10 Finance & Business Blog Income Reports To Inspire You

In this post, we’ve covered 10 inspiring personal finance blogs and their income reports, and how they have turned their online presence publishing finance-related topics into a lucrative income stream.

Most of these bloggers have a very simple beginning just like you but just got very serious about their blogging journey, learned what works over time, and found success.

The best part for you is that at the end of this post, you will discover their success strategy and how you can apply this strategy to grow your blog income faster when you get started.

What we’ve covered in this post

10 Finance Blog Income Reports To Inspire You
The strategies these blogs have used
How you can start a similar blog and make money

Note: Most of these blog income reports are old since bloggers are reluctant and choose not to actively share their income reports. Even though they may seem old, they are still very relevant. They will give a hint on how much you can possibly earn if you were to start a similar blog.

10 Finance Blog Income Reports To Inspire You

Making sense of cents – $145,319
Just a Girl and Her Blog: $41,700
Dollar Sprout – $61,915
Smart PassiveIncome – $125,819.91
The Savvy Couple: $43,547
Adam Enfroy – $101,814
Club Thrifty – $23,620.49
Believe in a budget – $18,128.60
Ryrob – $35,218.31
Chasing Foxes: $19,889

[1]. Making Sense of Cents – $145,319

Niche: Personal Finance & Blogging

Overview: Founded by Michelle Schroeder-Gardner, this blog helps readers improve their finances, save money, and make more income, with a strong focus on side hustles and blogging as a source of income. Michelle’s success story of paying off her student loans quickly has inspired her audience.

Content: Personal finance tips, debt payoff strategies, side hustle ideas, blogging advice, travel, and lifestyle content.

Income Breakdown In October 2018

Affiliate revenue
Course sales
Sponsored content
Ad revenue

[1]. Affiliate Revenue

Bluehost – $32,200.00
Survey companies – $9,877.00
Six Figure Blogger – $2,301.00
Ebates – $500.00 (estimated, as this is a tiered affiliate program)
Internet Scoping School – $452.10
ConvertKit – $391.99
Bookkeeper Business Academy – $363.75
Credible – $350.00
How To Work From Home Selling On Amazon FBA – $247.10
Personal Capital – $200.00
$5 Meal Plan – $141.30
Miscellaneous affiliates – $25,018.50

Total affiliate revenue = $72,042.74

[2]. Course sales = $53,650.00

[3]. Sponsored content = $17,500.00

[4]. Ad revenue = $2,127.00

Total Blogging Revenue October 2018 = $145,319.74

Making sense of cents detailed blog income report

[2]. Just a Girl and Her Blog – $41,700

Niche: Blogging, Organization & Home Decor

Overview: Abby Lawson’s blog focuses on home organization, productivity, and blogging. Her content caters to those who want to create beautiful, organized homes while also exploring the world of blogging and online entrepreneurship.

Content: Home organization, DIY projects, blogging advice, printables, and productivity tips.

Blogging Income Breakdown for December 2016

[1]. Product Sales

BookBoss – $5,032
Paperless Home eBook – $774
Simplify + The Intentional Life Planner – $2,542
Building a Framework eBook and course – $5,845

Total product sales = $14,193

[2]. Affiliate Income

The report didn’t specify the income made from each product;

Amazon Associates
Bluehost
ConvertKit
Feast Design Co.
Flywheel Hosting
Genesis Framework
Media Temple
List Surge
Affiliate Marketing for Bloggers
5 Days to Your Best Year Ever
Instapage
SiteGround Hosting
Restored 316
Pretty Darn Cute Designs
PicMonkey
Fizzle.co
Make Over Your Evenings / Make Over Your Mornings
Ultimate Bundles
Sponsored Posts

Total affiliate income = $27,507

Total Blogging Income: $41,700

Just a Girl and Her Blog detailed blog income report

[3]. Dollar Sprout – $61,915

Niche: Personal Finance & Side Hustles

Overview: Dollar Sprout, founded by Jeff Proctor and Ben Huber, is a personal finance blog that helps readers improve their financial health by offering side hustle ideas, budgeting tips, and smart money management strategies.

Content: Side hustles, ways to make money online, saving and budgeting advice, investment tips, and passive income ideas.

Blogging Income Breakdown for October 2018

Affiliate Marketing: $59,141
Sponsored Posts: $1,500
Course Sales: $482 (net earnings, after affiliate payouts)
Shopify: $7
Ads: $785

Total blogging revenue = $61,915

Dollar Sprout detailed blog income report

[4]. Smart Passive Income – $125,819.91

Niche: Passive Income & Entrepreneurship

Overview: Founded by Pat Flynn, Smart Passive Income is a popular blog and podcast that teaches readers how to create passive income streams through online businesses, affiliate marketing, and other entrepreneurial ventures.

Content: Passive income strategies, affiliate marketing, entrepreneurship tips, online business ideas, podcast episodes, and case studies.

Blogging Income Breakdown for December 2017

The blog “Smart Passive Income” makes over $148,721.61 per month. This was the income report for 2017 and currently makes over 200k per month, but doesn’t publish income reports anymore.

Affiliate Earnings – $105,619.13
Course Sales – $40,855.98
Book Sales – $2,246.50

Total blogging revenue = $148,721.61

Smart PassiveIncome detailed blog income report

[5]. The Savvy Couple – $43,574

Niche: Family Finance & Lifestyle

Overview: Run by Kelan and Brittany Kline, The Savvy Couple focuses on family finance, budgeting, and lifestyle improvement. The blog’s mission is to help families achieve financial freedom through budgeting, saving, and making extra income.

Content: Budgeting, family finance, side hustles, saving tips, debt reduction, and frugal living advice.

May Income Breakdown for May 2021

Ads – $5,041
Affiliate Sales – $3,739
Sponsorships – $33,773
Product Sales – $994
Total Blogging Revenue = $43,547

The Savvy Couple detailed blog income report

[6]. Adam Enfroy – $101,814

Niche: Blogging, Digital Marketing & Entrepreneurship

Overview: Adam Enfroy’s blog focuses on helping people grow successful blogs and online businesses, leveraging digital marketing strategies. His content is designed to scale blogs quickly through affiliate marketing, SEO, and monetization strategies.

Content: Blogging advice, SEO tips, affiliate marketing, online business strategies, digital marketing, and reviews of business tools.

Income Breakdown In March 2021

Affiliate
Ad revenue
Freelance
Digital products

[1]. Affiliate Marketing Revenue: $78,965

The report doesn’t specify the affiliate product but does say it came from 58 different affiliate programs.

[2]. Ad Revenue from Mediavine: $12,952

[3]. SEO freelance consulting for two clients: $8,700

[4]. Digital product sales: $1,197

Total blogging revenue for March 2021 = $101,814

Today the blog Adam Enfroy comfortably makes more than $150,000 per month mainly from its affiliate and course revenue.

Adam Enfroy detailed blog income report

[7]. Club Thrifty – $23,620.49

Niche: Personal Finance & Travel

Overview: Holly and Greg Johnson, the creators of Club Thrifty, focus on helping readers achieve financial independence through budgeting, saving, and smart financial planning, while also integrating travel into their financial goals.

Content: Budgeting tips, debt freedom, frugal living, travel hacking, and lifestyle advice.

Blogging Income Breakdown for December 2015

Affiliate marketing [mainly credit card sales] – $2,500
Social Media Management and Other Consulting – $1,300
Content Creation, Consulting, and Freelance Writing – $19,820.49

Total blogging revenue = $23,620.49

Club Thrifty detailed blog income report

[8]. Believe in a Budget – $18,128.60

Niche: Budgeting, Side Hustles & Passive Income

Overview: Created by Kristin Larsen, Believe in a Budget provides advice on budgeting and side hustles, with a particular focus on starting online businesses and earning passive income.

Content: Side hustle ideas, blogging tips, budgeting strategies, and passive income generation.

Blogging Income Breakdown for April 2018

Ad revenue – $957.84
Affiliate Income – $8,638.86
Courses + Products – $100,282

Total blogging revenue = $109,878.70

Believe in a budget-detailed blog income report.

[9]. Ryrob (Ryan Robinson) – $35,218.31

Niche: Blogging & Entrepreneurship

Overview: Ryan Robinson’s blog focuses on helping aspiring entrepreneurs start and grow successful blogs and businesses. He provides step-by-step guides and resources on blogging, content marketing, and freelancing.

Content: Blogging tips, freelancing advice, entrepreneurship, side hustles, and digital marketing strategies.

Blogging Income Breakdown for March 2021

Course Sales – $17,989.63
Affiliate Earnings – $17,228.68

Total blogging revenue = $35,218.31

Ryrob detailed blog income report

[10]. Chasing Foxes – $19,889

Niche: Personal Finance, Lifestyle & Travel

Overview: Chasing Foxes, run by Grace and Silas, offers advice on personal finance, travel, and lifestyle, with a focus on making extra money through side hustles and blogging. The blog shares practical tips to help readers achieve financial freedom.

Content: Money-saving tips, frugal living, travel guides, blogging tips, and lifestyle advice.

Blogging Income Breakdown for

[1]. Affiliate Income

Bluehost – $4,680
Amazon Associate – $202

Total = $4,882

Ad Revenue

Mediavine – $14,990

Total Blogging Revenue = $19,889.04

Chasing Foxes detailed blog income report

The Strategies These Blogs Have Used

Here are some common strategies that successful bloggers have employed to reach their current level:

They work within a niche: They choose a niche they are interested in and willing to consistently create content for, which helps them stay focused and relevant.
They have basic SEO Knowledge: These bloggers understand and implement key SEO practices, such as conducting keyword research, writing meta descriptions, using alt tags for images, and naturally integrating keywords into their content. Over time, they refine their SEO skills for greater effectiveness.
Consistent Content Creation: They set a target number of posts and maintain a regular publishing schedule. This ensures they never run out of content ideas and allows them to align their posts with specific goals, such as generating traffic, ranking for easier keywords, or driving affiliate income. This mix of content types (high-traffic, easy-to-rank, affiliate-focused) supports their growth strategy.
Monetization Strategy: Once they’ve created a certain number of posts, they start monetizing through affiliate links and ads. As their traffic grows, they gradually diversify their income streams by exploring additional monetization methods.
Promotion for Initial Traffic: In the early stages, they actively promote their posts on platforms like Pinterest, Quora, or Reddit. This gives their content the initial boost needed to start gaining visibility in Google search results.
Experience and Refinement: Over time, these bloggers gain valuable experience and continuously refine their strategies, adapting to what works best for their blog’s growth.

How To Start a Similar Blog and Make Money

Here’s a roadmap for starting your own blog, building traffic, and making money, following the strategies outlined above:

Step 1: Click on “HostGator” to host your blog.
Step 2: Choose your preferred HostGator plan.
Step 3: Pick a domain name and complete your sign-up.
Step 4: In your HostGator account, “Install WordPress” as your blogging platform.
Step 5: Select a theme within WordPress (Pre-built Site).
Step 6: Customize the pre-designed pages or add new ones to make your site look the way you want.