Work smarter, not harder! 🤓

Issue 13: 9 minute read

📚 Life Lessons: How to take control of your finances by doing an “expense audit”

🙋🏽‍♀️ Dani’s Doings: We’ve decided where we’re going once our current visas expire 👀👀, AND I started a second business👩🏽‍💻!

💸 Money Matters: Making it easier to cancel subscriptions, how to start saving for retirement in your 30s, and more.

✈️ Travel Tings: A Spanish town will pay YOU to move there, an unlimited flight membership for only $425, and more!

🫶🏽 Community Corner: An opportunity for you to sponsor a budgeting tool for someone in need, my latest podcast features, and a curated list of my recommended products & services (aka The Liberty Legends).

I’ve spoken to many people lately about how budgeting and money management is going for them overall, and I’ve been surprised by how many people simply don’t know where their money is going. While yes, I understand that life can be expensive, it’s important to frequently review what’s going on in our bank accounts (especially if we use credit & debit!) so we can take corrective action quickly, if needed. Here’s how to do an expense audit in 3 simple steps:

1) Gather your financial documents from the last 3 months. This includes credit card statements, bank card statements, and all bills you’ve paid.

2) Review the numbers. Do all of these transactions look familiar to you? Are you noticing any trends? Are you surprised, or disappointed by any expense items you see? You should also do a subscription audit by reviewing all memberships/services you’re subscribed to and make an intentional decision on whether or not you even use them often enough to continue paying for them.

3) Based on your notes, create a solid plan you can stick to! Design a budget that better aligns with your financial goals using a tool that works for you, like a spreadsheet or by paper if that’s more your thing. Also, cancel any subscriptions you’re not using and direct that money saved to accounts like your investments or savings accounts.

💰Pro tip: Schedule a monthly expense audit in your calendar as a non-negotiable action item to keep yourself on track and catch any actions you may need to modify quickly.

We’ve decided where we’re going after our current visa expires in less than 3 months…🥁🥁🥁

• And the winner is…. we’re staying in Malaga! Lol 😝. We’ve decided to stay in our current apartment for an additional 3 months to skip the majority of the Canadian winter (since it’s quite warm in Malaga in the “winter” months). Our 1 year Youth Mobility Visa will expire, however, we can still get another 90 days in Spain/the Schengen area on a regular tourist visa. We considered moving elsewhere like Panama or even another city in Spain, but honestly, 1) Our current apartment is perfect and 2) We don’t want to go through the whole process of moving somewhere new because decision fatigue is very real and very draining.

I started a second business!

• It’s called fixupszn (fix up season). We (I, lol) offer various budgeting tools to help make money management easier. I ooooobviiiously have a a special promo code for my Liberty Letter 💌 subscribers! Get 15% off your entire order with code LIBERTYLETTER15. Offer expires next Sunday, September 15 at 9PM EST.

  • It was supposed to be a “fun, little low energy side project” but it’s outperformed all of my goals so far and my customers LOVE them, so I plan to invest more energy into it to see where it goes. It’s always been a goal of mine to have a digital download store because it’s a very nomad/travel-friendly way to earn money. Once the initial work is done, it can be pretty passive income. I was getting sales notifications while sitting in a gelato shop with my partner this week, and I felt so proud of this accomplishment! Work smarter, not harder! This leaves more room for rest, relaxation, and time spent with my community.

  • If you’re interested in selling digital downloads as a side (or main!) hustle, feel free to book a call with me to ask me anything about starting your own journey, or check out YouTube videos like this or this series.

• Finally, I also finished my Trauma of Money program! I’m officially a certified Trauma of Money Practitioner! 💸

• You know how some companies make it damn near impossible to cancel a subscription or membership? Well, the White House is taking action! Read about it here. I hope this trend will spread worldwide, because it should be just as easy to cancel as it was to sign up!

• In this story, a man’s wife tragically passed away at a Disneyland restaurant due to a severe allergic reaction. But, Disney says it cannot be taken to court because the man subscribes to Disney+, and in its terms of use, it says users agree to settle any disputes with the company via arbitration. It’s wildly disappointing and scary that these terms are buried into those long conditions people rarely fully review before agreeing to.

• If you’re 30+ and don’t have a much saved for retirement yet (which is not uncommon by the way, so no shame!), this article shares some strategies on how you can start saving for it now.

• Nvidia ($NVDA), which is a company that has literally made employees and investors millionaires because of how well it has performed historically had the worst day in the history of the stock market this past Tuesday. $279 BILLION was shaved off the company’s value. Wild😮‍💨. Read about why here.

• This Spanish town is paying people 15,000 THOUSAND euros to move there and work remotely as a digital nomad. Get the details here.

• If you’re based in Europe or travel within the continent frequently, you may be interested in Wizz Air’s new “All You Can Fly” membership for ~$425. Details here. I’m not affiliated and have never flown this airline before, but I find this product interesting! I believe they’re sold out right now but are adding more in the future.

• We often hear about people who quit their high-paying jobs and go abroad on their “Eat Pray Love”, but we don’t always hear the follow-up. In this story, a woman quit her job at Meta, travelled to Bali seeking a spiritual reset, then felt more lost than ever by the end of it. It’s not always butterflies and rainbows!

• If you’re planning on visiting South Korea any time soon, make sure you don’t bring any of the popular “Everything But The Bagel” seasoning, because it’s illegal there! Apparently poppyseeds are considered a narcotic 😬. Read more here. Always do your research before you visit foreign countries, because you never know! I learned once I got into Singapore once that chewing gum is banned there😅.

• There’s a hilarious dating trend happening in Spain right now. If you’re searching for a partner, you go to a popular grocery store (called Mercadona) at 7PM, pick up a pineapple, put it upside down in your cart, then hang out in the wine aisle and look for others who also have pineapples in their cart. This signifies that they are single and looking, too. Read about it here. Apparently so many people showed up one day that they had to call the police!

• With the launch of fixupszn, I offer an option where folks can Pay It Forward by sponsoring a budgeting tool for someone who needs it but may not be able to afford it at the moment. If you’d like to sponsor one, you can do so here!

  • Of course, you can grab one for yourself too like the best-selling 💰Irie Income: Annual Budget Tracker for 15% off with LIBERTYLETTER15.

• I was recently a guest on the Personal With Money Podcast! Watch that episode here on YouTube. I was also featured on the “But What Do I Know?” Podcast, which you can listen to here.

• I just re-opened my calendar for Ask Me Anything sessions! If you’d like to chat personally about moving abroad, taking a career break, or really any topic you’ve seen me talk about that you know I’m knowledgeable in, feel free to grab a spot in my calendar here.

• Wanna know all the products and services I love and use personally? You can always find my list of Liberty Legends (/my recommendations) here on my website.

_{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!}

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