AD | Money makes the world go round, the world go round, the world go round. Money makes the world go round, it makes the world go round. A mark, a yen, a buck or a pound. 10 points to whoever knows where that’s from. But anyway, enough singing. Today I’m talking about money *halt the breaks*, which I know can still be a bit of a taboo and hush hush topic. But since becoming a blogger – a full time actual money making blogger to be more exact – my attitude and the way I see money has definitely shifted somewhat.

It could be that I’ve gotten older and actually had to think about it a bit more. Or it could be because I’m making money that I wasn’t making before. OR it could be because there are a number of amazing bloggers in this industry who are extremely open about money and bring money into the conversation and turn it from this disgusting thing, to something that’s total normal and fine to talk about.

You know what, everyone needs it. Everyone wants it. It’s around us wherever we go. Why don’t we just, you know, talk about it? A bit?

This year in particular I’ve definitely found myself more passionate about money, finding different ways to make money, reading more blog posts about money and managing my money, my spending and my savings even better than before. And I tell you what, it never hurts to take a look over your money habits and streams and just analyse it a little bit because you never know what you might work out.

So, for me at least, 2019 is the year to stop being shy and prudish about money. And the year to talk about it more, share ways I make money and the ways you can make money too and also other aspects of money that we don’t tend to think about:

Earn extra money with little effort

Aside from our full-time or part-time day job, extra money would never go amiss. But if we’ve been working all day (or night) I can’t imagine many of us would want to do too much extra work on top of that. Self care and taking time for yourself is just as important! I’m really into survey sites, which I’m planning to do a more detailed blog post about in the coming months as a super easy way to make some extra cash with very little effort.

Granted, it’s not a huge amount extra but £50 here and there will all definitely add up and is a great way to set aside money for Christmas, birthdays or special occasions throughout the year without digging into your savings! Selling old things on sites such as eBay or Depop is also a quick and easy way to make some extra cash. Taking the photos and creating your listings might take a little time but once it’s done, it’s done! There’s always something that needs selling. If you’ve got an old car that needs scrapping, you can even make money off of that by selling your car for parts!

Find the right help, if you should need it

Should you ever find yourself in a sticky situation where you need a short term loan, there’s certainly no harm in finding the right help. As long as you know you can pay it back and can manage your money well, then websites such as Cashlady.com should have you covered, with free applications and friendly, fair and transparent communication so both parties know exactly what you need and how they can best provide.

Making money through blogging

If you’re a blogger (which there’s a high chance you will be if you’re reading this!) then if you have the right tools and techniques, then there’s certainly room for earning money through your blog. I recently wrote a post about how and where to find blogging opportunities, which I’ve already had some people tell me that they’ve bagged themselves some opportunities through following that post, so that might be a good place to start!

You can make money through blogging in a variety of different ways; sponsored posts, affiliate links, sidebar ads, offering advertising packages, creating and selling your own products, posting on Instagram or Twitter and much more. If blogging isn’t your full-time job but you’re passionate about it and feel like you might be in a place to open your space up and work with brands, then I’d definitely recommend it!

Managing your money

This is arguably the trickiest thing for most of us to do. Sometimes it’s the management of our money that causes the most stress and actually lets us down, not making the money in the first place. Obviously there’s no one size fits all with this point because everyone reading this will be in different circumstances, with different priorities and different things they have to pay for. So it’s a difficult one to address.

But the main thing I’d suggest here is organisation. I’m hugely organised and I’d probably say it’s my strongest skill and I know that some people are naturally organised (and that’s fine!) but learning some organisational techniques for busy areas in your life that you need to keep in check will never hurt anyone. Think notebooks, spreadsheets, charts, graphs and anything where you can physically see where your money is going and coming from.

Saving money

And finally, saving money. We all want to do that don’t we? I don’t think anyone would say no to saving money on something or having more disposable income at the end of each month. Again, this is something else that will be different for everyone but some quick and simple ways to save money could be:

• Using the library instead of buying books
• Shop at charity shops or use eBay, instead of high street stores
• Cut down on takeaways
• Plan your meals to cut down on food waste
• Try and fix what’s broken before buying something new
• Make things instead of buying them (if possible)
• Research free days out in your area
• Use discount codes wherever you can
• Be wary of your electric usage in your home
• Cancel any unused memberships (e.g exercise at home instead of the gym)
• Take lunch into work instead of buying it
• Join reward schemes for shops you use often

Obviously those are just a handful of ways to save money but it’s a good place to start if you’re really struggling to know how and where to begin!

Are you open about money or have you found yourself becoming more open to talking about it? What ways do you save money which are effective? And how do you manage your money and keep track of your spending and saving?

* This is a sponsored post