11 Personal Finance Blog Success Stories [2024]
Ready to help others navigate the complexities of money management? Consider starting a personal finance blog. At its core, this business involves sharing valuable financial advice, tips, and strategies through engaging content.
Your focus could be on budgeting, investing, saving for retirement, or paying off debt—any topic that can guide readers toward better financial choices. You don't need to be a financial expert to start; relative knowledge and a knack for research can go a long way.
A personal finance blog can be as fulfilling as it is profitable. With a growing readership, you can monetize through affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, and even eBooks or online courses. Imagine the impact of helping people transform their financial lives while building a steady income stream for yourself. If you have a passion for writing and a desire to educate, a personal finance blog offers a meaningful and scalable business opportunity.
In this list, you'll find real-world personal finance blog success stories and very profitable examples of starting a personal finance blog that makes money.
1. The Good Life Companies ($24M/year)
Founder Conor Delaney came up with the idea for Good Life Companies after realizing the need for a comprehensive financial services organization that catered to independent financial advisors. The business started as a service-oriented entity offering client transition services, but quickly expanded to include real estate, marketing support, administrative services, and more. The company's unique approach and ability to adapt to advisors' needs have allowed it to attract and retain customers successfully.
How much money it makes: $24M/year
How much did it cost to start: $500K
How many people on the team: 60
How one financial services company, Good Life Companies, went from a multi-faceted service organization to a nationally recognized brand with $25 million in revenue, averaging 50-75% growth per year, by providing independent financial advisors with the support, infrastructure, and real estate necessary to operate their practices and meet all needs, along with investing in marketing strategies and expanding their offering to multiple broker-dealer channels.
2. DollarSprout ($2.4M/year)
Jeff Proctor, co-founder of personal finance blog DollarSprout.com, came up with the idea after realizing he didn't enjoy working for someone else. Initially planning to create a subscription-based investing website, Proctor and his partner eventually pivoted to focus on affiliate marketing. Now, four years later, DollarSprout is on track to generate over $2 million in revenue for 2019.
How much money it makes: $2.4M/year
How many people on the team: 3
DollarSprout.com, a personal finance blog geared towards millennials, went from zero to over $2 million in revenue in four years through a laser focus on affiliate marketing, constantly creating useful, keyword-oriented content that helps readers solve a problem, SEO, and diversifying income verticals.
3. Making Sense of Cents ($996K/year)
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner came up with the idea for Making Sense of Cents as a way to document her personal finance journey.
She started the blog as a hobby, but after readers suggested she monetize it, she leaped and quit her stable job as an analyst.
Making Sense of Cents now earns over $100,000 a month and has made over $5 million in total.
How much money it makes: $996K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 1
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner earns $100,000 a month from Making Sense of Cents, a personal finance and lifestyle blog where she writes informative and fun articles about financial freedom and her life on the road, thanks to a diversified traffic approach and monetization strategies, such as affiliate marketing, sponsored partnerships, and course sales.
4. The Ways To Wealth ($468K/year)
R.J. Weiss started his blog, The Ways To Wealth, with a small niche idea of posting investing reading lists. However, after reading income reports from other financial bloggers and realizing the potential in affiliate marketing, he dedicated eight months to doubling down on the site and making it a success. Through a combination of organic search, paid ads, and viral Pinterest traffic, the blog now earns over $30,000 in monthly revenue.
How much money it makes: $468K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 1
This case study outlines how R.J. Weiss created The Ways To Wealth blog, earning over $30,000 in monthly revenue from a mix of affiliate and advertising revenue with a team producing 15-20 hours of work per article to teach hundreds of thousands of visitors each month how to save and make more money.
5. Financial Samurai ($360K/year)
Sam started a personal finance website during the 2009 economic crisis. An advertiser offered him $1,000 to advertise on his blog, which he saw as an opportunity to focus on his financial advisory blog.
How much money it makes: $360K/year
How many people on the team: 0
Financial Samurai founder, Sam Dogen, shares how he turned his cathartic writing hobby into a personal finance site that generates over $10K a month in passive advertising revenue and has over 1 million organic visitors a month, as well as his tips on starting and growing a business, and diversifying clientele.
6. Astute Actions Inc ($360K/year)
David Ning accidentally stumbled upon the idea for his personal finance website, MoneyNing.com, when his personal blog started attracting advertisers. He decided to focus on money management because of his passion for the subject, and the site quickly grew to receive 200,000 monthly visitors. Through networking and genuine content, David was able to build a successful business with minimal startup costs and ongoing profitability.
How much money it makes: $360K/year
How much did it cost to start: $10
How many people on the team: 1
MoneyNing.com, a personal finance website that receives 200,000 monthly visitors, discusses how the founder's accidental and passionate interest in tackling personal finance has led to its profitability through advertising, affiliate marketing, and email campaigns alongside insights on building long-form content and networking with the community.
7. Pretty Arrow ($125K/year)
Emily McDermott, founder of Pretty Arrow, came up with the idea for her personal finance brand after quitting her full-time job and wanting to monetize her passion for budgeting. She discovered the opportunity to sell budgeting templates on Etsy and used keyword research to create products tailored specifically to her target audience of young women. Since launching in 2021, she has sold over 29,000 spreadsheets and has grown her business through email marketing and Facebook ads.
How much money it makes: $125K/year
How much did it cost to start: $10
How many people on the team: 1
Founder Emily McDermott turned her passion for budgeting into a successful personal finance brand, Pretty Arrow, which sells customizable budget spreadsheets that have brought in over 29,000 sales since 2021, with much of the business coming from Etsy, email marketing, and Facebook ads.
8. Money Geek ($120K/year)
Michael, a former personal finance professional, started Money Geek after a marketing company convinced him to blog for client recruitment. Dissatisfied with their content, he took over and saw the blog skyrocket to 250k monthly page views within nine months, ultimately generating over $10k a month.
How much money it makes: $120K/year
How much did it cost to start: $2.5K
How many people on the team: 0
Your Money Geek blog grew rapidly to over 250k monthly page views in nine months, leading to the creation of a white-glove, paid mastermind program to help site owners drive traffic and revenue for their own blogs.
9. Busy Living Better ($62.4K/year)
Noah Riggs, the founder of Busy Living Better, came up with the idea for his business after realizing the potential of making money online through blogging. With a background in SEO and a desire to help others live their best lives, Noah started offering SEO consulting services and created a website focused on providing valuable content and resources. Through hard work and dedication, Noah has been able to attract and retain clients by mastering his skills and consistently providing value.
How much money it makes: $62.4K/year
How much did it cost to start: $350
How many people on the team: 1
How Noah Riggs Started a $5k/month SEO Consulting and Blogging Business, using his past experiences to fuel his drive and learning new skills to grow his business, which now generates between $5,500 to $6,500 per month.
10. Top Dollar ($36K/year)
Josh had been a finance nerd. He makes intelligent investments and spend most of his time reading, talking, thinking, and researching investment ideas. Naturally, when the idea to share content on this came up, his friends thought there couldn't be a better fit.
How much money it makes: $36K/year
How much did it cost to start: $25K
How many people on the team: 1
Top Dollar Investor founder Josh Dudick shares how he turned his passion for investing and wealth management into a successful media content business generating $1,000 - $3,000 a month through organic search, social media outreach, and affiliate marketing.
11. The Money Maniac ($30K/year)
Daniel Anderson, a former investment banker, came up with the idea for The Money Maniac after realizing the lack of accessible guidance on personal finance. He decided to create a blog that not only covered personal finance and entrepreneurship but also provided resources to help people achieve financial freedom. Within a few months, The Money Maniac started to gain traction, now bringing in over $2,500 per month in recurring revenue.
How much money it makes: $30K/year
How much did it cost to start: $350
How many people on the team: 0
The Money Maniac is a personal finance blog started by Daniel Anderson, generating over $2,500 per month in recurring revenue through SEO, content marketing, and consultation services, with a mission to educate and help people achieve financial freedom.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
