economy

33-year-old NYC teacher had $92,000 in student debt—she's using a $55/hour side hustle to pay it off

Ashley Alicea earns $90,000 a year as a charter school teacher in NYC and has a $55 hourly side hustle in mental health counseling.

33-year-old NYC teacher had $92,000 in student debt—she's using a $55/hour side hustle to pay it off

TL;DR

  • Ashley Alicea, a 33-year-old teacher in NYC, has a remaining student loan balance of $61,000.
  • She works as a multilingual learner specialist at Brilla Public Charter Schools, earning about $90,000 per year.
  • Alicea also works part-time as a therapy associate with Cerebral, earning $55 per hour, to pay off her debt.
  • She aims to pay off her student loans within four years and has saved $10,000 in a high-yield savings account.
  • Alicea has won the NYC housing lottery twice, securing affordable rent to help manage her finances.