I paid off $80,000 in student loans in three years with my side hustle

A woman has revealed how she paid off $80,000 in student loans in three years with a lucrative side hustle that has turned into her full-time job. 

Kelsey Mikula, 26, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, majored in zoology at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, and struggled to find a job after she graduated in May 2019. 

She started buying and reselling clothes to pay off her student loan debt while working shifts as a unit secretary in a hospital.  

‘My first experience reselling was when I was in middle school and I would sell discontinued mascara,’ she recalled.  

‘I didn’t start taking it seriously until 2020 when I finished university and couldn’t get a job in my major.’

Kelsey buys clothes and shoes from charity shops such as the Salvation Army, Goodwill, and local thrift stores, and then she resells them on e-commerce sites. 

‘The first platform I started selling on was Poshmark, and I slowly went over to eBay and Depop,’ she explained. 

Each month she spends $1,800 buying clothes and sells them for a profit. 

Kelsey started making payments on her student loans in April 2020, and she had them paid off in full by March 2023 thanks to her side hustle. 

‘My main niche is clothing and shoes, specifically for women, but I do dabble in household items too,’ she said. 

‘I get paid $5,000 a month in profit — it can really depend. I have been able to pay off my $80,000 student debt, and I did that in just three years by reselling.

‘It was an amazing feeling. It felt like I was able to finally save the money I was making.’

In December 2023, Kelsey took the plunge and started buying and reselling full-time.

‘I made so much more doing this than I was in my full-time job, which is why I decided to quit,’ she said. 

‘I love the freedom this job has given me. I am my own boss. If I don’t want to work in the morning, I don’t have to. I can work what hours I want.’

In addition to paying off her student loan debt, she was also able to buy her dream car, a Ford Explorer, with her earnings. 

‘I am grateful that my hard work has paid off and I am debt-free,’ she said. 

‘I am currently still living with my parents and working out of their basement — the next step is to buy a house.’

Kelsey said the most she has made from a resale item was a Christian Dior sweater she bought for $10 and sold for a $700 profit.  

She also snagged a pair of Chanel shoes for $20 and sold them for over $200. 

Kelsey insisted that she is never tempted to keep any of the luxury items she buys. 

‘I don’t tend to keep clothes, but if I do, I will keep them for a few months and sell them on,’ she explained

‘I am not a materialistic person, and I would much rather see the paycheck.’