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.
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 hustle after she graduated from college and struggled to find a job
‘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.’
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
‘My main niche is clothing and shoes, specifically for women, but I do dabble in household items too,’ she said
In addition to paying off her student loans, she was able to buy herself a Ford Explorer. She is now reselling full-time with the goal of saving enough money for a home
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.’