August Income Breakdown: $20K+ | Bel Around The World

I don't normally share my income breakdowns, but 10 years of running Bel Around The World later, I feel like we're finally making some headway. 

August was one of my highlight months of the year – or maybe even the history of BATW.

And instead of just dropping the headline number, I want to unpack the details so you can actually see how it happened.

Because behind the numbers are strategies you can borrow: building multiple income streams, saying yes to experiences that create leverage, and learning how to design your life the way you want it.

For me, you know my number #1 takeaway to offer here is not that blogging is a glamorous job. You earn lots of money from blogging. Because we all know the truth is, you don't. 

But if you're here to enjoy your work, have the time to celebrate life while doing that, and design the lifestyle that YOU WANT, then you're in the right place.

To show you how lifestyle freedom is possible, picture my August for a minute:

I spent most of August in Lombok, Indonesia, and instead of rushing through tourist spots, I built a daily rhythm around surfing.

I'd work 3 solid days a week, interspersed with hour-long workouts/ yoga, then spend the remaining 4 days surfing or adventuring around the island with my girlies.

That rhythm meant I could knock out writing and client tasks in fewer hours because I wasn't running on stress – not when I'm still able to do what I love on a weekly basis.

Idk about you, but that's my kinda work-life balance

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Here's my income breakdown and partnerships secured in August (in USD):

August Income Breakdown

1. Unlimited Ice Plunges ($505 Value)

This really was a bonus to complement my lifestyle – you already know what a huge fan I am of ice baths. I've done it in Koh Phangan, Bali, Lombok, Helsinki.. Anywhere I have the chance to.

For me, it's like a co-working space for the body. On days I ice-plunge before writing, I feel calmer, sharper, and way less tempted to procrastinate. It's science-backed too — cold exposure triggers dopamine spikes and lowers stress hormones.

2. DNA Test Kits ($1887 Value)

DNA test kits have been all the rage. These aren't basic ancestry kits; they include over 500 health reports covering diet, fitness, disease risks, stress response, and even behavioural tendencies.

And so when CircleDNA offered to help me improve my longevity and understand my life/ health better, I jumped to the gun!

I've yet to get my results, but I'll be sharing them on IG as soon as I do.

A personalised DNA or blood test may help you stop wasting time on diets and habits that don't suit your body.

3. Invited to Watch F1 at a VIP Suite (Priceless!)

This was a priceless experience I didn't pay a cent for, and it's by-invite only. To put it in perspective, regular grandstand tickets for the Singapore F1 start at $300–$500, while Sky Suite packages cost upwards of $8,000+ for the weekend.

What it included: premium trackside views, unlimited food and champagne, and air-conditioning (which, if you've been in Singapore's humidity, you know is gold).

But more than the perks, it reminded me that partnerships open doors. This invite came through from my ongoing collaboration with Ascott Limited — a relationship built over years of smaller projects.

Partnerships are like compounding interest. Deliver good work on smaller campaigns, keep communication warm, and suddenly you're on someone's shortlist for big experiences.

I unpack everything about finding and nurturing partnerships in your industry in the No BS Pitch Formula 90-page e-book.

4. Branded Partnership Deal ($4,600)

This was a mid-tier deal with a travel brand — and here's the interesting part: most of it was content + visibility, not complicated strategy. Here are the 3 reasons why I was able to get brands that pay *well*:

1. You need good traffic going to your posts before you think about selling anything. I get mine mostly through SEO – no surprise there.

2. After you get traffic, you need the traffic to convert. For one brand, we organically generated over $4000 of sales for them in the last 90 days (see image below). All without them paying a single cent to me. Can you see why brands would clamour to pay us for visibility to their brands now?

3. Lastly, I created deliverables (articles, social posts, newsletter features) packaged together. Many bloggers undervalue this. They'll do a blog post for $200–300, when in reality brands are willing to pay thousands if you package blog + social + email into one campaign.

Don't just sell one deliverable. Bundle your platforms. Position it as a campaign that gives brands multiple touchpoints with your audience.

I cover more of these strategies for working with brands and getting paid respectably in my No BS Pitch Formula e-book.

Seriously, for all the gold nuggets I share in the e-book, you could be making 10X your return. Just look at the value of this ONE partnership deal that was worth $4600.

5. Blog-Affiliated Incomes ($2,579)

On top of all this, I still had regular income from blog ads, affiliate marketing, and the like. This includes:

• Display ads: $437
• Sponsored posts: $2029
• Affiliate income: $113
• YouTube ads: Unaccounted

Total: $2,579

Note that some of these incomes were accrued from previous months, and sometimes not paid out until a couple of months later.

For instance, my affiliate income can range from $0 to $423 in each month. My average year-to-date affiliate income stands at around $256 per month.

Also, my Sponsored post income might be $2029 in August, but it's approaching $9000 in September. Learn how I do it here!

6. Freelance Services (~$14,194)

I was fortunate enough to land a huge web design project, creating a website from scratch, handling their branding, and co-creating new content for this client.

As usual, if I'm not selling my Skyrocket With SEO course, I'm servicing/ teaching SEO and content strategy to businesses that need that kind of help!

SEO services: ~ $4224
Web Design project: $9735
Talent for a video shoot: $235

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I'm hesitant to publicly report the final income numbers because again, running your own business that involves juggling different projects with different start, end and payment times makes it complicated.

While technically I'm not earning all of the above-reported money in cold hard cash, the value of some of these in-kind products personally adds value to my life, and I'd gladly accept them for no fee.

My point is, if you're a creator, freelancer or business person, don't limit yourself to one thing. Your skills (SEO, social media, storytelling) can be repackaged into consulting and training services, and your content platforms can be resold for a value higher than its face value.

These may not be glamorous numbers to some, but they're a reliable baseline that keeps everything sustainable, all without the torture of overworking, experiencing burnout or hating your work.

August's income wasn't just “luck.” It was the result of years of building relationships, diversifying income, and saying yes to opportunities that stretched me.

There's still so much within this month's income sources that I can unpack, so join my SEO newsletter for more of such insights!