Debt Archives - Page 3 of 42 - Making Sense Of Cents

Want To Make An Extra $100 A Month? Learn How To Become A Mystery Shopper

February 6, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 1 Comment

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Want To Make An Extra $100 A Month? Learn How To Become A Mystery Shopper Back when I had student loans, one of the things I did was learn how to become a mystery shopper so that I could make extra money. No, it did not make me rich, but it gave me a little bit of extra income, and it also allowed me to go out to eat and get free things that I probably would have bought anyways.

Mystery shopping also helped me pay off $40,000 in student loans in just 7 months.

I remember when I first heard of being a secret shopper. I was working at a retail store and we regularly had mystery shoppers come in to grade how we were doing. We never knew who the mystery shopper was, but we would get to read their report afterwards.

I thought it was so interesting that people were getting paid to shop!

Not long after hearing about it, I learned more about how to become a mystery shopper and actually became a secret shopper myself. [Read more…]

How We Paid Off $20,000 of Student Loan Debt in 12 Months at 23 Years Old

January 18, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 9 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

As you all know, I love a good debt payoff story. Melanie reached out to me recently and asked if she could share how she paid off her debt. Below is her story, enjoy!

Hi, I’m Melanie! I’m a CPA by day, and personal finance blogger at Melanie De Jong Blog by night! I’m 24 years old, and I reside with my husband and beautiful baby boy in Northwest Iowa. My husband and I paid off $20,000 of student loan debt fresh out of college while living on just one income for 5 of those months AND paying for part of a wedding and a honeymoon (and no, we don’t make a fortune). Our debt payoff story has inspired me to help and encourage others to become financially free! Here's our story.

When the confetti stopped, the champagne was done being popped, and I settled into my new job and new home post-college graduation, the last thing I wanted to think about was how in the world I was going to pay off my student loans. [Read more…]

The Ultimate Guide of Over 50 Money Saving Tips For 2019

January 16, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 20 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

The Ultimate Guide of Over 50 Money Saving Tips For 2019 #savingtips #bestmoneysavingtips How much money do you save each month? Do you wish you had some more money saving tips for 2019?

If you're looking for some of the best money saving tips, then you've come to the right place! There are many ways to learn how to save money, and today I'm going to tell you about them.

I am often asked for my best money saving tips from people who are having a difficult time saving money, and there are often many saving tips that I can help them with. This is because it can sometimes be very difficult to see where you are wasting and/or spending too much money. Often what is obvious to one, may be hard for another to notice.

Even if you're already taking part in some of the best ways to save money, if you could just find a few more saving tips (or as many as you can!), you may be able to improve your financial situation so that you can live your dream life. [Read more…]

80 Ways To Make Money On The Side in 2019

January 14, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 21 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

80 Ways To Make Money On The Side in 2019 #waystomakemoney #makeextramoney

If you want to learn new ways to make money in 2019, then you’ve come to right place! Learning how to make extra income has completely changed my life for the better, and with the things I’ll talk about today, you can find several ways to make money that will work for you.

Learning how to make money on the side of my day job helped me pay off $38,000 in student loans within 7 months. I eventually turned my side hustle into a full-time job (blogging!), and I can now travel full-time, pursue my passions, and more!

On Making Sense of Cents, I talk a lot about different ways to make money on the side because I believe that earning extra income can completely change your life. You can stop living paycheck to paycheck, you can pay off your debt, reach your retirement earlier, and more.

Making extra income is the best way to start paying off your debt, put more towards savings, and work towards financial independence. [Read more…]

How My 401k Loan Cost Me $1 Million Dollars

December 21, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 29 Comments

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How My 401k Loan Cost Me $1 Million Dollars #401kloan #retirement

Today, I have a great guest post from a reader, Ashley Patrick. She asked if she could share her story with my audience, and I, of course, had to say yes! This is her personal story about how her 401k loan cost her a ton of money and why you shouldn't take be borrowing from your 401k.

You've been thinking about getting a 401k loan.

Everyone says it's a great loan because you are paying yourself back!

It sounds like a great low risk loan at a great interest rate for an unsecured loan.

But you know the saying “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”.

So you're thinking, what's the catch?

I take out a loan without having to do a withdrawal and I pay myself back. I'm paying myself back at a low interest rate right, so what's wrong with that?

Well, I'm about to tell you how our 401k loan cost us $1,000,000 dollars.

You see, there are a lot of reasons to not take out a 401k loan and they all happened to ME! [Read more…]

How I Repaid $65,000 In Student Loans and Invested at the Same Time

November 30, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 6 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Today, I have a great guest post to share. Here is how this person paid off $65,000 in student loans all while investing at the same time.

Student loans… everyone’s got ‘em everyone wants to get rid of them. This is a story of my battle with student loans and how I found success in the middle of a vicious cycle of urgency to invest, save for a house and pay off debt.

My background on student loans

I went to a fairly large out of state school, which resulted in a huuuuge annual tuition payment along with room and board, food, annual travel expenses, etc. I had to pay for it somehow. Just like everyone else I had to revert to student loans… For all four years. Yikes.

But, that wasn’t all of it. Student loans only covered tuition expenses. I had to work part-time while going through college because I had to pay for food, rent, living expenses and more. Solely on my own. This ended up being a blessing in disguise as I graduated without any credit card debt. [Read more…]

Black Friday 2018 Doesn’t Have To Be The Start Of Holiday Debt

November 12, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 10 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Black Friday 2018 Doesn’t Have To Be The Start Of Holiday Debt #blackfriday #howtosavemoney It’s almost Black Friday 2018, which will start the largest shopping season of the year. And, the average person will spend around $900 on gifts this holiday season.

That amount doesn't even account for other holiday spending, such as travel costs, food, get togethers, decorations, and more. And while the holidays are a great time to spend with your family and friends, all of that unplanned spending can easily add debt if you aren’t prepared.

In fact, according to a survey done by MagnifyMoney, American consumers took on an average $1,000 worth of debt in 2017 holiday spending, and that number has grown in the past few years.

Putting your holiday spending on a credit card is a major problem because of the interest and finance charges you will rack up if you can’t pay your credit card off when the bill comes. That will hurt your credit score, your credit history, your debt to income ratio, and more. [Read more…]

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