Can You Still Make Money Blogging in 2026? I’m Starting From Scratch to Find Out

I’ve been wondering about something for a while:

Can an ordinary person still start a blog in 2026 and actually make money from it?

Not someone with a huge social media following. Not a professional writer. Not someone who already owns a successful website.

Just someone starting from scratch.

Instead of continuing to wonder about it, I decided to actually try it.

Welcome to Find Better.

Why I Started Find Better

I research almost everything before I make a decision.

Is there a better price?

Is the more expensive option actually worth it?

Can I save money doing it another way?

Can I make extra money from something I’m already doing?

What’s the real cost after all the extra fees?

I realized that many of the things I spend time researching are probably things other people are searching for too.

That’s where the idea for Find Better came from.

I want this site to be about finding better ways to make money, save money, spend money, travel and make everyday decisions.

Sometimes I’ll research the answer.

Sometimes I’ll compare different options.

And whenever possible, I’ll actually try it myself and share what happened.

I’m Starting With $0 in Blog Income

As I’m writing this first post, Find Better has made exactly:

$0.00.

No advertising income.

No affiliate income.

No sponsors.

No free products.

And basically no audience yet.

I’m starting from scratch, and I want to document what happens from here.

I’m curious whether it’s really possible to build a blog in 2026 that people find through Google and eventually turn that traffic into income.

I don’t know the answer yet.

That’s the experiment.

But Starting Isn’t Really Free

One thing became obvious almost immediately.

I needed a computer.

I don’t currently own a personal laptop. I have an iPad and an iPhone, but I already know that trying to research, write, edit and manage a website from either one isn’t going to work for me.

Could someone else run a blog from an iPad or phone?

Probably.

I know I won’t.

So before this blog made its first dollar, I made my first major investment:

I bought a MacBook Air.

I financed it for 12 months using my Apple Card.

Was buying a new laptop before earning anything from the blog a smart decision?

I don’t know yet.

But that’s exactly the kind of question I want Find Better to explore.

Maybe a year from now I’ll say it was one of the best purchases I made.

Maybe I’ll say I could have spent much less.

Either way, I’ll have a real answer instead of a hypothetical one.

What You’ll Find on Find Better

This isn’t going to be a blog only about blogging.

I’m interested in money and making better financial decisions, but that touches almost everything.

I’ll write about ways to make additional income and side hustles I actually investigate or try.

I’ll look at ways to save money and whether paying more for something is actually worth it.

I’ll write about purchases I’m considering and the research that goes into deciding between them.

Travel will be part of it too—airfare, cruises, hotels, packages, hidden expenses and ways to get more for the money you spend.

I’ll also cover things that go wrong.

I’ve dealt with credit-card fraud, for example. That’s an experience I can turn into something useful for someone frantically searching Google after discovering an unfamiliar charge.

The subjects may be different, but they all come back to the same question:

Can I find a better way?

Can This Blog Actually Make Money?

That’s what I’m going to find out.

My plan is to create useful articles around questions people are actually searching for, learn how Google search works, watch which articles people find useful, and build from there.

Eventually, I’d like to test different ways of generating income, including advertising and affiliate marketing.

But I don’t want to write one of those:

“How I Made $10,000 Blogging!”

articles when I’ve made $0.

I’d rather show what actually happens.

So periodically I’m going to share the numbers—the good and the bad.

How many articles I published.

How many people visited.

What I spent.

What worked.

What didn’t.

And, eventually, how much money Find Better actually made.

If the answer is $0, I’ll say $0.

Day One

So here’s my starting point:

Blog income: $0.00

First major investment: MacBook Air

Articles published before this one: 0

Experience running a blog: 0

There’s a lot I don’t know yet.

But instead of reading another article about whether blogging still works, I’m going to find out for myself.

And I’ll share what I learn along the way.

Welcome to Find Better.