Category: Finance

My Life Goal Is Contentment, Not Happiness

by A Purple Life, posted in Early Retirement, Finance, Musings

Don’t freak out – it’s a good thing I promise 🙂 . I recently read The Art Of Spending by Morgan Housel. I enjoyed one of his previous books, The Psychology of Money, but since I’m a finance nerd, I didn’t find any of those ideas groundbreaking. 

However, I did find The Art Of Spending very interesting and insightful because it dove into a lot of tangentially related topics that I’ve been contemplating most of my life. It put into clear and concise phrases things I’ve thought for a long time and several things that completely dictate how I live my life. For almost a decade my life goal has been to be content, not happy. Continue reading “My Life Goal Is Contentment, Not Happiness” →

Review: TransPennine Express Train from Liverpool, England to Edinburgh, Scotland

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Spending, Travel, Travel Reviews

Like I mentioned in my other recent train reviews, before I reserve travel with a new company to trek across a country, state or city, I always look for detailed reviews of their service to know what I’m getting into and set expectations. However,  I often find that these kinds of detailed reviews don’t exist.

There are general travel reviews, but I prefer to know the nitty gritty so I can mentally prepare for what I’m about to do and hopefully not make additional mistakes that traveling in another country can easily result in.

So this was my experience using a TransPennine Express Train to travel from Liverpool, England to Edinburgh, Scotland in the summer of 2025. Let’s see how it went 🙂 . Continue reading “Review: TransPennine Express Train from Liverpool, England to Edinburgh, Scotland” →

The Month Of Home: March 2026 Recap

by A Purple Life, posted in Blogging, Early Retirement, Early Retirement Updates, Film, Finance, Fitness, Food, Hobbies, Keto, Net Worth Update

I’m writing this while looking at the rushing river outside my apartment. Snow is finally starting to melt in Upstate NY and as a result the river is going wild. 

Somehow 2026 is 1/4 over and I’m still not used to saying “2026.” Absolutely madness 🙂 . So let’s see what I got up to in March!

Continue reading “The Month Of Home: March 2026 Recap” →

My Curly Hair Routine: Products, Tips and Revelations

by A Purple Life, posted in Finance, Hobbies, Spending

After a year of experimentation, I’m here to tell y’all about my curly hair routine. I ended up testing a lot of different products and unfortunately wasting a bit of money for science, but it was worth it to find out what works best for my curly hair. So let’s get into it! Continue reading “My Curly Hair Routine: Products, Tips and Revelations” →

Review: Avanti West Coast Train from London to Liverpool, England

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Spending, Travel, Travel Reviews

Like I mentioned in my National Express Bus review, before I reserve travel with a new company to trek across a country, state or city, I always look for detailed reviews of a travel company’s service to know what I’m getting into and set expectations. However,  I often find that these kinds of detailed reviews don’t exist.

There are general travel reviews, but I prefer to know the nitty gritty so I can mentally prepare for what I’m about to do and hopefully not make additional mistakes that traveling in another country can easily result in.

So this was my experience riding an Avanti West Coast train for the first time to travel from London to Liverpool, England in the summer of 2025. Let’s see how it went 🙂 . Continue reading “Review: Avanti West Coast Train from London to Liverpool, England” →

Slow Travel Review: Iceland – The Land Of Fire And Ice

by A Purple Life, posted in Budget Check-In, Finance, Food, Reviews, Slow Travel Reviews, Spending, Travel, Travel Reviews

So I don’t usually write a Slow Travel Review unless I’ve lived in a place for at least a month (hence the “slow” part”), but I’ve now visited Iceland for a total of two weeks across 2024 and 2025 and I have to talk about it. I love Iceland so much that I gush about it to anyone who will listen and today I’ll do a deep dive into why. 

Continue reading “Slow Travel Review: Iceland – The Land Of Fire And Ice” →

The Best Carry-On Luggage: The Travelpro Platinum Elite Collection

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Spending, Travel

I’m about to wax poetic about a piece of luggage of all things, but that’s what I want to do today so strap in! After 5 years of using a $21 40L Foldable Backpack and a free Vanguard Tote, I upgraded my travel luggage. Why? Several not fun reasons 🙂 – basically: Old age, injuries and jealously🤣. Continue reading “The Best Carry-On Luggage: The Travelpro Platinum Elite Collection” →