How blogging can get you out of debt faster, plus tools to help you succeed

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If you are like me you are on a journey to get out of debt,…and pronto! I mentioned in one of my previous posts how I’m on a mission to get free from student loan debt as fast as I can.

My debt journey started when I turned 18 years old and got my first credit card. I was thrilled. After receiving it through the mail I immediately maxed it out after spending a full day shopping at the mall.

I figured as long as I had enough to pay the minimum monthly balance, then I was good.

What stupid thinking that was! But at 18 I wasn’t doing much thinking at all about finances. My unwise spending behavior continued on and I eventually found myself in $26,000 worth of credit card debt, on top of my student loans.

Debt became like a pesky friend…

Debt and I were becoming best friends, but debt wasn’t a friend that I wanted.

I knew I had to do something once my husband and I found out we were pregnant, (later finding out with twins!) My dream to be a stay at home mom would have to take a backseat as I corrected my wrongs.

With hard work, determination and sacrifices we got out of the credit card debt the last 7 months of my pregnancy. It was a HUGE weight lifted off our shoulders. Even so, there the student loan debt lay doormat, collecting interest waiting for me to touch. A reason why I had to unwillingly go back to work after my maternity leave.

I wracked my brain trying to figure out how to get out of debt with limited funds so that I could quit my job sooner.

We did all the saving and budgeting you can think of, — followed every frugal trick in the book, but now that almost a third of our income went to childcare, we just didn’t have enough money to aggressively pay off the loans as we did for the credit card debt.

That’s when I got to thinking; I NEED to make more money!

Excess income is needed to get out of debt

You need to make more money (and lots of it) than what the total of all of your monthly expenses are. That way any leftover money goes straight to your debt, helping you to get out of debt faster.

There are plenty of ways that you can make extra money, but you need to find what works best for you, and most importantly stick to it. Yeah, there is the choice of getting a second job, but I have twins and that wouldn’t fit my lifestyle at the moment.

My choice was to start a blog.

I chose to blog because it’s how I got hooked to the reality of financial freedom and independence. I read other blogger’s stories and it inspired me to achieve the same success as they had.

Reading various blogging income reports lighted a fire under me. I began researching how to start a profitable blog and I was set since then.

There is no income cap with blogging

The skies the limit with the amount of income you can generate through blogging. Michelle at Making Sense of Cents makes millions every year through her blog! Not saying I’m going to reach that same success, but the possibility to do so is there, unlike at my office job.

Usually, when it comes to occupations, there is a certain cap that is eventually reached after so many promotions. With blogging, you can start off fairly quick making thousands per month in your first year with the right strategy.

All the money you make from blogging can go directly to your debt, and you don’t have to quit your day job to blog if you don’t want to.

If you decide to start a blog, it’s such a great opportunity to make more income. But don’t come in naive, blogging takes a ton of work, time and energy. It’s not easy, but it can pay off.

I do all of my blogging after work and on my lunch breaks. Whatever free time I can get is dedicated to growing my blog. Going on my second month in and I’ve already made some income, and that feels great!

Blogging keeps you accountable

If you decide to make a blog documenting your debt journey it’s also a sure way to keep you to your word. This will force you to keep your debt at the forefront of your mind because you know you have monthly reports to share on your progress.

This is not to embarrass you, but to give realistic progress and learn from others the techniques that they used to get out of debt.

Blogging gives you a community

When you become a blogger you are introduced to a whole community of inspiring individuals with the same mindset of financial freedom. This community uplifts and provokes you to do better financially.

You realize that you’re not the only one out there who’s made mistakes, and that makes you feel better. Reading the stories of others along the way is inspiring and gives you the will power to keep pushing.

Tools to help you succeed in blogging

After I found out how others got out of debt by blogging I did lots of research before I officially dived into the world of blogging. I wanted the best tools out there to help me get on the right track. It’s important to lay a firm foundation to help you succeed, here are my top favorites.

1. Choose a good hosting company

If you are serious about blogging I advise you to skip the free blogging platforms like Blogger or Wix. Reason being that your blog won’t be truly yours and you will have less control over your site and content.

When you invest in a web hosting company I feel like it lights the fire under you even more because no it’s not just fun and games. You are committing yourself by investing in your blog and to make it a successful business.

The web hosting company that I use is Bluehost is I absolutely 100% recommend them. When I need help their customer service support is quick to respond and is always kind.

So far I have not had any major problems with them and will continue to use them in the future.

Signing up with Bluehost you get a free domain for the first full year and 24/7 support. You can get started with them for as little as $3.95/month, which is pretty good considering the potential profit you can achieve through blogging.

2. Download Grammarly

When I started thinking about blogging the number one thing that diminished my confidence was that I didn’t think I was a good enough writer.

Sure, I had a lot to say, and most importantly I wanted to help people with their finances, but formulating the sentences to convey my message was a big confidence slayer.

Then I ran across Grammarly, which is a free grammar tool that helps you better your writing skills. It checks for misspellings, grammatical errors and much more.

The great thing about it is that it’s free! You can download the free version here which gives you tons of resources to improve your writing.

As a new blogger, this tool has definitely been one of the greatest tools to help boost my confidence.

Learn more about Grammarly in my in-depth review here

3. Having a can-do mindset

In this journey of blogging I learned very early on that the burn out is real. The power of your mindset is everything.

I used to think bloggers had it easy, getting paid to simply write a few articles and post them online….boy was I wrong.

Blogging comes with so much learning and so many parts you need to do right to make it successful. The amount you have to learn and research can be overwhelming, causing your brain to get fried at times, but it is doable.

You have to enter into blogging knowing that it’s not going to be a get rich quick type of thing. It takes time and building a relationship for your audience to grow, and it won’t happen overnight.

You need to be consistent, and even then your success may take longer than others. Keep these truths in mind so it can help you remain optimistic.

Always remember if others can do it, you can too!

4. Create a Pinterest account

Pinterest is definitely a game-changer for bloggers. If you do nothing else, –as soon as you can, start establishing your presence on Pinterest to get your blog seen by a wider audience.

Fun fact. Many bloggers get most of their traffic through Pinterest.

I myself am still very new to blogging, but using Pinterest in just my first month I was able to get over 2,000 views. It may not seem like much but I was able to earn my first $100 that month, with just that little amount of traffic.

The more traffic you get the increased likelihood for you to earn more money. Pinterest helps with this, and it helps you to connect with other bloggers, further widening your audience.

5. Never give up

No matter how cliche it may be, it has to be said, never give up!

There will be times you may want to throw in the towel (I’ve already had them), but you got to remind yourself why you started in the first place. Find methods that will keep you motivated to keep going.

Think about it. If you give up now then you will never know the success that could have been just around the corner waiting for you.

Are you using blogging to help you get out of debt faster? Share in the comments the ways that you are finding success so we can all succeed! Let’s smash debt!

Shaniqua

Hi, I’m Shaniqua! I paid off $26,000 of consumer debt and am on the path to pay off all my student loan debt. I’m a future full time blogger who loves to write about ways you can get out of debt fast, save money, and create more income. I’m a wife and mom, and I created debt smashing to share my own debt journey and to empower others to go for their dreams. I’m passionate about helping others to succeed with their personal finances and overall life.