Blogging on a budget

Tuesday, August 5, 2014


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?

Share your opinion:

  1. I really love that you included the point of "don't buy things just to blog about them" because I think it's something a lot of people have fallen for and really don't want to admit. When I'm shopping for makeup my blog is definitely on my mind, but I really have to focus on products that I want and that I will use instead of what would make a fun review.

    nueyork.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you :) I think you're okay as long as you're not breaking your budget like me!

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  2. Odlična objava, ravno nameravam začeti malo bolj varčevat. :P

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  3. No jaz pa včasih kupim kaj ravno za blog, da ocenim za druge ljudi oziroma da jim pomagam pri nakupu... Ampak običajno to porabim ali pa prodam naprej, če mi res ni všeč :)

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    1. Super! :) Jaz moram malo omejiti, ker jih kupujem samo še zato, imam ful preveč stvari. :/

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  4. Great post! Really love your blog's down to earth style and always get excited when I see you have a new post!

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    1. Thank you so much, that really makes me happy! :)

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  5. I'm a new reader here, but I am already loving this series you're doing - I completely agree with all the points you made :) I'm looking forward to reading more!

    Julia
    this sojourner

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    1. I'm so glad you love it Julia! I'll definitely post more :)

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  6. Super nasveti Živa! Nič za dodat :)

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  7. I'm so glad you wrote this. I am blogging on the tiniest budget. I always feel so left out when I see people blogging about the latest awesome but expensive beauty product. My blog is very small so I have no chance of getting PR samples, so I just have to wait to be gifted things by friends and family to review. I do fall into the trap of buying the same things when I do actually buy things, so I think you're right, I should switch it up a bit.

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    1. I totally agree! With all the high end brands it's sometimes tough to find something on the budget side. Don't worry hun, you'll find some great drugstore items and people love reading posts about cheap and cheerful buys anyway! :)

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  8. Tudi jaz se velikokrat zasačim v trgovini, ko želim nekaj kupiti, ker se mi zdi, da bi tako lahko nastala super objava. Potem pa pomislim, če je smisel bloga res ta, da kupim nekaj, česar ne rabim le zaradi objave in si tako premislim. :)

    Glede na to da imaš veliko šminkic bi rabila en nasvet. :) Zadnjič sem v Müller-ju iskala poponoma mat rdečo šminko, a je nisem našla. :/ Mi mogoče lahko ti priporočiš kakšno?

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    1. Prepogosto, ane? Jaz si pa ne premislim, pa potem kar kupim, haha, grozna sem. :D Glede mat šmink, odvisno kakšno iščeš, meni je lepa Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet, eno ful lepo mat imam pa tudi od Catrice, ampak je bila omejena kolekcija. Drugače imaš zdaj ful teh šmink v glossu, ki so mat, npr. Essence ima eno lepo rdečko, lahko sprobaš za tista 2€, da vidiš, kako ti je všeč? :)

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  9. Really agree with a lot of these, I think sometimes when you see bloggers who are always posting about pretty new things they've bought, people can feel pressured into trying to keep up with the consumerism, I certainly did in my early blogging days.

    Bella .BELLAETC

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    1. I really agree, and I often buy a lot too, but I'm really trying to cut back! :)

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  10. I am a new reader. I really enjoyed this post! Great tips! It is true that blogging tends to make people spend so much more than what they really need.

    She Said J'M!

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  11. Odlični nasveti! Sploh se strinjam s tem, da je super včasih kupiti kaj novega, ne tipično znanega in preverjenega. Taki nakupi, če so ti potem všeč, so odlična objava na blogu. Sama tudi spadam pod ljudi, ki kupujejo vedno iste zadeve kar se tiče odtenkov - vedno rdeče šminke, vedno peach rdečila...joj groza res. Moram malo razširiti barvno lestvico, je pa res, da je včasih težko najti kak "nov" odtenek šminke, sploh če ne maraš roza odtenkov:)

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  12. I've been seeing a lot of these posts lately. I think its important to not buy things for your blog. But blog about the things you buy. Does that make sense? Don't change the things your purchasing or up them, just do what you normally do. Isn't that what blogging is about? Writing about your every day life & the things you love. Great tips!

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  13. This is such a great post! Everything is very true and relatable

    Hello Song

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  14. I totally agree with the "don't buy things just to blog about them" point. I too see things in Boots or wherever and think "that'd be a good post" and I'm even guilty of picking up products I'd never use in a million years just because I think they'd photograph well on my blog. It's so easy to fall into this trap and I've definitely had to stop myself on multiple occasions. I also love the point about finding dupes. This is something I've started doing recently as there are so many blogs posting about dupes of the more expensive products and it's so much better for my bank balance!
    Thank you for a really helpful and brilliant post
    - Millie xx / www.millie-grace.co.uk

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  15. A very important tip is not to give in to the hype and not to buy things just because they're featured on other people's blogs! Trying to be versatile and to blog with what you've got is a great challenge :)

    Loved the post! xx from www.mistysstuff.blogstpo.com

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  16. This post is super useful! I used to buy things just so I could blog about them, but since becoming a full time student I can't afford to do that anymore and only buy things if they really do interest me and I think I'll use them!

    Beauty and Lifestyle Blog

    xx

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Thanks so much for leaving a comment - I try to reply to everyone!