Afford Anything

  • Start Here
    • About
    • Team Afford Anything
    • Media
    • Questions?
  • Blog
    • Binge
  • Podcast
    • Binge
    • Sponsors
    • Ask a Question
    • Guest Guidelines
  • Community
  • TV
  • Explore
    • Your First Rental Property
    • Travel
    • Start a Blog
    • Earn Extra Income

July 9, 2018By Paula Pant

#139: How I Save Half of My Income as a Firefighter, While Living in an Expensive City — with Kim E.

Five years ago, at age 29, Kim E. started her first professional, salaried full-time job, working as a firefighter for the City of Austin, Texas. She received a starting salary of $42,000.

Today, five years later, she has saved:

  • one year’s salary ($40,000) in an emergency fund
  • one year’s salary ($42,000) in a workplace retirement fund
  • more than half a year’s salary ($27,500) in a Roth IRA

She also paid off her student loans ($10,000), paid off her car loan (roughly around $16,000-ish), and contributed to an H.S.A. account ($6,000, half of which came from an employer match.) Oh yeah, and she also bought and renovated a rental property.

Translation? Kim has saved (or repaid debt of) $141,500 within five years, as a firefighter with a starting salary of $42,000, excluding the additional money she’s invested into her rental.

She’s saved more than 3x her starting salary, within her first five years on the job.

And she’s done this while earning a middle-class public service salary in an expensive city.

Wowza.

How is Kim saving half of her firefighter salary? And before she became a firefighter, what other frugal tactics did she develop? How did she put herself through four years of college with less than $10,000 in debt? How did she travel before college, when she used to earn $10 per hour? Where does her resourcefulness and motivation come from? And what wisdom can she share with others?

Find out in today’s episode.

Resources Mentioned:

  • The Anti-Budget
  • 10-Year-I-Don’t-Have-A-Job-Aversary
  • Bluehost: Start a blog or website for less than $3 per month


listen to afford anything on itunessubscribe on android afford anything

 


Thanks to our sponsors!

ZipRecruiter

ZipRecruiter learns what you’re looking for, identifies people with the right experience, and invites them to apply to your job. In fact, 80% of employers who post a job on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate through the site in just one day. Give it a try and post your job listing for free by going to ZipRecruiter.com/Afford.


Simple Contacts

Simple Contacts is a super easy way to renew your contact lens prescription – you can reorder your brand of contacts from anywhere in minutes. You take a 5-minute vision test from your phone or computer, the results get reviewed by a licensed doctor, and you receive a renewed 1-year prescription. Get $20 off your order by going to simplecontacts.com/paula!


Freshbooks

Save time by using Freshbooks, an easy-to-use, cloud-based accounting system that takes the stress and hassle out of bookkeeping and, especially, invoicing. You can create an invoice in a few seconds, and Freshbooks’ automated system will handle the rest. Visit Freshbooks.com/paula for a free 30-day trial. Please mention this show when they ask how you heard about them.


Blue Apron

Do you spend more money at restaurants (or ordering take-out) than you’d like? If so, check out Blue Apron. For less than $10 per person per meal, Blue Apron delivers seasonal recipes along with pre-portioned ingredients to make delicious, home-cooked meals. Give them a try and get 3 meals FREE at BlueApron.com/afford.

Tweet
Pin1
Share10
Tweet
Pin1
Share10
#140: Ask Paula - Should I Buy a Rental Property with an HOA?
Next Newer Episode »
#138: How to Create an Authentic Life
Next Older Episode »

Posted in: Episodes, Personal Finance 101

5 Comments
Leave a Comment
  1. Taylor D

    # July 10, 2018 at 12:31 pm

    I’d love to know more about how Kim pre-paid her PMI all at once!

    Reply ↓
  2. simple dimple

    # July 16, 2018 at 4:38 pm

    She reminds me of my younger self. Somehow I lost my drive to keep it all simple!! The other thing is that her living style of having many room mates doesn’t work for introverts. I used to love it but now that I’m 40 my desire for privacy is more powerful than my desire to live cheaply. It’s annoying.

    it always seems like the extrovert go getter types have all the success!

    Reply ↓
  3. Rick Potter

    # July 21, 2018 at 11:37 am

    Wow truly inspiring. Kim’s story of a life well spent. I identified with her values and the energy she has put into her life experiences. You only get so much time in a lifetime. She has had the courage invest her time in interesting and challenging ways..

    Reply ↓

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Binge
  • Questions?
  • Contact
Join 60,000+ subscribers who get free email updates.

© 2020 Afford Anything. Designed By Wilnau Design. Built by Zach Swinehart. Disclosure

© Copyright 2011 – 2021 Afford Anything. All Rights Reserved.

Website by Zach Swinehart.

  • Start Here
    • About
    • Team Afford Anything
    • Media
    • Questions?
  • Blog
    • Binge
  • Podcast
    • Binge
    • Sponsors
    • Ask a Question
    • Guest Guidelines
  • Community
  • TV
  • Explore
    • Your First Rental Property
    • Travel
    • Start a Blog
    • Earn Extra Income

Afford Anything

  • Start Here
    • About
    • Team Afford Anything
    • Media
    • Questions?
  • Blog
    • Binge
  • Podcast
    • Binge
    • Sponsors
    • Ask a Question
    • Guest Guidelines
  • Community
  • TV
  • Explore
    • Your First Rental Property
    • Travel
    • Start a Blog
    • Earn Extra Income