Cheers To 7 Years Of A Purple Life!

by A Purple Life, posted in Blogging, Hobbies

I’m still here! It’s been 7 years since I took this blog public, which is almost twice as long as I’ve ever held one job. This is by far my longest running hobby and in that time, I’ve published a post at least every Tuesday. I never thought I would be able to keep up that kind of consistency despite everything life throws at us. So let’s celebrate!

I’m going to go through the highlights of my year blog-wise, some cool opportunities I’ve had, some I’ve declined and generally, what’s been going on behind the scenes around here. Some of these things I’ve mentioned in my monthly updates, but I find it helpful to put everything in one place, so that’s what I’m doing today 🙂 .

I’ve done something similar in past years and those posts are here if you’re interested:

So let’s get into it!

Blog Highlights

Here are some of my favorite things that happened this past year because of the blog.

Meet Ups

The trend of meeting up with readers around the world continues. In the last year I’ve hung out with:

  • 5 readers and 2 bloggers in Montréal🇨🇦
  • 3 readers in Zürich🇨🇭
  • 6 readers in Amsterdam🇳🇱
  • 2 readers in Auckland🇳🇿
  • 1 reader in Tokyo🇯🇵
  • 3 readers and 3 bloggers in Seattle, WA🇺🇸

I continue to be in awe that y’all read my writing and care enough to reach out when you see I’ll be in your area so we can grab a coffee. It’s always great to match a face to a username.

Things That Warmed My Heart

I am always pleasantly surprised when people reach out to me to tell me that I’ve helped them in some way. When I was working, I would keep a folder of kind words that people emailed me to help combat the inevitable negative things that would happen. This helped me to remember my worth after, for example, getting yelled at by one asshole who doesn’t even do his job (yes, ad agencies can suck a lot 🙂 ).

So when I started this blog I did the same thing – I kept a folder of kind words to combat the inevitable trolls the internet holds and it’s been very helpful to keep me grounded and remember why I’m doing this and that I’m making a positive impact on the world (my main goal 🙂 ).

This year I wanted to share a few of those kind words with y’all, not just in writing, but anonymized screenshots to commemorate a few messages people have sent me during this last year of the blog.

If my words or financial transparency have helped you, feel free to tell me here in the comments, an Insta DM or over email (purple [at] apurplelife.com). I value each of those messages so much and they keep me going whenever I doubt if I should keep writing or if this silly blog is helping anyone as intended.

But regardless, thank you for being here 🙂 . Here are some messages from y’all that warmed my heart this year.

Retirement

  • 6 people messaged me saying that they retired early this year!!!!!! I’m honored to have been a small part of y’alls journey 🙂 .

  • I also got a note that one reader retired about the same time as I did and thinks of us as “retirement buddies.” I love it 🙂
  • Lately a few people have also been reaching out because they’ve reached their FIRE number and said I was a part of giving them confidence in their journey, which was so exciting!!!
  • Another woman mentioned that they hit $500,000 net worth recently!!

  • One person said my posts help keep them motivated and they recently surpassed 50% of their FIRE goal – amazing!

Finances

  • Several people messaged me this year to share their money wins because they don’t having anyone to share with in their offline life. I’m truly honored and love how this online financial community can provide support like that

  • A couple messaged me saying they had a mantra when packing up, moving across the country and changing their financial lives and it was “If Purple Can, We Can To!” Absolutely you can 🙂 !
  • One reader mentioned that watching my financial journey has inspired them to start investing in index funds
  • In general hearing that I provide motivation or inspiration for people to improve their finances is all I’ve ever hoped for.

BIPOC Representation

  • Basically, this:

  • I’ve also virtually met several black female millionaires who anonymously shared their net worth with me. I had no idea there were so many of us 🙂
  • In addition to that, it makes me so happy to hear that me sharing my financial journey has provided a (seemingly rare) example of index funds and investing working for BIPOC folks:

Hobbies

  • A few readers mentioned that they started running because of me and one even completed a 5K!
  • One reader mentioned that they are going to the Spanish school I went to in Mérida, México (La Calle) to do the same intensive Spanish course that I did. Wow!
  • Another reader mentioned that they are learning Spanish because of my posts, which is so cool to hear.

Reviews

I’ve been writing a lot more reviews on this blog in the last few years because I like to share when I’ve found something awesome. Originally I was worried that this might be annoying or pushy, but luckily y’all seem to have taken these posts as they are – just me sharing something I really love – and have shown appreciation for that.

Anti-Influencing

Also I guess I’m an anti-influencer lol:

Press

In the last year I was featured in 3 media articles. Check them out here:

These were all with CNBC. I was surprised to hear that this journalist still wanted to interview me after I said that I am anon online. Usually with major publications that’s where our discussions end, but no. She was super kind and figured out how we could make it work while confirming every part of my story was accurate.

Podcasts & Interviews

This year I was interviewed for a live Q&A for the Women’s Personal Finance Insiders Group, which was a fun time. I was also asked to be a guest on a podcast – Fit Rich Life:

And was invited to speak to an investing group and about 85 people attended live to hear me speak, which was cool!

Declined Opportunities

This is a summary of the wild west that is my email inbox. I like to write down the most memorable of these requests to see what each year brings, any trends that emerge and also just to remember the ridiculous stuff that happened since a lot of it is in my Trash folder and out of my mind now.

I declined some cool things, such as:

  • I was asked to speak at the next EconoMe Conference, which was very flattering, but I was going to be in Japan and I’m currently still anonymous so giving a speech in front of 500 people might not be the move 😉
  • I was also asked to be on the Plutus Awards Panel, but declined. This deep in retirement I’m barely on the internet, definitely not enough to know who should win awards in the personal finance content space. It was an honor to be asked though!
  • This year, a lot of people asked me if I offer coaching for a fee. I don’t and told them as much. That just sounds way too much like a job to me 🙂
  • A few people also asked if I do travel hacking consulting for a fee, which I also don’t do, but once again it was an honor to be asked

I also declined some not so cool things, including:

  • A company wanting me to shill precious metals
  • Someone asking me to review a book about stock picking (I’m index funds for life)
  • A hair brand with the tagline “Discover the ancient Chinese beauty secret for healthy, lustrous hair!” Yikes
  • A life insurance company
  • A retreat for my followers (I enjoy hanging out with y’all, but this would be a paid thing and I prefer our interactions to be free 😉 )
  • A CPA referral program (for a CPA I’ve never used…)
  • Asking me to promote teeth whitening strips
  • Asking me to be a live fashion seller
  • An overpriced sunglasses company (I’m a Zenni girl for life)
  • A tampon company (period cups or bust 😉 …)
  • A financial influencer marketing agency
  • A Sacramento ghost tour (now that is NICHE 🙂 )

Companies also tried to tempt me with money, such as:

  • A company who uses influencers instead of a real estate company to sell their property that then gives the influencer the commission, which would be $48,000
  • Offering me $2,000 to post 4 Insta stories about an alcohol brand
  • A company offered me $500 to post on my socials about a homeowner pest fence spray (literally, what in the world?)
  • An affiliate company for wellness retreats offered a 75% commission ($200-$400 per sale) to promote a yoga retreat in México, which wild to me because I don’t recommend things I haven’t personally done with my own money and loved so it’s just a bit ridiculous someone would ask me to recommend something I haven’t done that’s in ANOTHER country for such a high percentage of the cost

I was also inundated with AI garbage people wanted me to sell, such as:

  • Blogging with AI (Ew. And they said I’d make $2,000 per person that signs up. Super sus 🙂 )
  • An AI powered Finance App
  • An AI Financial Affiliate Network
  • An AI Travel Agent integrated into my website (wow – absolutely not)

All Posts

Here are all the posts I wrote in the last year organized by topic. I was a bit all over the place, but that’s my favorite place to be 🙂 .

Settling Down

Early Retirement

Finances

Monthly Recaps

Travel

Slow Travel Reviews

Travel Reviews

Flight Reviews

Medical Tourism

Reviews

Hobbies

Writing

Guest Posts

Annual Posts

Conclusion

So that’s the last year of the blog in a nutshell – 7 years of posting here every Tuesday. Wow! I’m still enjoying writing on here and recording my travels, experiments and experiences so I’m going to keep it up!

I’m excited to see what the next year of blogging holds. I suspect I’ll continue wondering if this is actually a finance blog while talking more about random things…and then continue writing whatever I want 😉 . Thank you for being here!

34 thoughts on “Cheers To 7 Years Of A Purple Life!”

    1. Haha I might consider going on one the next time I’m in the city, but I don’t recommend things that I haven’t done myself so promoting it on the blog before going isn’t going to happen, which is what the company was asking for 🙂 . And thank you!

      Reply

  3. I retired last year. Although my husband and I aren’t traveling the world the way you did, we did spend the first 9 months of my retirement in Panama, and I used so many of your travel posts as inspiration for how to make that transition. Thank you!

    I’ve said this elsewhere, but Tuesday mornings have become my favorite morning to read my blog roll because I know you’ll have a new post for me to read.

    Reply

    1. Congratulations! And that sounds amazing – Panama is on my list to visit. So far I’ve only been to the airport 🙂 . And I’m so happy to hear my travel posts were helpful with that transition!

      And oh wow – that’s always amazing to hear. Thank you so much for telling me that!

      Reply

  4. Congrats, Purple! I’ve been reading you for over 5 years. I think the reason you’re so relatable is because you don’t try to earn a commission off your blog and focus on just being you. (And you weren’t some overpaid tech bro who retired after making stupid $$ 😁). Hope to be a reader for many years to come!

    Reply

    1. Haha all fair points – one of the things I love about FIRE is that money doesn’t have to be a consideration anymore, even for a fairly expensive hobby. Thank you for reading!

      Reply

  5. Um I’ve been reading since I started my journey and gone back and read your private articles MULTIPLE TIMES.

    You showed me FIRE was possible with 500k. And I was tracking right along with you. Discovering you were brown made it seem all the more relatable.

    Your confidence in your plan is what stuck out the most!!!!

    Reply

    1. Haha nice! And that’s awesome 🙂 . Also I’m glad my confidence came through – I tried to be very transparent about what I was trying to do and that I’m not an expert and it might not work, but also lay out my backup plans. My only ‘job’ in retirment is to make sure I keep being retired so I’m pretty confident I can do that 🙂 .

      Reply

    1. Thank you so much! That’s really nice to hear. And I’m curious what the next year will bring too lol.

      Reply

  7. This one was creative, I liked it!! Also I second that “never stop blogging, even if you have to reduce the frequency” comment. Thanks again for the Insight Timer rec, I just hit my 106 day streak today haha.

    Reply

    1. Yay! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂 . And sounds good – I’ll try not to just go dark one day 🙂 . I’m so glad you’re still enjoying Insight Timer – that’s an amazing streak!

      Reply

  8. Congratulations! Writing this blog with the consistency that you have says a lot about you. Not too many people can say that they’ve actually made a difference in thousands of people’s lives. Because you’ve taken the time to share your journey, I am financially independent and retired “early” at 51.

    Also, I was surprised that you included one of my previous comments in today’s entry. I only decided to come out of the shadows and finally comment (after years of reading your blog), because I wanted you to know how much of an impact that you’ve had on so many of “us'”.

    Thank you.

    Reply

    1. Thank you and that’s amazing!!! 51 is definitely early 🙂 . Your previous comment warmed my heart so much that I had share – thank you for sending it. I really appreciate it.

      Reply

  9. Been following Purple since 2020 and I’m so grateful to have discovered this blog. What a journey. I constantly assess my FI number but I can’t figure it out because my costs constantly change. I was working part time and travelling the last 7 months, staying with family, and randomly I applied for a job a month ago and had my first day today. Suddenly I jumped back into the corporate world. I just feel the need to pad my savings, but I can’t imagine doing this tied-to-a-desk-thing again for that long. What you have done taking the leap and managing a budget is hard. It’s hard. It’s a big deal to accomplish what you have, staying disciplined and being courageous. I need to take the leap soon. Thank you. Keep blogging.

    Reply

    1. Thank you for being here! As for costs, I like to take an average over a year period where I’m doing something similar (traveling full-time or living in one place) to figure out how much that lifestyle costs for me, but yeah it’s challenging when things are constantly changing.

      Congratulations on your new job and being able to pad your savings. Thank you for your kind words.

      Reply

  10. As one of those who met you in Amsterdam: it was great to meet you in person. And I really enjoy your weekly updates and find out what you’ve been up to. Here’s to many more!

    Reply

    1. It was great to meet you too! And I’m so glad you enjoy the blog. Thank you for being here 🙂

      Reply

  11. Hi Purple, I also want to come out of the lurk and congratulate you on seven years of blogging! I also thank you for the inspiration. It’s so interesting reading about the life of someone living ‘to the beat of a different drummer’; I find your monthly stays in places so interesting. I’ve recommended your blog to many people and love reading it myself. Thank you so much for your hard, consistent work.

    Reply

  12. Take another look at the screenshot in the BIPOC Representation of this article – I think you forgot some anonymization

    Reply

  13. Congrats on 7 Years of blogging! What a great accomplishment. I enjoy reading along, so I hope you continue for lots more years to come.

    Reply

  14. Congratulations on lucky number seven!

    I think I’ve said this before, but I respect the transparency of listing the offers you turned down. I’m old enough to remember when artists and other creative types got in trouble for “selling out” to big brands.

    It seems like sentiments have changed. Nowadays, when I see someone I follow on social media doing sponsored posts, people are more likely to congratulate them for getting popular enough to attract advertisers’ interest.

    I don’t think anyone would blame you if you leveraged your fame to rake in that sweet cash. But it’s proof of your authenticity that you haven’t done it.

    Reply

    1. Thank you! If it’s not something I would have done for free (e.g. shouting out a product I love) I don’t do it. I feel a lot of freedom from doing this for fun instead of to try and feed myself/pay my rent and am always grateful I have that kind of money freedom and can make that choice easily.

      Reply

  15. Ok I left a comment earlier, but it must have failed. Just wanted to say how grateful i am for your blog and all the detail you have shared and your consistency. Thanks, Purple, for 7 great years!

    Reply

    1. I’m sorry your comment didn’t go through – I looked around and am not sure why that happened, but I’ll look into it further. Thank you so much for your kind words – I really appreciate it!

      Reply

  17. I’m thrilled to see you’re still at it. Your blog popped in my mind, so I googled and was pleasantly surprised to see current content. So many people stop posting after a few years. I read you back in 2015 & 2016, I think I found you from the MMM forum and distinctly remember your “Last Day of Work, First Day of Funemployment” post from July 2015. Am so pleased to see that it has all worked out for you.

    Reply

    1. Thank you David! I’m still having a blast here so I’ll keep writing until that’s no longer the case 🙂 . Thank you for checking in!

      Reply

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