A career-coaching side gig gave Lauren Braley enough additional income to pay off the remaining chunk of her student debt last year.
Braley finished physical-therapy graduate school in 2017 with roughly $125,000 in debt.
But she didn’t feel the loans’ full toll until she and her husband had a child and took on the costs of daycare and homeownership. Braley owed $800 a month on her loans and sometimes opted to pay as much as $2,000, more than her mortgage.
After interest rates started falling in 2020, she refinanced her federal student loans, reducing the interest rate from around 6% to just under 3%. She refinanced two more times as rates grew more attractive, saving herself $55,000 in interest in the process, she said.
Eventually, Braley made a career switch and received messages on LinkedIn from physical therapists looking to make a similar move. She began to charge for her career-coaching services.