This is a question I have been asked over and over again the last three years!
I believe the real question people want to ask is how can you afford to travel? The short answer is I spent most of my life working my a$$ off so I could be FREE. I was never working for money to buy stuff that I didn’t need. So here is a little break down of the choices I made from 15 years old that allowed me to live my current life.
𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟑 - 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟓 (𝟏𝟓 - 𝟏𝟕 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝) - – Stopped playing sports and got my first job at Dairy Queen. Joined DECA (Distributed Education Courses of America) competed in business competitions to learn more about business. Became president of BPA (Business Professionals of America) did some more business competitions and worked for the City of Temple finance department to continue learning more about business through my high school graduation.
𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟕 (𝟐𝟎 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐎𝐥𝐝) - Recruited into Mary Kay as an independent beauty consultant. I worked this business strong to become a team leader and used this income as my pocket money during college. I also learned how much discipline was required to be an entrepreneur.
𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟗 (𝟐𝟐 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐎𝐥𝐝) - Graduated from Prairie View A & M University in 4 years with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. I could have partied and threw my first couple of years away like most college kids, but I had a plan and it didn’t include me wasting two years of my life partying.
𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟎 (𝟐𝟑 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐎𝐥𝐝) - I saw early on that office politics was going to drive me insane. So I started to plan my exit from corporate America in 5 years. I obtained my Texas Real Estate Salesperson License & Mortgage Loan Officer License so I could have additional side hustle income to my salary. I saved and spent wisely!
𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟐 (𝟐𝟓 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐎𝐥𝐝) - Purchased a single family home in hopes that I would gain equity in the property and work my way towards a positive net worth.
𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟑 (𝟐𝟔 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐎𝐥𝐝) - I realized that people were doing business with me and not the brands that I had associated myself with so I went independent and setup sole proprietorships as a Real Estate Broker (LDJ Properties) and a Mortgage Broker (Platinum Capital group/ now dissolved).
𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟒 – 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟕 (𝟐𝟕 – 𝟒𝟎 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝) - Rode the waves of life and stayed focused on my goals. I worked corporate jobs, my side hustles and paid off all my debt except for my house. I kept my spending somewhat in check (I had moments of foolish spending). Then I made the decision that I deserved to take a break and live the life that I worked so hard for.
𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟕 – 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟗 (𝟒𝟎 - 𝟒𝟐 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝) - My original plan to become an expat didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to, so I enjoyed the fruits of my labor and took a three year travel sabbatical! While on that sabbatical I started an online business as a blogger @livingdreamsjoyfully and started an independent travel agency to monetize the blog.
𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎 & 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 - I will go back into grind mode so I can continue to live life on my terms!
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