I earn money online through blogging by spending less than 15 hours per month. This post contains affiliate links/ads. See disclosure policy.

Welcome to my July and August income reports.

I have changed the way I reported my monthly blogging income for the following reasons:

I report my income every two months now. There have not been a lot of changes in my blog as everything is stable now. I felt like an income report every two months is good enough.
My income report details not only how my blog is performing but also where my blog money is going, that is, in terms of investments, mortgage, etc. This is to show you guys how blogging has really changed my family’s life for the best.

A little story

It’s been a roller ride these past two months between getting ready for a new baby, doing some DIY stuff in the house, and so many things. My blogging has steadily made money to the tune of around $9,000/month.

I didn’t do anything special to my blog because I mainly focused on reviving my other blog, that is, Food and DIY blog called The Handy Foodie. I focused my time and energy on that blog than on this blog.

Having said that, I managed to pull in over $18,000 in two months.

For those who are thinking of starting a blog but are still not on board yet, please take my situation as a tip (or a lesson).

I managed to not do a whole lot on this blog and still made a ton of money.

That’s what happened when your blog is on auto-pilot.

The hard work for this blog has long been gone. Don’t get wrong. I still work hard on my blog because I want my readers to find value in what I share. But now, I am able to focus on other things that are more important.

Now, I can easily rest and not spend a whole lot of time thinking about my blog’s niche, tweaking my blog’s layout, etc. Now, I can do more on the creative side, create more in-depth posts that my readers love, etc. and earn more money at the same time.

I’ll tell you that I have been able to engage more with my readers now that my blog is in a steady state, which is primarily one of the reasons that my blog’s traffic and income are on an increasing pace.

Blogging is a hobby and a passion of mine. That’s why it comes natural and easy for me to be deeply involved with blogging.

If you are looking for an opportunity to do what you are passionate about (e.g. writing, sharing stories, providing insights) and earn money at the same time, then, blogging is meant for you.

I have been able to negotiate with Bluehost into giving my readers a big discount on starting a blog. Now, you can start your blog for just $2.95/mo, which is 50% off of the regular price of $7.99/mo. That’s a massive discount.

Bluehost doesn’t freely give big discounts like this. This deeply-discounted price is exclusive for my readers (i.e. you).

For a cost of a coffee fix, you can have your blog and start monetizing it. Who doesn’t like that idea? I know right.

I Earn Money Online: What’s New?

In this income report, I will answer the following questions:

How much I made?
Where my blog money went?
What’s new with my blog?
What’s in it for you with blogging?
Are you afraid of blogging?

How much I made?

These past two months (i.e. July and August) I made a total of $18,756.52. I made $9,544.17 in May and $9,212.35. I am so proud of this accomplishment because I did not put a lot of time into blogging but was fortunate to have earned such a big amount.

In total, I only spent 20 hours (i.e. 10 hours per month) blogging these past two months, which were in line with what I allot per month for this blog as I focused more on my other blog.

Here are the products that helped me improve my revenue numbers these past two months.

Note: There were a lot of products and services that came to my blog for sponsorship, advertisements, etc. but I declined them. I didn’t want to promote something that my wife and I have not personally used before.

INCOME

AdThrive: $6,434.56

AdThrive is open to bloggers whose blogs have more than 100,000 page views each month. I am fortunate to get at least 160,000 page views each month. Last July, I had around 174,322 page views. Last August, I had 176,535 page views. Thanks to Strategies That Skyrocketed My Blog Page Views from 0 to 170K/Mo a Month in 9 Months . If your blog has page views above the minimum requirement, I recommend you contact AdThrive.

Bluehost: $5,185.00

Bluehost all the way since day 1. That’s right. That’s me. I’ve been with Bluehost since I started. It is definitely the best of the best in web hosting and one of the best investments I’ve ever had.

If you are looking for sustainable side hustle, one that keeps on giving, then, blogging is one of the best ways to make money.

For a special price of $2.95/mo instead of the regular price of $7.99, you can create and start monetizing your blog. That’s 50% off of the regular price. That’s just a coffee fix.

Blog Page View Strategies: $1,259.67

My new e-book entitled “Strategies To Skyrocket Your Blog’s Page Views” is a massive hit. It’s only been out for only a couple of weeks now and it has been purchased by more than 40 people.

This e-book details the in-depth strategies I took to get from 0 to 170K in just 9 months. If you are stuck, don’t know how to increase your page views, and/or want to improve your page views, then, this e-book is made for you.

See the post here for a glimpse on what to expect from this e-book. There are more in the e-book than what you see in the post.

Budget Printables: $674.55

For the past two months, my budget printables have competed with my other affiliates when it comes to revenue.

Just FYI, these printables were what my wife and I used to pay off our $40K debt and save at least $70K in 2.5 years.

We still use it everyday. If you are looking for budgeting worksheets, I highly recommend you grab this binder kit.

It’s on sale for only $7.99, which is 65% off of its original price of $19.99.

Networks: $2,198.63

I’m currently an affiliate with IGain ($752.30), Share-A-Sale ($313.44), FlexOffers ($283.94) and Panthera Network ($848.95). If you’re looking for great affiliate networks, I recommend these networks.

IGain has finance-related products while Share-A-Sale and FlexOffers have products/services you can think of under the sun. Panthera Network, is my favorite one, because it always brings me great affiliates and payouts.

Smart Asset: $1,804.11

Coming from an average of $70 per month, my Smart Asset revenue has dramatically increased these past couple of months. Thanks to my affiliate manager who is always there to help me with optimizing my Smart Asset placement.

Sponsored Posts: $800.00

I picked up a few clients these past two months. Overall, I made around $800.00. These sponsored posts are particularly different in that the advertisers came to me instead of me hunting them around.

Tailwind: $400.00

Tailwind is the reason for my massive blog traffic. I’ve only blogging for a little over a year but my page views are just fantastic. Now, my page views hover around 170K/month. I expect the views to pick up this holiday season.

If you sign up using my link, you will get $15. There is a Tailwind FREE Trial, and you can also subscribe for $9.99/mo when you sign up for a year. You can contact me for FREE if you have Tailwind questions.

I do not charge for helping bloggers, but if you want to donate, you can do that as well. 🙂

Total Income: $18,756.52

EXPENSES

I have no expenses this month. How’s that possible? It’s possible because I have already paid in full all my blog expenses (e.g. web hosting and SEO Keyword tool) and I reported those expenses in the previous income reports.

Total Expenses: $0.00

Net Income: $18,756.52

Where did my blog money go?

I included this section because it allows me to provide a snapshot on how blogging really helps my family’s financial well-being and other aspects of my family’s life.

I honestly and seriously didn’t think I would make money from blogging.

I was happy when I saw $0.05 from Google Adsense on my second month blogging. Now, I earn way more than what I had hoped for. You’ll never know how a side hustle will work out for until you try it.

It’s an affordable and viable hobby that could take your life around for good.

If you consider blogging to make additional money on the side or to replace your day job income, you can start your blog with my special, negotiated price of $2.95/mo versus the regular price of $7.99/mo.

Anyhow, here’s where my blog money went these past couple of months:

House: $3,200.00

Our mortgage payment every month is $1,600. So, that’s $3,200 for two months. It already includes all the taxes, PMI, principal, interest, and even additional payment to the principal. Click here to find how blogging pays our mortgage and some more.

College education: $600.00

We put money into our daughter’s college savings 529 plan. We put $300.00 per month using my blog money and also $300/mo using our day job money.

Grocery: $600.00

Our monthly food budget for a family of 5 is just $300.00. We spent $600.00 for these past two months. We eat good food and do not buy pre-processed, prepacked foods. Each meal is made from scratch. Click here to find out how we are able to eat great on a budget.

Repair and Maintenance: $1,000.00

We save $500.00/mo for repair and maintenance. We haven’t used it but we continue saving just in case something needs to be repaired/maintained. We don’t want to get money out from our checking/savings in case we need something done in our house.

Other monthly expenses: $2,200.00

Our total other monthly expenses are around $3,800.00. The ones noted above are the major ones and are included in our monthly targeted budget. Things that are not noted above are internet, water and sewer, trash, and some other things. These expenses total to $1,100.00/mo, which is what my blog pays for.

Retirement: $4,000.00

We put in a ton of money towards our retirement accounts. We don’t usually include funds allotted towards retirement as expenses. That’s why I didn’t include retirement under “Other Monthly Expenses.” Our budget for retirement funds is $2,000.00/mo. So for two months, we invested $4,000.00.

Rest of the income: The rest of the money

The rest of my blog money, which is around $6K or $7K, goes to savings and checking accounts. The money goes into those accounts for now until I figure out where I need to put my blog money. I didn’t want to put a ton of money in the stock market because aside from the $2,000 we invest each month, we maximize our 401(k)s, which is around $6,000/mo between my wife and me.

What’s new with my blog?

So, what’s new with my blog? The answer is… there are so many things that happened these past couple of months. Some contributed to the increase in my blog’s income and some didn’t.

Coupon database

This database has been in the works for a long long time. When I say for a long long time, what I mean by that is that I have always wanted to get a coupon database on my blog. I am an extreme couponer (totally guilty of being one) and there have been a lot of people who asked me when I would have a coupon database. Well, it is now here. Thanks to Savings.com. I’m happy because I see a lot of coupons for products that my readers wanted to get, which they sometimes couldn’t find in other coupon sites. You can find the coupon database here.

Smart Asset ad placement

I made some tweaks on how I promote Smart Asset and place its ads. From getting $70/mo to $800+/mo, I can say that my efforts are finally working better than I expected.

Blog traffic growth e-book

I finished creating my “Strategies To Skyrocket Your Blog’s Page Views” and it is a massive hit. It’s only been out for only a couple of weeks now and it has been purchased by more than 40 people. I can’t recommend enough this e-book to help you increase your blog’s page views.

What’s in it for you with blogging?

I realized that a lot of the readers of my income reports are those who consider blogging and making money from it. I’ve been asked by a lot of people why I blog. Now, I am returning the question to you. What would blogging do for you?

Blogging is more than just a hobby. You could benefit well from it, seriously.

If you consider creating your own blog and monetizing it, here are some of the benefits:

Help. As a blogger, you have the opportunity to help other people with your knowledge and expertise. For example, I was in deep debt before but was able to get out of it quickly. Because I’ve experienced that and some other finance-related experiences, I have been able to share my thoughts and experiences and help others even in the smallest possible ways.
Authority. When you become a well-known blogger and your blog is the go-to site for a lot of people, you are becoming or become the authority in whatever niche your blog is in.
Money. You can make full-time money by working part time. I do this now. I only put in roughly 10 hours a month on my blog and still make full-time money. You can even retire, travel the world, and not worry about money because blogging makes money for you. Our blogging pays for everything and we get to keep our day job income. Click here to read the post.
Network. I can’t tell you enough how blogging is a great way to expand your network. This network will be there for you from personal and professional stand points. I don’t think I’d survive my first year without my fellow bloggers.
Personal relationship. My relationship with my wife has gone to another level because of blogging. My wife and I work closely with my blog. She’s the brain and I am the writer. We communicate and exchange ideas; we help out each other to make sure I write the best post I could possibly write, and others. Blogging helps us become closer and have better marriage than ever before.
So many more. There are a ton of other benefits you can gain from blogging.

Are you thinking of starting your own blog but afraid to do it?

I was a new blogger and I felt the same exact feeling that you might be feeling right now. You are not alone in the boat. There are a lot of new bloggers who feel they don’t know where to start, how to start, how to build audience, etc.

I recently created an e-book entitled “15+ Strategies I Applied To Skyrocket My Blog’s Page Views from 0 to 170K/mo in 9 Months“. In this e-book, I detailed the exact strategies I adopted to drastically improve my blog’s page views from 0 to 170K/mo in just 9 months.

If you ask new bloggers, getting 30K page views per month is hard while getting 170K/mo in such a short time is close to impossible but doable. I discuss the strategies that you can apply right now. Yes, you can apply these strategies without any blogging experience.

Is it only designed for new bloggers? Absolutely not. If you want to increase your blog page views, this is also for you.

This e-book is your guide to getting the page view your blog deserves.

Final thoughts:

That’s about it for now. I can’t believe July and August are done and September is almost done. I’ll see you again a month from now for another edition of my income report.