The inspiration for this post came after reading an article Carly Heitlinger (The College Prepster) wrote about being successful at blogging. One area Carly focused was how we tend to compare ourselves to all the bloggers or influencers on Instagram and how it can get overwhelming. I mean, look at these women! With their Gucci bags and 50+ pairs of jeans (I’m not judging, but does anyone really need that many pairs of jeans?)  it’s impossible to not wonder what their key to success is. Carly mentioned a few things, one point being that bloggers’ Instagram feeds usually aren’t the whole story. So it might appear as if they can easily afford all those Chloé cross-bodies, but in actuality they might just have rich parents who subsidize their passion or maybe they maxed out two or three credit cards. Of course this isn’t true for everyone! I bet a lot of the bloggers I follow are really mindful of their money, I know I am.

So how do I afford blogging? To start, let me acknowledge that I realize I spend a good amount of money on clothes/shoes/bags. Actually…I haven’t bought a bag in a realllyyy long time. Hmm…maybe I need to change that? Anyway! While I spend a good amount on clothes, what you don’t see on my Instagram feed are all the things I’m not spending money on. Let me list a few:

Lunch Monday through Friday in NYC (will cost you approx $20) — I bring my lunch every day (cost approx. $2-5) 

Commute in the city using Subway or Uber (will cost you approx. $5 roundtrip for subway and $20+ for Uber) — I walk 

Drinks out with friends (will cost you approx. $20) — Whether I have friends to get drinks with or not isn’t the point here! The point is that most days I work out after work and then head straight home to work on my blog, make dinner, and get ready for work the next day, so drinks out isn’t something I have time for.

Oh! And a big one: Rent (will cost you approx. $1,200-$2,500) — I live with my parents

I realize how my passion for writing and blogging and ultimately having this creative outlet can be a potentially dangerous rabbit hole. Clothes, accessories, makeup, and experiences (like finding cute dinner/drink spots) all cost money and are all necessary for me to provide you guys with what I hope to be viewed as quality content/inspiration. As I believe I’ve mentioned before, I had several options for jobs when I graduated college, all of them were amazing opportunities, but I chose the opportunity with the largest salary. Aside from wanting to reach a certain salary goal I’d set for myself upon graduating college, I also wanted to seriously blog. As you assumed, blogging isn’t cheap. Disclaimer: I’m definitely not suggesting that money is the most important thing and/or that you should solely base your job decisions on it. What I am sharing was my personal goal/mindset going into finding my first job out of college.

I’m proud to say that I’m not in debt from blogging, and I’m doing really well with paying off my student loans (I plan to have them paid off by the time I turn 23).  I am mindful of spending money, and even more mindful of saving money! I save over half of each of my paychecks (that’s after 20% already is going into my 401K). I’m not saying every blogger is the same way; I actually have no idea what other bloggers do to manage their finances. In the spirit of being inherently honest I wanted to share what I do to make it all work. Let me know if you have any further questions! Outfit details below…

shirt: Joie (very similar) • pants: Hei Hei • sneakers: Steve Madden (same pair, different color*under $40 currently) • sunglasses: RayBan

the scoop: The Joie shirt I linked is much more fall appropriate than the summery one I currently have on, but hey! I had to add some sort of feminine feel to this outfit. // My Hei Hei pants come in a few other color options, but camo was a no-brainier for me. They are stretchy, I’m wearing a size 25 and maybe I could have done the 24 also since they stretch out. // Wearing a size 7 in these Steve Madden sneakers. They take a little while to break in, but then are really comfy! Right now the same pair in a different color is only $35!!!!     

How do you balance blogging and your budget? Let me know!