I read a story about a couple who managed to pay off their debt in just a year. They did this by creating a side hustle that brought in an extra $1,000 every month, and they put all that money toward their debt. Their story made it seem so easy, almost like you could just follow their steps and be debt-free in no time.
Sure, paying off debt is a lot simpler if you have extra money coming in. The tricky part is figuring out how to make that extra $1,000 each month. I managed to do it myself eventually, and I learned that the key to paying off debt isn’t some big secret. If you look at a bunch of articles on how to get out of debt, they’ll tell you two main things: spend less and earn more.
It sounds simple enough, but if it were that easy, no one would have debt. Just like with losing weight, everyone knows you should eat less and move more, but not everyone does it.
When it comes to paying off debt, most people find it easier to cut expenses first. You start by getting rid of non-essentials, and if you need to, you make more significant sacrifices. For example, I moved into a cheaper, less comfortable place for 16 months to save money. It was tough, but it worked. In two and a half years, we paid off $20,000 of debt.
After we moved out of that temporary place, our living costs went up again. The only way to keep paying off our debt was to increase our income. We tried a bunch of things over nine months, like mystery shopping, freelance writing, and cash incentives, but we didn’t quite get there.
Then we found a side job that promised an extra $1,000 a month for just 10 hours of online work per week. At first, I wasn’t sure I could find the time, but I decided to go for it. So far, it’s been a good decision. The extra money has helped us save for travel and continue paying off our debt. It’s not been too hard to handle the extra workload.
Not everyone can find an extra $1,000 a month, but every little bit helps when it comes to paying off debt. Keep an eye out for freelance opportunities that could boost your earnings and speed up your journey to being debt-free.