Day 99 Of My Journey To $40,000 Per Month (An $82.66 Surprise)
So today is Saturday, May 23rd, 2026 and officially Day 99 of my journey towards making $40,000 per month online.
Honestly… that’s kind of wild to even type out.
99 days already?
It feels like this journey has gone by fast and slow at the exact same time somehow. You know what I mean? Some days feel super exciting and motivating… and other days feel like you’re just sitting there staring at a screen wondering if anything is actually working.
But today was a pretty decent day overall.
I made an $82.66 commission from my current main offer, I got a couple new AI-generated YouTube review videos uploaded, and I’m starting to feel that little spark of momentum again that I honestly needed.
So let’s get into the update.
Money Update For May
So as far as actual money that has officially hit my bank account for the month of May…
That number is currently sitting at:
$3,857.46
Not terrible at all.
Obviously I want that number much higher eventually if I truly want to leave the 9-to-5 world behind permanently and build the kind of life I actually want… but I’m still grateful for every dollar that comes in from this online stuff because none of this existed for me a few years ago.
No payouts hit my bank account today unfortunately, so the number stayed the same.
Still waiting on some commissions to clear.
That’s honestly one of the annoying parts about affiliate marketing sometimes. You can make commissions today but not actually receive the money until weeks later depending on refund periods and payout schedules.
So now I basically sit here crossing my fingers hoping people don’t refund everything and vanish into the night like Batman.
Online business is glamorous.
Email List Update
Now let’s talk about my email list.
Right now my list is sitting at:
4,074 leads
So yes… technically my list size went down a little bit.
But honestly?
I’m actually okay with that.
One thing I’ve realized is that a smaller engaged email list is WAY more valuable than a giant dead list full of people who never open anything.
I currently have automations set up that unsubscribe leads after 60 consecutive days of inactivity.
At first that felt scary to me because seeing the number go down messes with your brain a little bit. You want the number to always go up forever because it feels good psychologically.
But deliverability matters.
If people never open your emails, Gmail and other inbox providers start looking at your emails like:
“Yeah… nobody wants this.”
And that’s how you end up in spam or promotions.
So honestly, if someone hasn’t opened a single email from me in 60 straight days… it’s probably better for both of us if they leave the list.
Still though, I definitely need more leads coming in consistently.
Right now I’m not really running paid ads, and my AI-generated WordPress blog hasn’t fully taken off yet either. I’m hoping that changes over time because I genuinely think search-based traffic and AI-assisted content creation are going to become massive opportunities moving forward.
But realistically?
That stuff takes time.
I think sometimes people online make it seem like you upload 3 blog posts and suddenly you’re driving around in a Lamborghini while drinking sparkling water on a yacht.
Meanwhile in reality you’re sitting there refreshing Google Search Console for the 19th time wondering why your article about making money online has exactly 2 impressions.
One of them was probably you.
Still… I believe consistency eventually wins.
The $82.66 Commission
So today I made about an $82.66 commission from my main offer.
And honestly, I’m really happy about that because this sale came from an organic lead that joined my list today.
That’s important.
Because it means the system is still working.
Somebody found my content, joined my email list, trusted me enough to buy something, and now there’s a chance that lead could continue generating recurring commissions over the next few months too.
That’s the kind of thing I’m trying to build more of long term.
Not just random one-off money.
I want systems.
I want recurring income.
I want income that keeps coming in whether I’m having a good day, bad day, lazy day, sick day, or “I accidentally spent 3 hours watching YouTube videos about lost civilizations” day.
That’s the dream.
And honestly… every single little commission like this gives me more belief that the bigger goal is possible.
Getting Back Into YouTube
One thing I was actually proud of today was finally getting some more AI-generated YouTube review videos uploaded.
Because man…
I almost gave up on this stuff completely.
Some of these AI tools can be unbelievably frustrating sometimes. You spend hours trying to get something to work properly and the AI suddenly decides your character should have 14 fingers and one eyeball for no reason.
But even with all the frustrations… I genuinely think AI content creation is going to become more and more powerful over time.
And honestly, YouTube is still one of the biggest opportunities on the internet in my opinion.
The crazy thing about YouTube is that one video can continue bringing you leads and sales months or even years later.
That’s powerful.
The problem is consistency.
And if I’m being honest with you… I’ve definitely been slacking lately.
I know that if I consistently upload useful videos, especially review-style content and search-based content, I WILL get leads and sales from it eventually.
I’ve already seen proof of that before.
I just need to stop overthinking everything, stop getting distracted by shiny objects, and keep showing up consistently.
Because honestly?
Most people quit way too early.
And I really don’t want to be one of those people.
Final Thoughts
Anyway, that pretty much wraps up my Day 99 update.
Some days in this journey feel exciting.
Some days feel frustrating.
Some days feel slow.
But overall I still feel optimistic about where this is going long term.
I really do believe that building an audience, building an email list, learning traffic, and creating content online can completely change someone’s life if they stick with it long enough.
Not overnight.
But eventually.
And if you’re somebody who wants to learn how to start making money online and potentially escape the 9-to-5 grind someday too, you can check out the free training I put together here:
👉 https://jacksdigitalventures.com/freetraining
And if you want to find my YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and all my other links, you can find everything here:
