As you can see, I do accept advertising on Budgeting in the Fun Stuff. A quick scan of my homepage will show you that I have actual sections set aside just for ads and I have an “Advertising” tab to boot. I do avoid having pop up anything for you on BFS and I will never be paid to lie about my opinions on products, but those are pretty much my only lines. I would even make money on Twitter if I could.
Why?
The biggest reason I accept advertising is that I want to be able to blog full time. I enjoy this more than anything else I’ve ever done as a hobby or job in my life. This community is one of the first things I look forward to in the morning. Blogging is the last thing I do almost every night. You, my readers, have created this. Blogging without an audience and feedback is depressing. I truly appreciate each and every one of you. Advertising is how I will be able to fund this goal.
Controversial Ads
I only brought up advertising because I wanted to approach the super controversial subject of questionable personal finance site ads – payday loans, debt consolidation, etc. Yes, I would accept ads from these types on companies. No, I do not think you should use any company that will cause you to gain more debt. This whole post is to get your opinion. Do you even click on ads you don’t agree with?
Am I Wrong?
Let me know if any of these assumptions are incorrect:
- You easily turn a blind eye on ads. I personally don’t even look at ads on my favorite sites. I read the posts, comment, and move along with my day. Does that sound about right to you?
- Even if you saw an ad, you are not physically moved to click on it. Do you click on the ads at my site just because? I know that Groupon might draw you in, lol, but do payday loan companies call out your name? I don’t personally click on ads that I’m not interested in.
- Would you even be enticed by a payday loan ad or cosign loan widget? If I ever need extra cash, I would sell stuff, get a second job, or even beg family or friends before I’d ever take out a loan with a 500% interest rate. Please email me if you need some ideas…we will come up with something that will work better for you.
Conclusion
Overall, I think we are all way smarter than people are giving us credit for. In case I haven’t made my main point clear, DON’T CLICK ON ADS THAT DON’T HELP YOU! I know you already knew that, but there you go just in case. 
What do you think? I will answer every single comment or question here, so please ask or state whatever comes to mind.
My thoughts:
1) It’s your blog, do whatever you like.
2) I tend to ignore all ads on blogs. Exceptions are when there are more ads than real content, or if the ads are placed front and center. When those things happen, I simply do not read that blog anymore, no matter how much I once liked it.
3) Even if I saw a blog ad for something I would be interested in, I probably wouldn’t click through. I’m here to read your blog, not go shopping.
3) I believe bloggers who monetize are not necessarily endorsing the products or services advertised on their blogs. So if I do happen to pay attention to an ad, I don’t see it as a reflection of the blogger’s personality or opinion.
4) I don’t accept direct advertising on my blog because I don’t think it will make enough money to be worth it. I do product reviews and giveaways instead, which directly benefit me and my readers.
I think you’re fine with using whatever ads you’re comfortable with. You can’t be held responsible for your reader’s clicks…that’s up to them. If they don’t agree with the ad, they shouldn’t click it.
Everyone will have their own personal comfort level with ads. You have to do what you are comfortable with. As long as it wasn’t anything ‘dangerous’, I don’t see a problem. (Or like to some porn site or something.)
People will have to make their own decisions when they click!
Hmmm..the first thing that came to mind was why would payday loan people want to advertise on BFS? I mean, isn’t your target audience a bunch of savers, not people who spend their paycheck before payday?
The ads that would interest me would be a great rate on a CD or bank account, or a brokerage account with free trades or coupon stuff..you know saver type stuff.
I guess my personal line is around the basics, sex(specifically porn, but dating site may be okay), religion and politics. I wouldn’t advertise for those entities. Everything else is fair game.
@Annie, logical thoughts in my opinion! I know it ultimately boils down to “my blog, I can do whatever”, but I thought getting feedback on some main decisions once in a while would be a good idea. My blog would suck if it had no readers or commenters after all, and I always want to know what causes people to visit or not visit as the case may be.
Thanks for your 2 cents! I will definitely avoid pop up ads!
@Tim, I agree.
I just wanted to know if some readers would stop reading if they knew what my ad policy was, but so far, so good. 
@Everyday Tips, yeah, porn would probably not go over so well, lol. Thanks for the support!
@First Gen, I completely forgot about religion and politics – those would be a no-no in my opinion too. I have no idea why payday loan companies want to advertise on personal finance sites, but they all seem interested…
Crystal, as long as you don’t actively promote them I think it is fine! And I think it is a nice thing you did asking for readers’ opinion before placing them!
Crystal,
I think what ever you want to put on your blog is your business. If you can make money by putting up Payday loan ads… than that is great! Your visitors can chose to click on them if they want to.
@MoneyCone, I’m not that nice, lol…they are placed. You can see one of the ads in question at the top of my left sidebar. BUT, if many readers started commenting that they actually were thinking about leaving because of it, I would definitely take that into account. I just figured I should ask before I really get into anything long-term.
@Lisa, I think it’s funny that I’ll probably get more offers after this post and I’m actually telling people NOT to click on anything, lol. Advertisers are funny that way…
Crystal, I’ve been getting to know you through the Yakezie network, and I know that you have a big heart for your readers and for other bloggers as well. I think that allowing the Payday loans add is fine. If your readers truly know what you’re teaching, they won’t click on the add, but it’s totally up to them.
I have Google ads on my website, and I don’t control the content that is displayed to the readers. It’s pretty much the same thing.
Thanks for everything you do. I hope that your dreams will come true soon! Good luck!
@LifeAndMyFinances, thank you so much for the very kind words. I truly hope that your dreams come true soon too! We’ll both shoot for it, right?
I agree with Annie, it’s your blog. Do what you like with it.
@Jenna, glad to hear it.
Not sure that I would have the Payday and Fast Credit ads front-and-center…the title of your blog could be misinterpreted by the novice reader as “Find a WAY to Fund the Fun Stuff!”. LOL
They are not at all offensive to me, but I do enjoy ads that service the general public, i.e. “$50 reward for signing up for free checking at XX bank…” ETC.
Good luck w/your decision…your work shows that you are passionate about your blog and that you truly enjoy offering your readers guidance re: their financial goals.
Well, I guess I’ll be the controversial one here. I agree that largely what you should do is what you are comfortable with, like everyone else has been saying. I will say, though, that the first time I happened upon your blog the ads were a turn-off, precisely because they were slightly skeezy finance type things. Even though I never click through ads or pay much attention, they were enough to make me question if it was a good blog/site. I didn’t become a regular reader from my first visit, as a result.
Eventually I did become a regular reader (and do love your blog!), but it took several stumbles or links from other sites, because of the above original turn-off. So I would say while there may be no moral or ethical reasons not to host those ads, there may be some branding reasons. (In short, the ads detract from your brand of a solid pf blog, which isn’t a problem for regular readers but may hurt you in getting new readers)
I think the irony would be funny!
You do have a ton of ads but if you are trying to make a living it’s one of the few options. Trent over at the Simple Dollar has written how he doesn’t love the cluttered feeling of his blog due to all the ads but it allows him to write full time. Not a bad trade off.
Crystal, Thanks for opening the discussion on this controversial subject. It is a difficult decision for a blogger and I appreciate your candor on the matter!
Crystal,
You already know how I feel about this subject
. I think there is something to be said about advertising companies that you wouldn’t use. It seems that many other pf bloggers in this comment thread are either beating around the bush or are not comfortable saying that while it may not be “wrong” it’s definitely not right–like fat doctors, or dentist with bad teeth, or a porn-watching priest. Not to cause a stir, but the comment, “it’s your blog” doesn’t answer the question that you pose.
On a side note, I would have to agree with Valerie, your site is very distracting–your ads tend to overpower your content. I think that you can still capitalize on ad revenue without forcing those huge ad blocks in the beginning of your post. If you go to a right or left side ad/post info theme, you can instead focus your readers to your content. Of course, on the one hand, I’m just a junior blogger, but on the other hand, I’m one of generation Y’s big time web surfers. Some benchmark sites for me are Sunil’s easyextramoneyonline, and Sam’s financialsamurai. I’m sure you can squeeze plenty of advertisers in that type of space.
And one more side note, thanks for opening this discussion. It’s great to see that you are not afraid to “put yourself out there.” Now, keep making that money
Romeo
@Holly, other than Adsense and Amazon, all the other ads paid to be wherever they are, but I will try to convince the more fun ads to pay for the nice spots.
Thanks for the advice.
@Valerie, that’s not controversarial – that’s useful! Now I need to make up my mind on whether sacrificing about $50 a month right now to move the big Adsense ads above my posts. I also will have to think about other ways to make my site’s first impression better. Is there anything other than ads that was off-putting in your opinion?
Oh, and thanks to all the other sites that helped bring Valerie back!
@Molly, I’d love to get the big name advertisers that Trent has, but BFS just isn’t there yet. I also cannot see myself doing many paid reviews – they always take way more time than I’d like to spend on what I consider to be a very boring post. (Small admission here, I don’t read product reviews on other blogs…I just think “Oh, it’s a product review day, I’ll come back later…”)
@Barb, no problem. It’s kind of fun!
@Romeo, hi again. Okay, so here we go:
- I don’t think anyone is beating around the bush. Most people really don’t seem to care, Holly would like them to be less prominent, and Valerie came back in spite of them. I am listening and take Valerie’s first impression very seriously, but I do not think anybody is beating around the bush. The majority seems to ignore ads anyway.
- There are a billion successful fat doctors. I don’t know about dentists. I rather not think about the priests you mentioned.
- I never answered anybody with a “It’s my blog and I don’t care what you think” mentality and my readers that said it were being supportive.
- Valerie said that “the ads were a turn-off, precisely because they were slightly skeezy finance type things”. I take that to mean that she didn’t like the subject of the ads. She never said they were distracting. I’m sorry you think they overpower my content. I would argue that but I’m obviously biased.
- The huge ad blocks before my posts are tacky. I know. I added them as an experiment to see if it would make a difference. My Adsense went from 2-3 cents a day to $3-$4 most days within 2 weeks. I’ve decided that’s worth the tacky.
I know you think pf blogs should only advertise pf-friendly ads. I get that. I just believe in personal responsibility more than social responsibility. I also think my readers are smart enough to ignore bad ideas.
It’s not a big deal – these things will sort themselves out.. because if ppl aren’t clicking on them, it means noone likes them, and the advertiser will soon remove the ads out… If your visitors like them, the advertiser will leave them up.
Interesting discussion here… I definitely learned quite a few things. Crystal, your ads do not really overpower your content. I don’t even notice them most of the time.
I come back every single day (almost) to BFS to see what you have to say. And what the hell… it is your blog, place ads where you want. We, your readers, will be here no matter what. 
Well, if we’re going more broadly on ads, I have to agree that the ads are definitely distracting. The way it comes up on my screen, I actually have to scroll down to get to content.
I definitely see the need to monetize in order to actually make a living blogging. Still, as a reader I like the cleaner looking blogs a lot more. (i.e. Trent of TSD was my first regular reading PF blog, partially because I liked how the site looked/felt. I think now that is partially because he keeps fewer ads “above the fold”. I have no idea how that works out monetarily, just my thoughts from looking at sites.)
@Henway, lol, it is an issue that usually handles itself.
@Aloysa, thank you so much. I always look forward to your comments!
@Valerie, first of all, I am glad you read despite the ads! And thanks for being up front!
Secondly, in case it helps, you could read the complete daily post from the homepage if you’d like to avoid the big block ad under the title. I have it set up where all my sidebar ads show up on the homepage but disappear (other than Adsense) when someone clicks on a specific post. Then the ad block under the title appears. I was thinking when I set it up was that my every day readers could avoid the ad above the real content, but the browsers or those trying to catch up could avoid the link ads on the sidebars.
I am fine with different kind of ads as long as it doesn’t interfere with getting to the content. If it’s too much in my face and I have to get around it then I move on … So little time, so much to read
For this page, all I saw when I landed was Google Ads, that’s a bit much and I am ready to move on … The good thing is that I usually read your site in Google Reader and your ads come on the end.
Another topic I feel similar to this (with mixed feelings) about is accepting ad offers from Foreign Currency Trading websites. Yes, currency trading can be profitable and is interesting, but since I do not partake in it, it is a little difficult for me to directly promote it. However, I feel that they should be able to buy a link ad on my site if they want to!
Back again with another comment. I hadn’t thought about this much before, but I realize the reason most ads don’t bother me, or make much of an impact on me at all, is because I read blogs using Google Reader. I don’t see the ads unless I click over to the blog to make a comment.
You may not want to actively promote using readers because it doesn’t help with your blog ratings, but it IS an option for folks who don’t want to see the advertisements.
Crystal,
My first impression when a friend of mine asked me to check out this site and give my impressions was “This feels like a Scam site”. The weirdly colored banner, the google ads everywhere and then more ads all down the page. I actually had to hunt for your content and that is never good in todays web. I hope this honest evaluation helps but I won’t be back to see your response so no need to respond. Good luck out there on the web.
Law
@Passive Income Earner, I guess I will be moving that Adsense banner on the right down some.
@My Personal Finance Journey, I’m with you on that one.
@Annie, I don’t mind promoting whatever helps my readers enjoy my content! Hey everybody, check on my RSS feed! It has less annoying ads!
@Lager, ouch. I really don’t know what to say to this since you won’t be reading it anyway. I actually love my banner, so double ouch. Sorry you didn’t like the overall look.
I think you would love the posts if you took a second to read one…
I read your blog on my reader, which I’m sure does horribly offensive things to your stats, but that being said, I don’t see many of the ads. Some do pop up and, while ugly and usually irrelevant on anyone’s blog, I don’t pay attention to them or click on them.
I don’t think it’s in good taste to advertise irresponsible services or products, but think the decision is up to you.
To play devil’s advocate, is there a product or service you would draw the line at, due to personal values or other reasons? Some people have strong brand allegiances, so if a competitor to your favorite brand (or competitor to a family member’s company) came around, would you turn them down? If a service was MORE morally questionable, say a “masseuse” wanted to reach out to your readers, what would your response be?
Just curious as to where your lines are drawn, if at all, I suppose.
@Emjaye, I wouldn’t make my decisions based on brand preference, but I wouldn’t accept anything that could be flatly offensive to anyone. So, no masseuse’s, political ads, religious ads, or porn. NO cigarrettes or alcohol or any other drug (well, maybe things with caffeine, but that’s about it, lol). Pretty much, I do try to stay away from anything that is outright controversial because I don’t want anyone to feel unwelcome here.
When I created an advertising policy for Couple Money, I had to ask the same questions. Some advertisers may not offer a service that all readers would use, but they offer something useful for some. With insurance companies, I encourage readers to shop around and see if they’re getting a fair deal.
I also ask readers to go ahead and give their feedback if they feel an advertiser on the site is being unethical or has an inappropriate ad. So far, I haven’t had any complaints.
@Elle, that’s a good idea! Do you post the question occasionally or include the “let me know if…” in your advertising section?
Personally I draw the line ad advertising for products or services that I think are ‘bad’. How anyone draws that line is going to vary a lot. I think thats where “its your blog” comes into play. You need to decide where you draw the line.
I do think that some ads will reflect poorly on the blog. The more ads you have for ‘questionable’ services the worse that reflects on your site. Frankly if you had ads for booze and cigarettes I wouldn’t care at all but it would seem odd. If you have ads for payday loans, forex, goldline or credit consolidation then I’d consider that a bad thing frankly as I don’t like those products or services at all and it seems like you’re endorsing them by advertising for them.
Of course you can throw all this out the window when you use adsense cause adsense puts up almost whatever it wants (if its legal) with no control by the blog owner.
There is a issue of ‘too many’ ads as well. I don’t think you’ve got too many. At least right now, looks like you may have made recent changes.
@jim, I would never use a payday loan company now, but I think they are more useful to society than cigarettes. I’ve been in a post-college no-credit-at-all situation and I could easily see payday loans being one of the only options if family or friends couldn’t help. It is a really crappy option, but it could possibly help. Maybe that’s why the ads don’t bother me.
Thanks for your input and I am so glad to see your comments when they pop up!
It’s me again.
Let’s be clear, if family or friends can’t help, though, I would also advise against these options, there are many alternatives that are much better than cash advances/payday loans/title loans/refund anticipation loans, etc. These are in no particular order:
1) One can ask their employer for an advance.
2) Take out a cash advance using a credit card ( trust me, it’s much cheaper in comparison)
3) Talk to the any local community services
4) Ask their church for the money after explaining their situation
5) Negotiate with creditors or utility companies to reduce payments
6) Ask for a small loan from a bank although if unsecured the rate will be super high but better than 400%
7) Don’t pay all of the bills; pay only what’s needed such as housing, utilities, and groceries.
All in all, pay day loans should almost always never be anyone’s option. The reason why these things are someone’s “last resort” is because of how easily ridiculous they are to get (which requires no effort from any of the above suggestions) or a simple lack of understand of the different avenues quoted above.
Yes it can help. It can help people dig themselves in bigger holes. Thus, a sure way to prevent wealth!
Love you, Crystal
@Romeo, I didn’t say that it should be the first choice. I said it could be a choice. But we will never agree here and that’s that. Just please don’t use lines like “Love you, Crystal” at the end of what is obviously a soap box speech.
Okay. Sorry. Maybe my “Love you, Crystal” was a bit much. However, it’s the only possible way through words that I can show that I hold no harsh personal discontent towards you, but the product that you are “okay” with promoting. Hence, I use the smiley faces and saluations within my soap box. In fact, I enjoy talking with, learning from, and being educated by people of your nature and financial interest. So in other words,I apologize and will not use such a line again, but will continue to dislike payday loans.
Your replies to Romeo come across as exasperated, annoyed, and sharp. I don’t think he made a soapbox speech at all in that comment, but laid out some other options than payday loans. I also found his earlier comment perfectly fine, but you seemed exasperated by him. I find he’s providing good, challenging comments, and I appreciate them much more than the bland comments. Romeo keeps me wanting to read the comments, unlike most of the other bland comments here. I would appreciate him, not try to brush him off.
@Anne, sorry, Romeo and I already had a conversation in a forum we are both in and I am holding on to some of the things he said there that weren’t good or challenging. Plus “Love you” from anybody that isn’t actually close to me seems tacky to me and put me on the defensive.
I am glad you are appreciating his comments. I purposefully kept my second comment short and didn’t reply again so you and others could just read what you’d like. His list of payday loan alternatives is spot on – it was just the last line that caused my short response. Thanks for reading!
Why thank you, Anne (**blushing**).
I suppose I’ve come across one problem with open-ended questions–they’re open-ended. There is no right or wrong answers, so to speak, to the question, “what do you think?” The intent should only be to gather thought-provoking ideas.
And once again, Cystal, I have no personal vendetta with you. Never have. Never will. Life is too short.
@Romeo, no vendettas here either. Good luck with your new site.
““Love you” from anybody that isn’t actually close to me seems tacky to me and put me on the defensive.”
I’ve had a similar reaction to people on the net who address me as ‘honey’. I don’t know why it just really rubs me the wrong way. Maybe some women use that as a term of endearment. But when someone addressed me with that I read it as condescending.
Tone is difficult to read accurately on the internet.
@jim, lol, honey gets to me too…so does sweety or any other term of endearment from people I don’t really know. It just feels wrong…
Okay, once again I apologize. It was meant more in a “school girl tone” and humorous type of way than a term of endearment.
Lesson Learned: Never do such a thing again. Especially because, “tone is difficult to read accurately on the Internet.”
Next time I comment, and forever more, I’ll try not to let my tackiness overshadow the seriousness of my points, which clearly it has done here.
@Romeo, no other apologies needed – I was just answering jim’s comment.
as an “experienced web surfer” (yes i am coining that phrase), i have learned to tune out ads. my eyes don’t see them. i get in, consume and get out. that said, not only should you not click on questionable ads, but you should also block them in your adsense account so your visitors don’t have to deal with it. it also causes reputation / image issues
@Sunil, I’m glad you ignore ads. Hopefully you will continue to overlook any of the ones that may annoy you on my site…
Mad props for saying what many of us wont. I’ve flirted with the idea of the big adsense block underneath the title of each post, but have been to scared as it is pretty big and ugly. If it makes decent revenue, and doesn’t keep people from reading though I MUST try it!
@Ninja, try it out and see if it helps. If you don’t see a change, you can always switch back.
I don’t think I’ve lost any readers because of them, but if I did, I wouldn’t know since they wouldn’t have seen this post…
I had a big Adsense block above my posts for a while when I first started my blog, but removed it simply because I didn’t personally like the way it looked. I never heard any of my readers complain about it.
@My Personal Finance Journey, yeah, it looks bad. I have no idea why people will click on it there but not on the side…
You never know! It might be worth a try!
Crystal, I don’t see anything wrong with the ad block under the post title. If the reader is really interested in reading your content, he will be back after having satisfied his curiosity with the ad.
I’m with the consensus here which is to to do what you need to do to meet your goals. I tend to not even notice ads as I only go to actual sites to comment!
@BeatingTheIndex, thanks. I hope so.
@Kay Lynn, I’m the same way. If I have a comment in mind, I don’t even notice ads while I click on the post title and start typing.
[...] recognized by advertisers, I made up my mind on what I was willing to accept. As I posted last week, I accept almost all advertisers. I will never write a review that isn’t 100% what I feel, [...]
[...] Cheapest iPhone Data Plan.Crystal at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff stirred up some controversy over Advertising on Budgeting in the Fun Stuff. We all have to make money? We aren’t non-profits here. Give her a break!People love [...]
[...] made it feel like I was being attacked by bullies. That made me stubborn and I have accepted all advertising since then. I have never been approached by a porn agency or a cigarette company, which is good [...]
[...] have taken a little slack for over the last 18 months about accepting advertising, but I personally love my advertisers – all of them. Today’s post is to simply say [...]