The Real Cost of Making Money

Guys, I have to be real with you: Mo Money, Mo Problems.

I mean, this probably isn’t the case for inherently rich people, whose time is disconnected from the money they make. For a broke lady such as myself, though? It seems like my highest-earning months are the least fulfilling.

For the record, this is not about to be one of those stupid “How to make passive income and never work again” rants.

Instead, it’s just my case for balancing the earned income and fun ratio:

What I Do To Maintain Status As A “Cozy Entrepreneur”

I learned the term “cozy entrepreneur” from Deya on YouTube. It’s pretty straightforward: it means removing the hustle mindset from building a business and replacing it with an organized, long-game approach.

You still work hard, sure, but your days have an actual ending. (As opposed to, you know, hunching over your laptop until 2 am.)

The long and the short of it? Detaching your time from your income as reasonably as possible. Here’s what that looks like, in actionable terms:

Say No to Projects You Don’t Enjoy

The work day goes by far, far slower when you’re doing sh*t you hate. I can pump out a set of LinkedIn posts in a few hours, for instance, while it takes me ages to write web copy.

This goes for personal projects, too. I thought I just had to have a TikTok presence, but the entire video filming/editing process was so infuriatingly long.

Focus on Results, Not Hours

I’m not kidding, your profits are going to have a complete turnaround once you start charging by project/retainer instead of by the hour/word.

Once you’ve gotten really good at something, it takes you less time to do it. Why would you punish yourself by earning less the better you get?

Last, But Not Least: Schedule in Fun

Maybe this is the loser in me talking, but I like having at least one or two scheduled hangouts per week. When I have something in my calendar, I treat it as though it is the word of the lord. I do NOT mess around with it.

On weeks where I think I’ll otherwise be jam-packed with work, work, work, I like to be intentional about doing things just for enjoyment’s sake. This could be a solo date to a coffee shop (without my laptop), or it could be an afternoon lunch with friends.

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This Week’s Budget-Friendly Find:

Every week, I’ll share a resource or product that’s easy on the pockets (or, ideally, free) to help you guys on your entrepreneurship journey.

Look, I get it. I need to stop raving about how awesome Deya is. Seriously, though, this notion template completely changed how I organize my life, and it’s totally free!

I think that the best part about it is that you can measure your tasks in estimated time increments, and then BOOM: Exactly how many hours you’ll spend on tasks each day is laid out for you.

This is how I plan my week, every single week. And I used to SUCK at planners.

Here’s her video about how to use it, too:

This Week’s Money Wins & Fails:

Wins:

• My emergency fund is now past the $2,500 mark!

• I finally invested in a new pair of eyeglasses. I’ve been walking around with the wrong prescription for a few years now.

• My electric bill came in for next month, and it’s a whopping $26!

Fails:

• I had an inbound lead who asked me for a same-day phone call, and I BLEW IT! Or, maybe I didn’t. I’ll tell you this, though: It did not seem like I was nailing the questions.

• My emergency fund is now past the $2,500 mark, which was only half my goal for 2024 (let's be honest, I was a bit ambitious to assume I’d save $5K).