Hi there! My name is Fleur. Welcome to my blog: From Penny to Many. I am a Dutch travel junkie who was able to break free from full-time work mode. I retired before I turned 40 and now blog about the adventure of financial freedom. I am happy to share a little bit more about myself on this page.
I was born in 1980 in the Netherlands. Growing up, I always knew I wanted to travel the world. When I was younger, I wanted to be a jet fighter pilot and one of my first school projects was about the explorer Marco Polo who traveled to Asia. I always liked adventure, change, and new experiences so it was obvious that I wouldn’t spend my whole life in one place. The world was out there and I wanted to discover it!
The world was out there and I wanted to discover it!
But first, there was school, then university, then my first job, a career move, and before I knew it, work was my main activity taking up the most amount of hours. In 2011, I started my own company (Ynnovate) when I discovered the need for more innovation in the public sector. At that same moment, I also started saving money, because as a starting entrepreneur, I wanted to have a financial buffer.
The dream of a travel junkie
My dream of exploring the world didn’t vanish, but it did get pushed to the background a little bit. Work was important to me and I was ambitious and loved growing my company. But, after a while, I began to dream more about the future. A lifestyle that consisted of travel, discovering the world, and getting as many experiences as possible. Being in my thirties, I felt like time was running out. That life was going so fast and there was still so much I wanted to do.
I felt like time was running out. Life was going so fast and there was still so much I wanted to do…
With my travel junkie dream in mind, I set off on a journey to create a sustainable financial situation in the long term. I can still remember the holiday in Italy where I and my former boyfriend sketched the whole master plan on a little piece of paper while sitting at the beach.
The masterplan: financial freedom
The master plan was all about being able to travel full-time, without depending on income from a 9 to 5 job. We started saving as much money as possible to invest in assets to generate a steady passive income. It required making serious sacrifices in the way I was spending money, but the plan worked! In only eight years, we were able to stop working, we bought a beautiful catamaran and sailed Europe for 1,5 years.
Boat life slowed me down and allowed me to focus on simple things. People, nature, writing, and sharing experiences. Because of that, I learned to understand myself more and discover what is important to me in life. I grew more as a person and I am beyond grateful that I took the steps in life that allowed me to experience that.
Freedom travel lifestyle
I am now financially free, which means I am technically retired. It is a weird experience at my age, but it is also very rewarding to get to this point. I am not a millionaire. And believe me, to lead a freedom lifestyle, you don’t need to be. You dó need to learn how to manage your personal finances successfully. Setting a goal, cutting expenses, saving money, and most importantly: investing. In other words, all the hard work.
Being financially free gives me the opportunity to live my life without having to worry about money. With this blog, I want to enable as many people as possible to achieve that as well. It isn’t impossible, you just need to know how to do it. That’s why I created the Design Your Financial Freedom Toolkit to help you set the right steps towards financial freedom. Hopefully, it is a source of knowledge and inspiration.
I am not a millionaire. And believe me, to lead a freedom lifestyle, you don’t need to be.
LEARN MORE ABOUT MY STORY
My buddies at Ocean Vibes Project interviewed me about my decision to pursue an alternative travel lifestyle. With achieving financial freedom as the enabler for it all. I am very proud to be featured in their Hero’s Journey Series as someone following their dreams in life. Enjoy the video!
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Want to know even more? My story and my blog From Penny to Many have also been featured on the following websites:
Zeilwereld | Insta live: about money, sailing and being free (new!)
Ocean Vibes Project | Fleur’s Heroes Journey – video
Working Untethered | Fleur – Financially Independent
Lagoon Inside | Bound for the Balearics with a Lagoon 42
Zeilwereld | In 4 steps to financial freedom
Making Sense of Cents | How This Couple Reached Financial Freedom Before 40 And Live On A Sailboat
Zeilwereld | The ultimate dream: stop working and leave before the age of 40
Dali Sailing | Sailing colleague in the picture
Watersport TV | Follow Sea Heroes Fleur (40) and Ronald (37) on their world tour
INSTAGRAM OF A TRAVEL JUNKIE
FINANCIAL FREEDOM TOOLKIT
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