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Today’s episode is an awesome chat with Purple from A Purple Life.
Purple has an awesome story and she hits a giant milestone of retirement at age 30 this year.
She covers how she continued to jump jobs in a way to increase her salary 3x while raising job satisfaction.
Listen, learn, and let us know what you think.
Episode Summary
Purple Beginnings
- Purple was introduced to financial independence by her partner
- However, she didn’t listen to his advice for two years
- She felt she had things in order to retire in her 50s
- Her mom actually retired in her 30s
- Purples mom also helped build financial understanding
- She would give purple $1 for chores but remove taxes first
- Purple talks about being frugal in high school and college
- Her degree was in American Studies
- She ended up landing a job in advertising
- Then New York happened
- She said she was brainwashed there
- Expensive heels and purse subscriptions ensued
Job Hopping
- Her first New York job paid about $35k
- She was also super unhappy and stressed
- Purple quit that job without another one lined up
- She was hired in a couple of weeks with a promotion and $13k raise
- That made her realize how much she could leverage job offers
- The next job was another $17k raise which put her up to $65k
- Then she looked to start dropping her expenses
- This would take her out to Seattle which was half the cost of Manhattan
- Job hops would continue until her salary today of $110k
- In total, she had 3x her income and cut living costs in half between rent and taxes
FIRE Ignites
- It started clicking that these voices like Mr. Money Mustache were actually realistic
- She got a lot more serious about all her line items
- A big one she calls out is learning to cook
- After things settled, she realized she could and will retire at 30
Her Why of FIRE
- She doesn’t want to be held to a schedule… that simple
- Purple doesn’t hate her job and even gets to work from home
- She also plans to stop renting and slow travel all over the world
- Purple admits she doesn’t know if being a nomad will be for her
- Her target date is September 2020
Why her Journey works
- Never owned a car
- Doesn’t want a house
- Will not have children
- Started investing early
- Only spends $18k per year
- Net-worth
- 2015 – $89k
- 2016 – $137k
- 2017 – $234k
- 2018 – $280k
- 2019 – $448
- Projected $500k at retirement
- She’s super flexible
Un-productivity Advocate
- Purple is a hard worker and type-A
- But she recognizes too many people equate being busy as successful
- There’s no strong desire with her for a side hustle
- It’s important for her as an introvert to take time and recharge
- She does, however, plan on continuing her blog
- And she also uses the app Job Spotter to make some money on the side
Key Takeaways
- Leverage Yourself: You make $x today but that doesn’t mean it’s what you’re worth. Don’t underestimate your value.
- Compounding is Strong: Purple started not making a ton and living in a very expensive place but now she’s retiring at 30. It worked because she started early and just kept saving.
- Busy isn’t required: Purple calls out how we don’t have to inject stress, plans and work into our lives, that it’s ok to just relax.
Call to Action
Take a look at your skills and how they could fit in a different role or company that allows you to up your salary.
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Purple’s Information
Her Blog: A Purple Life
Twitter – @APurpleLifeBlog
Instagram – @APurpleLife
Learn More About Your Hosts
Fly to FI (Cody’s Blog)
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