2021 End of Year Side Income Report

December 17, 2021

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I’ve been writing on this iteration of my blog since 2015. That’s over five years - and one of the staples of this blog has been, since the second year, the end-of-year side income report.

And this post is the sixth end-of-year side income report. Here’s the previous five:

Credit Card Rewards

Chase Freedom Unlimited → $139.16
Chase Freedom Flex → $701.07
Chase Freedom → $304.04
US Bank Cash+ → $70.40
Capital One Quicksilver → $63.14
Citi Double Cash &arr; $429.55
Total → $1,707.36

The Chase Freedom Flex was clearly my money-maker this year, netting me just over seven hundred dollars. That’s because the signup bonus was earning 5% on groceries for the first year (up to a certain amount - which I didn’t reach).

My Citi Double Cash card came in second place earning over four hundred dollars. That’s my go-to card when another card doesn’t earn something special. The Double Cash, as you’re probably aware, “effectively” earns 2% cash back on everything.

Interest-Bearing Accounts

Robinhood → $46.65
WeBull → $2.19
Worthy Bonds → $3.64
Credit Union Interest → $86.76
Ally Interest → $123.94
Total → $263.18

Interest-Bearing means anything that I may receive a 1099-INT or 1099-DIV for. Otherwards - bank account interest and dividends.

My local credit union has been paying 6% interest on amounts up to $500 for almost three years now. Since my wife and I both have accounts, we’re getting that 6% interest on $1,000 - meaning we earn at least sixty dollars together. Coupled with other incentives, that pushed us to the eighty-six we did earn.

The Ally “high-interest” account has dropped down to half a percent. Not quite so “high interest” anymore.

Worthy Bonds does pay a decent 5%, but they’re “junk bonds” (although they are secured) and there’s not an unlimited supply of them. Right now, I can’t buy any more even if I wanted to.

Print-On-Demand Sites

Merch by Amazon → $1,492.16
Kindle Direct Publishing → $0.00
Redbubble → $86.03
TeePublic → $107.25
Total → $1,685.44

Merch by Amazon is my money maker here earning almost fifteen hundred bucks. Combined with my Redbubble and TeePublic I’ve made almost seventeen hundred bucks.

I have three books published on Amazon - The Adventures of Princess, The Adventures of Niko, and 100 Sudoku Puzzles. Nobody ever buys them though, so that’s why my Kindle Direct Publishing amount is zero.

Blogging

Amazon Associates → $734.41
Google AdSense → $1030.90
WeBull Bonuses & Referrals → $84.43
Robinhood Referrals → $38.67
Total → $1,888.41

My blog is finally making some money.

My Amazon Associates account is still making decent money thanks to this Dorco post I made over two years ago.

Google AdSense is making not quite $100 a month. $100 is the payout threshold, so I’ve received a payout almost every month this year.

The WeBull and Robinhood bonuses are paid in stock - so the value might be different now than when it was earned.

Cryptocurrency Earnings

BlockFi → $89.27*
Coinbase → $109.73*
Total → $199.00

My BlockFi earnings is pure interest. It’s paid in the cryptocurrency I’ve invested in - I’ve only converted it to dollar amounts here to make comparisons easier.

Coinbase, howerever, is split between three types of earnings: Coinbase Earn, where I earn by taking courses on Coinbase, Coinbase Interest, where I earn by staking certain coins, and Coinbase Referrals, where I earn when someone signs up to Coinbase using my referral link. Breaking them down, the three types earned each: