Before you despair about how living life after college means you will be living in the hole financially, consider how you can parlay your debt into the income that you need to get it paid off. Side hustles are one of the best ways to earn income to pay off debt, save for a large purchase, or add to your retirement fund. The best type of side hustle is one that is flexible and allows you some freedom to maintain your full-time job, enjoy your life, but still bring in enough dough to have it make sense. If you are facing a sizeable amount of student loan debt, you are not alone, chronical about your journey to pay it off and find a host site that will pay you to be a contributor.
Be Open and Honest
Talking about money is historically one of the most uncomfortable topics of conversation, so being an online voice for people provides a safe space for them to learn about their financial options without the sensitivity or emotion involved in discussing this with their inner circle. Sharing your experience about taking out student loans with a private lender in order to pay for your education is a topic to find a number of host sites willing to pay you for your content. Since you are personally living the experiences of an individual on a repayment journey you are automatically qualified to give perspective on the topic. Gain the trust of your audience by being authentic in your content. With payments deferred until after graduation, private student loans are a way to invest in your yourself to gain the experience and knowledge you need for the future. Driving up some loyalty will encourage the host site to solicit more from you, thus earning you more cash.
Create a Niche
Since the general theme of student debt repayment is not unique, you will want to find a subcategory inside that topic that makes you stand out a bit. This will help to circulate a buzz about your content and get readers to become invested in you as a specialist of some sorts. Creating a niche for yourself will have a snowball effect also, and you will be able to piggyback future topics on older ones. Since there will be a decent amount of competition in this market, and your goal is to beat it out so that you can put money in your pocket, spend the time to mind map your ideas so that you are not stuck with writer’s block or stale content as this side hustle picks up speed.
Be the Success Story
At the start of this journey, you will be introducing yourself as an individual, with student debt, who has a goal of paying it off quickly, and a plan to do so. Basically, you have created both external and internal accountability with just that simple declaration. Once you speak you goals out loud (or in this case in print) you give them life and attach expectations. Work hard and be diligent so that you can get yourself to the place where you will finally get to write your ‘I am free of student debt’ article. You may even find that this side hustle has become enjoyable and lucrative enough to continue utilizing it to finance your next big dream.