Paid off My College Loan with eHow Earnings!

We're one step closer to being debt free -- I paid off the last of my my college loan in one payment using a portion of my eHow earnings last month. My final statement showed that I paid the debt off about 18 months early, saving me a good bit in interest (it was a private loan at 10% APR).

I had a grace period at the beginning of the loan for working in a non-profit sector after graduation, but otherwise have been making those monthly payments for years. Being free of that payment is a great feeling and makes a difference financially as well -- I've taken the amount I used to pay to the loan each month and am using it toward my next debt.

Thanks to my residual income through revenue sharing sites, my eHow ebook, my niche websites, affiliate marketing and miscellaneous sources, my family is becoming debt free much more quickly than we thought possible. In fact, we will probably pay off our debt about 2-3 years earlier than originally projected. Next month, I plan to put nearly all of my eHow earnings toward my next debt, a credit card balance at 5% interest that needs to be eliminated.

While we've had setbacks due to job loss, real estate (a house that didn't sell), and life's ups and downs, we've managed to stay the course and not take on new debt since we took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University course almost two years ago. We've cut our debt down by a third, and are now on track to pay off the remaining 2/3 in less than a year, if all goes as planned.

Having a steady source of residual income thanks to my online writing has been a key element in our progress and our success to date. As my husband builds his new career, my income is back in a supportive role and working harder than ever to help us become debt free. I can't wait!

Are you using online earnings to become debt free or in a better posisiton financially? What role does residual income play in your personal finances?