Paula Gavenyte, 31, from Lithuania and now living in Chelmsford, Essex, built up a £200,000 investment portfolio in six years so she could quit her 'unfulfilling' six-figure job and focus on content creation. She gave up her software engineering role in January 2026 without having another job lined up.
From engineering to content creation
Paula says she was sick of living on “autopilot” in her software engineering job. Eager to pursue something more creative, she started content creation, but her decision wasn't made overnight. Before quitting, she spent years building an emergency fund large enough to last her six to eight months.
At first, Paula put £20 a month in a Stocks & Shares ISA, which over six years she built up to a £200,000 investment portfolio. She did this by putting 50% of her wages towards bills, 30% towards wants, and 20% towards savings – the 50/30/20 rule.
Fear and excitement
“When I quit my job, it was very scary. From a very young age, you have a structure, with school, university, then a career, so when you quit your job without knowing what you’re going to be doing, it’s terrifying,” she said. “I feel more stressed now, as I don’t know when the next paycheque is coming, but it’s an excited kind of stress. Every day is different, and there’s so much to learn.
“I wouldn’t advise people to just wake up and quit their job; I would say, first, build up your finances, learn new skills, and create options for yourself.”
A life on autopilot
Her whole life, Paula followed the path she felt was expected of her by society. She got a good education, a mortgage, and worked her way up to earning a £100,000-a-year salary from her software engineering job. But she says she still felt “unfulfilled”, and as though she was living from “holiday to holiday”.
“I felt like I was on autopilot; I would wake up, go to work, run errands, meal prep, then go to bed. I was living the same day over and over again,” she said.
Building the emergency fund
Eager to get more out of life, she decided to build up an emergency fund in 2023 so that she could quit her job and pursue something more creative. “I told myself I would be OK with quitting my job when I had built up a pot of money that could last me from six to eight months,” she said.
To build up this pot, Paula used the 50/30/20 method. For the past six years, she has been using her 20% savings pot for investment too, after learning about it through asking questions to friends, family and colleagues. She began by putting just £20 or £50 a month into a Stocks & Shares ISA with Vanguard, and as her confidence grew, increased her deposits.
Content creation journey
By the time she quit her job in January 2026, Paula had built up an investment portfolio of £200,000. After quitting, her plan was to find ways of making money that would give her much more freedom than the 9 to 5. Keen to combine her interest in personal finance with something creative, she decided to pursue content creation and set up a TikTok and Instagram account called @thechaoticfounder, where she shares tips on investing and saving money.
“I’ve never made any content before,” she said. “It’s really fun to learn new skills like communication and speaking in front of the camera.”
Instead of starting her content creation journey before she quit her job, she decided not to start until after she left, as she works better when the “stakes are higher”. To motivate herself, Paula set a goal of making £50,000 in one year. She says she is currently making 90 per cent less than she was as a software engineer, but is confident that as the year progresses, she will be able to build up her earnings.
