Thanks to social media, it’s the norm for Instagram Influencers to live large, lavish lives. While these influencers may seem to be living the dream, many of them are broke and living in debt. If you aspire to be an Instagram influencer that’s making money instead of losing it, read on for the following four tips.

1. Focus on What’s Best for Your

Influencers have a way of inspiring everyone to lust after their lifestyles. While you may find that you want to emulate your favorite influencers, don’t let this desire rob you of your financial stability. Keep your influencer idols as inspiration while determining what it is you hope to do with your life and following.

As you focus on the type of influencer you aim to be, start compiling your long-term and short-term goals. This exercise will show you where you should spend your energy and money to make these goals a reality.

2. Work on a Plan to Earn Money

In addition to goal setting, the next step in becoming a financially savvy influencer is to have a clear-cut plan for making money. Start this process by putting together a budget for every day, fixed expenses like groceries and gas expenses as well as whatever items you need to support your influencer endeavors. This budget will help you control your spending habits as it should keep you from overspending on clothes, travel, or anything that other influencers splurge on.

Even if you can afford to make these purchases right now, your budget is in place to make sure you’re living life in a financially stable way. Ideally, your new budget will help you save more and create a better plan for how you use the money you spend. In the event, you find that you’re stretching yourself too thin money-wise, be sure to make the necessary cuts to your budget.

3. Prioritize Your Savings Account

While your favorite Instagram influencers may not talk about saving, this is one of the most important steps to take to live the life you envision for yourself. When tasked with saving money, most of us start off with noble intentions, only to find that we spend more than we hoped to. Wink Capital shares that it’s best to set up your savings account to automatically deduct money from your checking account each month. By automating this process, you’ll never have to think twice about saving.

Another effective way to save while building a following as an influencer is to have an entirely separate account for all your Instagram-related expenses. Purchases like shoes, bags, clothes, trips, and the like should all come from this account to make sure you don’t take money from your regular checking or savings account for your influencer needs.

4. Take on Several Side Hustles

Side hustles are an Instagram influencer’s best friend. If you’re trying to compete with the other influencers that are constantly traveling every day of the week, making big purchases, or otherwise living a more extravagant life than you, you’ll need to increase your income. Whether you have a full-time job or you’re taking on part-time work right now, trying side hustles will give you the opportunity to make more cash.

According to Wink Capital, side hustles like freelance writing graphic designing, or virtual assisting are some of the most popular and lucrative options for side hustles. Whatever hustle you choose, make sure you’re able to fit it in with all of your typical responsibilities and obligations.

Influencers are named for their ability to inspire trends and influence followers to make certain decisions, not live beyond their means. As you work to grow your following and become an Instagram influencer, be sure to keep these strategies in mind to make sure you’re growing your bank account, not depleting it