If 2024 was about starting—buying the domains, signing up for the subscriptions, and figuring out what “building online” actually meant—2025 was about refining.
Last year, I cast a wide net. I paid for memberships I didn’t use and tools I didn’t need. This year, my goal was to run leaner and smarter. I wanted every dollar leaving my bank account to directly contribute to two things: infrastructure(keeping the lights on) or growth (getting eyes on the projects).
Here is exactly what I spent in 2025 to keep my portfolio of projects running, growing, and evolving.
The Bottom Line
Total 2025 Spend: $1,273.11
Compared to the scattershot approach of my first year, this number feels tighter. It’s focused. There is very little “fat” here—just the engines I need to keep moving forward.
Here is the breakdown of where that money went.
1. The Foundation: Infrastructure & Hosting ($484.94)
Before you can sell or grow, you need a place to live. My biggest shift this year was locking in long-term stability rather than paying monthly premiums.
- Hosting: I committed to Hostinger with a 4-year plan ($129.17). It’s a larger upfront hit, but it secures my runway for the foreseeable future without monthly billing stress. I also kept Ghost.io ($108.00) for my primary publishing platform because the writing experience is unmatched.
- Domains: I’m currently managing a portfolio of projects including chironearme.org, skateboardparknearme.com, tutorlounge.me, and https://www.google.com/search?q=findcoworkingspaces.com. Between renewals and new registrations on Porkbun, I spent roughly $71.02.
- Directory Tech: I invested $171.75 in GeoDirectory. Since programmatic SEO and directories are a core part of my strategy, this was a necessary tool to manage location-based data effectively.
2. The Engine: AI & Automation ($203.39)
This category didn’t exist for me a few years ago. Now, it’s my second most critical expense. I am no longer just “writing” content; I am engineering it.
- Perplexity API ($115.00): This has become my daily driver for research and answer synthesis. I topped up my credits 7 times throughout the year—it’s utility bill I’m happy to pay.
- GPT for Sheets ($87.00): Connecting LLMs directly to my data spreadsheets allows me to clean data and generate content programmatically.
- DeepSeek ($1.39): Testing the waters with other models to see where I can save costs without losing quality.
3. Growth: SEO & Marketing ($484.79)
If I build it, will they come? Only if I have the data to tell me what they are searching for. This year, I stopped guessing and started paying for data.
- Ubersuggest ($290.00): My single biggest purchase of the year. I bought the lifetime deal to stop bleeding monthly subscription fees for keyword research.
- Data Scraping: I spent $74.79 on Outscraper and $45.00 on Keywords Everywhere. These tools fueled my directory sites (Skateparks, Tutors, Coworking) with actual leads and real-world data points.
- Content Operations: I paid $75.00 for Typefully to manage my social scheduling. It keeps my posting consistent without me having to be online 24/7.
What I Cut (The “Anti-Portfolio”)
Perhaps more important than what I bought is what I stopped buying.
In 2024, I paid for Twitter Premium, Medium memberships, and various “shiny object” tools like WP All Import(which I refunded). In 2025, I let those expire. I realized that paying for a checkmark or a paywalled reading platform wasn’t moving the needle for my business.
Looking Ahead
My burn rate is now just over $100/month, but that includes massive one-time investments like the 4-year hosting deal and the Ubersuggest lifetime account. My actual recurring costs are much lower.
For the next year, the goal remains the same: keep the infrastructure lean, pour resources into data and automation, and let the projects compound.
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