I’m a woman of many dreams. I spend a lot of my time thinking about all the things I want to do, the places I want to see, the people I want to meet. (Oprah, top of the list.) Possibility is like a drug to me. In so many ways, my life is full of possibility.
I’m swimming in a lot of different privileges, which afford me chances most of the world will never get. The door is open to a lot of things, but it takes hard work and dedication to get through the door.
Well, here’s the big reveal y’all: I put in my month’s notice at my non profit. I’ve taken a few freelance projects on. I’m planning a huge project for this fall that could easily be a total disaster. I am making my attempt at my dream.
I’ve been blogging for a year and a half, and I feel like I’ve finally found my place. I love blogging. I like having my corner of the internet where I share my experiences, hopes, and failures with you. Even if no one came to read this place, I would still write here.
Furthermore, I love personal finance. I am enamored with our world. I feel empowered by personal finance and I enjoy learning more and more about it. Debt payoff is my jam, but bring on the mortgage articles. Bring on the dividend investing articles. Bring on passive oncome, frugal living, and how to make more money articles.
While I’ve wanted to write since forever, I chased after a few other types of writing before I found personal finance blogging. None of them stuck but the idea of writing- that was something I couldn’t quite shake. I am now in a place where I want to grow my writing and my voice. The pf blogosphere is my jumping off point. And baby, I’ve just taken the leap.
My last day of work at the non profit will be June 3rd. After that, it’s all writing all the time.
While my big picture dream is still to achieve FIRE, that’s been pushed back a bit. Right now I’m focused on creating a life that maybe I won’t want to retire from. (I definitely still will.) I believe pretty strongly there’s a cult of ‘do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life!’ out there, and I think it’s mostly BS. Even if you love what you’re doing, there are still bad days. There are still tasks that suck. You would probably still prefer the flexibility to do whatever you feel like at any given moment, rather than knowing you have to work.
Long term, I am working towards FIRE. To that end, I’ve maxed out my IRA this year and I have a savings account I’ll contribute to for the remainder of this year. I may use it to invest in some taxable accounts this year, I may use it to fund next years IRA. I’m not sure yet.
What I am sure of is that frugal living, and saving at a high rate is important to me. No matter what kind of job I’m working I’ll still practice those habits.
So as I am designing this new life of mine- one where I pour my energy into things I care about, things that I love- I’ll still be eating those leftovers. I’ll still be shopping at thrift stores, walking instead of driving, and making my coffee at home.
These are all aspects of life I like. In going after my dream I’m giving up the things I dislike. Things like splitting my time and attention across jobs I don’t care about. Things like putting dreams on hold. Those have got to go. Frugal living can definitely stay.
My dream isn’t changing. How I’m getting there is. My day to day is. It’s interesting to watch my life change, even as I’m the one changing it! It feels wonderful and gratifying to finally pursue a dream.
Kara Perez is the original founder of From Frugal To Free. She is a money expert, speaker and founder of Bravely Go, a feminist financial education company. Her work has been featured on NPR, Business Insider, Forbes, and Elite Daily.