Dirty Money Talk: May 2025

Written By Liv Steigrad

Welcome to my Dirty Money Talk, where I lay out all the dirty details of my business for everyone to see.

I subscribe to a couple of people who do these and read them every single time they land in my inbox. Because I’m nosy, and I like seeing what other people are doing, how they’re doing it, and how they feel about it. So I decided to start doing them myself.

I want to do these for a few reasons:

  • It keeps me accountable. Writing these up for you guys forces me to actually look at my data and reflect.

  • I think financial transparency is extremely important and hopefully me doing these helps break down the money taboo.

How many hours I worked in May?

65 hours, 53 billable (82% billable)

 

How did I make money this month?

  • Same projects as last month! Brand voice, web copy, and content strategy for an insurance syndicate and an immigration law firm.

 

How was May overall?

I spent most of it working on the insurance syndicate project (which I’m REALLY excited to share with you guys when I can).

I also went to visit Martha in Perth to hang out and sing happy birthday while she recovered from a surgery. If you don’t already know, Martha is the founder of Word Candy, my podcast co-host, and lives all the way in Perth while I’m here in Melbourne. I love her to BITS and wish every single day she didn’t live so far away.

Anyway.

I also started writing on Substack for fun, about my current hyperfixation: perfume. I’m VERY excited to announce that I have 72 subscribers, including 2 paid ones. OUTRAGEOUS.

If you’re into perfume or want to see how a professional writer writes for fun, check it out. (Do you have a Substack? Send me the link! I’ll subscribe).

 

How did my goals go for May?

  • I did okay on Instagram. Are we friends there yet? Check me out.

  • I stayed on top of my client work (yay).

  • Spent some fantastic quality time over in Perth with Martha.

 

Goals for next month:

  • Do a little promo for EOFY.

  • Catch up on my case studies– I’ve worked on so many cool things I haven’t shared with you guys yet!

  • Go hiking in the Grampians for my partner’s birthday.

 

What does it cost to run my business?

My (approximate) regular, ongoing monthly expenses are:

Co working space: $450

VA: $1000

Software & Subscriptions: $250

This doesn’t include any extra professional services, travel, office supplies etc.

 

Tech I’m currently using for my business

Productivity

  • Upbase (lifetime plan from Appsumo)

  • Notion (free)

  • Moxie (lifetime subscription from Appsumo)

  • Clockify (free version) for my time tracking. I like the Chrome plugin.

  • Brain.FM to help get me into focus mode. Affiliate code: tbp for 20% off

  • Chat GPT 4.0 (free).

  • Squarespace for my website


Podcasting

  • Descript (paid annually) for podcast editing

  • Squadcast for podcast recording (free account with Descript subscription)

Marketing

Finance

  • Thriday (annual plan) for my business banking + bookkeeping, and to implement the Profit First system. I mostly use Moxie for my invoicing because I sometimes need different currencies.

  • Wise for any international payments I need to send or receive.

Want help building a business that feels good and pays well?

Here’s how we can work together:

Website & Launch Copy – Strategic writing that sounds like you and actually converts.

Brand Messaging Strategy – Clarity on what to say, how to say it, and why it connects.

Brand Therapy – 1:1 support when you're stuck, pivoting, or ready to grow with intention.

Upgrade Your Onboarding – A quick win to help you charge more, onboard better, and save your brain.

Liv Steigrad
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