With $540,000 in the bank and no regrets, I retired at 30. Here are 3 moves that helped me achieve that goal.

In 2013, when Purple first learned about the FIRE movement from her partner, she was not convinced.

"I said, 'I don't understand why I would want to retire early when I have so much time to fill. I need to find my dream job first.'"

In October 2020, Purple retired at the age of 30 with $540,000 in savings, according to CNBC Make It. She maintains her privacy online and in the media by going by Purple.

In 2015, she revisited the FIRE idea and started calculating after not finding satisfaction in her dream job from 2014.

If she could increase her income and decrease her expenses, she could achieve her goal of retiring in 10 years, five years ahead of schedule.

She's skilled at doing nothing and relaxing while discovering new random hobbies, she claims.

If Purple had embraced FIRE when her partner first introduced it to her, she wouldn't have any regrets in retirement. However, her partner reached his FIRE number of $777,000 in November 2023, but he plans to continue working for a few more years to help support his loved ones.

To retire early, Purple made three major moves.

1. Job-hopping to maximize her income

Purple was making $48,000 a year in advertising in New York City, but she was virtually broke after rent. To increase her income, she decided to job-hop.

She claims that job-hopping is the only way she has been able to obtain substantial raises and promotions.

Early in her career, Purple discovered that being blindly loyal to a company doesn't always result in a raise or promotion. Consequently, she became comfortable leaving jobs and companies that didn't meet her financial or psychological requirements.

Purple's mindset paid off, resulting in a salary increase of over $100,000 by the time she retired in 2020.

2. Cutting her spending

Moving from New York to Seattle in 2015 drastically reduced Purple's cost of living, allowing her to stack her savings. In Seattle, "they pay Manhattan salaries, but the cost of living is about half of New York City," she says.

Purple initially believed it would take 10 years to save enough for retirement, but after recalculating her goal with lower living expenses and a higher salary, she determined she could retire in just five years.

In her final year in New York, Purple earned $68,000 and spent approximately $30,000 on living costs, while also saving money in her 401(k), individual retirement account, and cash savings. In her first year in Seattle, Purple secured an $85,000 salary and reduced her annual spending to around $22,500.

Despite anticipating significant reductions in her budget, Purple was able to maintain her lifestyle without making drastic changes.

Purple, who works in advertising, observed many of her colleagues spending large amounts of money on clothing, makeup, and designer labels. Inspired by her peers, she began to follow suit. However, she soon realized that none of these purchases brought her true happiness, so she stopped.

Purple confesses to spending extravagantly on items that bring her immense joy.

She prioritizes travel and is willing to fly first-class, but when possible, she uses travel hacking to save money on flights and hotels by taking advantage of credit card rewards offers.

She states that if she can obtain something costly at a lower price, she will do so.

3. Investing early and often

Her mother's late retirement despite not starting to contribute to her retirement investments until age 40 taught Purple the significance of investing, she claims.

Purple's mother advised her to join her company's 401(k) plan at her first job after college in 2011, even though she wasn't making much money. Since Purple didn't have any debt, including student loans, she was able to focus on saving. Although her initial contributions were small, starting early gave Purple the advantage that would eventually enable her to retire at 30.

Starting early allows Purple to benefit from compounding interest, which results in exponential growth of the investment. By starting at age 25 and contributing $100 per month with an 8% annual return, Purple's portfolio will grow to over $350,000 by 65. However, if Purple waits until age 35 to begin investing, the portfolio will only reach approximately $150,000 at 65.

By 2014, she had accumulated approximately $22,500 in her 401(k) and over $17,000 in cash savings. In 2015, she began contributing to an IRA and consistently maximized her contributions from that year onwards.

By consistently maximizing her contributions to her 401(k) and IRA each year, Purple was able to achieve a net worth of $100,000 in early 2016 and $500,000 in savings by July 2020.

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