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Drew Lee had everything planned out. After getting his degree in industrial engineering from Pennsylvania State University, he got a good job in his desired field with a six-figure salary, thinking he was embarking on a long and lucrative career.
However, after a few years in the workforce, he realized that every promotion and career milestone just led to longer hours, more stress and responsibility. Then in 2020, after reviewing his net worth and savings, he decided he wanted a change.
“I was 29 and I had a net worth of about $300,000,” Lee, who also goes by dollarsbydrew on TikTok and Instagram, tells PEOPLE exclusively.
“Eventually, I felt like ‘I’m tired of traveling, I’m not enjoying my work anymore, I want to take a break,’ and I had the funds to do so.”
Drew Lee
So, he quit and got a job at Panda Express. Then he moved to working at an Amazon warehouse.
All he wanted, Lee says, was to “clock out at the end of the day and have a free mind [and] clear head,” which he felt would make him “happier.”
However, after leaving Amazon for DoorDash, he realized he needed to go back to engineering to support his growing family.
So, he went back to his original career while simultaneously brainstorming other ways to make extra income. It was then that he decided to follow his true passion and started making financial content.
Lee says he always dreamed of making content educating people on the importance of investing, but never dared to actually post it. However, with his wife’s support, he finally decided to give content creation a shot.
After finding success online, he — once again — quit his engineering job as he began growing his following. He also took on other one-off jobs in the meantime, which helped him pay his bills while slowly generating revenue on social media.
Lee tells PEOPLE one of his favorite jobs was working for Frontier Airlines, which he documented on his accounts. One video went viral on TikTok, amassing over 300,000 views. Despite having to clock in around 4 a.m., he enjoyed helping passengers and finding ways to streamline the check-in and boarding process.
“The engineer in me was always wanting to optimize everything. How can I optimize everything and become the best gate possible, and get people on as efficiently and safely as possible?” Lee, 35, shares.
“It was a never-ending game where I was always trying to optimize everything, and that’s something I still do now.”
No matter which job he was working, Lee was always trying to find ways to improve the system.
“That’s one thing I love about working all these jobs, is that I get to come in and learn it, and I get to figure out the best way to do it,” he says. “But once I figure out the best way to do something, then I want a new challenge.”
While working these jobs, Lee was making content, teaching people the importance of working towards financial freedom.
“I dedicate my life and my social media to teaching people and being transparent with people on how to do exactly what I did, and be in my position to have the money, the network that I have, and had to be able to do something like this and take a career gap or follow your dreams,” Lee shares.
His most significant piece of advice is to “try as hard as you can not to inflate your lifestyle” by spending more than you are making. While many financial guides tell people to “just make more money,” Lee knows that it’s not that simple.
“Where people get in trouble is once they start making more money, their expenses inflate, and they have a nicer apartment, and they have a nicer car, and then all of a sudden, they’re in the same financial position.”
Drew Lee
Instead, Lee, who now has a net worth of over $700,000, advises people to “live below your means.”
“It doesn’t mean being frugal or being cheap. It means you have to spend less than you earn. There are a lot of people who are spending more than they earn, and they’re getting into credit card debt,” Lee shares. He also suggests living with roommates, if possible, cooking at home and keeping an eye on unnecessary expenses that often pile up without even noticing.
Lee’s true passion is making financial content to help people reach their goals. He is transparent about the different jobs he’s taken on in order to have more mental energy to create content.
Most recently, he got a new job at McDonald’s, allowing him to continue working while maintaining the flexibility to avoid returning to the corporate lifestyle he had already left.
While he’s unsure if he will be able to support himself and his family from just content creation and part-time work forever, he says investing in oneself is always worth the risk.
