what's the practical way to make money blogging?

Two things on top of that. Email list from the start, even a basic one - it's the only audience a core update can't take away. And check whether the affiliate programs in your topic actually pay decently before you commit; some niches have plenty of traffic but low commissions on cheap products, so the maths never works.

pick a narrow topic where people are already spending money, then write the posts that answer buying questions (x vs y, best x for z, is x worth it). those are the pages that earn through affiliate links. display ads only pay properly once traffic is in the tens of thousands a month, so don't plan around them early. the slow part nobody mentions is the first 6-12 months where google barely sends anything. most people quit right there.