So 2019 is behind us and it was a good year for Shake the Money Tree. 2019 was the first full year for STMT with the height of the tree growing to $1,687 in Net Worth. Driven by the $2,261 in Revenue/side hustles that was earned in the calendar year.
In looking at the revenue performance, there are three major areas that I focus on for the Tree:
#1. Cash Back Rewards @ $1,331 or 59%
I use two major credit cards to capture my cash back rewards for all my personal purchases. I also make sure I am aware of any promotional items/calendar for the Discover card that you can earn at a 5% rate. Throughout the year, I was pleasantly surprised by $650 in signup or referral earnings for either one of these cards. If you are interested in watering this tree, feel free to see my top 5 free money ideas.
#2. Side Hustles @ $715 or 32%
This category is a plethora of items but it is primarily driven by online sales through Ebay/Craigslist/etc. If you recall, have tried being an Uber/Lyft driver and realized it wasn’t for me because of a low hourly rate after you consider the wear & tear on the car. Looking forward, I will be looking to expand selling more stuff online.
#3. PTC (Paid to Click) Sites @ $189 or 8%
This is a low maintenance category for me and I got to my PTC sites almost on a daily routine. It is a quick thing to do when drinking my coffee. Knowing that I can probably earn more by taking surveys but when calculating the hourly rate on this activity, not worth it. I will keep at it when I have the time but not expecting huge things in 2020.
I am happy with the 2019 performance for Shake the Money Tree as this is a side gig for me when I have some free time to post. Looking forward, I am setting a goal of $5,000 in revenue for the blog. A sizable increase from year 1, it will stretch me to think differently…any new revenue/side hustles ideas are welcomed.
I am a finance professional with over 20 years of experience and very passionate about all topics related to finance; enjoying the aspect of teaching and educating others along the way. All in all, I will show you how big this money tree can get over time as I get the branches (Earn, Save, Invest) as high as possible…Click here to see my financial progress to date: How high is the Money Tree?
