The journey unfolds exactly as it should ✨

Issue 16: 8 min read

📚 Life Lessons: How I earned $1676 in Cash Back by shopping smarter with Rakuten 👀🤑

🙋🏽‍♀️ Dani’s Doings: I got rejected from a DREAM opportunity 🥲, and I’m building community in Malaga

💸 Money Matters: Trump’s tariff order is going to make life way more expensive, Gen Z thinks $500k is the “magic” number for a good salary, and more.

✈️ Travel Tings: 15 counties to NOT visit in 2025, European countries preparing their citizens for war, and more.

🫶🏽 Community Corner: 40% of ALL budget trackers on fixupszn, a free booklet to reflect on 2025 + plan 2025, and other ways to support!

How I’ve earned $1676+ in Cash Back by being a smart spender 💸💰 | Sponsored by: Rakuten

The perfect time of year to stock up on your essentials and finally buy the things you’ve had your eye on is the Black Friday/Cyber Monday season. But—it’s not just the sales that allow you to get the most bang for your buck on your purchases.

Let me introduce you to… ✨Rakuten✨

Rakuten partners with 750+ stores like Sephora, Viator, and Dyson that you can earn up to 15% Cash Back at this weekend. All you do is visit rakuten.ca, click the logo of the store you want to shop at, make your purchase, and you’ll get the Cash Back in your account via cheque or PayPal. It’s really that easy.

🤑BONUS🤑: Sign up for Rakuten using my referral link and you’ll get a $30 bonus in addition to cash back on your qualifying purchases!

I created a community for Black Women in Malaga! 🙋🏽‍♀️

friend, I’ve been at this “digital nomad/immigrant/expat” life for a while now (since 2018). The best resource I’ve found that’s made me feel more confident exploring new cities around the world? Facebook groups. Hearing people’s stories, reading their trials and tribulations, and attending meetups with like-minded people has made ALL the difference in my journey. When I first arrived in Malaga a year ago, I noticed there wasn’t a Facebook group for Black Women in Malaga. So what did I do? I created one, of course! We now have 150 members in the group. This is my way of giving back to the community, and I’m so proud of it. If you’re a Black Women who’s interested in moving to Malaga, feel free to join the group here!

🚫 I got rejected from a dream opportunity and spent a few days in pity city 😅

Over the past few weeks, I was in talks with a company for a literal dream opportunity. I was so confident that I had it in the bag (Narrator: “She did not have it in the bag”). I got the news last week that they had moved forward with someone else, and I was pretty devastated. Here’s how I deal with rejection when it comes to situations like these:

1) I allow myself to spend a few days in pity city. I give myself time and space to feel my feelings, process them, and mourn “what could have been”. Then, time to move on!

2) I remember that rejection is just re-direction. The journey unfolds exactly as it should. What’s meant for me will always be for me, and this opportunity… was not. Something better and more aligned will come along.

3) I remind myself that my value as a human is not tied to my work. There are far more interesting things about me than my job. Here’s a great blog post on this if you’re struggling to make the distinction.

So, friend, I’ll keep you posted on what work looks like for me in 2025. So far, though, the Liberty Leave course & community for those looking to take a career break is going to be a HUGE part of it!

Visiting country #31 (Ireland! 🇮🇪) + home for the holidays

I’m visiting Dublin tomorrow! I typically spend the holidays with my family in Toronto (or Montreal this year!), and when doing research on the cheapest flights out of Europe to Toronto, Dublin was the cheapest option. We created our own makeshift stopover and will spend the weekend exploring Dublin before spending December in Toronto and then returning to Spain for New Year’s. I’m tired already, tbh! 😅

• Gen Z feels they need a whopping $500,000 salary to be considered financially successful. Millennials? Only $180,865. Read the full survey here.

• Trump & Tariffs are allll the talk right now. Trump announced on Monday that he’ll sign an exec order placing a 25% tariff on ALL imports from Canada and Mexico, and 10% in imports from China. What’s that mean for us? Life is likely about to get more expensive. Here’s everything you need to know.

• Canadians are in more debt than ever. Like, $2.5 TRILLION dollars (up 4.1% over last year). Details here. This is a good reminder to never try to keep up with the Joneses, because lives are often funded on credit!

• The 2025 TFSA limit (🇨🇦) and Roth IRA limit (🇺🇸) has been announced! It’s $7000. Details here for my Canadian friends, and here for my U.S. friends.

• The price of Bitcoin has been soaring since Trump won the U.S. presidential election. For folks interested in learning more and potentially investing themselves, check out this article. Note: This is not financial advice.

• A cruise line is offering a 4 year “skip ahead” trip for people who are looking to leave the United States for Trump’s second term while keeping their U.S. citizenship. It’ll cost ~$160,000 and take passengers to 140 countries. 4 years on a cruise sounds like my own personal hell, but the details are here if you’d like to read more! 😅

• Fodor released a “No List 2025”: a list 15 destinations to NOT visit in 2025 due to various reasons like over-tourism and environmental concerns. An interesting read! Check it out here.

• After Black Friday and Cyber Monday comes… “Travel Tuesday”. Here’s a list of tips travel experts shared to help you score the best travel deals.

• Sweden, Finland, and Norway have recently released information (such as pamphlets) to their citizens on how to survive war/threats, and other extreme situations 😳. Scary stuff. It includes things like how to cope without power, preparing food and medicine, keeping cash, etc.. Here’s what was included in case you’re curious.

• Air Canada is adopting Apple’s new AirTag feature to help recover lost luggage! I hope this will become a trend in the airline industry. Details on how it’ll work here.

• 💰 I’m having a HUGE sale on allllll fixupszn budget trackers! Get 40% off your purchase with the code BLACKFRIDAY40 - this weekend only. My “Irie Income: Annual Budget Tracker” (aka the the best seller 🔥) is only $12 CAD/$9 USD with the discount. Offer ends this weekend!

• FREE Booklet: If you enjoy reflecting on the year that’s wrapping up + planning for a new one, you’ll love this FREE YearCompass booklet! It’s a fun exercise to set yourself up for 2025. Download it here (I’m not affiliated. Just a fan!).

• 🌴 The Liberty Leave course & community is coming in 2025! If you’ve been wanting to learn how to take a career break, you’ll love this space! Join the waitlist here.

• I’ve got a few more slots in my calendar this year for 1:1 Ask Me Anything sessions. You can book this get my expertise on things like moving to Spain on the Youth Mobility Visa, starting a digital product store, navigating a career break, and more! Book here before the prices increases in 2025.

_{These may include affiliate links where I earn a small commission (and you pay nothing!), which helps me to continue to grow and produce content like this newsletter. Thanks for your support!}

Psssst: Did you know that the Liberty Letter is part of the Liberty Leave brand? Visit the website to learn more! | Wanna work together? Reach out here.