I am not going to say I am lucky, because that undercuts the massive amount of work and hustle I have put in over the years. But I have been lucky enough for the universe to put a few of the right people in my path, and allow for opportunities I never saw coming, and for my hustles to bear fruit.

I started out in Big Law in NYC back when firms handed out hefty annual bonuses, which let me pay off my law school debt. I’ve never lived extravagantly, travel and scuba have always been my splurges. I’m a lifelong TJ Maxx shopper, lived in an affordable, unflashy house, never got into pricey jewelry, and never spent more than $20K on a car, even though I drove BMW Z convertibles for years. People thought I was flashy, but the numbers say otherwise.

I reinvested bonuses and found an amazing financial advisor about eight years ago who has consistently earned me around 30% returns (thanks Jay!) I made a solid profit selling the home I bought for my parents, and picked up an investment property last year. I’ve always maxed out my retirement accounts, and Jay estimates I can safely draw about $5K a month from investments. That should cover most of my travel, and I hope to pick up some scuba gigs along the way for a little adventure money.