This week, I figured it would be a good idea to work out just how much income I’ve made so far in 2021, and hence, derive a benchmark target for my monthly revenue going forward. 📈

To do this, I’ll be breaking down my existing income streams and report on just how much money they’re each generating. 💰

A few caveats before we begin;

1️⃣ Firstly, society treats money as a completely taboo topic and it’s usually a no-go to talk about how much money you earn. I believe this causes a lot of problems; and hence plan to be transparent and honest about the money I earn during this journey. One of the main reasons for me embarking on this path is after being inspired by other developers and creators such as Ali Abdaal, Florin Pop, and Indie Hackers sharing their progress. They do this by sharing how much money they earn and crucially, how they do it. (Thank you! 🙏🏻 Keep up the good work! 🚀) This has undoubtedly been the biggest helper for me getting started.

2️⃣ Secondly, nobody is being forced to read this post. If you think you don’t want to see my income, then please don’t read this issue. I trust you have the self-awareness to recognise this. 🙏🏻

3️⃣ Thirdly, it goes without saying that this newsletter is absolutely not financial advice and should not be taken as such. I am a complete novice when it comes to all things money related and am by no means professionally qualified. Please do your own research. 🙏🏻

4️⃣ Lastly, the goal for me is financial freedom, not to be obsessed with how much money is in my bank account. True wealth is having the freedom to do what you want, when you want. Money is simply a mechanism to make this happen, it isn’t the end goal. 👊🏻

With all that been said, here are my four income streams that have earned me money so far in 2021.

Throughout 2021, I’ve worked full-time as a Software Engineer trading 40 hours a week in return for a stable, consistent salary. 👨🏼‍💻 This has been my main source of income and the one that will take most effort to replace.

My annual pre-tax salary has been £45,000; a wage inline with the average for a Software Engineer working in the north of England. 🇬🇧

So breaking it down, that works out to be £3,750 per month. And hence, for the 8 months between January and August, has earned me £30,000 (pre-tax).

Alongside my full-time role, I’ve been spending evenings and weekends working on projects for my mobile app portfolio. I published my first iOS app to the App Store way back in 2009 but its only in the last year that I’ve really started to focus on this as a revenue stream again. 🍎

I currently have 4 revenue generating apps on the App Store (feel free to check them out) and below is a summary of how they’ve been performing in 2021 so far. 📈

The revenue generated here adds up to around $5,000 which converts to around £3,700 from January to August 2021.

Whilst not a huge amount, an extra £450 a month is certainly not to be sniffed at. Furthermore, once an app is live on the App Store, the revenue generated is entirely passive.

Another entirely passive income stream is my Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Investment Fund. I’ve been investing in this fund since I started building mobile apps in 2009 and have contributed monthly ever since.

The stock market in 2021 has been bullish and hence my fund has performed well. From January to August, it has earned me £12,276.21 of purely passive income. 💸

Whilst I leave professionals to manage my investment fund; I do dabble in the stock market with a smaller pot of money. I am truly a complete novice but it provided a great deal of entertainment during the COVID lockdowns of 2020! 😅

Since the beginning of 2021, this income stream has earned me £2,598.79. Again, a largely passive income source other than my time researching stocks.

So there we have it; my 4 income streams so far for 8 months of 2021 between January and August.

Add these together and so far I’ve earned £48,575 this year which works out to be £6,075 per month (pre-tax).

This £6k/month figure is what I’ll be initially striving for once I start this journey full-time. Given the nature of being self-employed, some months will no doubt be less than this, and some months more. But an average of £6k is what I’ll be after.

I’ll be providing monthly income reports in this newsletter so stay tuned if you’re interested in this sort of content!

Thanks for reading and hope you have a great week! 💪🏻

Want to get more insights into what I’m doing on a day-by-day basis? Follow me on Twitter. ⬅️

If you have any questions or suggestions; feel free to reply to this email and I’d be happy to help whenever I can. 😁

P.S. If you enjoyed reading this newsletter, I’d be immensely grateful if you shared it with your friends. Thank you! 🙏