There was a time when my huge, ambitious heart decided to buy a fixer-upper home and launch an online business at the same time. I could easily afford my house & I was in the mood to chase my dreams. Long story short, I ended up getting in way over my head & stacked up a little debt. Every month I would make my credit card payments but was still spending plenty of money on vacations, nice clothes and meeting my girlfriends for dinner and drinks anytime they called.

I knew I needed to be more intentional about paying off all of my debt in order to pursue my dreams. I hated the feeling of owing anyone money. I also knew I wanted to leave my day job soon & would need to walk away with as little debt as possible. I decided to tackle two credit cards first. Between the two of them I owed a little more than $8 and then I set a goal to pay them off in two months.

I started making a list of everyday I could make extra cash on the side. I also want to note that I make good money. If you make minimum wage, your journey to paying off debt might look different than mine or take a little longer. Thats totally ok!

I started by making a list of all the ways I could make money. Here are the top 5 days I was hustling every single day.

1. Housesitting/petsitting: I would watch friends & families homes while they were out of town. I love animals so this was one of the best side hustles for me. Getting paid to play with someones dog was a win/win!
2. Craigslist/facebook marketplace: We all have thousands of dollars of clutter sitting around our homes. Craigslist and Facebook marketplace are the perfect place to get rid of those random items thrown in your closet or collecting dust in your attic. I had multiples hair straighteners, lamps, and home decor that I wasn’t using. Its also been nice working on decluttering my home. I would be intentional about selling SOMETHING everyday. That extra $5-$50 adds up quick.
3. uber/lyft: I started driving for uber and lyft! Its the easiest way to make extra $ in your free time. Not only was I making some easy cash, I’ve made some great connections for my future goals. I try and give a few rides a day. I’ll make $200-$300+ driving. I would also do it while I was running errands. That way I felt productive while making money.
4. Poshmark: I started going through all of my clothes and listing a lot of them on postmark. I had so many items hanging in my closet that still had tags on them or I wore maybe one time. It felt good to get rid of so many clothes that were just taking up space but even better to make $ off of them. There were items that I would only make $10 off of, or i’d sell designer pieces and make a couple hundred. Every little bit helps.
5. Rent out a bedroom in your house. I own a 3 bedroom home. It only made sense to start renting out one of the bedrooms. I definitely encourage you to rent out a room in your house or get a roommate if you’re renting. That will cut down all of your bills in half. I think thats the smartest way to start knocking away debt & saving money.

There are so many different ways to get rid of debt. I think it comes down to being intentional about paying everything off. I still have about $10k more to go. I haven’t stopped hustling towards paying off every penny that I owe. Sometimes that means saying no to a date or girls night out so that I can drive for uber/lyft. Maybe I have to wait for those amazing shoes to go on sale. Or skip starbucks and make my own coffee. Those sacrifices will definitely pay off.

A few more things that have helped me along this journey…

Listen to podcast/read books about money management, paying off debt and being financially free. Gary Vaynerchuk is one of the most inspiring guys! Dive into his books, stalk his social media and listen to his podcast. I promise your life will change!

Read the book “Set for Life” by Scott Trench. I listen to a podcast about real estate every Thursday & I came across his book. It’ll definitely help you get on the right path towards financial freedom + saving money.

I’m definitely not a financial expert but i’m a real person thats tackled my issues in the most simple way possible. Its possible for anyone to get rid of any amount of debt if you hustle hard enough. I’m currently tackling my last 2 credit cards and working on paying off my car. My goal is to have it all paid off by the end of May. I’ll keep you posted. 😉

xx