How to Become a Freelance Writer
10 Tips for Making 6 Figures as a Freelance Writer
Our goal is financial independence and to retire early (FIRE). For years, I (Ms Aspiring Millionaire), have done freelance writing which has provided both a great income and incredible experiences. Because of writing, I have been paid to travel, get my diving certifications, do cool experiences with my kids, and publish books and all of it was done around the kids.
On the site, we will be covering both what we do to make money and other high-income career suggestions to help you achieve financial independence quicker.
I do a few different things and will cover each in a different article. Mr Aspiring Millionaire recently started working as a commercial diver with a starting wage of $100,000 per year that will go to $3,000+ per day when he does saturation diving.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products and services we use.
Woman writing on laptop and drinking coffee What is a Freelance Writer?
A freelance writer is a self-employed writer who writes things such as articles, social media content, website content and similar. Basically, anything you see written can be done by either an employed content producer or a freelance writer.
Freelance writers need to register their business, invoice, and manage their accounting, tax, insurance, and everything as it is a business.
How much do Freelance Writers Make?
The income varies greatly depending on the writer’s experience, qualifications, who they are writing for, what they are writing about and where they are from.
Many in developing countries charge significantly less than those in Australia, the UK and USA. However, since they are not typically native English speakers, the writing is not of the same quality or usability as native English speakers.
Those in the UK, USA, Australia and similar countries charge more. Any content (articles etc) that are research-heavy or requires skills such as SEO or qualifications such as legal or medical writing will all attract a higher rate too.
Making 6 figures as a writer is doable and common among the writers I know. When you start out you might not make that but as you build your portfolio and network, it becomes easier.
My usual income per article is anywhere from $250 for an article I can quickly write without research through to over $1,000 for research-heavy articles. Clients on retainer or who batch purchase articles get a discount.
Most work I see on other sites, Facebook and similar is 10c a word or more. Anything below that is not worth it at all.
How do you Become a Freelance Writer?
If you have great English skills and an eye for detail, you can do it. Writing takes practice and I recommend everyone do a writing course. Writing courses such as Earn More Writing help you become a freelance writer and teach you all about the marketing and business side of it all to get you to 6 figures too.
For me, I started with blogging, landed a book contract with Wiley within a year then immediately had websites pitching to me to write for them. As such, even now, I don’t pitch much. Magazines and websites usually come to me.
I am in writing groups, am a member of some writing associations and have a portfolio to as all of these places provide opportunities.
How do I get Paid to Travel as a Freelance Writer?
I started with blogging and writing about finance then tourism boards asked me to do trips and write content for other websites and magazines. Instead of being a journalist for one magazine or an influencer with a travel website, I had writing and marketing to provide.
My trips usually resulted in fully paid trips, articles I was paid to write, and sometimes being paid to do marketing strategies or the content for websites as well. Plus I often picked up more clients on those trips.
As such, I wasn’t solely a freelance writer, I was a tourism marketer and could offer complete packages. Especially when Mr Aspiring Millionaire and I did things together as he is a photographer. We share our travels and work for this on Blended Nomads and on my site Kylie Travers.
Top Tips for Freelance Writers
Image of desk with a laptop and chair. I’ve been paid to write for over 10 years now and love that it is so flexible. The opportunities as well as the income as been great. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a writer but was advised not to as you can’t make money. How times have changed! Writing is a viable career now, especially if you know what you are doing.
Do A Course
If you are serious about making a career in writing and earning 6 figures, do a course. As mentioned, Earn More Writing is the course I recommend for freelance writers.
There is so much more to this career than just writing. You need to know about marketing, networking, where to get work, how much to charge, how to increase your rates and more. Invest in yourself by investing in Earn More Writing.
Submit Ahead of Deadlines
When you get a gig, complete it with plenty of time to spare. Submitting something right on the deadline is allowed but also cuts it fine for everyone. Every editor I have worked with loves it when I submit my work early.
It gives them time to look it over, edit if necessary or ask me to make changes (rare) so they can send it off to be published on time.
When you are submitting your work right on the deadline, while technically you are withing the guidelines the editor wanted, it makes you the same as everyone. Submitting early is one way to be easier to work with and get offered more work.
Learn About Where you are Pitching
Before pitching an article anywhere, check the place you are pitching. Make sure they haven’t done something on that exact topic already, have a point of difference but ensure it matches the place you are pitching and follow their procedures.
With a little research, you can find out the best way to pitch according to their guidelines instead of pitching blindly. Adhering to their guidelines increases your chances of success with placing the article.
Network
All occupations require networking. New gigs, meeting the right people, being recommended to others and all sorts of opportunities come from networking.
This doesn’t mean you have to go to networking events specifically, although they can be great. It includes Facebook groups, Twitter chats and similar as well as carrying cards everywhere you go and not being afraid to let people know what you do.
Have a Contract
When you do start working, always have a contract. This is covered in the courses usually as it is essential to protect you and them. Know exactly what you are writing, how long it needs to be, how many edits are allowed, when it is due and payment terms.
Include a kill fee, meaning a fee you will be paid even if they choose not to publish. Know when payment will be made and how so you can plan accordingly as well as follow it up if you’re not paid. Have clear terms and conditions for everything, including a deposit of 50% of full payment upfront and consequences for non-payment if you choose not to have it paid in full upfront.
Read and Write
The more you read and write the better you get. I aim to read at least one book a week and I am writing every day for work. When I look back at the early articles I wrote for various places I cringe.
Firstly, it was different back then and secondly because it seems so immature compared to my writing now.
The more I write, the faster I get and the easier it is. Practice as often as you can, and write about topics that interest you even before having somewhere to place them. Get involved in language through reading and writing to improve your skills.
When you are constantly working on your skills, you get better and can charge a higher rate as well as get more work because of the quality of your work.
Ask me anything about writing below.
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How to Become a Commercial Diver: Earn $100,000+ in a few Months!
How to Create Multiple Income Streams and Why You Need Them
How to Create Multiple Income Streams and 8 Income Stream Ideas
Life is no longer as easy as going to university, getting a job then retiring. Chances are, if you do go to university, you’ll leave with significant debt and it can be hard to get a job. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it, it simply means make sure you have other options too.
It’s becoming increasingly common for people to do university, trade or other career and have a business or side hustles at the same time. The cost of living has risen so much, that most people feel they have no choice but to have multiple streams of income.
In our view, having multiple streams of income helps buffer you against adversity. If one income drops or you lose your job or anything along those lines, the other incomes help pull you through. Plus, why not make extra money with little to no effort if you can?
Disclosure, this post may contain affiliate links for products and services we use.
How to Create Multiple Streams of Income
We jump on any opportunity that can make us extra money without taking time away from our family or using a lot of time. With a clear view of the life we want, it’s been easy to see what works for us and say yes to the right opportunities, as well as no to the ones that don’t match our lifestyle.
Decide what you want to do, be open to ideas and experiment. That’s how simple it can be. Always do your research though and know what you are getting into.
As an example, Mr Aspiring Millionaire wanted to be a commercial diver from the moment he started diving years ago. For many, commercial diving is not a career they would choose due to the hours and risk.
Currently, he has done his third certification and has to work in the industry for a while before he can move to saturation diving. Saturation diving is the offshore oil rig style work. 4 weeks on and 4 weeks off.
For us, that is great as the pay is high and when he has 4 weeks off, we can travel anywhere as a family.
I, (Ms Aspiring Millionaire) have multiple streams of income which are predominantly online. As such, we have great incomes, the flexibility we want and one parent available for the kids at all times. With 5 kids, that’s important to us.
Why Have Multiple Income Streams
Relying on one income means if you lose that income e.g. get fired, you have no other money coming it. Multiple streams of income protect you against this plus they help you save and invest faster. If you are aiming for FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) like we are, multiple streams of income enable you to get there faster.
Wealthy people all have more than one income stream but they aren’t working for all of them. Owning businesses, investing, creating passive income streams is the aim. You can check out 10 passive income ideas here.
Income Stream Ideas
Here are some income streams you might want to include. Adding an income stream doesn’t always mean more time and effort put into something. Some of them can be pretty simple.
Careers/Occupations
The first obvious income stream for most is your chosen career, occupation or any form of employment. When it comes to a career, those pursuing FIRE (financial independence, retire early) typically look for high-income options.
As mentioned, Mr Aspiring Millionaire is a commercial diver. This is what he chose when we came to Australia and within a few years, he will earn thousands a day. The 3 courses to get to his current level were $25,000 plus accommodation and other expenses.
Our outlay was $30,000 all up and a few months study. After some experience in the field, he can then do the final level at the same cost of $30,000 for course and accommodation etc. That is when he will do offshore work at a few thousand a day, month on month off.
For myself, Ms Aspiring Millionaire, I have stuck to more flexible career options including blogging, writing, marketing, CEO of a marketing company, speaking etc. All of it has been done at the same time and around my kids.
Business
Even though many small businesses are done as side hustles, there are numerous entrepreneurs and business owners who focus solely on their business. My income has been from my own businesses instead of employment almost my entire working life.
If you choose to go the business path, ensure you are committed and set it up correctly. Get a lawyer and accountant so it is established legally. Read Profit First to learn a great way to set up your accounting.
Make sure you have insurance, know what you can and cannot claim on tax, your legal obligations and marketing.
Owning a business is not an easy taks but as you grow and outsource, it can be a great income. Once you can afford it, if the business is fully outsourced and managed by others, you will have an income stream rather than a job.
Our Businesses
With all our businesses and endeavours, the aim is for them to be fully outsourced and we simply collect money. Currently, we have a few small businesses we are growing. We saw some opportunities and took them.
One of our recent businesses has been quite different for us as it relies so heavily on others from the beginning. Usually, our businesses have been developed by us then outsourced. This one, we couldn’t do without others.
We have more businesses we want in the future and are currently restructing some of them to free up more of our time and money to invest elsewhere.
Side Hustles
Aside from a career and a business, there are numerous things you can do to make money on the side. Part of my challenge to double $2 until it is over $1,000,000 shows what I have done or am doing. Below are a selection of my favourite side hustles that are easy.
You don’t need thousands to set it up and you don’t need to spend a lot of time doing them.
Blogging
There is more to blogging than most assume but it is a business that can be done from anywhere and outsourced quickly if you know what you are doing. I’ve bought and sold websites over the years as well as created then sold my own and still have a portfolio of sites I make money from.
Read how to make money building and selling websites for more on this.
Airbnb
Paula Pant is one of many who use Airbnb with their rentals and make good money. We’ve used Airbnb both as guests and hosts. Being a guest gave us great ideas to improve ourselves as hosts.
How much you can make from Airbnb depends on the location, condition, what you include and local events. Check out this guide on how to make money with Airbnb.
Reselling
My $2 to $1,000,000 started with buying things to resell. It’s been easy to find items under $5 I can resell for $10, $20 or even $100. When I focus on reselling, I can make over $10,000 in a month.
How to Make Over $10,000 a Month Buying Things to Resell covers what to buy and resell, where to get it, how to photography and list it, postage and other tips. Only $9.95AUD.
Investing
More of a long term income plan than a current income option, investing is essential in our view. It requires minimal effort unless you want to research it all. Most choose to invest in indexed funds or similar which is pretty much set and forget instead of investing in individual companies.
It is lower risk and proivided you don’t freak out when the market ebbs and flows and you are doing it long term, statistically you’ll make money. Get professional advice and learn about your own risk tolerance as well as the risks involved with various investments.
We have a selection of investments for income in the future and to continue after we pass as well as side hustles for income now.
Books
Once written, if you outsource marketing, books can be a great side hustle. Authors don’t typically generate huge income from the book sales themselves, they do provide some income though.
I get royalties from a book I wrote 10 years ago, as well as income every month from eBooks I’ve written. Audiobooks are another great option. Essentially, you write one book, provide it in a variety of formats and you have 3 income streams from one piece of work.
How to create eBooks shares my experience and tips.
Other Side Hustles
There are so many side hustles available. I wanted to focus on ones that don’t require much effort. However, if you want to check out more side hustles, even if they require your time and effort, there are some great ones in the eBook 99 Side Hustles for Aussies plus most can be done by anyone, not just Aussies. Only $9.95.
What are you doing to have multiple income streams?
How to Become a Commercial Diver: Earn $100,000+ in a few Months!
How to get into Commercial Diving and Career Options
Our aim is financial independence, retire early (FIRE). As such, it makes sense to go into an occupation you can earn a lot in so you can invest fast and have more options. It helps if you love it, which we do.
Mr Aspiring Millionaire trained to be a commercial diver last year. He has previous experience diving, although that is not necessary to do this career. Growing up in Vanuatu, then working in the Solomon Islands, commercial diving was not an option for him even though he wanted to do it for years.
Once we got Australian residency sorted for him, commercial diving was the next step. Last year, we did both residency and his course, which wasn’t cheap but both were worth it.
Commercial diving is a high-risk occupation, especially if you work on offshore oil rigs. However, the pay for those jobs is high ($3,000+ per day) as well. It doesn’t require a university degree and pays well from the start. In fact, you can do it at 18 after a few months of doing a course and go straight into a job at $100,000.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products and services we use.
What is Commercial Diving?
Commercial diving covers jobs from working in fisheries repairing nets, getting abalone and similar through to offshore saturation diving, where you live in a chamber under the water for a month at a time. It is in high demand, pays well and you can start young.
Mr Aspiring Millionaire as a commercial diver How Much Can You Make as a Commercial Diver?
The lowest-paid are those working in fisheries at around $80,000 a year and only requires ADAS 1 and ADAS 2 ($7,000 each course). If you want to earn more, you need to do ADAS 3 and you will work in construction commercial diving repairing dams, wharves, bridges and other underwater construction essentials. This is around $100,000 and is a great step towards saturation diving.
Saturation diving, offshore on oil rigs is the highest paying but also the most dangerous. Typically, you will work for 4 weeks then have 4 weeks off but make $3,000+ per day.
Read how much a commercial diver makes for more specifics.
What Prerequisites Are There?
Aside from passing a commercial diving medical, and having a current advanced first aid certificate including CPR, oxygen etc, there aren’t any. You need to be fit, able to handle enclosed spaces and other skills do come in handy but realistically you can get that training after.
What do you need to do to Become Qualified as a Commercial Diver?
Within a few months, you can be earning over $100,000 after completing your course and getting a job. Mr Aspiring Millionaire studied at Commercial Dive Academy in Tasmania, Australia. He did ADAS 1, 2 and 3 at the same time for about 3 months.
They have a discount if you do all 3 at once and there is a house students can pay to stay at since it is away from everything.
Certificate III in Maritime Operations can be extremely useful depending on the area and job you go into. Any construction experience, forklift licence and similar are also great to have or may be required to secure a job.
Mr Aspiring Millionaire needed his dive certifications, first aid certifications, a white card (construction card) and drivers licence. Within 2 months they arranged a few construction qualifications and his forklift licence as well. These would cost thousands but since he is a good worker and will be with them for years, it is a good investment for them.
Career Progression
Some commercial divers are happy to do fisheries and nothing else. Those who do the construction style commercial diving often have a desire to do saturation diving. Saturation diving is the most dangerous and although the wages are high, works often blow through their money as they are bored being offshore.
Since they can be qualified to do saturation within a few years of starting as a commercial diver and you can start as young as 18 in commercial diving, it is huge money for such a young age.
Any area of commercial diving you choose to go into has options for progression. After years of diving, you can move into supervision roles, training and similar. It’s up to you and the higher you go, the higher the income as the knowledge and experience is unique.
Commercial Diving Risks
If something goes wrong, you could easily die. It’s that simple. Of course, the safety checks and procedures are there to protect you and are extremely strict in Australia, it is a risky occupation though.
Offshore diving is even riskier because if you line gets cut or anything goes wrong, you cannot get to the surface. There are also issues such as decompression sickness, nitrogen narcosis, delta P, currents, sharks etc. The list is long and all of it requires divers to keep extremely calm under immense pressure.
Find out more about the risks of commercial diving.
Mr Aspiring Millionaire’s Diving Background and Plan
Before commerical diving, Mr Aspiring Millionaire did tec and scuba diving in the Solomon Islands, PNG and parts of Micronesia. He was crew for the expedition to find Amelia Earhart’s plane, had worked on boats his whole adult life doing everything from engineering and repairs through to learning to be a captain.
Having this experience, working in extreme conditions including being at sea through cyclones and having to repair boats in the least developed countries, he can clearly work well under pressure and problem solve. These are essential traits for a commercial diver.
When it came to securing a job, his previous work experienced helped immensely. It took a month from graduation to secure the job he has although he was offered other work before then. The other jobs were casual, lower rates and nowhere near as much diving.
Since he wants to go through to saturation diving, he needs to get his diving experience up quickly.
His plan is to work for a few years where he is, do the saturation diving course then work offshore on oil rigs at the highest rate. With a month on then a month off, we will be able to travel on his month off.
We will be investing his income heavily to enable him to retire early if he wants. However, he is interested in going right through to the supervisor roles.
If you have an questions, leave a comment and Mr Aspiring Millionaire can respond.
Follow Aspiring Millionaire on Facebook and Instagram for more!
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1 Year of Aspiring Millionaire
How we Increased our Net Worth by $166,000 PLUS got Permanent Residency and new Qualifications, Jobs and Another Baby
A year ago, we started this site as a hobby. At the time, we had just applied for a residency visa for Mr Aspiring Millionaire, we had 4 kids (teens, a primary schooler and a 3 month old). Mr Aspiring Millionaire had not been working for 2 years as he was on a tourist visa and Ms Aspiring Millionaire had health issues through the pregnancy causing a drop in income.
We’d seen some extreme expenses including repatriation after getting lockdown in the Solomon Islands. For 2020 it felt like we were bleeding money, so once we did the residency visa and knew we’d be based in Australia for a while, we regrouped and focused on our finances.
So in April 2021, we sat down and worked out where we were at financially, our goals and what we wanted to do.
What did we Achieve in a Year?
With the visa approved, we were able to get clear on our goals and also fell pregnant with a daughter who was born in February. With our son turning 1 in January, this meant by February 2022 we had two teens, an 8-year-old, a 1-year-old and a newborn.
Quick Version
A baby, a residency visa, a $30K course, cleared some debt, 2 trips (a road trip from Noosa to Melbourne then a trip to Tasmania for 3 weeks), a new job and started another business.
For 1 year, and 1 sporadic income, that is a lot to achieve. Many aiming for FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) would baulk at some of these expenses and choices. Our aim is to enjoy life, create great memories and do what we want while also working towards financial freedom.
A note on our income, Ms Aspiring Millionaire is the main income earner and due to health complications, her income dropped below 6 figures so we are not using a high income to achieve this either.
$30,000 Course: Commercial Diving
Our first goal was to save for a commercial diving course for Mr Aspiring Millionaire at a cost of $30,000 with 3 courses, flights, accommodation and some gear. In December 2021, he became an ADAS 3 Commercial Diver.
August to December, Mr Aspiring Millionaire was based in Tasmania while Ms Aspiring Millionaire was in Noosa with the kids. As the only income earner for the past few years, it was a little daunting to aim for $30,000 for the course.
Things fell into place in July, so we quickly booked him in the last spot available for the August course. If he didn’t do the course then, it couldn’t be done until early 2022, when Ms Aspiring Millionaire was due with a baby.
So for us, the only option was to find the money asap and we did. Getting the money as well as him getting qualified was a huge achievement.
Another Baby
The teenagers are just over a year apart, they are best friends and are from Ms Aspiring Millionaire’s first marriage. The 8-year-old is from Mr Aspiring Millionaire’s first marriage and she currently lives in the Solomon Islands. Together, we had our son in January 2021 and before we had him, we had decided to have another close in age, the same as the teenagers are.
In February 2022, our youngest daughter was born. Mr Aspiring Millionaire was doing work in another state so flew back for the birth and has visited twice in the 2 months since her birth.
Despite being experienced, her birth had complications and it was an extremely traumatic birth, requiring surgery and extra care for Ms Aspiring Millionaire after birth. Not at all what we planned or expected but 2 months on, things are going much better.
Our daughter is easygoing, much like our other kids and our older children simply adore her. All of the kids get along well and the teens love teaching their younger siblings everything.
Travel
In April 2021 we did a road trip from Noosa to Melbourne. For the most part, it wasn’t that expensive as we had a lot of free accommodation with family and friends. The purpose of the trip was to see friends and family as well as collect our belongings that had been stored in Melbourne since early 2019 when we went travelling.
In the September/October school holidays Ms Aspiring Millionaire flew with the teens and baby, while pregnant, down to Tassie while Mr Aspiring Millionaire studied. Ms Aspiring Millionaire’s uncle lent us one of his spare cars for the trip and we stayed with family in some places and paid for accommodation elsewhere.
The Tassie trip was a combination of seeing each other during the course, showing the kids and Mr Aspiring Millionaire where Ms Aspiring Millionaire grew up, seeing family and some travel writing work.
New Job and New Business
In January 2022, Mr Aspiring Millionaire started work as a commercial diver and loves it. His previous career was in diving as a guide and tec diver including doing the trip to find Amelia Earhart’s Plane with National Geographic. Commercial diving was a goal of his since he started diving but wasn’t achievable in the Solomon Islands or Vanuatu.
As for the new business, many of our businesses are small at the moment with room to grow. Focusing on the babies and studies meant we didn’t spend a lot of time on the businesses. However, we had the opportunity to get involved with one this month. Right now, it’s not worth a lot but there is huge potential for growth across the 3 countries we are based in.
Plus the new business requires minimal work (less than 1 day a month) from us as most of the work is done elsewhere.
How Our Net Worth Grew
We are ecstatic to look at what we have achieved in the past year, especially since we know the obstacles we faced that we aren’t sharing here. Doing all of that predominantly on one income was amazing so we know now that we are both working and have the capacity to expand the businesses that our net worth will grow faster.
Here is where we were and where we are now.
Our Assets April 2021
April 2021 I was only able to list out our properties from Vanuatu so below is more specifics from May 2021 after the little businesses were valued. Retirement funds aren’t listed fully but we also plan to retire well before we access them so won’t really include them. In April 2021, we were having issues getting the amounts from the islands so couldn’t list them.
Property: $600,000
Business 1: $70,000
Business 2: ?
Business 3: $3,000
Spaceship: $679.85
Coinspot: $209
Raiz: $40
Retirement: ?Our Liabilities April 2021
Combined, our debt is not great. We have a few separate loans and are focusing on one at a time while maintaining minimum repayments on them all.
Custody debt $9,000
Visa debt $6,000
Personal loan $12,000
Cash debt $600
Cash debt $500
School debt $900Total: $29,000
Net Worth $571,000 April 2021
Once we remove the liabilities from our assets, our net worth isn’t terrible. We have a positive net worth which is the main thing! Our net worth is roughly $571,000AUD. This will be different once the businesses and retirement are sorted.
Assets April 2022
Properties: $600,000
Business 1: $120,000
Business 2: $20,000
Business 3: $5,000
Business 4: $10,000
Business 5: $0
Shares: $300
Crypto: $601Total Assets: $755,901
As you can see, we haven’t invested a lot anywhere but the businesses have increased in value due to marketing. The value of the businesses is based mainly on the annual income since most of them don’t have tangible assets.
We would have invested more in shares and crypto but the course was our main focus, along with clearing debt. This coming year, we will invest more.
Liabilities April 2022
Custody debt $5,000
Visa debt $5,000
Personal loan $8,434
Cash debt $0
Cash debt $0
School debt $0Total: $18,434
We are quite happy with how much debt we’ve cleared here on top of everything else. Our assumption is this debt will be all gone within a few months.
Net Worth April 2022: $737,467
Considering our expenses, the health issues with pregnancy reducing income and working predominantly with 1 income, we are pretty happy with this.
Knowing how much we achieved is empowering and motivating for this coming year. With Mr Aspiring Millionaire now working on a good wage and the world opening up again so Ms Aspiring Millionaire can do more travel writing again, we anticipate the next year to be even better.
Plans for the Upcoming Year
Rather than sharing plans, we will continue to share what we have done, as it is done. Ms Aspiring Millionaire will continue with the $2 to $1,000,000 challenge. We will continue to grow our businesses and Mr Aspiring Millionaire will work full time as a commercial diver.
As for large expenses, this year we plan to buy a 7 seater car. Debt will be cleared soon and we have a few purchases to make for the home.
A Business and Employing Others: Millionaire Challenge Step 8
My aim is to start with $2 and double it over and over until I have over $1,000,000. Check out the $2 to millionaire updates for what I’ve done. This is my 8th double, $960 to $1,920.
Along with doubling my money with each step, I am creating income streams and this time is no different. It is amazing how many opportunities are out there once you are open to them and actively working towards a goal.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links for products and services we use.
How I Doubled My Money
It’s been a while since my last update where I flipped a website (something I used to do a bit). A week after that update, I gave birth and it didn’t go well. Then we all got sick with the same thing going around the world.
Yet, despite that, there were 2 business opportunities I could have jumped on. One I was too slow in responding, the other requires less effort and is essentially run by someone else already.
Having run businesses before and with my experience in marketing, I know when I am looking at a business for sale if I will be able to increase the profit for minimal effort. Any business we buy going forward needs to be essentially managed and run by others.
I’ve done businesses where it relies completely on me. That’s not a business, it’s a job. Because if I stop, the money stops and that is not what I want.
What Are The Businesses?
The first business opportunity was posted in a Facebook group. I looked into it and could see how we’d easily double our investment within a month. It was a great idea but poorly managed.
However, the opportunity came up when we were sick and I missed out. Someone else managed to snap it up because I was out for a couple of days unable to do anything.
It was a business that required more involvement than I would normally be interested in but perfect for my daughters. We discussed it, I was going to help them with the marketing side of it and they were going to do the actual work of creating the product as ordered.
Since we didn’t buy it, I won’t link to it. I will say, I do regret not acting sooner on it. But even though we didn’t buy it, the conversation within the family about business, future projects, what we want to do was fantastic as a result of that opportunity.
The other business, someone approached me to collaborate. I am sourcing the product and fronting the cost, they are doing the marketing and selling.
Business Partnerships, a First for me
In all previous businesses of mine, I have been the only owner/founder/investor. At times, I have been approached or did attempt a partnership but it fizzled and the business never eventuated beyond discussions.
When I was approached for this, it was interesting as it was an idea we had discussed previously but knew we needed other people involved for it to run. We thought we wouldn’t be able to do it until after the pandemic and that it would require more work finding someone so this was a great surprise.
Setting Up Slowly
Usually, when doing a business, there is a lot more involved regarding set-up, website, legalities, partnership agreement etc. Since this one isn’t in my country but I know how well this can do, it’s slightly different.
We started with a test run of the idea, with the details outlined and will do it slowly this way for a few months. If it continues to do well, it will be set up properly as a full business.
Right now, it would be classed as a hobby or arrangement between family members really. With plans to grow, once it reaches a certain point, it will legally need some business licences and other things so that is when it will be registered and formalised.
Trusting Others
Normally, I would never do things based only on trust. This particular project was no risk to me. Yes, I fronted the money so that is technically a risk, but we send money to this family member anyway. This is a way for them to make money long term instead.
So because of the uniqueness of this situation, I was willing to test it out based on mutual trust.
While sometimes, trust works out, I am a strong believer in setting things up as you wish to continue. With business, always have the end in mind, meaning, will you sell it or outsource it completely etc?
Expanding Over Time
This one is starting quite small and I can’t share a lot of details as yet. Once it progresses properly into a business (if it does) then I will share more about the exact process and what we are doing.
Being a test project with the option to expand it’s exciting. I like being able to start something, have someone else do the bulk of it and know the potential to expand into other countries later.
And if it doesn’t progress beyond this stage, that’s ok as I already doubled my money. It’s unlikely to stop though.
Future Plans for the Millionaire Challenge
Going forward, I am mostly interested in things that will create another income stream. I’ve done a few such as eBooks and websites that generate money consistently. Replicating them and creating more of them are part of my plans.
But I also want to work on bigger projects. However, with young kids, including a newborn, it’s difficult to do too much now. Later this year, when I have childcare, I will be doing a lot more.
How to Make Money Building and Selling Websites
6 Steps to Build Then Sell a Website to Make Money
Blogging and websites have been my main income for years. It’s something I’ve enjoyed but not pursued as much as I could have due to other commitments. This is a basic overview but I have links in the article for more information.
As part of my $2 to Millionaire challenge, my most recent double was building then selling a website. For my challenge, I started with $2, doubled that and will continue doubling until I have over $1,000,000. This was my seventh time doubling my money. You can read all the others here.
For this one, I had $480 to use and managed to sell the site for $1,500 rather quickly. If I kept it longer and made more money with it, it would have sold for more.
Disclosure – This site contains affiliate links for products and services I use.
1. How to Set up a Website
Back when I started blogging, I had to learn to code. Now you can drag and drop it all with loads of free tutorials making it super easy.
In fact, I can set up a website within a few hours with all the graphics, social channels, some articles etc. The thing that takes longer is the content and marketing. Both of which I have extensive experience but you can also outsource.
2. The Basics of Website Creation
In a nutshell, you need to decide on a niche, pick a relevant and available domain name, check the socials are available for it then get set up. Buy your domain name. Get your hosting package and my preference is to install WordPress then build the site that way.
All of this probably sounds like a completely different language if you have never had anything to do with creating websites, blogging or social media.
You can teach yourself all of it or hire someone. If you want to learn for yourself, I recommend doing a course and stepping through it. If you want a full tutorial on how to do it, I have written one here.
3. Outsourcing
Hire other people to do the work for you. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should DIY it all either. If you have the money, it’s easier, quicker and you can do more of them if you outsource. Make sure you have a clear plan for what you want and vet the people you hire thoroughly.
Get a virtual assistant, a writer or two, someone else to set up the site etc. These positions can be sourced relatively cheaply through Fiverr, Upwork and similar. Get them to do the grunt work and you can oversee everything instead.
4. Market the Website
A website needs to make money and to make money you need to get it out there. Marketing is something I did for years but for a website, it is easy to outsource it.
Scheduling posts on social media, updating content on the website, ensuring everything has good SEO, these are all things that help grow your audience and your bottom line.
With any business, including websites, you need a marketing strategy. It can be basic but you need one and need to be consistent to make it grow and have value.
5. How to Make Money with Blogs/Websites
This is the part I get asked abotu the most. Firstly, you need traffic to the website, an audience and things for them to buy.
The most common way people make money from websites is through affiliate links. This is where something is mentioned and linked to. When someone clicks on it and buys it, the website owner gets a percentage of the profits.
Ads from companies such as Google for Adsense or MediaVine if you have enough traffic make great money. They manage the ads shown on your site and it is the easiest process.
Sponsored posts are less common. This is where a company pays to be linked to from your site either in a new article you write, they provide one or in an existing post. You need to disclose it and realise there are many ways this can harm your website long term with Google.
Dropshipping is where you create a product customers can buy and it is created then shipped by a third party.
Your own products such as courses, eBooks and other resources.
For more ways to make money with websites, read this.
6. Sell the Website
With the website up, good traffic and income, it can be sold. Websites can be bought and sold on sites such as Flippa. Alternatively, there are Facebook groups for selling websites and email lists.
As I have been doing it for a while, I have access to and have utilised all 3.
Why Make Money Selling Websites
Creating and selling websites is something most people can learn and can be done from anywhere. If the last 2 years are anything to go by, having multiple streams of income and being able to make money remotely is important!
My preference has been owning them for a while, generating income and then selling off some. I can outsource all of it now, focus on the ones that are doing well and then sell the ones that aren’t performing as much as I’d like.
My plan moving forward is to continue with this but the websites will be held for 6 to 12 months each time to see which are performing the best. Previously, I owned 10 websites at once and that generated great income.
Due to changes in my life, I had to sell them to pay for something extremely important to my life.
Now, I am in a position to get back to it and am excited.
How to Make Money by Investing in Yourself (I Quadrupled my ‘Investment’!)
5 Things to do to Invest in Yourself
When we talk about investing and doubling our money, it is usually property, shares and similar. Investing in yourself is just as important and can result in a huge increase in your income or net worth too. You don’t need thousands to invest in yourself either. Many courses, books and opportunities are under $100;
$2 to Millionaire
One part of this site is my challenge to double $2 multiple times until I have over $1,000,000.
My first flip was a book, second was a dress, third was a refer a friend bonus I promoted with Facebook ads, fourth was creating an eBook, my fifth double is here. And now for my latest.
Originally, I was going to buy or create a website and resell it. Then an opportunity to invest in me came up, I did it and it resulted in $400 extra from the $100 I invested. Here is what I did, how it helped and other ways I have invested in myself.
Disclosure, this post may contain affiliate links to products and services I use.
Image of notebooks in copper basket. Text reads How to Make Money by Investing in Yourself 1. Courses
With so many courses out there it can be hard to know which ones are right for you. If you know what you want to learn about and get some recommendations based on that, it is much easier. For me, some of the courses I have invested in which resulted in increased income and opportunities are below.
Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing: being a website owner, I did this course a little while ago and it helped significantly on my other sites. My affiliate income doubled quickly and it has been a favourite way for me to make money.
Earn More Writing: I fell into freelance writing easily and had clients come to me. When I did this course, I really stepped things up though and was able to make even more plus increase my rates. The opportunities I’ve had because of freelance writing are amazing. Getting qualified to dive and doing dive trips throughout the South Pacific, doing once in a lifetime hikes through Europe and Indonesia, seeing the total solar eclipse in Indonesia etc.
Bundles: Throughout the year different bundles come up which relate to business, blogging, marketing. While I haven’t invested in any of them recently, in my early days these saved me a fortune and increased my revenue drastically.
For this stage of the challenge, I invested in a launch course and a course for confidence/self-love for a total of $79. I’m reluctant to reveal these as they also focus on a few specifics going on in my personal life I am not sharing at this time. Following the steps in the confidence course resulted in landed a $400 contract. And the launch tips will be used next year, so I will post about that then.
2. Books
I read 52 books last year and aim to read more next year. Reading is an essential part of every day for me and I try to do it in my morning routine. Often, on walks or when I’m driving I listen to audiobooks too. My preference is physical books though.
Here are some of the books I’ve read recently which impacted my life, business and finances.
We Should All Be Millionaires
I wrote a review on We Should All Be Millionaires. It’s essential reading for all women, especially women of colour (my daughters). We are worth so much more than we think. I loved the $10,000 challenge in this book too. Get your copy of We Should All Be Millionaires.
Unleash Your Inner Money Babe
More of a woo-woo stylebook and focusing on the Law of Attraction, I have read and followed this book a few times. It’s a 21-day challenge to manifest $1,000. I’ve done it for higher amounts as well and each time did really well. It can be a little difficult on a few of the days though.
Lucky Bitch is another great read on the law of Attraction and money mindset. I know when I am focused and in the right mindset, it is so much easier to generate money, not just from my work either.
Quit Like a Millionaire
Given the difference between Mr Aspiring Millionaire’s upbringing (poverty in one of the least developed countries in the world) to Ms Aspiring Millionaire growing up in Australia, this book was a must. The author describes their upbringing in China and values as a result of it plus how they invested to be able to quit at 30. My review on Quit Like a Millionaire is here.
Buy Quit Like a Millionaire here.
The Compound Effect
Small changes add up. Instead of overhauling your whole life, look at the life you want and the steps you need to take to make it happen. I wrote about The Compound Effect here. You can buy a copy here.
Other Ways to Invest in Yourself
So while I used the money in this double for a course, there are so many other ways you can invest in yourself. I truly believe in having an amount in your budget for this purpose.
3. Qualifications
Take a class you’ve always wanted to. Go back to school and get that qualification you’ve always wanted or which could increase your income. The time will pass anyway and you’re never too old.
School does not need to be an expensive university. There are different options if it is a degree you want or need. Also, you might find other courses work for what you need to advance your career or income. For example, it could be a completely different skill you learn that enables you to create another income stream.
Ms Aspiring Millionaire will be changing careers completely in her late 30s. Mr Aspiring Millionaire just did a course that cost $30,000 to advance his career and in 2 years will do the next stage which will be another $30,000 but the earning potential is huge.
4. Therapy
Previously viewed as something only people who had major issues needed, more and more people are realising the benefits of therapy. Good therapy will help you overcome numerous issues as well as teach you skills to handle different situations.
We live in extremely stressful times. Most people might not realise how much it has impacted them. Therapy is a great way to invest in yourself.
If you can’t afford therapy, consider reading What Happened To You by Dr Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey. It is a book I will recommend forever. For helping to understand others and ourselves, this book is a must-read for everyone. it was eye-opening how trauma impacts us all, our reactions, triggers and how to help. The stories in it are so moving and for someone who has experienced extreme trauma, it was validating.
5. Health
Whether it’s joining the gym, getting good running shoes and committing to running, signing up for weekly yoga or buying the things for a home gym, investing in your health will go a long way. When you are unhealthy or sick, it impacts every area of life.
Prevention is better than a cure so it’s best to do what you can to invest in your health and live a good life.
How do you invest in yourself?
Image of desk with notebooks, planner, coffee and text reads How to Make Money by Investing in Yourself 10 Small Habit Changes to Drastically Change Your Life
How you can Change Your Life with Small Habit Changes
After reading Atomic Habits and The Compound Effect, I became quite motivated to make some small changes and do some experiments with my current habits.
We have some terrible habits but getting the whole family on board feels impossible. So I, Ms Aspiring Millionaire, decided to do some for myself.
The idea behind Atomic Habits and The Compound Effect is essentially small changes e.g 1% at a time add up. The same as compound interest makes a real difference over time, so do habit changes and they don’t have to be big.
Too often we set out with the greatest intentions, overhaul our whole life, commit to 2 hours a day at the gym then within a few months we fail miserably. Or we pay ourselves last and never save or invest anything.
But if we make a tiny change and build on it over time, eventually, those small changes make a big difference. The small changes are doable. It doesn’t feel like a burden and it can be applied to every area of our lives.
Disclosure: this post may contain affiliate links.
1. Pay Yourself 1%
Generally, it is recommended we save at least 10% of our income, if not more. For many, this feels impossible. But what about 1%? If you’re paid $1,000 a week that means only $10 needs to be transferred to savings.
Surely, if you can live on $1,000 you can learn to live on $990? Transfer that 1% immediately and let it grow. As you get comfortable with that, make it 2% or $20, then 3% or $30. Eventually, you will be saving 10% or more.
I read about this in-depth in Profit First. If you are a business owner, Profit First is a must-read.
We adjust the rest of our lives and budget to that missing money. So pay yourself first.
2. Invest 1%
The same as paying yourself first, invest first. Start with 1% and build from there. You can invest as little as 1% on some platforms. Commit to it and soon you will have a larger portfolio than you could imagine right now.
3. Do 5 Minutes of Exercise
It might not seem like much and it won’t make much of a difference in the beginning but you need to start somewhere. Squeeze 5 minutes of intense cardio in, do 10 squats before your shower or when heating something up in the microwave and you will quickly be doing more exercise than you thought.
Ideally, you’d commit to 30 minutes a day to maintain health but you have to start somewhere. Start with 5 minutes if you need then increase to 10 then 15 and so on until you are doing a full workout you want to do.
4. The 5 Second Rule
Mel Robbins is famous for this. Basically, make a decision and count down to make it happen. Instead of laying in bed all morning, countdown from 5, the same way NASA does then get out of bed! She has a whole book on how this can be applied to your life to snap you out of negative thinking and motivate you to make changes.
5. Ditch the Drinks
Whether it’s alcohol, energy drinks or a daily coffee it adds up. Not only financially but it takes it’s toll on your health too.
Go through your bank account and have a look at how much money you spend on drinks you want to reduce or quit. For me, it was a daily energy drink which is terrible for my health. There is literally nothing good in them but I was addicted hard.
To stop this habit, I decided to start transferring the amount I would have spent on the drink to a special savings account every time I resisted buying it. For a long time, I have wanted to buy a new rowing machine. I’ve never owned one and it is my favourite machine in the gym. Ideally, I’d love to have a full gym set up next year.
Once I started transferring the amounts, it added up quickly. That $2 to $5 here and there was $14 to $50 a week! Since I can’t use a rowing machine for a few more months, this gives me time to change this habit and save enough to get something I really want instead of wasting my money on drinks.
Side Note
If you struggle with addictions, there is help out there. Support groups, counselling etc. For alcohol, check out Alcoholics Anonymous.
6. Create a Morning Routine
Recently, I tried The Billionaire Morning Routine. As a mother of 4, pregnant, juggling business, real estate, studying and doing it on my own while Mr Aspiring Millionaire is in another state studying, it was a little tricky some mornings. However, it taught me a lot.
I used to always have a morning routine and it is recommended by every successful person I know. Getting up at 5am is working well for me. Getting time before the kids get up, doing some yoga, having my vitamins and smoothie, journalling and prepping for the day sets my whole day up.
With time to myself and some organisation, my whole day goes smoother, I am calmer and much more productive.
Check out The Miracle Morning for tips on your morning routine.
7. Get up Earlier
I used to sleep as long as I could because I struggled to get to sleep. A few habit changes and now I rise at 5am before my kids wake at 7am and it is amazing.
Start with getting up 5 minutes earlier and going to bed 5 minutes earlier if you have to.
8. Night Routine
Set up a night routine for success. Switch off devices 1 to 2 hours before bed and do not keep them in your room. Read, shower, brush your teeth and wind down so when you go to bed, you are ready.
I also like to do a ‘brain dump’. This includes writing in my journal, listing 3 things I am grateful for and having a list to dump all my thoughts or things I think I need to do. Getting it out of my head makes sleep much easier for me.
9. Set Your Most Important Tasks
I do this at the end of the day to prepare for the next day. Once I have finished any work or study or whatever it is I have done that day, I make my list of the 3 most important things for me to do the next day.
Having them written out gets it out of my head and means when I finish my morning routine, I am straight into the most important tasks for the day, often completing them before my kids are up which makes life so much easier.
10. Meditate
Use an app such as Balance to start meditating. I used to think this was one of those things people say they do to sound cool but it really does help. By meditating I sleep better and think clearer. Often, when meditating of a morning, answers I need come to me later that morning because I have had time to slow down, breathe and think.
What are some small habits you could change for success?
Net Worth Update November 2021: Increased by $1,612
How we Increased our Net Worth by $1,612 in October
It might not seem like much but any movement up is good. With the kids, pregnancy complications, a variety of paperwork and increased expenses, we are ecstatic we increased our net worth at all!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
Starting Point
April 2021 we had a net worth of $649,071. This was comprised of a few debts reducing our net worth as well as property and some investments increasing our net worth.
Our Liabilities in April 2021
Custody debt $9,000
Visa debt $6,000
Personal loan $12,000
Cash debt $600
Cash debt $500
School debt $900Total: $29,000
Our Assets in April 2021
3 properties $600,000
Shares $250We had a lot to sort out in April 2021 to be able to work out our true net worth and some is still getting sorted but we have expanded and are happy with our progress.
Current Net Worth
Now we are able to track our businesses and a few other things better, our assets look different. We managed to clear some debt in May and in August paid $25,000 for a course for Mr Aspiring Millionaire. To do that, we did cash out some of our assets.
Our expenses are currently a lot higher than normal due to double rent, more on food etc since he is in another state while he studies. I am looking forward to January when expenses drop and he starts work.
Our Assets October 2021
Property: $600,000
Business 1: $120,000
Business 2: $ ?
Business 3: $4,500
Business 4: $10,000
Spaceship: $83
Coinspot: $1,280
Raiz: $89Total assets: $735,952
Our Liabilities October 2021
Custody debt $8,125
Residency visa debt $5,125
Personal loan $10,723Total debts: $23,973
Total Net Worth in October 2021: $711,979
How Did we Increase our Net Worth?
Spending less than we earn and investments naturally growing. It was that simple this month. We didn’t do anything extra to make money as we had too much else going on and we didn’t pay any extra off debt sadly. Only the regular payments.
Crypto has gone up and down over the month, however we are up from when we started. We use
Next Steps for the Rest of 2021
As mentioned in our last update, we have a lot of changes happening and need to ensure we start 2022 off well. Our family is growing next year making our current lifestyle impractical. We will have 2 teenagers living with us, a newborn and toddler plus if borders open and all goes well, we might have an 8 year old sometimes.
We live in a 2 bedroom townhouse which is tiny. The car is a small Corolla and while we love the area, the career Mr Aspiring Millionaire is currently training for does not have work opportunities where we currently live. So a move is likely either to another city or since his work will be offshore most likely, I may stay where we are.
But we would still need a bigger house.
The 14 year old needs Invisalign which is a few thousand and we want to clear the remaining debt asap as well.
So to prepare for 2022 and make the most of the last few weeks of 2021, here’s the plan.
Declutter and Sell Everything
It horrifies me how much stuff we have. Last week I sold a few items and took a heap to be donated. Yet, there is still more. Knowing what we want to keep and that when we move we will be buying other furniture means I will sell off what I can now.
Work More
Our 10 month old isn’t in childcare yet, however, high school finishes in a few weeks. I pay my 14 year old to babysit when it relates to work. At the moment, I am only doing my work on weekends and when my baby naps or at night if I have the energy.
Once school is out, this will change a little and I will be able to work more than I currently do to increase our income.
Mr Aspiring Millionaire completes his course in December and they have guaranteed jobs at the end of it. He might start as soon as he finishes or he might come home for Christmas then go. Either way, there should be more income soon.
Cash in Cans
We collect cans to cash in. Some are picked up when I go for my daily walk, others are from our own drinks. We don’t get drinks all the time, I prefer we drink water. But when we do, we save the cans and bottles to cash in.
Cash in Online Surveys
I have been banking these. Octopus Group is one of my favourites because they pay the highest. However, I do enjoy the USD from Swagbucks and PrizeRebel too.
$2 to Millionaire Challenge
We are still doing it, although I paused it while we travelled Tasmania and juggled some family matters. Sitting on $120, the next move has been decided but needs to be executed properly. It’ll be a BIG one to share when it’s completed though.
I Tried The Billionaire Morning Routine
How do Billionaires use Their Time to be so Successful?
A morning routine for me makes a huge difference to my day. When I don’t stick to my routines (which are doable no matter where I am), my mental health suffers.
Recently, I came across the Billionaire Morning Routine. Often, they come across to me as something only men who have a wife at home doing it all can do. Or someone already wealthy enough to afford a nanny/housekeeper to assist in getting kids ready in the morning.
My Situation: Pregnant, 4 kids, Business, Study, Everything…
As a mother of 4, who is also 6 months pregnant, these routines look ambitious. With teens, a 7-year-old stepdaughter who does not live with us, a 9-month-old AND Mr Aspiring Millionaire in another state, barely contactable for 4 months, I have a lot on my plate already.
I also manage all our finances, a couple of businesses, am studying, can’t get my son into childcare yet (on the waitlist) and everything else e.g. visa application, all life paperwork that needs to be done etc.
Having been a single mother of 2 previously, life feels like that again. Mr Aspiring Millionaire is not financially providing, I am. He is also unavailable for emotional support or anything else right now. We barely get to say good morning or good night. So, it is extremely similar to my previous single mother life, only with extra people I have to provide for and extra work to do.
What is the Billionaire Morning Routine?
The Billionaire Morning Routine includes:
Wake early
Recall your dreams
Make your bed
Drink a large glass of water
Take vitamins/probiotics
Meditate for 20 minutes
1 to 2 mins exercise/movement
A cold shower
Your usual get ready routine
Make tea
Journal
Write your to feel list
Write your to be list
Read for 20 to 30 minutes
Drink a brain food smoothieSeem like a lot? Some mornings it certainly felt that way. But at the same time, most of these were habits I already tried to implement in my life, not in this order though.
Image of notebooks. Text reads The Billionaire Morning Routine and includes the steps mentioned above. Wake Early
Most morning routines I see consist of people getting up at 4 or 5 am. I’ve never been a morning person per se but I am trying. Since the sun is up around 5 am now, I am waking naturally to it.
Some mornings, my son wakes too. As cute as he is, I do wish he slept those mornings until 6 am to give me an hour.
The key to getting up early is going to bed early too. Switch off screens an hour or two before you plan to go to bed. Have a wind-down routine so when you get to bed, you sleep easily. This is where I fall apart. My night routine is a mess but I am working on it.
Recall Your Dreams
Usually, I have the most vivid, wild dreams friends and family have ever heard. When I was younger I kept a journal to write in when I woke. I haven’t done this for years but now have one sitting on my bedside table.
The reason behind recalling your dreams is because our dreams are our subconscious processing things. Sometimes they can have meaning and help you work things out.
Make Your Bed
Making your bed first thing means you have already achieved something for the day. Another perk is every time you walk into your room it looks tidier and you are less likely to want to crawl back into it.
Ask my parents, this is something I have been hopeless with my whole life. Mr Aspiring Millionaire often didn’t have a bed so rarely made it either. Since my son sleeps in the cot next to the bed, I don’t want to make it and accidentally wake him.
Some mornings when he woke up with me, I did it before heading downstairs. Other mornings, if he was not awake, I did it later when he got up.
Drink a Large Glass of Water
Our bodies are mostly water. Overnight, we sweat and get dehydrated so need to refuel. Drinking a large glass of water is extremely beneficial for overall health and is super quick.
Being pregnant, I am encouraged to drink a glass for myself and a glass for my baby. My preference is to keep 2 glass bottles of water in the fridge (they are 800ml each) plus one with a herbal tea bag, totalling 2.4L I will drink throughout the day, sometimes more.
Plus, I have a separate glass for taking my vitamins. If I am active, I drink more as well.
Take Vitamins/Probiotics
Gut health is directly linked to overall health. Years ago, I was paralysed on and off for 7 months with level 10 pain. Meaning pain so intense I would blackout. It happened again in early 2017. I know it is connected to stress and gut health.
Vitamins and probiotics help with this. Foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut and other fermented foods have probiotics which I eat regularly. Taking pills and drinking kombucha also helps increase the probiotics I consume.
For other vitamins, I take Elevit for the pregnancy, along with iron and magnesium because my pregnancies drain that from me. Evening primrose oil and fish oil are two more I take which when I do it properly are great for my hormones and overall mental health.
Talk to your doctor or see a nutritionist or naturopath or other professional for advice before launching into a bunch of vitamins. Get a full blood test done to see what you actually need.
Meditate for 20 Minutes
Meditation clears your mind, helps you focus and often provides unexpected answers. Every single successful person I know practices it. It also helps you stay calmer which makes decision making easier.
This was possibly the hardest part for me to implement. I kept worrying my son would wake up or when he was awake, I couldn’t do it. Meditation is easier for me to do during one of his naps or before I fall asleep.
Personally, when I couldn’t do it, I found as long as I managed at least 5 minutes or did some yoga or EFT, I still saw the benefits.
1 to 2 mins exercise/movement
Get moving. Whether it’s squats and push-ups, a quick yoga stretch or star jumps, do something. Since I live in a 2 storey home, I am going up and down my stairs a few times. I also aim to do squats before my shower every day.
A Cold Shower
So many people struggle with this part. When we were in Vanuatu, we had no hot water. The same for the Solomon Islands. Coldwater doesn’t bother us too much although since being in Australia again, I refused cold showers.
Cold showers wake you up! I found it better than anything to wake me up and get me focused first thing in the morning.
My first morning I did not plan well since I needed to wash my hair, shave my legs etc. Which meant I would switch the cold on, get wet, turn it off, do what I needed, turn it back on and repeat that process.
Whereas when I have hot showers, I let the water keep running as I do it. So this saves money on water as well as helps me wake up and focus.
Your Usual get Ready Routine
Hair, makeup, get dressed, brush teeth, whatever you do to get ready of a morning, do it after your shower.
If I’ve washed my hair, I like to allow it to almost fully dry before finishing it with a dryer and brush to straighten it. So usually, I do half this routine, finish whatever else I am doing then dry my hair quickly before my teenagers go to school.
Make Tea
The process of making tea, if done with loose tea leaves is therapeutic for some people. Since I drink cold herbal tea, I tend to prep that bottle and pop it in the fridge for this step.
Journal
Journal your thoughts out, plan your day and focus on what you want in life. Goals don’t happen unless they are written down and acted upon. By writing them down, you are setting your mind to work to make them happen and confirming to yourself daily, this is what you will do.
With the Billionaire Routine, I began journaling morning and night. Nighttime journaling was reflective where as in the morning I was writing about what I will do and the life I want.
Write Your “To Feel” List
How do you want to feel? Happy, confident, productive, calm? Write it down.
Write Your “To Be” List
Along with how you feel and your other journal writing, what do you want to be?
Read for 20 to 30 Minutes
We learn so much when we read. Choose any book and read for at least 20 to 30 minutes. I always have a book with me and read it often. My aim is to read a book a week, always.
Drink a brain food smoothie
Brain food smoothies have berries, non-dairy milk e.g. coconut or almond and other beneficial ingredients such as avocado and spinach.
In mine, I add a scoop of collagen, a teaspoon of cinnamon and sometimes chia seeds too. If adding chia seeds, drink it quickly as they expand.
Image of notebook, pen glasses and coffee cup on table. Text reads The Billionaire Morning Routine, I tried it for 7 days. How Did I Go With the Billionaire Morning Routine?
With mixed results, I persisted for a while. It was not too different to my regular morning routine (when I got to do that) but I wouldn’t do it forever. I truly believe while it was beneficial, creating your own morning routine is more important.
Day 1
I threw up in the middle of yoga so that was less than ideal. With virtually no morning sickness during my pregnancy, this was unusual for me and I suspect it was simply not enough food, too much water and my vitamins making a bad stomach combination.
Because of that, I cut yoga short and got in the shower. That’s when I realised, I need to wash my hair, shave my legs and usually, I do a full body scrub on that day of the week. So I did it all, despite the cold.
That morning I managed to complete the routine, cold shower and all before my son woke up.
I felt great all day and could see why people do it.
Day 2
My son decided to wake up at 5 am which meant it took almost 2 hours to complete the routine, combined with taking care of him. I juggled doing the bits I could while feeding, changing and taking care of him.
This morning made me feel only those with a nanny or extra help can truly do this sort of routine. I felt a little defeated but the rest of the day went fairly well.
Day 3
I was exhausted. Again, my son woke at 5 am and my teens at 6 am. This morning was a mess as so much was going on and my son did not go down for a nap until 10 am. He was clingy, grizzly and when he finally dropped, so did I. I finished the routine at lunch.
Day 4
A hot mess is how I would describe it today. I was emotional, exhausted and barely got through the day, let alone being able to do the morning routine. I tried but it was a miserable failure today and I felt it by the end of the day.
Part of this would be the fact we returned from a trip only a few days ago and are still trying to settle back into a routine. This means, our sleep is all over the place. My stress levels go through the roof when I don’t get enough sleep, motivation falls off the face of the planet, I eat bad and it’s a vicious cycle because the next day is always worse.
Day 5
I did not even bother trying the routine this morning. I knew where I was at mentally and since it was my son who woke me, I just tried to get on with things as best I could.
I think this is the reality many mothers face when trying to juggle everything. Some days it simply becomes too much.
On the upside, while I didn’t get the morning routine done, I did finally get a block of time to work and sorted out a lot of other things. Including an evening routine, I know used to work for me.
Day 6
Again my son was up early making it harder this morning. However, I did what I could then headed out for 4 hours to work without the kids.
This morning, while journaling, I had an epiphany of sorts. It certainly lightened my load and made me see a clear path to obtaining what I want.
Day 7
Another day where it felt impossible. I gave up trying to get it done in the morning specifically and juggled a lot. The morning routine is not ideal for me but I do find incorporating as much of it as I can into my day is beneficial.
Image of berry smoothie. Text reads The Billionaire Morning Routine. I tried it as a mum of 4 running a business and studying! What Will I Keep Doing?
It was an interesting experiment. Overall, I can see the benefits of all of it and when I do have a solid morning routine, I am definitely calmer, happier and a better person. Problems are easier to solve, I feel healthy, I eat better and take care of myself.
However, this morning routine isn’t the one that made me feel or behave at my best. It is similar to my original morning routine and I will definitely adapt my routine having done that.
My Morning Routine
Wake with the sun. Since I don’t work outside the home and I am doing a better evening routine as well, I am asleep earlier in the evening and naturally arising around 5 am.
Recall my dreams in my dream journal which I keep next to my bed now.
Make my bed when my son wakes up. Glance around the room and do a quick tidy of anything if necessary too e.g. take washing downstairs.
Drinking a large glass of water will always be part of my morning routine. I don’t drink coffee so this is my wake up.
Breakfast of either a smoothie or a smoothie bowl or similar. Once I have had this, then I take my vitamins and probiotics. I can’t do it the other way around.
EFT every morning. Even if it’s only a 5 minute one, I will do EFT for whatever I feel inspired to in the morning.
Yoga which I use as part of my meditation. During my yoga I can often visualise the life I want, clear my head and heal from past hurts.
A cold shower I discovered wakes me up so I will continue with this. I live in Noosa, Queensland which is a warm climate. If I lived in a cold climate I don’t know if I could do it.
My usual get ready routine which includes a full dry body brush and 10 squats before my shower. Twice a week a full coffee body scrub. Every day I file my feet and massage moisturiser into my whole body.
Each morning and evening I do a skincare routine, brush my teeth and do my hair and makeup. At some point in the morning, I open all the curtains, windows and doors to allow fresh air and sunlight in. Then I turn on the diffuser to give my house the scent I love.Journaling every morning including my to feel and to be list. Along with drawing a self-care card for the day to focus on. Adding at least 3 things I am grateful for and 3 things I want to forgive.
Reading I do throughout the day and before I go to bed so I might not continue that in the morning for more than 1 page or 5 minutes.
What does your morning routine look like? Have you tried the Billionaire Morning Routine?
