110: Systematically Increasing Income and Intentionally Decreasing Spending with A Purple Life

02/03/20 • 63 min

Purple graduated from college and got a job in New York City making $35,000 a year. And spending $35,000 a year. Her net worth was a whopping $5,000. Her partner shared the concept of financial independence with her, but she wasn’t interested.

Two years later, her net worth had grown considerably, but she was still not tracking her spending or paying attention to much of her finances.

So, she took a good look at her money situation and discovered that there were places she could make cuts—yet not really feel them.

She moved across the country, she changed jobs, she asked for raises. And she saved and invested her money.

And her net worth grew to the point that she is retiring before the end of the year and traveling the world—all because she looked at her financial situation and said, “I can do better than that!”

Listen in to hear just how she increased her income and decreased her spending to craft the life she wanted!

In This Episode We Cover:

Purple's journey with money
Her mom's gift
Deciding to seek financial independence
Convincing your partner to pursue FIRE
Purple's net worth
Tips for people who are looking for a new job and better income
The importance of research
Purple's plan in the future
What her retirement looks like
Possible downsides of remote work
And SO much more!

Links from the Show

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two years later, her net worth had grown considerably, but she was still not tracking her spending or paying attention to much of her finances.

So, she took a good look at her money situation and discovered that there were places she could make cuts—yet not really feel them.

She moved across the country, she changed jobs, she asked for raises. And she saved and invested her money.

Listen in to hear just how she increased her income and decreased her spending to craft the life she wanted!

In This Episode We Cover:

Purple's journey with money
Her mom's gift
Deciding to seek financial independence
Convincing your partner to pursue FIRE
Purple's net worth
Tips for people who are looking for a new job and better income
The importance of research
Purple's plan in the future
What her retirement looks like
Possible downsides of remote work
And SO much more!

Links from the Show

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

109: Attacking Debt and Tenaciously Pursuing Financial Freedom with Airman Mildollar from Military Dollar

This week, we sit down and talk with Airman Mildollar, from Military Dollar.

(Spoiler Alert: Despite the name, Airman Mildollar is a woman!)

Airman Mildollar shares her story of college debt, car loans and rapid payoff to start building her wealth to become financially free, despite not being married, having kids or working in tech. In fact, she’s an officer in the Air Force.

She shares her systematic goal setting and goal reaching strategy that allowed her to pay off her debt ahead of schedule - including stretching her military benefits to cover more than just food or housing.

She started reading finance blogs and books and starting putting money away. Moving in with a friend reduced her rent payment, and she began investing in a Roth IRA, opened up a TSP (Military version of a 401k) and also invested in individual stocks in after-tax accounts, saving about 20% of her pay.

Every time she received a raise, she committed to put at least 50% of that raise into her investments.

In 2011, she bought a rental house as she was deploying, put tenants in place and then went overseas for one year, returned home and bought another property for herself to live in. Originally intending to live there for a year then rent it out, she ended up staying for two years then selling to realize HUGE tax-free gains.

2013 is when her Financial Independence journey really hit its stride as she read Your Money or Your Life, and she took a much closer look at her budget, finding another thousand dollars to put into her investing.

MilDollar shows that you CAN become financially independent on your own, without working in an ultra-high-paying job, when you diligently pursue your goal.

In This Episode We Cover:

What an airman is
Airman Mildollar's money journey
Where she got her scholarships
How she creates financial freedom
Things she did on managing her finances
The reason why she didn't do househacking
On her housing and food allowance
How she discover FIRE community
What Thrift Savings Plan is
How she finance her properties
On her rental properties
Her plans in the future
And SO much more!

Links from the Show

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next Episode

111: Starting Late? Early Retirement Is STILL Possible with A Purple Mom

On episode 110, we interviewed A Purple Life. As she was sharing her story of financial independence, she casually mentioned that her mother didn’t start investing until later in life, and STILL managed to retire at age 55!

So this week, we’re talking to her mother - who has her own amazing story of early retirement which she was able to accomplish even though she didn’t START investing until she was 40!

Momma Purple shares her pragmatic approach to money in general - buying what you need, trying to make repairs instead of buying something new, sticking to a budget and banking bonuses instead of spending them.

Momma Purple is also a big advocate for having multiple, passive income streams like rental properties and a pension.

Hear her story of weathering TWO market crashes during her investing journey, taking immediate action when she discovered her money was in the wrong investment, and how fabulous her life is now, after retirement.

In This Episode We Cover:

Momma Purple's journey with money
Her life looks like when Purple was born
How she managed her money and able to save up so much as a single mom
Things that changes her practice with money after the conversation she had with her colleague
Her 10-year plan to early retirement
Talking about her investing journey
What she do the moment she was retired
Her advice for older listeners
And SO much more!

Links from the Show

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices