Sandra Ikeh
I Tried Freelance Writing for 90 Days — Here’s What I Earned
I’m a marketing coordinator in Astoria, Queens, and about a year ago I finished paying off $15,040 in credit card debt through a mix of budgeting and side income. Right…
Lifestyle Inflation: Why Earning More Does Not Always Make You Wealthier
Getting a pay rise should make life easier. Sometimes it does. Sometimes, surprisingly, it changes almost nothing. You earn more, move into a nicer flat, upgrade your phone, eat at…
10 Side Hustles That Can Actually Make You Extra Money
A side hustle sounds attractive until you realise that not every extra-income idea is worth the time it takes to start. Some side hustles require almost no money but pay…
What Is Money Management? A Practical Guide to Taking Control of Your Money
Most people do not have a money problem in the way they think they do. They have a money management problem. There is a difference. Someone earning $3,000 a month…
How to Get Your Finances Under Control: A Practical Personal Finance Plan
Money problems rarely appear all at once. More often, they build quietly. A few unnecessary subscriptions here. A credit card balance there. An emergency expense that lands at the wrong…
5 Debt Payoff Mistakes I Made (So You Don’t Have To)
People mostly ask me what worked — how I paid off $15,040 in credit card debt, got my student loans down to one manageable payment, or got a hospital to…
How I Negotiated Down a Medical Bill by 42%
I slipped on ice outside my building in Astoria this past January, landed wrong on my wrist, and spent four hours in an ER waiting room before someone finally X-rayed…
I Consolidated My Student Loans — Here’s What Nobody Tells You
About a year before I started tackling my credit card debt, I consolidated six federal student loans into one. I did it for the most boring reason possible: I was…
Debt Snowball vs. Debt Avalanche: What Actually Worked for Me
Since I wrote about paying off $15,040 in credit card debt over 20 months, the question I get asked most is some version of “wait, why avalanche and not snowball?”…
How I Paid Off $15,040 in Credit Card Debt in 20 Months — My Real Numbers
I’m Maya, I’m 30, I work as a marketing coordinator, and I live in Astoria with a roommate because doing it alone in this city was never actually on the…