Jet Setter Interview – Kathleen of For Profit Blogging & Frugal Portland

 

Hello there, this is your pilot speaking! (Why yes, I am calling myself a pilot.)

Today, our Jet Setter Interview is with Kathleen, of ForProfitBlogging and Frugal Portland fame.

This series covers Passengers on the Jet Setter Manifest, so we can all learn more about money from the experiences of others.

Drop me a line to be featured in an upcoming Jet Setter Interview, we would love to have you on board.

 

Welcome on board! Who are you?

Hi, thanks. How did I get the middle seat? I’m Kathleen, and I blog at FrugalPortland.com as well as ForProfitBlogging.com. I love teaching people how to save the money they have and how to make money with their stories online.

Money is for buying stuff, what was the last purchase you made?

I bought my grandma a photo book of our family vacation. She’ll never get Facebook, so I sent her a book of our faces. I made two, so one could go to my aunt.

Why did you buy that stuff, in particular?

Because I’m an extra good person?

We like airplanes around here.  When was the last time you were on an airplane and where were you going?

It was a multi-city trip. I left Portland for Nashville, spent time with my family, then went to Florida for a work trip.

What is your current financial goal and how did it come to be your goal?

Save 50% of my income. Well, mine and my fiance’s income. The more you save, the less time you have to work.

Who is your favourite person in Top Gun?

Goose

Many people harbour some sort of fear of flying.  What do you find the most overwhelming or scary about money?

That it’s not really money. It’s numbers on a screen. Usually I’m okay with that, but every once in a while, after watching a post-apocalyptic movie or something, I think, jeez, if we had to go to cash immediately, I’d be screwed after my $20 runs out.

If I was super-rich and gave you $50,000 with no strings attached, tomorrow, what would you do with it?  (I’m pretty benevolent.)

Something like this. I’d love to ask people what they wanted and give it to them! Do you need my bank account number? Because I could get started right away.

Lots of things “cost peanuts,” what is a small expenditure that you just can’t live without?

Coffee, with all its foofy accessories. I wrote a whole post about my morning coffee ritual. I drink one cup in the morning, and am able to start my day. Nothing tastes better than that first sip, first thing in the morning.

How long have you been the pilot of your own money? Did you have a job as a teenager? Did you have a lightbulb moment at a certain point in time and take control of your finances?

I did have jobs as a teen, but wasn’t in charge of my money until I woke up on my 30th birthday, still in credit card debt. Something had to change. A fire was lit beneath me and I started writing about my methods of eliminating debt. In May of 2013, I was debt free for the first time since those jokers extended me credit, and I’ve never looked back.

 

Pretend you have a sky-writing airplane (that can write as many words as you want.) What is the main money message that you want the world to hear?

Save more than you think you should. Forget “pay yourself first,” and focus on the fact that working for 10 years and saving half is the same (actually better) than working for 20 years and not saving anything at all.

The plane went up in smoke after finishing that message.

You can read more of Kathleen’s writing at ForProfitBlogging and Frugal Portland. She’s also on twitter @omalleyk, give her a follow!