Balancing Freelance Losses Due to Economy

My stable $400 a month gig has been reduced to... well, I'm not sure yet, but $250 or $300 a month. I've come to rely on that extra cash (it covers almost all of my rent, which is, by the way, going up from $612 to $670 in January) - so I'm exploring new cash-making opportunities and side projects.

The latest is a blogging gig that pays $25 a post. I'm starting out at twice a week with 200 word posts, and that's pretty easy to do. Even if it takes 45 minutes a post, that's $50 for less than 2 hours of work. I can write more too, if I have time. I like that, I just don't want them to come to expect 5 or more posts a week from me. That's why I left my blogging gig, and that paid a lot better.

Still, if I could make an extra $200 a month in blogging that would at least balance my losses. Supposedly I could make up to $500 a month - which would be good to strive for if I can do that and still maintain my 40-hour a week gig.

Plus, I need to keep writing things that I can share professionally (like, stuff other than this blog.) It's good to stay in the writing habit. The analytical section of my brain needs to be worked out again. It's getting flabby.