I will keep this short because I’m on the world’s most frustrating net connection at the moment and I need to get offline soon so I don’t go insane. December was a pretty bad month for earnings coming in at $1111. I didn’t do much web work last month but in past months I was still able to earn a decent amount despite being a slacker. It is starting to look like I will need to put some serious graft in soon to stop things from slipping further. I’m still not spending much money though so at least I have that.
Earnings Breakdown:
- Google Adsense – $227 - This is scary. Adsense has been the one steady thing with me being able to count on over $300 a month. But things are looking better in January already so I’m hoping December was a blip.
- Affiliate Sales – $300 - My main affiliate program sucked more than ever but some others have picked up a bit of the slack. Still, earnings in this area seem to be dropping and dropping. I have a plan but I don’t have the time to work on it until I get back to Kuala Lumpur in early February.
- Advertising – $584 - This month started out pretty bad in this area as well but things picked up due to some late deals.
I’m actually surprised I cleared a grand this month as things were looking terrible up until last week. I’m not spending much money at the moment but that will all change once I hit South Africa during the World Cup so these low-earning months are a bit of a concern. But I can hardly expect to make money without working for it so I have only myself to blame. I’m happy to earn less and spend less for now but once I leave Sumatra in March-ish, I will need to have another plan. But I’ll worry about it then. 
Happy New Year everyone!
Hi Kirsty,
) but this December, our cpm actually went up and we seem to be observing an upward trend (other factors remaind +- the same). I thought it had somehow to do with the supposed “end of the recession”, more people investing in ads, etc. It’s strange that you’re facing the opposite situation – and I’m curious about what your other readers experiences have been this past month.
Me + bf run a postcard exchange site, and December is always a slow month for us (people are busy sending other types of cards
Anyway, over 1000 dollars in truly passive income while volunteering is a remarkable achievement, you really inspire me.
Happy new year!
Hi Kirsty, for most travel related sites December is a slow month (people being busy with shopping rather tran travel planning), so here’s hoping for you that January+February (usually two very strong months) will be going well for you.
I’m still impressed with the amount of money you make from direct advertising. While this tends to be a bit erratic it still an income stream that you have some control over. Most of my income comes from affiliate programs which makes me very dependent on their ever changing terms and conditions. I have seen programs suddenly cut commissions by 75% and there’s nothing you can do but try to get more sales. Dangling carrots, if you ask me.
I’ve also had the impression lately that Google is keeping a larger share of the Adsense revenues than they used to. I’m using both Adwords and Adsense, and while the CPC for Adwords campaigns is staying more or less constant, the eCPM for Adsense is going only one way: down.
Happy new year! Now that I have a few years of earnings on record, I can semi-forecast low months, and I knew December would be one of them (especially coming off a fantastic November).
People are more occupied with the holidays, travel and family. Hopefully January will pick up for you!
December is also my worst month for Adsense. I don’t do any Christmas promotions, but I have made around $150 with Amazon, the last couple of months. I hope you get a chance to doing some travel around Sumatra this year.
the holidays always see a dip.
Well if its any consolation I too had a very poor December, but that has been the case for the last 4 years and I think you’ll find we are not alone, especially in the travel sector.
Yes it is normal that this December was one of your slowest months. Most niches have at least some type of seasonal trends. The state of the economy probably didn’t help your travel sites either. I’m sure your earnings will recover next month and even more so when you find some time to put more work in. Good luck.
Any money that is made passively and your example is a great one. The fact that you didn’t get to do much online work but were still able to make some money is fantastic.
Congratulations.
Good luck with your goals for 2010 and I look forward to reading more about your adventures.
Tiptopcat.
First, Happy New Year
Don’t Worry Sometime happen we not get expected result it might be happen due to holidays, i m confident sure you will achieve expected earning in this month of New year, I’ll Pray your all wish come true in this Year.
December always been a great month for me.
Heh, work hard K, hope your new sites will be showing the results soon!
December earning less compare to other month. Happy New Year. I hope this year good for you and you can make more money in this year.
I did find that during the month of December my earnings slipped a little bit, but just like you I am looking forward and feeling confident that January, the current month we are in we will see an upswing in our earnings
Hang in there, I know you will be just fine and make some new records in 2010!! 
Till then,
Jean
December is a slow month because holidays. I hope you will more earnings money in 2010. Thanks for the post.
This is a lot of money from a blog. I hope that it will help you to achieve some of your goals and finance just a little bit your enterprises. All of your journeys must cost you a lot of money so it is nice that you can earn something from describing your work and adventures.
From where I’m standing, considering you didn’t have to do a whole lot to earn that amount in one month while still being able to do what you love: travel, meeting people, volunteering, I think it’s a very impressive achievement.
Wishing you love and further fulfilled dreams in 2010.
Take care…
Very few people can say they are earning over ten times what they spend every month, so as long as that situation continues you are richer than most!