Frugality Blogs and Advertising

When I started blogging, it never even occurred to me that I could make money doing it. It has only been in the past year that I've actively started researching ways to make money blogging and online in general. I still have a lot to learn and a lot of questions, but I still feel like I've done okay for somebody who just started blogging for fun. Really, my readership, any revenue I earn blogging- If you had told me about these things when I started I doubt I would have believed you.

Advertising on a frugality blog is tricky. I am against debt and do not wish to encourage my readers to incur more of it. At the same time, it does hurt to turn down some of the advertising opportunities I have been offered. The payday loan industry has offered me tempting sums, but since I am against their shoddy practices, I simply cannot accept money or give them advertising space on my blog. I just can't. At the same time, I'm not actually telling a person to buy a specific product by having a banner on my site, but I do like it to be something that I am okay with. I don't have an issue with my readers buying, say, candles or fine jewelry if they so choose, but payday lending really sticks in my craw.

Since I think so much about what I can and can't accept as a blogger, it was interesting to see the tables turned with one of the advertising companies I've considered. Clickbooth seems like an excellent company to hire if you have a business that you want exposed. They are very careful about what bloggers and publishers they choose- they want to make sure that your product is exposed to the maximum number of willing buyers. They also actually call the blogger to personally discuss their demographic. If my blog were a specific type of blog that could actually sell something, like a homeschooling blogger talking about specific curriculum or a technology blogger, a site like Clickbooth could possibly bring in decent money.

Since I have a blog that's about, well, not buying stuff as much as possible, high end advertising like this can feel out of place on my site. I have not applied, but I can just see the phone interview- "Well, my readers like to buy used and use coupons!" It would not bode well for many of their high end advertisers, I'm afraid. :) Maybe Clickbooth would be more helpful to your blog's bottom line. In the meantime, I'm still working on finding revenue sources for my writing.

Visions of Spain

It's cold in Wichita today, so dreaming about a sunny vacation in Spain is a nice diversion. When I'm experiencing frugal burnout, one of the ways I deal with it is to remind myself why I'm frugal. Traveling is one of my favorite expensive things to do. I drink ten cent milk so I can hang out on warm sandy beaches in Spain someday.


Who wouldn't want to spend a week at the Costa Brava Hotels, lazing around on sandy beaches, spending the day in nearby Barcelona, eating delicious Spanish food?

Or swimming in the Mediterranean sea while staying at Costa Del Sol Hotels?

Or experiencing two countries in one while staying at the Bienidorm Hotels in Alicante, Spain? Apparently this is such a popular destination for British tourists that there is a ton of British food and entertainment in this area. Since I do not live in England, I like the two for the price of one angle.

Alicante is working hard to become the cultural capital of Costa Blanca- wouldn't in be nice to go find out if their hard work is paying off?

*Fun Fact: This entry is brought to you by our friends at Cheaper Than Hotels! They also have my favorite kind of deal- the Last Minute Deal!