8 Useful Money Management Tips For Bloggers

This post will share eight helpful tips for bloggers on money management.

For a lot of us, blogging starts off as a side hustle.

Something we test the waters with even though we’re not so sure it would be worth our while.

But then, somewhere along the line, we get lucky and our blogs slowly become profitable.

But before we get to that point, we probably already have our eyes on certain nice-to-haves.

So we splurge a bit here and there.

There is one course this week, and next week, there is another software.

Before we know it, we can’t account for all the disappearing money.

While I can’t dictate how you should spend your blogging income, I can share tips on managing it.

This comes from someone who used to run a service business and work directly with clients.

Most of us have various blogging goals.

For some of us, it could simply be making extra cash at the end of the month.

For the rest of us, it could be the equivalent of a full-time income with extra for savings and investments.

Whichever part of the scale you fall in, your goals are valid.

So, if you have started to make decent money on your blog, so much that you have a monthly income and are not quite sure how to manage it properly without spending it all, this post is for you.

Here Are 5 Useful Money Management Tips For Bloggers That Will Help You A Lot!

When it comes to making money blogging, there are three stages a blogger goes through before they can confidently say they have made it.

1. The Clueless Stage: This is where you literally do not know what you’re doing.
2. The Beginner Stage: This is when some income starts to drip in. At this point, it is super inconsistent. You can make money this month, and then you make nothing for the next few months. The cycle continues for a bit until you learn a few more things.
3. The Competent Stage: Here, you’ve finally gotten a good idea of what blogging for money entails and are making decent income monthly—nothing too crazy, just enough to spur you on.
4. The Expert Stage: At this stage, you’ve finally learnt how to master every monetization strategy, and income is coming in left, right, and centre every month. You literally have enough to quit your job, and your blog has grown enough to sustain you.

Except you’re miraculously lucky, every blogger eventually has to pass through these stages to make money blogging.

The most important thing is how you manage your money in Stage 2, which will determine how well you manage it in Stage 4.

Let’s get right into it!

Get a Business Account.

It goes without saying that your blog is a business, and as such, you’ll want to separate your personal/job income and expenses from those of your business.

This also makes accounting and bookkeeping a lot easier, as you can conveniently see how much you make every month.

You can track your daily, weekly, or monthly incomings and outgoings.

Personally, I use Starling, but you can use any bank that is convenient to set up.

Track your Blogging Expenses.

Tracking your blogging income isn’t that hard.

You kind of have a mental idea of where your income is coming from, especially if you’re not making so much.

But the real work is tracking your expenses.

You need to know how much you spend monthly to maintain your blog and other miscellaneous expenses.

Personally, I prefer to pay for things annually, which is why I also have a budget.

I use Quickbooks for my accounting and bookkeeping.

Create a Budget

If you have plans for your blogging income that don’t involve impulsive spending, you must have a budget for your blog.

Creating a budget will give you an idea of the minimum you need to make monthly to make a profit.

To do this, you must list all your recurring blog expenses.

If you pay for them annually, divide them by 12 to get a monthly figure.

Your expenses would include things like Hosting and domain provider, Email Marketing software, design software like Canva, Accounting software, Scheduling Software, etc., and any other expenses you need to pay monthly.

Having a budget will also help you keep your blogging costs down.

There’s no point in spending so much money if you’re not making enough.

There’s literally time for everything.

Learn about Self-employed Taxes

When your blog income reaches a certain threshold, you must declare it and pay taxes.

The way I see it, the earlier you learn about the taxes that apply to you as a blogger, the better it is for you.

Don’t try to invade it as it would eventually bite you in the ass later on.

Treat your blog like the business that it is.

This way, you can learn how to include your taxes in your budget and save towards it.

Save as much as possible.

Many of us have blogging wishlists of things we hope to afford someday.

It can be as little as upgrading your gadgets before it crashes completely.

It can also involve investing in SEO software to boost your SEO efforts.

Whatever it is, you’ll definitely need money for unforeseen expenses, so make sure you have some savings.

This way, you don’t have to dip into your personal stash to fund your blog.

3 Tips For Upgrading Your Blog On A Budget

The beauty of managing your blogging income properly is that you can upgrade your blog whenever you like.

Occasionally, I like to get new backdrops for my product photos.

I also like to invest in software that will improve the quality of my work and increase my earning potential.

If this also applies to you, here are some valuable tips that should help:

Take advantage of significant sales like Black Friday & Cyber Monday.

There’s no reason for anyone to pay a full price for anything, except it is urgent.

When it comes to blogging, you want to try and get the best deals possible.

This is why having a wishlist of investments you want to make for your blog is essential.

This can range from a new theme to courses and software.

Also, write down the original prices to tell if you’re getting a good deal.

Having a list beforehand gives you something to work towards.

It also guides your spending habits and helps you save better.

Avoid the Shiny Toy Syndrome.

While I appreciate bloggers sharing certain information, I sometimes like to avoid the blogging community for my own sanity.

Asides from the fact that I’ve always thrived alone, I try to avoid as much temptation as possible.

If you’re easily swayed by peer pressure, I suggest you limit your consumption of other bloggers’ content in Facebook groups, for instance.

You don’t need to buy every trending course, except if you really need it.

Invest in quality equipment.

Don’t wait for your laptop to crash before replacing it. If you don’t have the cash, give yourself a saving target and work towards it.

Don’t wait until you’re stranded and can’t get any work done because of a faulty gadget.

Your blogging tools are non-negotiable and should be prioritized.

Finally,

Making money blogging will always be a thrilling experience no matter how you look at it.

The important thing to know is that our money is working for us.

I hope you have found these money management tips for bloggers useful.