Category: Jobs

16 Months To Retirement: Discovering Cracks In My Favorite Company

by A Purple Life, posted in Countdown To Retirement, Early Retirement, Jobs

This is a continuation of my monthly series that records what’s happening in my final stretch to early retirement. If you’re interested in previous posts, they’re here.

Let’s start with a quote from the documentary The Dark Knight:

“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” 

This quote from Batman popped into my head not referring to myself becoming a villain (or am I?!), but in reference to recent discoveries I’ve made about my current company. I’ve been at my job for a shocking (for me) 2.5 years. My longest stint previously was 1 year and 11 months at one company though I had two completely different jobs during that time. Continue reading “16 Months To Retirement: Discovering Cracks In My Favorite Company” →

How Blogging Helped Me Appreciate My Profession

by A Purple Life, posted in Blogging, Hobbies, Jobs, Musings

When I started working in ad agencies right out of college, I believed that their goal was to help get the word out about awesome products. How adorable. How naive. After attending my first focus group and seeing the kind of psychological information our clients wanted to incorporate into our campaigns, I learned 2 hard lessons: 1. the products aren’t always awesome and 2. the goal is to SELL, SELL, SELL (despite point #1). Continue reading “How Blogging Helped Me Appreciate My Profession” →

How I Made Six Figures By 27

by A Purple Life, posted in Finance, Jobs

My Mom spent her 30 year career working for giant companies – big conglomerates that are household names. They had a strict dress code: heels, pantyhose, and stuffy suits. I would see her come home every day, instantly change her clothes and breathe a sigh of relief. Continue reading “How I Made Six Figures By 27” →

My 2018 Financial Recap

by A Purple Life, posted in Budget Check-In, Early Retirement, Finance, Investing, Jobs, Net Worth Update, Spending

Also known as every dollar I didn’t spend in 2018! One year ago I declared the following monetary goals for 2018:

  • Max my 401K ($18,500)
  • Max a Roth IRA ($5,500)
  • Overall invest $65,000
  • Decrease my spending officially to $18,360 ($18,000 + 2% inflation)

Continue reading “My 2018 Financial Recap” →

Beating Impatience In The Final Stretch To Retirement

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

I’m a little over 4 years into my early retirement journey. I have less than 2 years to go and I’ve found myself becoming impatient lately…which then leads me to mentally berate myself. I have 2 years left instead of 39. That’s amazing and something to celebrate! But alas, my heart doesn’t feel it. Continue reading “Beating Impatience In The Final Stretch To Retirement” →

How To Thrive While Working From Home

by A Purple Life, posted in Jobs, Musings

I received an email from the wonderful Ms. Mod over at Modest Millionaires asking for any advice I could provide about transitioning to remote work. She is taking the leap soon, which is super exciting! After writing her a (probably too long) response, I realized these suggestions might be able to help others in a similar situation and so the idea for this post was born!  Continue reading “How To Thrive While Working From Home” →

How Pursuing FIRE Has Changed How I Act At Work

by A Purple Life, posted in Jobs, Musings

I was conditioned from a young age to defer to authority. “Don’t talk back” and “Because I said so” were common phrases uttered by parents in my house. You did what you were told or suffered consequences.

In high school, I was once again taught to listen to my authority figures without question. “No, deadlines are not negotiable”. “Yes you have to learn X despite it having no practical application to your life.” Continue reading “How Pursuing FIRE Has Changed How I Act At Work” →

My First 401(k) Match, An Updated Salary and Inching Closer to Early Retirement

by A Purple Life, posted in Finance, Investing, Jobs

Visiting the Oregon Coast for the first time on my 29th birthday. A great place to contemplate 401(k) matches!

It finally happened – 7 years out of college and I am finally getting my first 401k match! I’ve dreamed of this moment for so long (yes, I have weird dreams – deal with it). While working at all of my previous jobs, I never qualified for the 401(k) match (if they even had one). If they did have one, you were not eligible for it until you had been there 4 or so years, which is basically unheard of in ad agencies. Well played HR. Well played. Continue reading “My First 401(k) Match, An Updated Salary and Inching Closer to Early Retirement” →