When I started my blog, I didn’t realize that I was really starting a business. Of course, I hoped to make money from it eventually, but I didn’t set out to build a blogging empire.
In fact, mostly I just wanted to document our journey to pay off six figures of debt, keep us motivated for our goals, and share ideas to inspire others.
Making money on top of all that was icing!
Being able to make a consistent income from my blog has been such a blessing! It helped expedite our debt payoff, and now it’s going straight into our house fund. I’m so glad I enrolled in Elite Blog Academy when I started out on my blogging journey! If you don’t get their awesome free email series, you can get it by signing up for their email list along with their current freebie.
September’s income was one of my lowest month’s this year, but for a part-time, on the side income, I’m not complaining!
Yes, you can make money blogging!
On to the numbers!
Blogging Income and Expenses
When I report my blog income, I don’t share what I earned in September, I share the income I actually received (there is up to a 90 day lag in when I earn income and when I actually receive it). That way I am able to put my income received with my actual expenses for the month to give you a real picture of what the blogging business looks like. (See I just called it a business!? I’m learning!)
I use an amazing set of spreadsheets to track my blogging finances. I have one where I record the income when I earn it and another where I record my income as I receive it. For my own bookkeeping, I use a cash system (focusing on when money actually changes hands), so that’s what I report to you– the income and expenses in the month that I receive or spend it. I think that gives you the best glimpse into how my real blog finances work.
You can see how my income breaks down into different income streams in the graph below. The breakdown varies month to month, so it’s always fun to see it visually.
BLOG INCOME— $2,198
Ad Networks– $1,315
AdThrive $1,315— I have had a great experience working with AdThrive. They are easy to contact and work with. They give me my options and let me be in charge. If you’re getting close to 100,000 pageviews, you should get on AdThrive’s waiting list (it’s long). If you’re not there yet, Google Adsense is a great place to start.
Private Advertising/ Sponsored Posts– $0
Sponsored posts aren’t normally a big income stream for me, though I don’t mind doing them when they are a good fit for me and my audience and they allow me the freedom to write the way I want. I didn’t get paid for any sponsored posts in September. I should have some coming later in the year though.
Affiliate Sales & Referral Bonuses– $852
Amazon Associates $186— I link to products on Amazon naturally in my posts. If I’m sharing a recipe or DIY tutorial, I will link to the supplies on Amazon. In my monthly family budget updates, I share what we spent our money on, which often involves Amazon purchases.
Bluehost $225— I started my blog three years ago with Bluehost and had a great experience. I stayed on their most basic plan until I outgrew it pushing 300,000 pageviews. I think it’s a great bargain and has helpful customer service, so it’s natural for me to recommend Bluehost to new bloggers. My step-by-step tutorial for setting up a blog walks new bloggers through the entire process.
Republic Wireless (+ others through CJ) $69— Republic Wireless used to have an awesome referral program, which got me lots of phone service credit, but that ended a year or two ago. Now I use their affiliate program on CJ, though it doesn’t do anywhere near as well for me as the referral program did.
FreezEasy & Grocery Budget Makeover $297— Erin Chase of $5 Dinners has some great products for budget-minded folks when it comes to the kitchen. I wrote about how I changed my mind about freezer cooking and shared Erin’s resources.
Ibotta $45— Ibotta is a no-brainer for anyone who grocery shops, has a smartphone, and wants to save money. I wrote about how Ibotta is the best money-saving grocery app for frugal folks.
Kids Cook Real Food $30— My kids had so much fun doing the Kids Cook Real Food course when I got it this summer. Registration only opens a couple of times a year. I don’t do big pushes for it, but I mention it occasionally on the blog or social media.
Own Products– $31
My book Frugal Fresh Start is available on Amazon (Kindle and print,too!) and I’m also selling the PDF version on my site. I’m excited to have a few new products soon. Stay tuned!
BLOG EXPENSES– $76
Internet– $35 I charge half of our internet bill to the blog, since at least half of our internet use is blog-related.
Domain name renewal– $39 One of my domain names was up for renewal. We use Namecheap for our domain registration.
ConvertKit– $99 I use ConvertKit for my email list (and love it). I wrote about how and why I switched from MadMimi to Convertkit.
Synthesis–$47 My blog is now hosted through Synthesis. I started out with Bluehost, though, and recommend that for starting out, as it’s much less expensive and I had a great experience with them.
BoardBooster– $20 I am loving having Pinterest automated in such a smart way. If you aren’t using BoardBooster yet, I definitely recommend signing up for a free trial. After that, plans start at just $5.
Products to try– $11 I like to try things out before I tell my readers about them (or commit to an annual subscription).
Giveaway $30 I sponsored a giveaway of the Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle. I didn’t get my promotions for the bundle set up before I went to FinCon (the bundle launched the week of FinCon), so I didn’t really end up promoting it, but I still bought a bundle for a reader.
Ultimate Bundles is one of my most favorite affiliates to work with. They share suuuper valuable affiliate marketing training and they have a great facebook group where you can learn from smart, seasoned bloggers. If you aren’t an affiliate yet, you should be!
FinCon Ticket Reimbursement ($205) Because I won a writing contest, my travel and ticket to FinCon were covered. Since I paid for my FinCon ticket in January (and accounted for it in blog expenses then), I credited the reimbursement back into blog expenses.
Net Income for September— $2,142
What about taxes for bloggers?
What this report doesn’t show is what we pay in taxes. Since my husband and I file jointly (and he has self-employment income, too), it’s not easy to say exactly how much our taxes end up being. Right now we’re paying quarterly estimated taxes on the safe harbor amount based on last year’s tax return. We will end up paying much more than that come April.
One of the reasons I’m so excited to share with you my Blogging Finance Spreadsheets (launching at the end of the year), is that they make tracking your income and expenses, and filing your taxes a breeze. I set up the expenses spreadsheet to go hand in hand with your Schedule C categories. You’re going to love it!
Sign up below to get notified when it launches (psst…. you’ll also get it for the lowest price!)
PS- If you haven’t already grabbed Ruth Soukup’s the Blog Structure Blueprint, you can still download it for free over on the Elite Blog Academy page (that’s the blogging course that started me out on the right foot)!
Curious about blogging?
When you join my Behind the Scenes Blogging email list, you'll get my blogging income and expenses reports each month. I'll also share other blogging tips, ideas and resources with you! If you're a blogger, aspiring blogger, or just a curious reader, this is for you!