Have you considered adding a side hustle to help you break up with debt?
Well, in today’s video, we’ll learn how Melanie Lockert used a side hustle to break up with debt.
If you don’t know Melanie, she’s the personality behind the award-winning blog, DearDebt.com, where she chronicled her journey out of $81,000 in student loan debt. Through her blog, she inspires readers to break up with debt by writing their very own breakup letter to debt.
In 2015, Melanie (and her journey out of debt) was named one of the top five most inspiring personal finance stories of the year by Yahoo! Finance. She currently works as a freelance writer and event planner. Melanie and her work have appeared in Business Insider, The Huffington Post, Yahoo! Finance, INC, and more.
After graduating from college with $23,000 in student loans, Melanie had the opportunity to attend her dream school, NYU, to earn her master’s degree. There, she incurred $58,000 more in student loans for a total of $81,000.
Upon struggling to find a stable, decent-paying job after graduating from NYU, Melanie made some extreme changes in her life to pay off her student loans. In December 2015, Melanie made her last payment and became 100% debt-free.
She is also the author of a brand-new book, “Dear Debt: A Story About Breaking Up with Debt” which shares her journey and her advice for those in the process of breaking up with debt.
In the interview with Melanie, she shares:
- What drove her to rid herself of her student loans
- How she cut her expenses and started side hustling to bring in extra income
- How her side hustling has led to an unexpected career path
- Her best advice for how to find a side hustle that’s right for you, and
- What to do if you want to get out of debt but feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start
Melanie has an inspiring story that I think anyone struggling with debt needs to hear, and she shares it all in this interview. So here is my interview with Melanie Lockert from deardebt.com. Enjoy!
Thanks again to Melanie for sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly about getting out of debt with us!
[bctt tweet=”How a side hustle helped Melanie Lockert (@DearDebtBlog) break up with debt” username=”MonicaRLouie”]
I hope you pick up her book, “Dear Debt: A Story About Breaking Up with Debt.” I know it will help you break up with debt once and for all.
I encourage you to check out Melanie’s blog at DearDebt.com and consider writing your own Dear Debt letter to break up with debt.
For others that have got out of debt check out these articles.
How Alice and Scott Paid Off $200,000 of Student Loans in Less Than 7 Years
From Credit Card Debt to Loving Her Money with Sarah Li Cain
How Lauren Greutman, The Recovering Spender, Paid Off $40,000 of Debt
Now I’d love to hear about you!
What did you learn from Melanie’s story? Have you started a side hustle yet so you can break up with debt? Please share in the comments below.
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Join me in our private Facebook group called Your Debt Freedom Family, where we’ve got an awesome community of people who are breaking up with debt so they can break free and live life on their terms.
Click here to join the fun!
I’d love to see you there!
Keep moving forward toward your goals. You really can live the life you dream about!
pechluck says
Ugh, how that interest is a killer! It can really be demoralizing to not see any progress being made because of it and so I can understand why she was so crazy about getting out of it. And what brave big risk that paid off in quitting that full time job and making that bet on her own business to make her side hustle her main hustle!
Monica Louie says
Yes, and she’s truly reaping the rewards of all her hard work! Her story was just featured on Oprah.com, and now she’s debt-free with a booming career!
Dear Debt says
Girl, I know! I was paying $11 per day in interest and it drove me nuts! And the side hustle turned biz really helped me pay off debt!
Marlynn [UrbanBlissLife] says
Gotta love a good side hustle! I had enormous student loans too (my undergrad was about $26K per year way back when) but paid them off early, and to be honest, I sort of miss that kind of debt compared to credit and mortgage debt… but it felt SO good when I paid them off! Thanks for sharing Melanie’s story!
Monica Louie says
That’s a lot for undergrad. Congrats on paying them off early, Marlynn!
Dear Debt says
Thanks to Monica for helping me share my story! Thanks for stopping by!
Erin Lynch says
Student loans are definitely one of the toughest to overcome! This is such an inspiring story.
Monica Louie says
I agree, Erin! Glad you liked the interview. 🙂
Dear Debt says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Create/Enjoy says
That’s great! Student loans are so hard. I’m all about the side hustle!
Dear Debt says
Yeah, side hustle FTW!
Monica Louie says
Yes! Gotta get creative about bringing in extra income.