Well, I have to admit that I was a little pessimistic for the month of December. I didn’t really expect to make $1000 for the month from my blog, Cash Flow Mantra. It was already a little on the slow side so I figured with the holidays coming up that traffic and activity would fall off quite a bit as people enjoyed and spent time with family and friends.
So imagine my surprise when a strong week for revenue actually pushed me above and beyond a grand for the month of December! And we still have a full week to go (not that I am expecting anything anyway, but still).
What Am I Doing With the Money?
Right now, I am looking to pay off debt in order to increase my monthly cash flow and have been using my earnings from blogging to do just that. I have already paid off one of my credit cards. So I figured that I would be using the next chunk of money to pay off a business line of credit.
However, one of the benefits of being a personal financial blogger is that I am constantly reading other blogs and learning new things. One of the things that caught my eye was some information about PMI, or private mortgage insurance. This is often required by creditors when you make less than a 20% down payment on a piece of real estate.
Now, I don’t have PMI on any of my properties except for one rental property that I own. I put 10% down several years back. Well, the information that I learned was that once you have 22% equity in the property, banks are required to eliminate the PMI. I figured I was pretty close to the required amount of equity after these several years so I found the closing information for the exact purchase price and also checked my outstanding mortgage balance.
It turns out that I was at 21% equity. In other words, I had 79% of the mortgage balance outstanding which was only 1% away from the point of being able to eliminate PMI. I figured out how much it would take to do this and the total amount was $960! December’s $1000 from blogging will be enough to get rid of my private mortgage insurance.
Now you might think that paying off a credit line with 18% interest would be a good deal, and you would be right (coincidentally the balance of the credit line is about $950). But I am actually paying $66 per month for the private mortgage insurance which is $792 over the course of a year. My cash on cash return for my $960 investment is then 82.5% which is a tremendous return on that investment!
Plus, that $66 per month is just like passive income. I am doing very little to establish this cash flow increase and can use it to start paying off the credit line. Needless to say, I am pretty excited for several reasons:
- That I was able to make $1000 for the month of December from blogging which I was doing anyway
- That I was able to learn something about PMI just by being well read proving that knowledge is profitable
- That I will be able to pay off enough of my mortgage to eliminate $66 in monthly costs which can be used for other purposes
- That I was able to share this information with you and hopefully help someone as another blogger helped me to see this opportunity
I hadn’t planned on another post prior to the official launch of the blog on January 2nd, but I was so excited that I just had to share! Be sure to come back in January and keep coming back for potentially life changing information. And please feel free to comment, share, and ask questions.
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Upcoming post: How to Make $1000 Per Month as a Blogger by Derek
Well what a Merry Merry Christmas gift for you! That is wonderful news, thanks for sharing your excitement and congratulations on getting rid of your PMI AND making more than a grand for December!
Poor to Rich a Day at a Time recently posted..Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday’s to Everyone
Thank you so much. I hope you had a good Christmas also.
What a nice surprise! This post is just another piece of evidence showing what good can come from another $1000 a month.
Melissa recently posted..Debt Free Journey Update #8
I agree. It will be great to get that PMI paid off and to work on paying off some other debt through 2012 with any blogging earnings.
All your income from AdSense? If so, my congratulations.
Alexander @ PipBurner recently posted..How to Trade with the Fibonacci Tools
No, some of it is from private advertising.
Congratulations on what I am sure will be a successful project!
Paul @ The Frugal Toad recently posted..HARP – Home Affordability Refinance Program
It is shaping up to look very promising. Of course, follow through and execution will be vitally important.
Congrats on December’s grand
Extra money can definitely help you accomplish your goals much faster!
World of Finance recently posted..Understand Sales Techniques
I totally agree. I am hoping that there is more so I can get out of debt much more quickly.
That was an awesome story! I totally understand why you had to share before the official launch. Applying your extra income in the most efficient way possible. Now that’s really making your money work for you. Happy New Year!
Buck Inspire recently posted..BI 005: New Logo Results, Remember Your Offline Family
Happy New Year to you also. Yes, I was quite excited.
Not sure if you know this, but the bank won’t automatically eliminate your PMI. You have to request it. Make sure you get everything in writing. Years ago, I was forced into PMI after the closing costs for a refinance put me over the 80%. Within a year, I paid it back down to under 80% and was able to get rid of the PMI immediately, by request of course. I’ve never heard of the 78% rule, but then again it was 7 or 8 years ago that I had to deal with this.
Great idea with this site. I will absolutely be following along.
Matt recently posted..Stumbling Into a Giant Monster Mega Bank
Thanks for following. I have already made my request to the bank. I will probably update the story after everything is done over at Cash Flow Mantra.
I am really excited about tomorrow.
Chena recently posted..Slow my roll!
You aren’t the only one. I can hardly contain myself. Plus I will be working on a specific series for Saturday that will take you step-by-step through the process of starting a blog.
Well done, CFM. Looking forward to reading and learning more.
Maria@moneyprinciple recently posted..Instead of a New Year’s resolution
Thank you so very much. I hope you are able to learn.
Not related question. Maybe you know some Forex network for bloggers as Yakezie for PF bloggers? It’s much harder to spread the word about Forex staff.
Alexander @ PipBurner recently posted..Forex Time Frames: Pros & Cons and What Is The Best One to Trade
No, I really don’t know about any Forex network. I suppose you could Google if you haven’t already. If it doesn’t show up, then maybe that is an opportunity for you.
That’s a good way to make a smaller sum of money work even harder and seem bigger (not that I consider $1000 to be a small sum, but to a new blogger like me, it might as well be a million dollars).
Smart thinking!
John @ Married With Debt recently posted..Married with Debt is Now CommentLuv Enabled & DoFollow
I plan on using much of my extra blogging income for debt repayment which will enable me to multiply its effects. Thanks for reading.
Awesome result, have you got any tips for any new starters?
You just really need to get out there and do it. Don’t let fear hold you back.