Scroll through Instagram for ten minutes and it’s easy to feel like everyone’s got more money than you. You’ll see an endless stream of dream holidays, designer hauls, and “gifted” everything. Influencers seem like they’re absolutely rolling in cash.
But here’s what they (usually) don’t show you: the vast majority of UK influencers earn under £5,000 a year. Even the ones doing it full-time are sometimes dealing with serious fluctuations in their income.
The numbers behind the posts
We had a look at influencer earnings data. It shows nano influencers making up to £200 a post, mega influencers raking in £10,000+. What those headlines don’t tell you is how inconsistent it actually is month to month, and how few people are at the top end.
Take Chidera Peters, a UK-based finance and lifestyle YouTuber with around 62,000 subscribers. She shared her 2024 income report openly: £14,500 for the year across ads, brand deals, digital products, and affiliate links. That sounds reasonable until you see the monthly breakdown: £384 in September, £5,300 in December. And then factor in expenses and tax – as a higher-rate taxpayer, Chidera paid 42% on her creator profit, leaving her with a take-home of £5,788 for the year. She doesn’t have any predictability, sick pay or employer pension contributions, only whatever comes in that month.
Jade Beason is another UK creator who’s been refreshingly transparent about money. She left her corporate marketing job to go full-time on YouTube and built a six-figure creator business, but it took years, and it required building multiple income streams alongside her content. Brand deals alone wouldn’t have got her there.
Why irregular income is the real story
The glamorous version of creator life skips the part where you’re doing your self-assessment tax return, manually setting aside 20-30% of every payment, and explaining to your mortgage broker why your income looks different every month.
When you’re employed, a lot of the financial admin happens automatically. Pension contributions come out before you see your pay, tax is handled by your employer, sick pay exists. When you’re a creator, all of that is on you, and if your financial foundations aren’t solid before the money gets unpredictable, it gets stressful fast.
What solid foundations actually look like for a creator
Whether you’re a full-time creator or earning a few hundred pounds a month on the side, the Financielle approach is the same: know your numbers before anything else.
That means:
An emergency fund that actually covers you. For someone with irregular income, the standard 3 months of expenses isn’t always enough. Think closer to 6, because a quiet month (or three) is part of the deal. Here’s your guide to saving one.
A sinking fund for your tax bill. Nothing derails a creator’s finances faster than a surprise self-assessment bill. Set aside a percentage of every payment you receive – 20-25% is a decent starting point – into a separate pot. It’s not your money to spend!
A pension you’re actually paying into. No employer means no employer contributions. This is one of the biggest financial blind spots for self-employed women, and it compounds fast the longer you leave it. Here’s why self-employed people can’t afford to skip pensions.
A budget that works with variable income. Base it on your lowest realistic month, not your best one. Anything above that is your excess which you can use to reach your goals faster when the good months come.
The comparison trap is expensive
Even if you’d never consider becoming a creator yourself, it’s important to remember that the lifestyle you’re seeing online isn’t always funded the way it looks. The woman posting the hotel breakfast might be on a press trip, the haul might be gifted and the flat might be rented by the hour for content.
And even when they’ve paid for it, they might still have a monthly income that swings from £384 to £5,300 in the same year.
That’s not a reason to dismiss creators, we just want you to stop measuring your own money journey and progress against someone else’s highlight reel. Your budget, your emergency fund, and your savings are real and something to be proud of.
So, does knowing what’s behind the aesthetic change how you feel when you’re scrolling?
This content is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice. If you need advice tailored to your personal circumstances, please speak to an authorised financial adviser.