Life Updates, Leaving the Country, and Letters to Myself

A Life That Looks Very Different Now

These days, my life looks nothing like it did when I worked in corporate accounting.

My days are full, but not in the same exhausting way. I go to the gym regularly now. I decided at the start of the year that I wasn’t going to make excuses about my physical health anymore. I’ve been consistent with my steps, and I’ve been working with a trainer twice a week. I’ve even kept a step streak going for more than sixty days.

That means hitting 10,000 steps every single day, which is a lot more walking than it sounds like. Sometimes that’s an hour-long walk during the day while the kids are in school. The weather in Florida is beautiful this time of year, so I try to take advantage of it before the summer heat hits.

Thursdays are usually reserved for brunch or walks with friends. I block that day as much as possible. Fridays are intentionally light because I don’t like feeling obligated to things at the end of the week. That doesn’t mean I don’t work. I absolutely do.

Right now, my bookkeeping business serves somewhere between 40 and 50 clients. It fluctuates a bit, so I don’t always know the exact number. Some days I’m on sales calls. Other days, I’m supporting my team or reviewing client work.

But the biggest difference now is control. I decide how my days look.

The Small Luxuries That Still Feel Big

The freedom shows up in ways that might sound small but mean everything to me.

Last week we had our first case of lice in our house. If you’ve never dealt with that before, let me tell you—it’s not cheap to handle professionally.

I took all three of my kids and myself to a clinic that does professional comb-outs. It cost $225 per person, which meant the visit came out to $900 total. No one loves spending money like that, but the point is that I could.

I had a completely open Thursday on my calendar. I didn’t have to move meetings or ask permission to leave work. I simply picked my kids up, handled the situation, and spent the rest of the day washing bedding and doing laundry until one in the morning.

Moments like that remind me why I built my business the way I did. Not because everything is perfect, but because I have the time and resources to deal with life when it happens.

Showing Up for My Kids

Another thing I’m incredibly grateful for is being present for my kids.

This week was field day at their school. With three kids in the same school, that means multiple time slots across two days. Normally, I try to attend everything, but this week I was already trying to prepare for the trip. So I compromised.

I told each of them I would come for half an hour during their field day. Even with a busy week, I could show up for each one. That kind of flexibility never stops feeling like a gift. My kids will remember that I was there.

The Letter That Started It All

Thinking about this trip and my life today brought me back to something I wrote twelve years ago. Back in 2014, during my second tax season, I wrote a letter to myself titled “Quit Your Job.” At the time, I was working long days and commuting for hours. A typical workday was about ten hours, and once I added the commute, it stretched closer to twelve.

On paper, my life looked incredibly successful. I had a master’s degree in tax and a CPA license. I had worked for years to get there. I had no student loan debt. I had about $30,000 in retirement savings and another $25,000 sitting in the bank. My car was paid off. I rented a cheap apartment with my boyfriend. I didn’t have credit card debt or a mortgage hanging over my head.

By every traditional standard, I had done everything right. But something felt completely wrong.

In that letter, I admitted something I had never said out loud before. My entire life up to that point had revolved around school and career milestones. I started working when I was fifteen. I worked multiple jobs through school, took standardized tests to earn scholarships, and pushed myself through college and my master’s program. Then I passed the CPA exam and started my career in tax.

And suddenly I realized something strange. I had spent years chasing the destination. And now that I was there, I didn’t actually want the life that came with it. That letter was the first moment I allowed myself to say it: maybe the life I built wasn’t the life I really wanted.

What I Wanted Back Then

When I read those letters to myself now, I feel emotional because the desires were so simple.

I wrote that I wanted to live my life. I wanted to wake up on a Tuesday without worrying about vacation days. I wanted to see sunlight during the week. I wanted to cook dinner, work out, and still have time to enjoy my life. I wanted to travel.

At the time, those things felt impossible inside the structure of a traditional accounting career. Looking back now, it’s amazing how normal those things have become.

The Truth About My Quit Story

Here’s the part that surprises people the most. Even after writing that letter to myself, I didn’t actually quit my job.

I wanted to. That letter made it very clear how badly I wanted a different life. But the truth is, I didn’t have the courage yet to follow through on it. I could imagine leaving, but imagining something and actually doing it are two very different things.

So instead, I stayed. Life kept moving forward the way it always had. I kept working. I kept commuting. And I kept telling myself that maybe someday I would figure out how to make the change.

Then in 2015, something happened that shifted everything.

I was pregnant with my first child when my company offered me a package to leave. Suddenly, the decision that had felt so impossible was sitting right in front of me. The package included both a bonus and severance, and when everything was added together, I walked away with about $50,000.

That moment became the push I hadn’t been able to give myself.

It wasn’t the dramatic leap I had imagined when I wrote that letter. I didn’t storm out of the office or make some bold announcement that I was quitting to chase a dream. But even though it looked different from what I expected, it still changed everything.

The Business That Followed

For the first year after leaving corporate, I didn’t build a business at all. I didn’t sit down and write a business plan. I didn’t map out some five-year strategy. Honestly, I was just focused on being a mom. That was the season of life I wanted to be in, and for the first time in years, I gave myself permission to slow down and be present for it.

But eventually, something interesting started happening. Bookkeeping clients began finding me organically. People heard that I had a background in accounting, and they started asking if I could help them with their books. At first, I simply took the work as it came. I didn’t treat it like a real business yet. It was just something that fit around my life and the schedule I had with my kids.

Then in 2019, I had a realization that changed everything. I remember thinking, wait a second… I could actually market myself. I didn’t have to wait for clients to randomly show up. I could intentionally go out and find them. Once I started doing that, the business grew quickly.

Over time, I replaced my corporate salary. Eventually, I even surpassed it. The biggest difference, though, wasn’t just the money. It was the life I had built around it. Instead of structuring my life around work, I designed my work around my life.

Now I can do things that once felt impossible—like taking trips with my kids during what used to be the most stressful season of the year.

Why I Still Keep That Letter

The reason I keep that letter is simple. It reminds me how strong the desire for freedom once was. Reading it again recently gave me goosebumps.

Sometimes the path to the life you want takes longer than you expect. But if that desire keeps showing up, it usually means something.

Listening to the Nudge

If you’re reading this and you feel that same pull toward something different, I want you to know something.

I didn’t build this life overnight. It took years. It took courage. It took learning new skills and pushing through fear.

But it started with a simple realization: I didn’t have to accept the life that was handed to me. And neither do you. If that desire keeps showing up for you, pay attention to it. In my experience, if something is calling you that strongly, there's a very strong chance it's calling you for a reason.

If this story resonated with you, I encourage you to listen to the full podcast episode where I share more life updates and read the letter that started everything. Sometimes hearing the story in real time brings the message home in a way words on a page never can.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Season 2 of Profits & Prosecco is HERE! Kick off your newest podcast addiction (or celebrate its return!) and listen to Episode 1 now: https://open.spotify.com/show/4dB0ZE8JaxqrkImm3Ifxrb 

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Want a peek behind the curtain into LIBBY, my program all about what it really takes to have a simple and scalable (and successful) bookkeeping business? Get access to my free, on-demand four-part series, 6 Secrets to a Simple, Scalable Bookkeeping Business: www.katieferro.com/6-secrets

Learn how to take your bookkeeping skills and turn them into a business that allows you to replace (or surpass) your corporate salary, be present for your life, and profoundly impact your clients without selling your life in the process by joining Life by the Books (LIBBY).

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