A Purple Life

My partner tried to convince me to read about it after he learned about it on the Personal Finance subreddit. It took me 2 years to listen to him.

I had a few thousand dollars in the bank and had accidentally amassed $50,000 in my 401(k). I say accidentally because I had my paycheck automatically deduct a relatively low percentage of my paycheck over a few years and the rest was the market going wild. I was shocked when I opened my account after not having thought about it since opening it and saw that amount. I'd learned the power of compounding and the stock market.

Moving from Manhattan to Seattle. That move alone cut our expenses in half while improving our standard of living. For example, in Manhattan we were living in a studio with 200 square feet of useable space for almost $3000. In Seattle we have a top floor, corner unit one bedroom with almost floor to ceiling southwest facing windows and a view of the Space Needle.

I wish I had taken more advantage of my current work from home situation sooner and worked from elsewhere more. This year I am working from elsewhere 9 weeks out of the year. I'm visiting my parents in Atlanta and worked from a lake house with some friends. Last year I work from Portland for a week while helping pack my elderly uncle up for a cross country move. It's great to be able to see the people I love and help out. Remove the work part and that's how I imagine by days in retirement.

I would suggest everyone think seriously about you want and go after it even if it's seen as 'weird' by others or society. Decide what kind of life you want, what you need to do to get there while still being as happy as possible and go for it!