life lately.

life check in including february and march income & spending

hi fin fam! it’s been a minute 👀

here’s what I know to be true about myself: I have big goals and sometimes I succeed, like how in 2022 I 4xed my income in one year, or how last year I hit 6-figures and $10k months in my virtual assistant business. and sometimes, I crash, burn, and run away to hide for a while. maybe even months. substack was one of those big goals for me this year, and when I missed one week, oops, I missed two. the cycle continued and now here I am. It’s been months, but know I’ve missed you & I’m excited to catch up 🖤

Photo by Tirza van Dijk on Unsplash

let’s start with february ❤️

what I was up to

february was when I sent my last substack post because things got really busy, and then I started to get sick. here’s what I was working on:

• auditions

• prep for a cabaret I was singing in

• the start of my first paid composer gig

• my first brand deal of the year on CWM

• onboarding new virtual assistant coaching clients

• posting content on CWM

• prepping for a lead role in a musical

I did everything but the cabaret gig as the beginning of sickness hit me then. I also went to visit my family in tennessee which is where I got the flu (from my baby nieces). here’s a february financial breakdown:

february finances

Full Earned Income (money I made but might receive later) : $15,230.02

Recieved Income: $8,607.40 | After saving for taxes & processing fees: $6,866.52

Income Streams: Rental property, Creative / VA Business (new clients, workshops, recurring payments), Brand deals, Composer gig

How Much I Spent: $7,091.66

• Personal spending: $6,528.71

• Biz spending: $197.87

• Debt payoff: $562.95

• Invested: $61

How Much I Saved: $390.50

I had a lot of big, unexpected purchases like Beyonce tickets (and if you know Bey, she’ll announce her tour two weeks before tickets go on sale giving you NO time to save), additional lodging after my spouse and I’s airbnb fell through for a planned getaway, and more. I’d rate february a 5 out of 10 personal finance wise.

mental health

february was when I started to feel myself pushing. I was doing too much and my body was starting to give out, hence the sickness. I started the month strong and by the end I was really tired and anxious which all led up to me being sick for ALL of march. I’d also give my mental a 5 out of 10 during this month.

Photo by Ekaterina Novitskaya on Unsplash

onto march 🌸

what I was up to

I have to start this section with personally, march SUCKED for me. I got the flu on march 4th which was the same day I started rehearsal for a musical I had the lead role in, as well as the start of my period (which didn’t stop until the end of april). I had the flu for 2 weeks, which then turned into laryngitis (which meant I couldn’t sing during that time), and lastly, a bad sinus infection. I was sick for all four weeks of rehearsal, meaning the performances were my rehearsal because I barely sang well while we put the show together. It was an embarrassing time for me but it all worked out in the end. Because I was trying to heal, I only did what was required of me and nothing more, meaning:

• rehearsals for the musical

• the bare minimum to keep my creative business afloat

• posting content on CWM

• working on 2 brand deals

• working on the composing gig

I did not touch any work for auditions even though March was the smack dab middle of it, and you wouldn’t dare see me in the gym with all the dancing my sick body had to do during rehearsal. I slept, ate, worked, and repeated. here’s what money looked like this month:

march finances

Full Earned Income: $14,228.15

Recieved Income: $9,885 | After saving for taxes & processing fees: $9,045.12

Income Streams: Rental property, Creative / VA Business (recurring payments), Brand deals, composer gig, theatre show, directing gig, dividends

How Much I Spent: $5,180.94

• Personal spending: $3,687.45

• Biz spending: $468.49

• Debt payoff: $666

• Invested: $359

How Much I Saved: $3,300

any additional money left gets moved to my HYSA as a buffer. despite being so sick, I was happy that march spending was lower than the previous month and I was able to save, invest and pay off more debt. I’d give march a 6 out of 10.

mental health

mentally, I was down and out, y’all. to have my first lead role in my theatre community and then not be able to do it justice during rehearsal (because hello sickness) was devastating. it really messed with my head and my confidence. then, because I was trying to heal, I wasn’t showing up in other areas of life. being sick affected everything. I would rate my mental 4 out of 10.

closing thoughts 🧠

Q1 really threw me some curve balls but I made it through. it wasn’t the beginning of the year I was expected, but it was what I was dealt and I did my best. I’ve used april to get back into what I could, even though it brought me a depressive episode I can’t seem to make my way out of (more on that in next post - an april recap). yet still, I rise.

what’s next? this month, I’m planning a VA Resource Sale, my first reel content series on IG, and more substack posts to dig into my finances and help you with yours. let’s hope may is kinder to all of us.

wishing you abundance in your bank accounts,

aleah

CWM