If you follow this blog regularly then you know I’ve had an emotionally shaky month. And just as I suspected my finances took a major hit thanks to my emotions. I’ve known for quite some time that I am an emotional spender and since I was really not in the mood to be paying attention to my finances they took a dip.
I was also behind with my side hustle invoicing and didn’t send them out until the last week of September. However there is a silver lining, although I racked up my credit cards much more than I should have I PAID THEM OFF IN FULL. The other good news is that I am almost done paying off my Life Coaching Certification (Projected Finish Date: December 2012). Once that is taken care of I can really start saving some dough (it’s about $600 a month).
Nothing sends me into panic mode like having debt so I made damn sure to take care of that. I also canceled my trip to New York due to un-forseen circumstances (thinking about using those airline miles to finally attend a conference in 2013). All of that money was moved over to my regular savings and used to pay off the debt I took on this month.
As for the numbers, here they are. Not the best but not terrible either given the circumstances.
Cash: 6225.07 (+225.07)
Brokerage: 681.31 (+9.13 without even touching the account! Woooh!)
Roth IRA: 2,091.17 (+137.01)
Credit Cards: $0 (Biggest win this month!)
Net Worth: 8997.49 (-328.70 Womp)
Life Coaching Certification
As soon as I was feeling better I really revved up the coaching classes. Believe it or not the topics discussed in these classes have really helped me during my post-break up healing process which of course will certainly make me more empathetic toward my clients.
Thanks to ICA’s new schedule I am also putting in major hours during the weekend. I also picked up my second external client as I work toward my certification. Phillip is a long time follower of Grad Meets World (I think he wrote the first comment on the blog), has an entrepreneurial spirit and is a boxer!
Side Hustle
My monthly posts on SALT are still up and running. Unfortunately, I did have to drop a project earlier this month. But hey, that’s the great thing about side hustling – you can back off when you need to.
Interesting surprise though, I did start getting requests from people looking for help with their blogs. So it is with great pleasure that I announce that BLOG CONSULTING IS BACK! I can only take on a couple of clients so feel free to email me if you’re interested – amanda [at] gradmeetsworld [dot] org or use this form.
Health and Fitness
Since my emotions have gone from sad to angry and back again I needed to find healthy ways to channel them. Yoga is great, and this would mark the 9th month of my regular practice, but I needed something a bit more aggressive. Lo and behold I found an awesome mixed martial arts studio six blocks from my job! Last time I did mixed martial arts I was 20 so this was definitely a pleasant surprise as I have always had an interest. If you’re in the Miami area make sure to check out Arena Combat Sports.
Below you’ll find proof that I am indeed attending boxing classes:
First class! There I am in the purple! That would be my coworker/IT guru near the wall.
Post workout feeling so much better! Exercise is great stress relief!
Don’t worry, though. I most certainly have not forgotten about my yoga and have attended whenever my mind isn’t completely frazzled. Besides I have to visit my favorite teachers over at Prana Yoga.
Ready to get my OM on!
Follow me on Instagram for all my picture adventures! @amandaabella
Moral of the story: Going through a hard time? Perfect excuse to GET IN SHAPE!
Top Posts on the Blog September Edition
I don’t know why but we got some major traffic boosts on the blog this month. I’ve also had quite the spike in email subscribers. I think it’s because I’m really pushing myself to be authentic and it’s resonating with people. Either way, I’ve really enjoyed all the empowering emails, Tweets, comments and Facebook Messages. YOU GUYS ROCK!
How Do You Deal With a Break Up? 7 Steps to Getting Over a Break Up
4 Steps to Start Working When You Feel Overwhelmed
How Can Exercise Help You With Life’s Curve Balls?
Am I Too Young to Be a Life Coach? (Reader Question)
Events You Don’t Want to Miss
My new friend and colleague Jordana Jaffe is hosting a FREE CALL on October 18th where she’s going to dish out her secrets for being a successful entrepreneur. I promise you she’s got some good stuff and hey, IT’S FREE! Click here to learn more and sign up.
On October 11th Coach Jennie is launching a self-guided coaching program called Audacity Rules. It’s purpose? A cathartic shove toward self-actualized brilliance. If you’ve ever met Jennie, as I have, then you would know she does just that! If you want to go from kinda awesome to straight up audacious I would not hesitate to check this out! Click her to sign up and snag a free sample chapter!
That’s all for this month, folks! Here’s to a rockin’ October!
Sounds like a pretty good month! Good luck with everything!
Thanks Matt! Hope all is well!