Embrace Being a Beginner!

Saludos Amor from Las Vegas!

If you've been following my Instagram stories then you already know that I'm on a family vacation in Las Vegas. This is our most expensive family trip so far. Our last family trip was in November 2021 to Legoland and we spent $2,000. I budgeted $4,000 for this trip and by our first night here we had already spent slightly over $3,000.

Instead of staying in the moment, I found myself worried about how we were going to have a good time without pulling from our emergency savings account to pay our credit cards in full. I found myself thinking, "Soledad, you're such a spender. First, a brand new apartment. Then thousands on new furniture. And now thousands for one-long weekend in Las Vegas. You will never have the extra cash flow to max out your retirement accounts and retire early."

With thoughts like this, it was only a matter of time before I started feeling shame, guilt, disappointment, and even some nervousness. I decided to take a few deep breaths and choose thoughts that were going to make me enjoy this family vacation fully.

My circumstances can not be changed. Yes, I just signed a new lease on a 3 bedroom, 3 bath that is going to cost us $4,700 a month. Yes, our once six-month emergency fund will only have enough money to cover one month of expenses once I buy our furniture. And yes, this family trip is costing an average of $1,000 a day. Those are all facts but I get to choose how I think about my circumstances.

Instead of comparing my finances to the version of myself who just a few weeks ago had a fully-funded emergency fund and thousands of dollars in extra cash flow a month, I decided to embrace the identity of a beginner.

I told myself, "This is the first time you ever flew as a family somewhere with two kids of course it's going to be more expensive than your usual road trips. This is the first time you are paying at market rates living in Los Angeles of course the change in rent is going to feel like a lot. This is the first time you are furnishing a three bedroom, three bath place at one time instead of poco a poco of course seeing your emergency fund decrease so much is nerve-wrecking."

Once I gave myself space to normalize all the feelings I was having, I started choosing thoughts that made me feel empowered. Thoughts like...

• I am open to learning new ways to maximize my extra cash flow.
• I have soooooo many skills that I can monetize.
• I am grateful for all the changes happening in my life.
• I give myself complete permission to be a beginner again.
• Money always comes my way, when I invest in my wellness.
• I embrace this current financial season of transition. It's easier than my past financial seasons of trial and it's only a matter of time before I'm in a season of triumph.
• I am resourceful and always find a way to make every expense completely worth it.
• I am creating the life of my dreams and it's worth every penny.

Once I started thinking like this, I found myself excited by the challenge to have a good time without going over budget. I created this google sheet to track our expenses and started discussing with husbae what memories we wanted to pay for having here in Las Vegas.

Amor, I share this all with you because I want you to know that creating a financial plan to retire early is 90% your thoughts and 10% your actions. I truly believe more of us would be on a path to becoming work optional if we chose to slow down, tune in to our feelings, notice our thoughts, and then do the work of choosing the thoughts that are aligned with the results we want to see our lives.

Managing your thoughts is a skill that takes lots of practice. Embrace being a beginner whenever you start feeling overwhelmed by your dinero. Give yourself the grace you need to build the life of your dreams with cariño. As Nakeia Homer once said "Let's normalize never tearing ourselves down so we don't have to rebuild again. Let us heal, evolve, transform, and reemerge. We've been through enough."

​

Todo con tiempo,

ANNOUNCEMENTS + REMINDERS

• This month's FREE workshop will be on "Minimalism & Money." I will be discussing my personal journey with minimalism and how it has impacted my financial journey. I will also be providing live coaching to anyone who struggles with setting boundaries with "stuff." You can register here. ​
• The price for working 1:1 with me for 6 months is increasing to $5,000 when paid in full starting July 2022. If you are ready to invest your time, money, and energy to transform your financial trajectory poco a poco use this link to apply here to work conmigo.
• ​Watch this IG Live with financial therapist Lindsay Bryan Podvin to learn how she helps her clients heal from financial trauma and advice she has for new small business owners.
• Check out my latest feature in the Hispanic Executive in the article "How to Build Wealth as a Business Owner"