Welcome to LiveFrugaLee, a personal finance, financial independence, real estate, and travel blog.
I started this blog in February 2016 as a way to learn about blogging and to track progress on some financial goals.
I set a goal to pay off the mortgage on my condo (sold it in 2019) and to have a net worth of $1M by 2020. In 2021, we hit a $1M net worth. In 2022, we paid off the mortgage on our single-family home (and sold off all our other properties). I’m hoping that we can hit financial independence (FI) by 2025, when I turn 40.
If you want to know more about why I’m pursuing financial independence, you can find out here: Why FI? (Financial independence, that is).
The purpose of this blog is to connect with others, explore personal finance concepts, foster discussion, and inspire others to better manage their personal finances.
ABOUT ME
I was born and raised in Rhode Island, the smallest state in the U.S. with the longest official name (look it up). I grew up in eastern Cranston, a suburb of Providence. I have a B.S. in chemical engineering from Brown University.
After graduating in 2007, my first two positions took me out to Missouri and Kansas. I eventually moved to Virginia in October 2008 and have been living here since. I got married in 2012. We have 2 boys and a girl.
I work as a patent examiner at the USPTO (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office). I have also been a licensed realtor since 2013 and practice real estate as part of The K Group of Samson Properties. I have done a few other side hustles including working as a server at Uncle Julio’s Fairfax Corner and driving for Uber and Lyft. I’ve since dropped these side hustles to spend more time with my family and work on my real estate business. I also became a travel agent with Fairy Godmother travel in 2024.
In my spare time, I enjoy running, playing tennis, table tennis, softball, hiking, and spending time with my family and friends.
Thanks for the comment. If we do reach financial independence, I’ll definitely still keep myself busy, but my days will probably look very different. I may still keep working at the patent office on a part-time basis. I would love to spend more time on this blog, especially the NoVA Fun series, which would involve going to different parks, museums, etc. with my family, taking pictures, and blogging about the experience. I think experiences make people more happy than the accumulation of stuff, but it’s hard to really get ourselves to believe that when we’re bombarded by messages and advertisements every day telling us what we “need” to buy to be happy.
Hi Frugalee… I came to say hello from CFO Mom. I’ll look forward to reading through your archives. You can read about our journey to paying off our mortgage at https://healthfulsaver.com/2013/08/14/getting-out-of-debt-part-4-inspiration-strikes/
Jen@ Healthfulsaver
Wow! Congrats on getting your mortgage paid off so fast. Reading through your blog now, and it’s quite inspiring. Thanks for the follow!