From lessons to levels: the glow-up ✨

Issue 16: 8 minute read

📚 Life Lessons: How to GET RICHER in 2025 by doing a “low buy” challenge

🙋🏽‍♀️ Dani’s Doings: My Spain visa EXPIRED, entrepreneurship challenges, and what country I’m visiting next…

💸 Money Matters: “Detty December” is causing financial challenges 😳, how to start a new side hustle in 2025, and more!

✈️ Travel Tings: A popular travel company just abruptly shut down, new mandatory requirements to visit the UK, and others.

🫶🏽 Community Corner: I’m speaking at the XPAT Summit next weekend, a FREE gift to you for subscribing 👀, plus more.

How to get richer in 2025 by doing a “low-buy” challenge 🔻💰🔻

If you’re not feeling great about the amount of money you spent in 2024 on things you may not have needed, I invite you to join me on a “Low Buy 2025” challenge! Not only will it help reduce your spending, but it’ll also ensure you have more money to invest (or save for things like a Career Break/Liberty Leave😉). Here are 4 tips to help you achieve this goal:

1) Participate in “Project Pan”: This means that you have to wait until your existing products hit pan (which is a makeup term for when things like blush/eyeshadow hit the bottom/pan but it can apply to anything) before you buy something new that does the same thing. For example, you cannot buy a new bottle of lotion until you finish the one you have now. This helpful article dives deeper into it!

2) Unsubscribe from temptations: If you’re subscribed to retailer mailing lists, have apps on your phone that notify you of sales, follow any shop pages on social media, etc. that tempt you to spend money, unsubscribe from them/unfollow. Out of sight is out of mind!

3) Review your spending often so you can identify trends early: Sometimes, we don’t realize how much money we’ve spent until it’s all said and done 😳. That’s why it’s important to review bank statements on a monthly basis (at least) and/or use a budget tracker like the one I created here to stay on track.

4) Avoid impulse purchases by “sleeping on it”: Before making an unplanned purchase that you’re tempted to make, initiate a “7 day sleep on it” period. Oftentimes, you’ll find that the burning desire to buy the thing disappears and you realize it wasn’t that urgent after all.

My Visa for Spain expired 🇪🇸🥲:

My 1 year Youth Mobility Visa/Working Holiday Visa has officially expired. Getting the visa changed my life, and I’m forever grateful that I learned it even existed so my boyfriend and I could live in Spain for an entire year. Thankfully, you can extend your stay by 90 days once it’s over (using the regular Schengen Region visa—but you do need to exit the region THEN re-enter). So, I’ll remain in Malaga until March.

Then, we’re heading to Panama City (with potential side trips to Costa Rica and/or Colombia). I’ll do a more thorough review of my “1 year in Malaga experience” once I leave in March, but if there’s one thing I will say now, it’s that you should move abroad for a year if this is accessible to you. My life has changed in the best way possible and I think everyone should experience a journey like this at least once in their lifetime 💕.

My first calendar year of entrepreneurship was… rough 😬:

Y’all know I keep is 100 in these internet streets, so here it goes: 2024 was not a great year for revenue for my business. I’m trying to remind myself to give myself grace + be patient considering it was my first full calendar year in business, but whewwww. Going from a high-paying tech job that had a stable cheque to becoming an entrepreneur has been a real jump scare moment for my bank account and I 😂. My theme song for a while has been J. Cole’s “Sideline Story” (a recommended listen for anyone in their “come up” stage).

The good news is, I spent a lot of time over the holidays plotting & scheming for my 2025 and I’m feeling more ready than ever to do the damn thing. 2025 is the year of the level up for me. I already reached a major goal is hitting 10K on Instagram this weekend 🥳!

…What’s the 2025 theme or word for you, friend? Reply to this email and let me know!

Home for the holidays 🎁:

I spent the entire month of December at home (in Toronto, with a quick trip to Montreal for Christmas) and my heart is full. I’m often asked how I’m able to do this “digital nomad” / “full-time travel” life while being so far away from the majority of my friends and family. The secret is visiting home often (my partner and I did quarterly visits in 2024) and also making sure to keep up with regular FaceTime calls and group chats. One interesting discovery though, was that my heart rate is significantly higher when I’m in Toronto vs. when I’m in Malaga. Do we think it’s my body telling me that Toronto is too much for me? I’m not sure 😅

• “Detty December”, which is the biggest month-long party in countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and other parts of Africa is becoming stressful because of the crazy rising costs and inflation. Read the breakdown here for the situation in Nigeria.

• If you’re interested in making more money this year by starting a side hustle, becoming a Virtual Assistant is a great option! This article breaks down exactly how to start this journey.

• Canadian friends: Here’s a list of important financial changes you should know about that take effect this year (tax bracket, pension, RRSP, etc.).

• In case you missed it (which I doubt 😅), Canada’s Finance Minster Chrystia Freeland resigned on December 16, 2024. Yes, that’s the same Finance Minister I had the pleasure of meeting last year when I was invited to Parliament for the reading of Canada’s 2024 Budget. Then, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned this past week. Details here. It’s a wild time for Canada. I’m nervous.

• A new study has found that 2 in 5 newcomers to Canada would consider leaving Canada for reasons like insufficient job opportunities, housing struggles, and more. Read the full report here.

• As of Jan 8, people from 48 countries (including the United States and Canada) will need an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) to travel to the United Kingdom. This is even required for stopovers. Check out the details here on how to apply for yours (it’s only £10).

• The results are in! Wanderlust has announced world’s most desirable places as voted for by their readers. View them here and let me know if you were surprised by any 👀!

• In another episode of “Japan is living in year 3000”, their major airline has introduced a same-day baggage delivery service for travellers arriving in Tokyo. Passengers’ luggage will be delivered straight to their hotels in an effort to alleviate congestion on public transit. Iconic. Full story here.

• Remote Year, the OG company that pioneered long-term “work and travel” trips has sadly shut down after almost a decade. Details here. From the looks of it on Reddit, they have not refunded people who were supposed to go on trips with them this year 😬. Yikes! I hear Wifi Tribe is a good backup.

• Romania and Bulgaria have officially joined the Schengen Area! This means it’ll be easier for folks already in Europe to enter these countries. Details here.

• I’m speaking at the XPAT Summit next weekend (Jan 19)! This 5-day virtual summit has 60+ speakers sharing tips on living, working, and studying abroad. My talk will be about how to take a career break (aka a Liberty Leave). Grab your ticket here!

• My Liberty Leave course & community is officially launching later this year! Join the waitlist here to be notified when it’s available (and to receive a sweet subscriber discount 🤑).

• If you didn’t do your 2024 reflection/2025 planning yet (I personally haven’t had the time yet 🥲) it’s not too late! Here’s a link to a FREE resource to guide you (the same one I use!).

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