It’s been two years since this website went live and I threw three and a half years of my thoughts into the blogosphere. Partially because of this blog, the last two years have felt like the fastest of my life.
I’ve learned so much, grown as a person and met all of you wonderful people! It’s been a wild and rewarding ride that was lightyears from what I expected when I hit “publish” for the first time (Hint: Complete crickets).
Two years is also by far the longest I’ve ever stuck to any hobby – especially one that has a consistent schedule. I mean look at this and try not to drool π :
Also this:
300 posts?! I saw this randomly and wasn't aware of the milestone. Super coolβοΈπΎπππΎ! pic.twitter.com/fLxCZwWk0d
— A Purple Life (@APurpleLifeBlog) July 12, 2020
To celebrate these milestones, I want to first of all say THANK YOU for being here, for reading my silly words and for leaving your wonderful comments. They really do make my day π . Because of y’all, Tuesdays have become my favorite day of the week.
In addition to thanking all of you, I also want to take some time to reflect on anything new I’ve learned over these two years and then answer any questions you have about me, my journey, this blog or anything else π . I put this question out to everyone on Twitter and Instagram, got some fun responses and below are my answers!
What’s New?
To build off of my previous posts about what I’ve learned after blogging for a month, a year and writing for 5 years, below are some new thoughts I’ve had after 2 years of having this blog public and writing it for five and a half years total.
Anything Becomes Normal
This annoys me about the human brain: We can get used to anything. For example, I used to leap out of bed and scare my partner at my enthusiasm whenever anyone left a comment on my blog, mentioned me on social media or basically acknowledged my existence. And don’t even get me started on my reaction when major media published my words – my face would get hot and I wouldn’t be able to tell if the pounding in my heart was a good or bad feeling. It was exhilarating and terrifying.
I used to write every single mention or kind word people said to me down in a wonderful little list that I would read on the harder days. Updating that list was one of the highlights of my day, but after two years of heartwarming praise…I got used to it. And that is BULLSHIT! I got used to people saying nice things to me on social media or complimenting my writing in their newsletters instead of being astonished at every mention and I hate that that’s the truth. The shine wore off and it became a new (wonderful) normal.
I’m still more than flattered if anyone thinks of me when they’re not on this blog, but it doesn’t result in the expansive freak out it used to, not because I think I deserve praise or anything (I seriously don’t), but it became normalized based on repetition. To combat this, I’ve been trying to take the time and reflect anytime someone thinks of me and says something positive. I focus on that heartwarming feeling even if it doesn’t make me feel like I’m having a panic attack any longer π .
Nerves Disappear
And because I can’t leave you hanging with a negative, here’s the positive flip side to getting used to anything: Nerves disappear. The week leading up to recording my first podcast interview I was SO nervous – constantly. It didn’t stop and got to the point that I basically didn’t sleep the night before recording.
There’s a reason I prefer the written word – you can edit it a million times (most of my posts have 30 or more revisions…) and take your time to be intentional with your words and what you mean. Obviously, speaking to others in an interview format is nothing like that and I often cringe if I playback a podcast I was on. As a result, I was SUPER nervous that first time and many times after that, but after about 5 podcast interviews, those nerves disappeared and it just didn’t happen anymore!
I also felt like I was going to throw up when I went to my first FIRE meet up way back in 2016. It was before this site went live, but I showed up with my purple hair to a park in Seattle to chat with some fellow money nerds. We shared some beers, I met a few of my idols and it went fine. My heart was racing the whole time, but then I did it again. And again.
At this point I’ve been to countless meet ups and no longer feel nervous about it. I just do it and I love that π . So now that my random musings are out of the way, let’s get to your questions!
Ask Me Anything
LIFE QUESTIONS
“How did you arrive at the decision of not having kids & remain very confident you didn’t want to?”
This comes from @nicbelieves. Ah the age old question of “Why are you deviating from norms?” π . I understand why, but still find it funny that we ask people who deviate why they are doing so, but seem to never ask people who are following norms why they are. I have asked a few of my friends that are having kids why they are because I was curious. Answers have ranged from really thoughtful reflections on a lifetime of wanting to nurture others to “Uhhh…cause that’s just what you’re supposed to do?”
For me, having a child has never even been a passing thought. It was never a daydream of mine. I’ve never looked at a baby or a kid and thought “I want that.” It’s the same with pregnancy or getting married. I look at it and think “You do you, but that’s not for me.”
I’ve just never wanted those things for myself and for kids in particular, I think they should be had by people who want them wholeheartedly since they are a serious, lifelong commitment. So it was never a question if I would have kids. Luckily my partner feels the same.
“How do you keep [your] budget low on keto?”
This is a question from @taylordawn_lifts. I wrote about how in general I keep my grocery budget around $125/month here, but for keto specifically, I buy meat in bulk when it’s on sale, freeze it and then pop it into my beloved sous vide machine to get affordable, protein packed and keto-friendly meals quickly. Other than meat, the other main macro of keto is fat and the coconut oil, butter and mayos of the world are quite cheap π .
“Will your partner continue to work after you FIRE? Traveling together or living apart for a while?”
This is from Retire by 40 who happens to be the most frequent commenter on this blog – thank you Joe! While my partner did introduce me to the idea of FIRE, he hasn’t reached his goal yet and will continue to work. Since my current travels have been COVID-cancelled, we will be living together for the foreseeable future and even when international travel is an option again, we would prefer to do that together. It just depends on what he can swing with his job, so we shall see!
“How long do you see yourself traveling? 1 year? 3 years? Indefinitely???”
This question is from Backpack Finance. Short Answer: No idea! Longer Answer: That’s a problem for Future Purple π . At the moment, my two biggest regrets of having a job are not spending more time with loved ones and not being able to travel the world. Since the second half of that is not currently possible during a pandemic, I will be focusing on the first half, which does still involve a bit of (domestic) travel.
After I quit, we will be moving to Georgia to be closer to my and my partner’s family. Then we’ll assess if visiting other family in different parts of the country is allowed and recommended. We have the next few years vaguely sketched out and it involves basically slow travel – living in one location for 1-3 months at a time before moving on.
However, a main pillar in every aspect of my life is FLEXIBILITY! We aren’t locked into this plan and are completely open to one or both of us saying “This is too fast” or “This is too much” and changing our plans. If we start feeling that way, we’ll just settle someplace for a year…or more. We’ll see how we feel. I can’t make any promises about what I’ll be thinking in the future π .
“What was your biggest challenge when you first started your journey and what’s your biggest now?”
This is from @myfirejournal. I think my biggest challenge when I started was changing anything at all. Inertia is a powerful force. But once I started making a list of expenses I wanted to experiment with, such as eating out and my fancy phone plan, it was easy to do one experiment at a time and assess if I could reduce those costs without negatively impacting my life and it turns out I could in every single case!
I taught myself to cook and had delicious meals I actually enjoyed more than awkward restaurant interactions. I also got the same exact phone service with actually better customer service, for $15 with Republic Wireless compared to $100 with AT&T.
Now, my main challenge is not randomly rage quitting π . I have accumulated more money than I ever dreamed was possible – more than enough that I feel confident saying “Fuck you” if someone pushes me too far…and several have come close, but I’m still here, reminding myself of my plan and why I’m holding out until September.
“How did you stay motivated if you felt like quitting before you hit your number?”
This is from @ejogenyi and my answer is MIND TRICKS π ! I gave lots of examples in this post of the different charts, graphs and countdown tricks I’ve used over the years to try and keep in perspective that working towards a goal for 5-10 years is not that long in the grand scheme of things.
Here is my latest foray into tricking my mind. It’s a few weeks old because I currently have 44 workdays left, but I didn’t take a new picture because…I’m lazy π
“How has Covid-19 changed your plans about post-traditional career/work life? How you’ll be dealing with medical, SWR, side hustles/income generation? How you’ll spend your time? Or has it changed at all?”
This from @Raven4269 and talk about getting 10 questions for the price of one π . Overall, COVID hasn’t really changed my plans surprisingly, but let’s go one at a time:
Medical: I actually recently wrote an entire post about this, but the fact that international travel is basically not allowed or ill-advised is going to change my health insurance plan. I was going to use expat insurance, but the one I chose (IMG Global) only kicks in when I leave the country and I don’t know when that will be possible, but know it will be after I quit my job and my employer insurance stops. So I looked into a new plan that would cover me in multiple states (which normal state plans don’t usually do) and will be using World Nomads Travel Insurance that covers me globally and in the US if I’m more than 100 miles from my ‘home’ of Seattle, which I will be indefinitely after we fly away in the fall.
SWR: My plan to take out between $16,000 and $20,000+ depending on the market hasn’t changed. However, this ‘Rona Black Swan event has made me change the amount of cash I hold. Instead of just having my first year of retirement $20K in cash, I’m now going to hold 2 years given the likely timeline for a COVID vaccine. Given that amount of cash and the taxable dividends I will receive and assuming I make no extra money, I won’t need to intentionally sell my investments until March 2023.
Side Hustles: I originally planned to make no money in retirement and am still avoiding accepting active work, but like many FIRE people before me: I’m accidentally making a little money with this blog and my Accountability Beast reminder tweets that people asked to pay me for through Patreon. I’m not relying on this money or assuming it will continue and for that reason I haven’t factored it into my plans or calculations at all. If it continues, that will of course continue to push back the timeline for when I need to touch my investments.
How I’ll Spend My Time: This has shifted a bit. I was originally going to jetset right after I quit to Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Thailand. Obviously that is all currently on hold so I’m shifting to some plans I had to a little later in 2021. Instead, this fall I will be enjoying time with my loved ones that live in the US. We’re starting in Georgia to be near family and then seeing if and when we should move to another state from there.
“If you could live two different lives at once what would you do in life #2?”
This is from my friend Millennial Boss and ooh it’s a doozy! I’m curious if she meant having like a shared consciousness doppelganger situation starting right now or like if I could change my life in the past. If the latter, I would have quit corporate life four years ago just to see what would happen.
The reason I didn’t is because I thought I knew: stress from constant interviewing to find remote, contract marketing positions would be worse than just staying the course. But I could have been wrong since I was wrong about what would happen after I started blogging, for example. I thought it would be crickets and, based off of statistics, impossible to even recoup my costs of this hobby, but I was incorrect on both accounts.
If she means former situation, that’s too creepy for me to contemplate π . It also makes me think about the definition of ‘self’ and consciousness and how every time people are beamed up in Star Trek they actually die and are replaced by a copy….Welcome to the dark recesses of my mind!
BLOG QUESTIONS
“How [did you] get the courage to start sharing [your] blog? Does being anonymous help?”
This is another one from @taylordawn_lifts. My friend mentioned above, Millennial Boss, was actually the person who gave me the courage to take my blog public. We had coffee after meeting at a FIRE meet up. I mentioned I had a private blog, asked her if I should take it public and she basically said “Sure – what do you have to lose?” and she was totally right. I came up with and bought the domain name on a whim that very night. Best impulse buy of my life!
I’ve never thought about how being anonymous impacts putting this blog out there. For safety reasons, obviously it makes it easier to be completely transparent about all my numbers, but even in my real life, if anyone asks to know my rent, salary or net worth, I tell them. It’s a taboo subject though so people rarely ask. But after thinking about it, I don’t think being anonymous helped me have the courage to press “publish”, but it does help me be completely open on here about my finances.
“Most and least favorite subjects to blog about? When has it been harder to get blog posts out weekly for you? Top blogging perk/disadvantage?”
Ms. Mod from Modest Millionaires comin’ in with the hard hitting questions! This was a tough one because I don’t really have most and least favorite things I blog about because if I don’t want to blog about something: I don’t π . Similarly, the way I choose what to post about each week is whatever I feel like writing about so I don’t really have a ‘favorite’ because every post is my favorite subject that week.Β
Despite the fact that it’s been 2 years of publishing consistently, it’s actually been 3 years since I starting blogging weekly and, in that time, it hasn’t been hard and that was by design. I decided in 2017 to see how often I wanted to write naturally and it turned out to be once a week, so that’s what my official posting schedule here became. Similar to my budget, it was more reverse engineering instead of trying to force myself into a specific box.
The biggest blogging perk is definitely forever and always the community. You all are an amazing well of kindness, support and information that I had no idea could exist in the desert wasteland that is the internet π . The biggest disadvantage isn’t really a disadvantage, but the only frustration I have with blogging is when something on the tech side breaks. In those moments I finally agree with my partner that computer programmers like him deserve every dime of their super high salary π .
“How much of a role, financially or otherwise, did your blog play in your journey to attain financial freedom?”
This is from @entrapd. And um none π ? My amazing annual blogging profit since I took it public includes:
- 2018: -$117.09
- 2019: -$839.29
I monetized this blog in July of 2019, but also started spending more on it. I attended my first ever finance conference and paid for everything involved in that (business cards, hotel room, food etc). However, since I’m not attending that conference this year, I may actually be in the black for the first time, which is unexpected.
But to answer your question, if anything, this blog has financially been a detriment to my journey because it’s a money suck overall. Outside of financially, it’s been a wonderful motivation tool to help me stay on track and get wonderful new ideas from all of you!
“Do you have advice for starting/sticking with blogging?” & “What kept you motivated to keep blogging throughout the years?”
This is from @loser_wizard (fantastic name) and Money Fitness Journey respectively. Here’s my advice for starting and sticking to a blog:
- Remember why you’re doing this: I started my blog to record my journey for myself and because of that goal, I don’t really concern myself with whether or not other people are reading it. However, at times in the beginning, seeing metrics would make me forget ‘my reason’ so I would remind myself that I write for myself and it doesn’t matter if others are reading it. Metrics don’t actually matter to me so I need to focus on what’s important
- Ignore what you’re ‘supposed’ to do: The list of what bloggers are ‘supposed’ to do based on the articles I read when I started are overwhelming and when I tried to listen, I was scattered and lost sight of #1
- Ask for help: The tech side of blogging makes me hyperventilate so I wish I had reached out for help earlier instead of trying to figure out everything myself
As for motivation, that’s linked to “why are you doing this?” for me. I write this for my current and future self. Writing helps me clarify my thoughts and I love looking back to see what the hell I was thinking in the past π . That being my “why” is all the motivation I need since it isn’t based on any external validation.
However, taking this blog public HAS added to my motivation in that Tuesdays really are my favorite day of the week since I get to see what comments and thoughts you all leave on my posts. So now I have two reasons to continue: Myself and Y’all!
“Are you planning to keep a consistent blogging schedule in retirement?”
This comes from Becky at TwentyFree.co and @Raven4269. And HELL YEAH I am! I’ve promised to keep up my every Tuesday schedule for at least the first year of retirement so you will continue to see me posting these weekly ramblings until at least through September 2021!
Conclusion
And that’s a wrap! This became way longer than I intended (oops), but I had fun! I might make this an annual thing to see if my thoughts on blogging continue to evolve π . Thank you again for being here!
Do you have any other questions for me? Let me know in the comments!
Nice update. And cheers to at least one more year of APL! *chinks glass*
Thank you Claire! *clink!*
Thanks for doing this Q+A – it’s really fascinating to see what people ask you + what you answer. I also wanted to add a thank you for saying that your blog doesn’t make you money – often small bloggers can only read about people making 10k+ monthly from their blog and I think it’s quite detrimental to motivation + an honest outlook to how blogging is for lots of people!
Have a happy retirement!
Of course – so glad you enjoyed it! And I’m all about that transparency so happy to provide an example of one of the millions of blogs that don’t make money π . Thank you!
*gasp*. As soon as I (unexpectedly) saw my fantastic name get mentioned I got goosebumps. And that was shortly after reading how you kept a list of heartwarming praise, and the nerves of doing something new that you care about. In fact, I had to stop reading for a sec, because I felt seen.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I have def been caught up in metrics, and I often forget the “my” part and focus too much on someone else’s “y’all”.
Thanks for real.
Aww thank you for telling me that! I don’t think I’ve ever given someone goosebumps before π . And yeah put those metrics down and focus on your why – that’s helped me a lot. And anytime!
Great summary and Q&A, Purple. Thanks for sharing it.
We just got started in May blogging as we pulled the RE trigger during the pandemic (after hitting FI in 2018). As you said, it’s really been a way to just journal our internal thoughts and log what we’re up to. But even then, those occasional comments and social media mentions are heartening.
I’ve been really impressed with the personal finance community, and especially on Twitter, as well. People are friendly, helpful, and engaging.
I don’t think anyone has asked this particular type of question, but, have you had any genuinely *bad* experience within the community? That could be through comments you nuked, Twitter convos, etc. I mean something beyond writing criticism or the like.
I assume as you’ve gained a following and larger audience, some very minor number of negative nancies have snuck in. What’s been your experience?
PS: So far as being “in the red” on the blog costs, what’s been the biggest expense contributing to that in the last year or two?
Thank you Chris! So glad you joined PF Twitter and the blogosphere and congratulations on pulling the RE trigger!
I have had some bad experiences – rude comments, name calling, harassment etc, but they have been less than 1% of my interactions. Most have been absolutely wonderful! I’m a serious pessimist and before I went live I expected WAY more vitriol (this is not an invitation internet lol) so I’m pleasantly surprised by the relatively low amount of it.
The biggest cost last year was FinCon, which was about $1K. That’s money that’s staying in my pocket since I’m not going again though so I believe I’ll be in the black this year if nothing big comes up.
So glad to hear you’ll be blogging for another year (at least π). An annual AMA would be interesting as well, obviously people had a lot of questions for you this year, and it’s a good way to directly interact with your community!
Haha I’m happy about it too π . And you comment just makes me think “ENGAGEMENT! LIKES! BRAND AWARENESS!” aka buzzwords I hear at work. You make what I’m doing sound intentional…let’s go with that π .
Haha that’s not what I meant at all. I’m thinking that so much of blog consumption is passive, but AMAs give us (your readers) the chance to be more interactive and kind of collaborative! It’s a fun change of pace. π
Ahhh makes sense π .
I look forward to your posts every Tuesday, so I was beyond happy to read that you’re still planning on keeping it up for the first year of retirement!
Loved the Q&A–always fun to get a backstage glance!
Oh wow Torrie – thank you so much for telling me that! And yes – y’all can’t get rid of me that easily π . Glad you liked the Q&A – I think I’ll officially make it an annual thing.
Congrats on two years blogging! Glad to hear you will keep posting post-FI – I look forward to continuing to follow your adventures!
I love that someone asked about the blog contributing to FI. It seems to be the same thing I encountered with book writing. To really make money you have to follow a certain formula. I remember one author telling me all the things I would need to do to make a living as a novelist (in the indie sphere, anyway) and I said well then it just sounds like a job, and I already have one of those. It’s only interesting to me if I can write with true creativity – writing paint by numbers novels doesn’t sound at all interesting to me.
That said I pay a little attention to SEO; sometimes it’s a fun writing challenge to find a phrase that resonates with SEO and try to form a post around it that still fits my philosophy and says something I want it to say. But I only do that on maybe one post a month. So my numbers will always suffer because of it.
It’s one reason I read your blog every Tuesday – it’s authentic and in your voice, and always well written. You really come through in your writing, something I’m still trying to work on in opposition to the journalism I write every day for a living, of which I must be completely absent.
So, TL;DR, congrats on two years of public posting!
Woohoo – thank you! And yeah it seems like to be monetarily successful at many things you have to turn them into a job, which is cool…but obviously not what I want either π . All of that is why I’ve so far been opposed to writing a book myself.
Interesting on SEO – I’ve never thought of it as a fun writing challenge. I still gaze at the Google machine in confusion so I continue to ignore it haha. I’m going to see if I can guess which of your monthly posts is written for the Google gods π .
Oh wow that is so kind – THANK YOU! And I can imagine that’s hard to re-inject yourself into your writing when you’re used to doing the opposite, but I think you’re doing a great job at it!
two years down is a nice milestone. i’m glad for all you positive attention from this hobby. i’m happy to have the handful of loyal readers who comment every week too. if you don’t do it for the money you might as well make sure you’re still having fun with it and writing exactly what you enjoy. i think we’ve had enough of people dictating what we do at a thankless J.O.B.
Preach Freddy! I was surprised (and still am) about the positive attention, but also just love my weekly commenters (such as yourself!) so even if that outside stuff goes away I’m happy.
What a great accomplishment!!!
I had a question after your last post. Did you think about quitting a little earlier once you reached your FI goal of 500K?
I moved my retirement date up a bit. I was originally going to retire in January, but now it will be November, With my accumulated vacation leave, my last day will be September 18th. Less than 2 months to go.
Hope your move is going well.
Thank you so much! The thought of quitting earlier has of course crossed my mind π , but that’s why I make these plans and put them in stone when I’m thinking clearly and not on an emotional high or anything. So I’m sticking to the plan. It’s only 2 months – I got this π . Congratulations on your impending retirement – that’s so exciting!!! And thank you – the move is going haha.
Great article! And congratulations on achieving your goals and early to boot. I agree, having something that motivates you is a good way to keep your mind active. My husband and I started a blog just over a year ago so your story resonates with ours. Writing what you want to say, hoping people will like it, stressing out if anyone is reading it, etc. It can be nerve wracking.
I thoroughly your style and reading your articles. Again, way to go!!!
Thank you Debbie! I’m so happy you enjoyed it and congratulations on starting your blog a year ago – that’s an awesome milestone!
Great post. Will you “unmask” yourself once you quit your job? I hear you on the kids thing. People definitely shouldn’t have kids unless they really want them- I think it’s crazy when people say it’s “selfish” to not have kids. It’s your life! You do you! Just because we have different choices doesn’t mean that we are any better or worse as long as we aren’t causing harm.
Thank you Justine! I won’t unmask myself after I quit – I talk about why in the post below, but I might reveal my face after my partner quits in a few years. TBD. And yeah the “selfish” comment never made any sense to me. Completely agree!
https://apurplelife.com/2019/12/10/should-i-reveal-my-identity-online/
Happy two years!!
I’m glad you went public, it’s been so fun following your journey in addition to chatting on Twitter now and again.
And I’m doubly glad you aren’t planning to ditch the blog when you ride off into the retirement sunset. There aren’t enough good PF blogs that just speak a truth and tell a story anymore. Here’s to more happy writing years!
Thank you so much!! And haha I’m happy to provide my (increasingly unrelatable) thoughts into retirement – we’ll see how that goes π .
Congratulations! Your blog is great because you have a unique voice and it’s authentic. Good luck with side hustling. Any income helps a ton after RE.
Thank you!! That’s so kind of you to say. And yes – accidentally making money is already happening and without the expense of FinCon this year it might even be like 10% of my (relatively low) budget, which sounds ridiculous to me π .
Happy anniversary! How exciting to hit 2 years old — I feel like you’re older b/c your blog seems so familiar, as you’re so prolific. I love the Q&A format. I hear you about wanting to travel — we specifically earmarked our empty nest phase for travel and specifically international. Oh well, at least we are healthy and with family.
Thank you Caroline! And prolific oh myyy – that’s so kind of you to say! And yep healthy and (soon to be) with family is all I can ask for. Travel to come later π .
Thank you for answering the kid question, I was thrilled to see your response!
I am kid free as well, but it was a little more difficult to arrive at the decision because I was curious about both lifestyles, one with and one without kids.
Alas, curiosity was not enough to push me to choose the parent lifestyle. The decision making time period was difficult though.
The deal breaker for me was choosing freedom/flexibility over the opportunity to parent a child.
Thank you for providing your perspective!
Hi Nicki – Of course! I’m sorry the decision making period was difficult for you, but it sounds like you decided what you think is best for you in the end, which is awesome π .
Congratulations on your blog anniversary and achieving your FIRE number! What a week you have had! Count me among those who are glad you will continue blogging.
Thank you so much and haha yeah putting it like that + becoming a nomad makes me think this has been a wild week indeed! And yay – there’s at least two of us then π .
Hi! Long time lurker π Loved that youβre taking time to reflect and refocus! I guess my question is will you convert your current jobβs 401k when you leave into an IRA or leave it there?
Hi Lauren – Thank you so much for your comment! I really appreciate it – especially since lurking is my default mode π . And yeah I rollover all my company 401ks as soon as I leave a job. I don’t want any connection to them haha and find it easier to manage in one place.
Thank you so much for the on the nose feedback! I manned up and am rolling over my old 401k π
Of course and nice! Good luck π