Blogging on a budget

This post is a part of Blogging Week here on Nothin' Fancy. Really.

I thought I would touch on the topic of blogging on a budget today. It's a subject that really should be discussed more, and I've also read quite a few posts on the topic, it was also the topic of one of the #bbloggers chats, so I thought I would include it here! 

Basically when you're a beauty blogger, you can fall into the pitfalls of spending money for your blog pretty fast. Be it the design or the constant need to buy every new makeup product that arrives on the market, you might find yourself searching for those lost pennies when the end of the month rolls around. I've been there before and it's a constant struggle for me as well, so hopefully I'll learn to listen to my own tips. Let's see what they are ...

Minimize your makeup stash

It's great that you own 56 lipsticks, but realistically, are you ever going to use them up? Take photos of all the ones you don't really use and sell them. You could have a blogsale, or even go on Depop or Moj Butik for Slovenian readers. You'll earn some spare cash and make a bit of extra room in your beauty cupboard. If you have items you can't really sell, consider doing a swap or just gifting them to family and friends. It's better that someone uses them instead of them just sitting in your drawer, right?

Don't keep buying the same items

This is something I'm very guilty of, be it fashion or beauty. I always find myself reaching for the same items, so it's gotten to the point where I own about 10 statement lipsticks in various shades of neon and a bajillion jackets which I'll never really wear. Stop buying the same things, wait until you use up a similar shade and then buy a new one.

Try new things

To keep your blog fresh, don't just settle for products that are okay and you keep repurchasing them just because you're used to them. Switch it up! Instead of going for that Lasting Perfection Concealer once again, why not try something in a similar price range and mix it up? You'll be able to write a whole new post about it, review it and include it in other posts as well. Don't limit yourself to a certain brand. That being said ...

Don't buy things just to blog about them

Another one I'm very guilty of - I've stopped counting the times I've grabbed a product off the shelf and thought, ooh, this would make a great post! It's okay if you need that item, but buying things just for the sake of posting about them and then never using them again is really not advisable if you're trying to stick to your budget. Instead, recycle the items you have at home. Already reviewed it? That's fine, why not write a comparision post, or maybe a brand overview, make some swatches, review it in action? So many options, and you can do a lot of posts with just a select stash of products.

Utilize your products

As I've mentioned before, one product does not mean one post! There are so many things to write about - of course you can do a review, or a first impression, do some swatches, add a comparision of similar products, write about your must-haves from a brand. So many things and you can keep using the products you have, no need to do a huge haul just so you can post about your new buys.

Save on design

You don't have to spend tons of money on a cutom blog design when you're just starting out. You can easily search Etsy and find some premade Blogger or Wordpress templates, and just add on a custom logo. By spending $20-$30, you will have a pretty template which you can easily customize and will work for at least the first year of your blogging experience. Don't throw a bunch of money into design when you're not even sure if you're going to stick to blogging.

Save when you can

If you are on a budget, it's really smart to save whenever you can. Take advantage of offers in your local drugstores - in Slovenia, drogerie markt often has different offers and Müller gives you a discount everytime you make a purchase. Boots also has amazing 3 for 2 offers and other special prices on their website, and they recently started shipping internationally. Make the drugstore work for you. I did a huge drugstore haul back in April because my local store had a discount on cosmetics, and I'm only now running low on some makeup I got back then! Finding dupes is also a great option, and you can google them and easily find great drugstore colours that are really similar to others from more expensive brands.

There you go, some of my quick tips to make blogging on a budget easier. I hope I'll follow my own advice more in the future, I'm mostly guilty of those 'blogging drugstore trips', where I convince myself I desperately need the latest release just so I can post about it ... Hope you found this helpful!

Any blogging on a budget tips?