Paula Pant, 39, from Boulder, Colorado, made the decision to quit her job which pays the equivalent of a £16,000 salary, and she’s now making over £400,000 a year.
She started her career as a local newspaper journalist and had to rely on side hustles to get by.
Within the space of three years, she was able to save $25,000 (£20,053.25) thanks to her frugal spending.
Speaking to CNBC, the journalist explained: “I did side hustles because I wasn’t making very much.
“I lived on the money that I made in my day job. Then every penny that I earned from freelance writing on the side: I saved.”
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Following this, Ms Pant decided to quit her job to travel the world which was a decision her friends and family were unhappy with in light of the recession at the time.
Ms Pant said “everyone told me I was crazy” and said she “would never get a job again”.
“When I was growing up, they didn’t ask what are you going to do when you grow up? They said, ‘Are you going to be a doctor or an engineer?’
“We (my family) had to come here because there were no economic opportunities in Nepal.
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“We had to come here because it was the only way to create a better life and so my parents really didn’t like the fact that I was taking excess risk.”
She went to countries where the exchange rate worked in her favour and returned to the States as a freelance writer living as cheaply as possible and working gig-to-gig.
At the time, her share of the rent she was paying with her then-boyfriend came to $200 (£160.48).
Becoming recognised as a personal finance writer, more job opportunities became available to her.
She added: “Once I had the security of knowing that I had an income of between $5,000 (£4,011.85) to $6,000 (£4,814.22) per month consistently, I transitioned from being a freelance writer to running a content management agency so then I started hiring writers.”
The personal finance expert founded the Afford Anything brand and podcast which helped grow her annual salary to $120,000 (£96,284.40) with her company bringing in around $500,000 (£401,185).
Her career involves helping people manage their finances which are based on the frugal lifestyle she adopted as a journalist.
Ms Pant said: “The idea behind Afford Anything is that you can afford anything but not everything. Every choice that you make is a trade-off between something else.”
She highlighted that savers should focus on what they really want and fulfil their spending priorities by increasing their income or taking on a side hustle.
Anyone interested in learning more about Ms Pant’s financial advice can read more on the Afford Anything blog.
Those looking for more savings and retirement tips can follow the CNBC YouTube channel.
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