Colette Louis and her family
Posted:
2024-07-04 03:00:00
Original link:
https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/to-escape-six-figure-student-loan-debt-this-mom-turned-to-social-media/#ftag=CAD590a51e
Paying off student loan debt can feel impossible, especially if your balance is over six figures, like Colette Louis’.
The Charlotte, North Carolina, entrepreneur and stay-at-home mom of two earned three degrees in pursuit of a high-paying career. But despite her qualifications, her salary couldn’t compete with her looming $120,000 student loan bill.
“I just figured that once I got the degrees, I would easily get the job [I wanted],” said Louis. “And that wasn’t the case.”
When she turned to social media as an outlet, she didn’t realize she was taking the first step toward earning enough to wipe out her debt for good. But now, with an impressive social media following, Louis is now on track to wipe her student loan balance clean by the end of this month. Here’s how she accidentally started a side hustle that’s knocked out over $100,000 of her debt.
How Louis ended up in six-figure debt
Louis obtained two bachelor’s degrees -- one in marketing and one in business and entrepreneurship. But the best paying job Louis could find was as a bank teller, making $25,000 a year.
She eventually moved up into a job as a personal banker, boosting her income to $45,000 a year. But that wasn’t enough. She went back to school for her master’s degree in business administration. After finishing grad school, she became a mortgage loan officer, earning $5,000 more a year. But her staggering student loan balance still felt like a weight over her head
Despite going to college and getting the degrees she was taught would help her earn more, Louis was treading water and embarrassed by her astronomical debt. The six-figure sum loomed over her for years, and there was also a level of shame tied up in it that she wasn’t ready to face. So, she hid her financial struggles.
Facing the emotional toll of her debt
Looking back, she wishes she’d been able to shift her mindset around her debt sooner.
“Although we were doing well financially, I felt like a burden on my family because I had so much student loan debt,” she said in an Instagram reel in 2023. “I was kind of embarrassed by it.”
But she realized she wasn’t alone when comments flooded in from people sharing the same feelings about their own student loan balances.
“I feel like if we talk about it more, it will help us all be creative and think of different ways to pay that money off,” said Louis.
By 2018, Louis had quit her job as a mortgage loan officer to kick-start two companies with her husband: QC Lights, which rents out marquee lights, and QC Booths, which rents out photo booths for events. The Charlotte-based businesses did well enough to let Louis work at home with her kids most of the time.
But her loan balance wasn’t budging. Before the pandemic, she was on an income-driven repayment plan, paying less than $400 a month. Then the pandemic paused her student loan payment -- but it also halted her family’s businesses. With in-person events on hold, she and her husband became unsure about their financial future.
At the same time, she discovered a new passion for social media content. So, she started a lifestyle and motherhood Instagram. It started gaining traction, which led to her creating a bigger social media presence for herself as “simplycolette.”
@simplycolette_
As the number of her followers grew, she decided to turn her social media account into a business opportunity. Even when her rental businesses eventually revved back up, she kept at it. By the end of 2023, she’d made a plan to use all the money she earned from her social media pages to pay off her student loan debt. Apart from the mortgage she shared with her husband, Louis’ student loan balance was her only outstanding debt.
How Louis makes money on social media
Louis makes money in three different ways: through views, affiliate links and brand deals.