April 30, 2023

Monthly Life Update: April 2023

This post was last updated on November 9, 2023

Stay updated on the latest happenings.

Monthly Life Update: April 2023 Life has been difficult since finding out that Colt has cancer. We’ve been juggling once-a-week vet visits, learning how to take care of him, and keeping him happy and comfortable. It’s a life stressor that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone.

We’ve been keeping on keeping on. I’m tired.

GOALS

I crushed it on working on my travel posts this month. I published nine! You can view my travel posts here. I still have to work through the Nuremberg travel photos, but I’m making so much progress and I haven’t even realized it.

Read more about my 2023 Goals.

INFLUENCER

I’ve been slacking on the LTK front. I’m surprised to see how much I’ve slowed down this month. March went from 4700+ clicks to only 1100+ clicks in April. Oops! But, overall, I’m at 66% of my goal earnings for this year.

I’ll need to adjust my strategy. I can maybe plan a couple of round-ups. I’m not shopping because Colt’s vet bills are very expensive. It’s difficult to plan for “extra” work when my mind is focused on what’s important.

I’ve had two campaigns that were only free product and I haven’t been actively applying for anything else.

LTK: April had 1,119 clicks and $65.43 in open commissions.

BLOG

I spent a lot of time on my blog this month. I’ve been working through technical SEO issues and trying to increase the page speed score. Since I’ve been working on all the travel posts, I’ve had some photos that are too large. I’m spending a lot of my time re-sizing images and updating URLs.

Here’s what I shared on the blog this month:

SIDE HUSTLE

I made $130.46 from clothing resales on Poshmark. And I only had one expense which was my membership fee for DSI.

HOVEL SWEET HOVEL

The last weekend of the month we had our patio extended and we put up a privacy lining on the back side of our fence. We want to have more patio area for us to enjoy being in our backyard. The grill takes up about 1/4 of our available space and the current table and chairs takes up another quarter. It’s tight, but we’ve been making it work.

With the addition, we’ve doubled our patio area. We will have to fix the lawn around it, but we are planning to fill in with new sod. And we also plan on adding pavers around the side of the house to be able to walk to the front.

FITNESS

I am quickly picking my fitness back up. February was the lowest month of time spent working out, but that is also because we went on a trip – so I physically wasn’t able to get on my treadmill.

I completed the iFit Rain or Shine Running Challenge. Since I finished that one, I’ve also continued working through the Summer Camp Water Adventure Challenge.

Total Miles: 28.3
Total Hours: 06:38:14
Total Workouts: 14

BUSINESS

I’ve been trying to send our proposals on UpWork, but I’ve been finding it exhausting. If you don’t know how it works, you received a number of “connects” every month. If someone posts that they need to hire someone for a job, they require a specific amount of connects. In order to apply, some available jobs may require 8 connects.

For me, that means I can only apply to one or two jobs each month.

You have the option to buy more connects. In March, I paid for 30 extra connects to apply for seven opportunities. I never heard back from a single one. This is why its exhausting. I’m spending time (and money) trying to find small gigs. I haven’t gotten any wins.

I did have someone reach out directly for email marketing, but I haven’t started yet. If the work comes, I will be paid a flat rate per HTML email I create. I hope it comes in May!

XOXO,
Katie

Katie Kinsley

Hailing from the great state of Wisconsin, Katie Kinsley is a content creating, email marketing, overambitious plant-lover (read: killer). She's obsessed with planning detailed vacations and finding and building an affordable wardrobe. She's an individualist at heart discovering self-growth, a parent to a dog and a cat and in love with productivity hacks.

Tags Monthly Life Update

Hello I’m Katie!

Katie Kinsley is a Texas-based digital marketer and aspiring influencer. This is a lifestyle blog focused on Katie’s work-in-progress life. She’s focused on creating joy in the everyday, sharing adventures throughout Dallas/Ft. Worth (and the world), and empowering women to find their confidence — all in her unique unfiltered style.

Black Friday Sales

Thanksgiving Outfit Inspiration

How to Style Your Winter Outfits

Disclosure

Please note that I use affiliate links in my content as well as on my social media accounts. When you click and shop the links, we receive a commission. Sponsored posts are noted as such. Please see my full disclosure policy for more details.