How diversifying my income with work at home jobs helped me pay off debt

I’ve never liked being in debt because it’s held me back from having full control over my money and being able to live the life I truly wanted to live. At the end of 2014, I was buried in more than $30,000 of debt and I’ve paid off more than 75% of that total now.

The key to paying off debt and finally getting ahead is to lower your expenses and increase your income.

When I first started on my debt repayment journey, I was only earning around $28,000 per year and living paycheck to paycheck. What really helped me break out of that ‘broke’ cycle was developing several different streams of income.

Here are 3 flexible ways I like to earn money.

Blogging

I started my blog My Debt Epiphany at the end of 2014 to chronicle my debt repayment journey and over time it’s evolved into a personal finance blog to help other people get out of debt and improve the way they manage their money as well.

I love blogging, and as an added bonus, my blog now earns me a part-time income due to working with sponsors, having ads on my site, affiliate marketing, and selling a few of my own products that help my readers reach their money goals. With help from blog income, I’ve been able to put an extra $900/month toward my student loans.

Earning money from blogging is nice because it’s somewhat passive, but I want to mention that it didn’t happen overnight. I had to blog consistently and build up my platform for at least a year before I saw any income.

Freelance Writing

Another thing I did to earn extra money was start freelance writing on the side of my 9-5 job back in 2015. I love to write and used my blog to advertise my services and land my first few gigs writing personal finance and small business content.

Freelance writing really helped me make double and triple payments on my high-interest car loan in 2015 and whenever I wanted to earn more money, I just kept pitching more clients.

Freelancing had been going so well for me that I actually quit my traditional job last fall to do it full time and it’s my main source of income right now. Some people think I was crazy to leave a job with a steady income but I do a good job of keeping my freelance client list diversified so I’m not depending on 1 or 2 clients for my entire income.

Virtual Assistant Work

The third way I’m earning extra money to pay off my debt is by doing virtual assistant work. A virtual assistant or VA is a virtual secretary who basically helps individuals and businesses manage and operate various different tasks.

What I love about this type of work is that anyone can do it as long as you have some basic computer skills. Most of what I know now, I’ve learned along the way.

When I started freelance writing, a client asked me if I was interested in doing any VA work for them and I thought I’d give it a try.

Now, I have about 2-3 regular VA clients and it’s nice to switch up my workload from writing sometimes.

Why Diversify?

After reading about my 3 main streams of income, I know it sounds like I’m doing quite a bit but it’s important to realize that in this day and age, income diversification is key. Having just one source of income, even if it’s a steady job is just not considered so secure anymore since you could lose your income at any time.

Doing flexible work online works for me and the lifestyle I want because I can work whenever and wherever I like and be able to spend more time with my son.

If you want to reach goals like saving more money and paying off debt, having an extra side hustle will only help. Choosing something flexible that you love to do and works around your schedule will only make your extra income more sustainable long-term.

About the author

Chonce is a personal finance blogger and freelance writer who enjoys sharing debt stories along with talking about saving, budgeting, conscious spending and improving your financial house.

Further reading

Freelance work at home is a great way to diversify your income. If you need ideas, you can read our tips for freelance writing, part-time job suggestions for pregnancy, or transcription equipment guides.