A woman has revealed how she paid off $80,000 in student loans in three years with a lucrative side hustle that turned into her full-time job.
Kelsey Mikula, 26, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, studied zoology at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, and struggled to find a job after graduating in May 2019.
She started buying and reselling clothes to pay off her student loans while working shifts as a department secretary at a hospital.
“My first experience with reselling was when I was in high school and I was selling discontinued mascara,” she recalls.
Kelsey Mikula, 26, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, paid off $80,000 in student loans in three years by buying and reselling clothes and shoes on eBay and Depop
Kelsey said she started the lucrative side job after graduating from college and struggling to find a job
“I didn’t start taking it seriously until 2020, when I was graduating college 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, then resells them on e-commerce sites.
“The first platform I started selling on was Poshmark, and I slowly moved on to eBay and Depop,” she explained.
Every month she spends €1,800 buying clothes and selling them for a profit.
Kelsey started paying off her student loans in April 2020, and by March 2023 she had paid them off in full thanks to her side hustle.
“My main niche is clothing and shoes, mainly for women, but I also dabble in homewares,” she said.
“I get paid $5,000 a month in profits, that could really depend. I was able to pay off my $80,000 student loan debt in just three years by reselling it.
‘It was a great feeling. It felt like I could finally save the money I was making.”
Kelsey buys clothes and shoes from charity shops such as the Salvation Army, Goodwill and local thrift stores, then resells them on e-commerce sites
“My main niche is clothing and shoes, mainly for women, but I also dabble in homewares,” she said
In addition to paying off her student loans, she was also able to buy herself a Ford Explorer. She now resells full-time with the goal of saving enough money for a house
In December 2023, Kelsey took the plunge and started buying and reselling full-time.
“I was making so much more doing this than my full-time job, so I decided to quit,” she said.
‘I like the freedom this job gives me. I am my own boss. If I don’t want to work in the morning, I don’t have to. I can work the hours I want.’
In addition to paying off her student loans, she was also able to use her earnings to buy her dream car, a Ford Explorer.
“I am grateful that my hard work has paid off and that I am debt free,” she said.
‘I currently live with my parents and work in 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 that she bought for $10 and sold for a $700 profit.
She also picked up a pair of Chanel shoes for $20 and sold them for over $200.
Kelsey insisted she is never tempted to keep 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 resell them,” she explained
“I’m not a materialistic person, and I would much rather see the paycheck.”