Job Hopping for Raises and Retiring at 30 | A Purple Life
The Financial Independence Show - A podcast by Cody Berman and Justin Taylor - Wednesdays
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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,