for the month of June.

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions.

The report is made with Intuit Quicken and Microsoft Excel. Here’s an income and expense report Excel template.

Explanation and Details.

My business income is now lower than it was a year ago. This is mainly due to my removal a few months ago of certain forms of advertising. The experts in online advertising have said that removing text link ads would pay off in the long run, so I’m still following this advice. I have seen what changes in Google’s search results can do to a website that has built up a significant audience — and revenue — over several years, and I plan to avoid that if at all possible.

I originally set a goal to determine by the end of June if my “side business” (blogging on Consumerism Commentary as well as a few other online endeavors) would be sustainable as my only source of income. Due to the volatility over the past few months, my decision is to stick with the status quo. Having extra time to devote to my online projects would be very helpful for writing better articles and building more sustainable income, but it’s a risk that I can’t afford to take. This very fact may hold be back from continuing to be a leader in the community as other bloggers make the jump to devote 100% of their working time to their online projects.

My expenses weren’t out of the ordinary this month. The biggest hits come from the Hoover SteamVac I purchased and my estimated federal tax payment.

I don’t believe July will be that much different. I expect a lower business income and no out-of-the-ordinary expenses.

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Tagged as: cash flow, expenses, income, Personal Finance, quicken

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About the Author

Flexo, the owner and creator of Consumerism Commentary, has been blogging and writing for the internet since 1995 and has been building online communities since 1991. Find out more about him and follow him on Twitter.

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Four Pillars (Mike)

Interesting stuff - very candid.

I can see why you are reluctant to make the jump to full time blogging - while you don't have a high salary with the day job, between that and the blogging you make a pretty darn good living.

Blogging might not be as much fun if it's your only source of income.

Mike

Stat Crazy

I have two questions regarding income statements. I also started keeping one in addition to my balance sheet (which is much less time consuming to do for me).

1) If you purchase something during the month say 6/15 with a visa card, then submit an online payment on 6/28, and the card says it is paid off on 6/30 but it does not pull the cash from your bank account until 7/3, then which month do you apply the expense?? In my balance statement I am lazy and just say i have no balance AND the money is still in the bank account since I strictly take data from my online statements and reported tranaction dates.

2) Also for big purchases like annual property taxes or auto insurance I see you take $127 each month out. Are you saving that money for annual or biannual savings or do you actually pay each month. I put money aside each month for those but then have a few months that look terrible for cashflow even though I had the money saved up on the side. Though in reality I did spend a larger amount than usual compared to the relatively constant income. Your thoughts??

I love this site and others like it, I could spend all day thinking about personal finance, it is SO FUN analyzing numbers and creating strategies for improvements or meeting specific goals. I enjoy the analysis much more than the money I could ever attain from it. Thanks!!

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