I want to talk about my plans for making money in 2022.
This article has largely been inspired by the bump in salary that I am about to get, and you should be looking for, when you make a move in your career. But first…
You may have noticed that I have taken something of a break from my blog and indeed, my YouTube channel this past few weeks. If you want to skip some background and get right into this article then here is a short-cut to the main event! Otherwise, read on!
Some of it was intentional and some of it has been a bit enforced. I’ve been talking a lot with my friends in this space about where I am and what direction I wanted to take things moving forward both for this blog and my videos.
However, I have also been crazy busy at my 9-5 job which recently has become more of an eleven hours a day job rather than eight. On top of that we’ve been without child care while my wife and I work due to a few Covid scares in our day care nursery for the lad, and with Mrs Pretty Penny approaching busy season I haven’t had a lot of time online fun and musings.
Family, of course, comes first.
On top of that I’ve been preparing for a new job which I start in the new year and for which I am very excited. It’s a change of pace for me, new style of work and I’m really looking forward to the challenge.
Anyway, all this has meant the content has been thin on the ground of late but once we get this busy period out of the way, then hopefully I’ll be finding more time to get more thoughts and ideas out to the world in written and video form.
So making money in 2022… here’s the plan
New Job.
I’m starting a new chapter in my software engineering career with a new company in the intellectual property space and with it, improved prospects, a chance to work with some amazing people and a chunky pay-rise in line with the market rate, that my current company couldn’t match. I leave on good terms and I’m glad about that, because the guys I work with are wonderful people. In saying that, it was I who went looking for an alternative position and having been offered something I felt I couldn’t refuse I found myself in a strange position of leaving a job that I loved for something I hope I will love more.
I felt is was a risk worth taking at my time of life – I’m 42 at the time of writing – and as they say, no good story starts with a salad.
YouTube
My YouTube channel was monetised earlier in 2021, but it makes little more than pocket money in terms of the AdSense revenue that Google pays. Except for a wild flurry in the middle of the year, the channel doesn’t break three figures in any given month. However, this is one way to make money that is very scalable and the potential of YouTube is huge.
For a long time it can feel like you are making videos for nobody. Only a trickle of views, hardly anyone subscribing but over time this will snowball as people start to discover your content and as your content starts to resonate with your viewers.
The audience you can reach is truly global and I’m trying to grow a successful channel with engaging content from which the rewards could compound over time and really help me hit those financial goals.
The early years are likely the hardest and you create videos for just about nobody but hopefully if each video can be just a little bit better than the last, then maybe, just maybe something special is on the horizon!
Sponsorships
Since I have gained a bit of a following on YouTube as it stands, some brands are reaching out for collaborations. They are willing in some form or other to pay me to promote their products or to buy a one or two minute slot on a video as an advert.
These payments can be simple pay per video, or increased affiliate income, or something else entirely.
I feel I have to be mindful that if I go for some of these deals that I don’t pick something that will alienate my viewers. I’d much rather have an engaged audience that respect what they are seeing, compared to just getting my hand out for a quick win. Someday, with a huge viewership I will be in a position where I can promote products that line up with exactly what my viewers might benefit from.
In saying that, I do promote InvestEngine, because I think their product is great for passive investing, I use them myself and folks who sign up through my link get £25 to help them get started. You can also refer your friends for another £25.
Flipping
I’ve had an interesting trial run with flipping some items in the run up to Christmas. I’ve managed to pick up some pretty pricey Lego sets in the winter sales around Black Friday and I have managed in turn to sell them on in or around the retail price for a nice little profit. I’ve seen enough to think that there is a few quid to be made in this area. My problem with this kind of thing is that it takes up two resources… capital and space. Capital to buy the stuff in the first place and space to store it safely until such time it is sold. I’m not the biggest fan of this but if there is any spare money lying around I might give it a go.
So what?
So what will I do with this extra money? I’m going to invest it, pay down debt with it and put some money into businesses that I am trying to get off the ground. At this point, it’s all over and above what I was already earning, so it’s all disposable in one sense, and while I would never look to squander it, or be wasteful, the extra resources allow me to try to hit my financial goals while all the time trying to avoid lifestyle creep.
The last thing I want to do is plough money into stuff I don’t need or won’t bring me lasting joy. In fact quite the opposite, I’m having something of a clear-out these days – Ebay is getting a great trade – and I’m clearing space and trying to declutter.
All this of course is netting me a few more pounds which will in turn be used for good.