Welcome to my income report for December 2021

In December, I have earned $564 passively in total. Less than in the previous month.

What Happened In December

Invested In Content Gear

This got out of my hand. Every year during Black Friday, I get caught with huge discounts, that sway me into a consumer mindset. And if I am not careful, I could end up on an endless shopping spree, for the materialistic thing I would never buy or need.

Thankfully I am frugal by nature and my minimalistic style of living gives me second doubts on every purchase. So I made a spreadsheet with items, that come to mind. I enter the new price, the used price, and my own valuation. Whenever I find a deal, that triggers or gets close to my valuation, I just jump into it. If it passes a time test.

This holiday, it might have been an economic downturn or what, but there were so many deals on stuff, that I had my eye on. So despite my cash flow rules, I bought content gear and tools, that might help me to up my content creation process.

First I bought a used iPhone 12 Pro. Got one 25% below used market rates in minted condition. This one has a much better camera and microphone than the iPhone X. Most of all it has a wide lens and better quality in lower light. So I can finally make embarrassing vlogs and have confidence, that I am in the frame.

Next is a pocket a vlogging camera Sony ZV-1. This purchase might be questionable though. My thesis is that I need a compact camera, that has a better sensor than iPhone, a good microphone, and a flip-up screen for occasional video sequences. Normally, those reasons are not good enough, but I found a deal 30% below the used market rate, bundled with a wireless mic and a tripod, and a bag and replaceable batteries and charger. A whole lot for the price of a second-hand offer.

The seller was a bodybuilder, who used it once for shooting a vlog of himself going to a bodybuilding competition. But then he had no use for the camera and accessories. So yeah, I bought it and I still feel it was a great deal. Now I just have to use it every day to get the most out of my money.

I plan to purchase one more content gear next month and then I promise I get back to saving mode, because, this is what financially responsible people do.

Enjoyed Peaceful Holidays

As every year, the time around Christmas is my most anticipated period of the year. It is time to slow down, relax and spend quality time with family. I always take extended vacations to cover the last two weeks of the year.

It is also time to reflect on the past year and to start new projects, that require my full attention for multiple weeks. Like trying to code a mobile application.

But none of the above came to fruition. I was busy with my usual routine maintaining my content schedule and I was so lazy starting anything new.

As it is with every vacation, you need a week to be fully rested, another week to shift your brain from exhaustion recovery mode to bored creative mode, and yet another week to get into the zone. So two weeks is not enough to get any results.

And reflection requires a deep meditative state of mind and a clean schedule without distractions, and I was distracted a lot with Christmas, family, workouts, and my projects.

So maybe it is time to reconsider another productivity approach and sandwich new ideas and projects little by little. I will write on this more in future report.

On a positive note, I enjoyed my time with my family to the fullest. I allowed myself to pause the keto diet and treat myself with sweets, Christmas candies, and other high-carb goodies. Man what a cheat holiday. I gained more than 3 Kg over the span of a week, getting fat really quickly around the belly area and face. Those are my natural genetic fat reservoirs.

We will see how much I can lose after the new year, after getting back to my usual cooking routine. But it was worth it. I tasted new cookies, that I would never buy. I eat my favorite dishes, such as pho, mien, custom-made pizza, custom-made burgers, cheeseburgers, or egg salads.

Yeah, this is what life is about.

Now my list of favorite food is richer with a few cookies, which I will for sure buy next Christmas!

Surprisingly, I hadn't had time to watch TV series or movies, so It is another miss I regret. Otherwise, I am happy with how I spent my holidays. It would be better to live in a tropical country with more sunlight and warmer weather, but hey, it is what it is.

Reflected On 2021

I didn't have time to give it deep thoughts, but overall, 2021 was a favourable year. There was an opportunity in every area I was interested in, be it 9-5 jobs, traveling, dating, physical activities, discount shopping, and many more. All of which helped me to grow as a person.

Don't get me wrong. I didn't get what I wanted, in anything mentioned. But I felt the universe was sometimes kind to me, trying to go halfway and waiting for me if I will make a compromise.

Like, imagine you wished to order a 60cm pepperoni pizza with olives, spinach, and tuna. But instead, the universe gave you 16cm pizza with salami and onion. You get the idea. Glass was never full, or half full, only not completely empty. You cannot have cake and eat it too.

There were also unfulfilled wishes, that are related to my side projects. But I can only blame myself for the lack of progress.

But I really feel I didn't have to try so hard or had to face bad luck, compared to other years before.

9-5 Jobs

I got multiple offers, that were a significant step up compared to where I am right now.

How would you like to more than double your salary? Sounds exciting? Yeah, I was and it was the hardest choice I had to make when I turned it down. That was a life-changing opportunity, that might not repeat itself anytime soon.
Or how would you like to earn more, not 100% more but a fair increase in your income, with proper managerial title, and responsibility for a huge team? Yeah, I would love that too, but I was too weak to jump ship. Lesson learned!

Traveling

I had an opportunity to expand my traveled country list, thanks to joining my colleague and his buddy on their trip. It was an interesting experience, that taught me a lot about myself.

First I am not fit for group traveling. I am too independent and like to explore the world at my own pace. I might not end up with many funny stories, that usually happen on these entourages, but all stories will be my own, not about others. Then all choices will be my own responsibility only.

Next thing is that I cannot go along with people, that don't share the same values. This is why the more people age, the less social they are. The fewer new friends they make. And it's more difficult to make new meaningful connections.

When you are young, you don't know shit about your own values, you just learn and absorb everything around you. That is why as an opinionated individual, you observe, experience, and learn. Then you form your own view on your past experiences and in that way, you become a sophisticated individual.

As for the Balkan trip, I had to yet again give up on that idea. Traveling was still difficult with all kinds of restrictions. It was too much hassle to make it work without vax. I hope 2022 will be more traveling-friendly, and I will be able to visit new countries.

Dating

I was definitely more active in 2021 than in previous years. Dates were fine, girls were friendly, but no chemistry. I am still waiting for that "click" moment when you feel the interaction is effortless like you two are meant to be with each other. I guess I should be more open-minded, less picky, and settle with the fact, that nothing lasts forever and divorce is imminent.

Physical Activities

In 2021, I finally took dancing more seriously. Whiles, previously I practiced shuffling as a Sunday cardio warm-up. Now I practice hip-hop dance styles almost every day.

Locking, popping, and break dancing are incredibly fun and hard dance styles, that I always admired and dreamed about learning. But never actually tried because I was not fit, and I didn't treat it as a workout.

Now I have a blast every time I practice even basic moves because it combines everything I like:

the funk-disco-hip-hop-soul vibes
endless creativity unleashed
possibility for self-expression
dancing on the beat looks good

I feel incredibly sore and exhausted after each session and I can practice everywhere. Literally, I love to practice glides and freezes in a crowded subway, while waiting for the train! And the best of it? Nobody cares what you are doing! Ha. Everyone is so deep in their thoughts and life some goofy guy doing goofy moves won't get their attention. Love it!

Live projects

The Hustle App

I might never get to it since I am using a combination of Google Calendar and Toggle to track my productivity. I will stop reporting Hustle in my monthly reports, but I will keep the domain and app alive as my side project reference.

Good House Music

At the time of writing this post, it grew to 357 subscribers. A 4.3% increase over the previous month. I have uploaded 3 DJ mixes and only 3 new single tracks. The most viewed track recorded 111 views.

I will keep uploading till I reach 269 uploads, then we will see if it is going anywhere.

Personal Youtube Channel #1

In the previous month, I posted 1 new video on my personal Youtube channel.

I will keep uploading till I reach 246 uploads, then we will see if it is going anywhere.

Personal Youtube Channel #2

In the previous month, I posted 1 new video on my personal Youtube channel.

I will keep uploading till I reach 30 uploads, then we will see if it is going anywhere.

Financia

I made no progress during Christmas. I just could not switch my mind to that abstract coding mentality because I was so deep in my other artsy and creative endeavors.

Note to me: coding and content creation do not go well together and the context switching between them takes multiple days!

But I won't give up and I will finish this feature no matter what, so I can devote my time to other dev projects I have in mind.

Income Report Breakdown

P2P Lending

I am still keeping a few dollars on my account with an Autotrader turned on.

Savings Accounts

Right now, I still keep a small portion of money in savings accounts to cover my living expenses.

I missed the TIPS bonds train, due to the difficult and time-consuming setup. Before I could open my custody account, the government announced they will stop new bond emissions and will reevaluate the program instead.

In other words, this kind of public financing was so uneconomical it was only a matter of time they stop the program.

This leaves me with no better options than low-interest savings accounts

Stock Investing

December was another brutal month. Everyone who invested in growth tech stocks got slaughtered. Including me. I learned so much in 2021 and every month, the market teaches me a lesson.

So my lessons learned are:

Buy and hold index funds is the best strategy.
I am not good at stock picking. Correction. I am, but I am not good at timing exits.
Santa rally is not a thing.
November is the best month for tax-loss harvesting. Don't wait till new years eve to cut losses.
High IV is high for a reason.
Technicals work until they don't.
Sometimes the market just tanks for no apparent reason. Well, it is a sign, that money flows out of the market and you should too.
Hedging is more dangerous than taking a realized loss.

Take my advice with a grain of salt. And always do your due diligence.

Used Stuff Sales

My path to life minimalism went well in the previous month. I have sold a book and a bowtie, the fewer material things I own, the more freedom I get.

Plans, dreams, and wishes

My goals for January are the following. Keep creating content, finish Financia features, and shred some gained fat.

That would be it. Thank you so much for following me on this journey and see you in the next report.

Income Report Dec 2021 - 2021 Retrospective