The Get Ready Money Podcast

The Get Ready Money Podcast with Nicole Vilaca: Be True To Yourself

• Tony Steuer

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On the latest episode of The Get Ready Money Podcast, I spoke with Nicole Vilaca, founder and global citizen strategist at Work, Wealth and Travel about changing the way we think about money and being true to yourself.

In this episode we discussed:

  • The importance of understanding the power of mindset.
  • Why you should be mindful of your goals.
  • How you can live a lifestyle by design.
  • Personal finance is unique to each of us. 
  • Be intentional with who you spend time with. 
  • Anything is possible, you just have to put in the work. 

Nicole Vilaca is an experienced global citizen who embarked on her journey almost a decade ago, leaving her home country behind. With a background as an expatriate, full-time traveler, and now a diversified global citizen, she offers valuable expertise in assisting clients with residency relocation, tax optimization, and citizenship acquisition. Having visited over 40 countries, Nicole possesses a profound understanding of diverse lifestyles, cultures, and investment opportunities abroad.

Connect with Nicole Vilaca:


Website: http://workwealthandtravel.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolevilaca/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workwealthandtravel

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/WrkWealthTravel

You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/@workwealthandtravel


Podcast:


Work, Wealth and Travel Podcast: https://workwealthandtravelpodcast.com/

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Speaker 1:

Are you looking to get ready, be prepared and transform your financial future? Then you've come to the right place. This is the Get Ready Money Podcast with Tony Stewart, where Tony has insightful conversations with financial experts who are changing the way we think about money. Catch up on the latest financial trends and hear practical advice from Tony and his expert guests so you can build healthy habits that work, Be empowered with tips for implementing small changes that can have a big impact on your financial future. So sit back and get ready to hear from today's guest.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Get Ready Money podcast changing the way we think about money. I'm pleased to be joined today by Nicole Vellaca. Nicole is a global citizen strategist. In this episode, we'll be discussing Nicole's insights on how we change the way we think about money in work, wealth and travel. Nicole, welcome to the Get Ready Money podcast. Thanks for joining us today.

Speaker 3:

Thank you. Thank you for having me here. I'm so excited to dive in.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I am too. You're doing so much cool stuff that I'm sure the audience is going to love to hear about. But you know, let's get started about you. What's your origin story?

Speaker 3:

Yes, great question. So I am originally from Canada and in about 2015, 2016, I had finished my higher education and you know we all kind of go on that quote unquote traditional pathway and we all know what that looks like and I knew what was waiting for me, which was getting a corporate job a well, a good, high paying job in corporate, probably in downtown Toronto, and then eventually having a mortgage and having the 2.5 kids and the car payment and the dog, and I started. You know, my journey really started with finance I'm not in that space within my business now, but it really started with taking a look at my finances and realizing that I wouldn't be fulfilled in that lifestyle that I just described, and so why would I want to work so hard for a life that I would have to spend my money on like a house and a car? And I didn't care about those things and I still don't, really, quite honestly and so I started looking into alternative options and this was 2015, 2016. Nobody was really talking about living a more unconventional, untraditional lifestyle. But I went online and I don't know if you're familiar you probably are with some of the blogs. They're still big now, but you know A Mad Scientist and Go Curry Cracker and Millennial Revolution. So all of these blogs who were talking about dividend investing and investing in index funds in the stock market and having dividends that you could. Then, you know, once you've amassed enough equity, once you have that you can really start to. In their case, they were traveling the world living off of dividends and then amassed various other income streams. But that was a whole new world to me and I am like 20 years old at this point and it was just completely opened up my mind.

Speaker 3:

And so in 2017, I quit my job that I had in Canada, which was a great job, and I was like you know what, I'm going to just take some sort of scary action, because I need to actually take an action in order for something to unfold. I didn't know what the something was going to be, so I moved to China, I got a job in China and the cost of life, especially at the time in China, was much lower than Canada, and I was like you know what? I'm going to save my money and live a great life in China and hopefully I'm going to like it. You know, worst case scenario, I go back to Canada and regroup and try again somewhere else, but I would use that money that I was saving to invest in stocks and index funds and then start to live this lifestyle that I was seeing various others online live, but it wasn't really so talked about.

Speaker 3:

There was one other person who was also a Canadian, who also was in Korea, and then China who was doing something similar, and he was the only other person, and so that is really where my journey started, with, at 20 years old, having to really take a hard look at my life and figure out what I wanted, and really I didn't really know what I wanted, but I knew what I didn't want, and so how can I mitigate that and how can I change the trajectory of my life? I think since lockdown, there's been a lot more conversation about that, which I love, but back in 2015, 2016, nobody was talking about this, and so it was something that was completely revolutionary for my 20-year-old mind, and that's where my journey started, and so that's kind of the short story of the starting point.

Speaker 2:

Well, that is awesome. I love that story. I think you said a couple of things. I just want to highlight is one, you know take an action to get something to unfold. There's so many people just keep waiting, you know, for the perfect time. And you know you didn't. You did your research and were ready to go. But the other thing you said, too, is that you asked yourself the question is how can I change the trajectory of my life? And I think that's an important question. So, you know, let's dive into that just a little bit more. Is, you know, how can people you know ask themselves and kind of go a little bit deeper on the question of changing the trajectory of their lives?

Speaker 3:

Totally Well. I think for me and for a lot of people, it really starts with reflecting within and figuring out what you want in your life. And, like I said, for me I didn't really know what I wanted. I was 20 years old but I knew what I didn't want and that was so much more powerful than knowing what I wanted. You know, I think that a lot of people get very stuck in the rat race and the shoulds and I should have a house by this age and I should have, you know, a child and a car and all of these things. But I think, especially now in the last few years, it's there's so many different ways to live life and I think a lot of people are coming to the realization slowly that there is not just interest for us to live that way and go through the traditional education system that's supplied by public, private schools. You know there are so many, such as world schooling, so many different, unconventional ways to learn education that, in my opinion, is just as good, if not better, because an agenda isn't being pushed, but that's a different topic. So, you know, I think that people are really realizing there's other ways to live and for me that really comes down to figuring out what you want in your life and then just taking that action and going from there. And the action is scary. I think now you know.

Speaker 3:

To be completely honest, I look back seven years ago to leaving Canada forever I didn't know that at the time, but forever and it was scary. I think now I, just because it was so long ago, I forget how scary that was at 21 years old to leave your home country, the only place that you've really ever lived, and to go move to a new continent, China of all places. But I think that that is so important and maybe you don't want to do something that extreme, but really figuring out, you know, what do I want my life to look like and how am I going to go on that path. And for me, what I always say is the worst case scenario was that I didn't like it.

Speaker 3:

China was not for me, for whatever reason. It didn't work out. What's the worst thing that can happen? I fly back to Canada, I regroup and then I go somewhere else, or I do it again, and I, you know, is that really a worst case scenario? For me it wasn't, and so I was willing to take that risk and take that chance and I think you know if you really want something bad enough, you probably will also be willing to take the risk and take the chance.

Speaker 2:

That's awesome. One thing you said there that I think we don't ask ourselves enough is ask yourself what's the worst that can happen Is, you know, not only with our money, but, as you asked, about your life but it applies to our money as well.

Speaker 2:

What is the worst that can happen, you know, is, yeah, maybe some things aren't going to work out that well, but usually it's not going to be the worst that we can imagine. Our imaginations usually get away from us. So I commend you for taking that huge, what some would call almost a crazy leap at age 21. What some would call almost a crazy leap at age 21. But it's cool because you did it and you're following your dreams, and that is always something that so many of us do. We just work at our jobs and you know, like you said, is do what we think we're supposed to do rather than do what we want to do and what our hearts tell us. So that's awesome. So let's talk a little bit about what you do. I mean, you know, tell us what is a global citizen strategist.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, definitely. So that's a term that I actually coined myself. When I saw the domain was free. I was like great, perfect, this is gonna work. But I find it really sums up in the best way possible what I do, because it's hard to sum it up into three words, but essentially what we do at Work, wealth and Travel is we will help our clients and they're typically from Western countries, but not always to relocate abroad and to gain additional residencies and citizenships in the process. Usually that means that they have to leave, or at least leave part-time, that country that they're from. It works a little bit different for the US, but for Canada, uk and Australia they will usually have to leave at least part-time, if not.

Speaker 3:

Usually we recommend full-time. To relocate elsewhere, and I think a lot of people think you're going to have a much worse quality of life elsewhere, and that is absolutely not the case. You can geo-arbitrage, so I'm sure your audience is very familiar with that term but meaning that you can live a life abroad in my opinion, a much higher quality of life, better quality ingredients, products, just lifestyle in general for a much lower cost. But that is not the reason why I live this lifestyle and the reason why we help clients is because a lot of the time they also want to for political reasons, for economic reasons, various different reasons. They don't vibe with what is happening usually in the government, but various other factors as well with what's happening in their Western country and the trajectory and the direction that the government is taking that country. And so they maybe. They don't want to relocate full time, they still want to have some ties to their home country and use that as kind of a plan B. But they want to start amassing additional residencies so that they can legally live in a country. Additional citizenship so that they can travel on that travel document and potentially visit the Schengen zone. If they don't have access to that, that they can legally live in a country. Additional citizenship so that they can travel on that travel document and potentially visit, you know, the Schengen zone, if they don't have access to that, or different countries where their passport current passport may not have visa-free travel.

Speaker 3:

So really just having more global options. And then within that usually falls additional bank accounts. So overseas banking for both business and personal, depending on company structure. We help with structuring companies in various different jurisdictions that are tax friendly, the bank accounts, trust formations, depending on what the client is looking for. So various different options that definitely revolve around finance as well, and I'm a big proponent of no government or corporation if you really want to call it laying claims to absolutely everything that you have. So even if you have one passport, well, that country kind of owns you in a sense. If they decide to for lockdown lock in their borders you don't really have a say in that, unfortunately, and so additional residencies and citizenships can help with that.

Speaker 3:

But also having your finances in various different countries, which is completely legal and I think a lot of people think of overseas bank accounts and trust formations and tax-friendly jurisdictions and this is all legal.

Speaker 3:

It does need proper structuring and setup, but there are options where you can have some or most of your money in two, three, four, five different bank accounts in different countries around the globe, and you know a great example we've seen it a lot within the US in the last year, but a great example that I like to use is the trucker protest during the lockdown in Canada, where anybody who was involved or even thought to be involved was their bank account was frozen by the government, and so if you only have one, even two or three bank accounts within that one country, access to your money and therefore access to living your life as just a normal human being is unfortunately taken away from you, and so we help our clients to mitigate that. In a world where, unfortunately, but increasingly, governments are just not an entity that you can trust in most countries, Wow, well, we could go down that road.

Speaker 2:

Not really the show's thing, but I think for some people, you know that this is important to show that you know that you can live in other countries. And you're concerned with something is that you do have options, and that's awesome, that you're helping people discover the options. So you know, you talk a little bit about lifestyle by design. What is a lifestyle by design?

Speaker 3:

Absolutely yeah. So I love the term. I use the term, you know, very interchangeable lifestyle design. And I actually didn't even realize this until somebody told me on my podcast was that Tim Ferris coined this term in his book the 4-Hour Workweek, which I never read. I think I kind of understand the general premise now but never read it, so didn't know that he used that term.

Speaker 3:

But for me, a lifestyle by design essentially means that you are living a lifestyle that is by your own design. So like we were talking about in the beginning, really a lifestyle that is true to you and you take a cold hard look at what you're seeking in your life and then you work toward that. And it does require work. It does require usually some sort of scary action. Scary to begin with. You'll become a lot more comfortable with the unfamiliar, I believe, as you go along in this journey.

Speaker 3:

But it will require some sort of scary action and for me that looked like moving to China. For you that could look like quitting a job and starting a business and going all in because you don't have that time freedom if you are working a nine to five. So it really looks like taking that scary action and I kind of like to break it down into two parts. So the first part is you have to know what that looks like, or at least have a loose idea of what your lifestyle, by design, looks like. So that's the first part and that's really a reflection from within. But then that second part is the scary action, because the idea is nothing without you taking action behind that.

Speaker 3:

So, and you know, I I am sitting here seven, eight years later from when I left Canada and moved to China and I never thought that I would be where I am today. I could have never dreamed this. But just because I took that big scary action, it set me up on the trajectory to get to where I am today. And I love just one last thing. I love the quote I never say it correctly, but something along the lines of you can't see the entire staircase, but you can take the first step. And I think a lot of us really want to, and I'm the exact same, I'm very type A we want to see the entire staircase, but that's just unfortunately never going to happen. And I think it's actually best if that doesn't happen, because you don't want to know what your whole life and the trajectory is going to look like, but you do have to take that first step.

Speaker 2:

That's awesome. Well, you know that's the saying. You know, every journey starts with the first step, and that's not the saying either. So we'll both mangle sayings right now, but I love it and I'm with you. I'm one of those planners that I want to know every step and that's just not. Life Doesn't work that way. It doesn't work that way with your money. It doesn't work that way with life in general. So you know, like, well, for example, is it okay if I say where you're recording from today? Absolutely so. Is it okay if I say where you're recording from today? Absolutely so. Yeah, so you're in Mexico today. So you know, nicole, you really live that lifestyle that you talk about. But one of the things is, you know, people get really concerned about their money and you touched on that. What has been one of your bigger challenges with money during your travels?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, that's a great question Money, especially when you're traveling. Your life can look different from day to day. So you could have one day where you're staying in a five-star hotel, if you choose, and another day where you're potentially slumming it in a Selena like a more, let's say, fancy hostel. It's really up to you, when you're traveling, how you want your life to look, and that can, like I said, look different by the day, look different by the week or look different by the month. We usually plan by month, so that's how it looks for us, but I think a lot of people, especially when you are leaving corporate America or your home country, you think like I'm going to ball out, I'm going to have all of this money and it's going to be great, and I have, you know, savings, so I'm going to live in these five star places. And you really have to take a holistic look at the long term, whether that be you're going to be traveling for the rest of your life. Long term, whether that be you're going to be traveling for the rest of your life, okay, the longer term might look like a few years into the future. Or if you're going to be traveling for a few months, or even just a few days. It's going to look different depending on what that trajectory looks like for you. But it can be difficult especially when you're leaving a corporate America, like I said, but in general to know where your money is going to go, because when you're traveling things pop up. You have your general expenses, like your hotel, your Airbnb or your hostel, whatever it may be, and then you know you're going to have to eat a few times a day and then maybe you want to do some excursions. So those are kind of the general expenses that you know that you can expect.

Speaker 3:

But living this lifestyle, especially where I live, a full-time travel lifestyle, and we don't plan to settle in one specific location really at any point in the future right now. So you really have to figure out what is your finances going to look like in the long term? Does it make sense to book seven excursions within the next seven days and they're each $150 per person plus food? I mean that could very well look sustainable, but it also could not. And then you also have to factor in the time and I know this is deviating a little bit from the finances, but the time to work on your business or the time to work for your employer, if you're working remote, and then that time translates into money as well. So you have to budget that into what your travel plans are going to look like. So there's no one right answer because it's going to look different for everybody.

Speaker 3:

But I think when a lot of people start out on this unconventional lifestyle journey, you don't know what the future is going to look like. So you want to make sure you have some savings some I don't love the word savings these days, but really you know bringing that into investments or whatever your investments may look like. I'm a lot into crypto, especially during the bull market. These days. I work a lot more in that than I do in the stock market, so that's kind of another topic. But yeah, so you know you really want to budget out what that's going to look like for you in the longer term. And time is money and where's your money going. And then how are you going to allocate your time so that you can have a good return of investment on your time to get that money?

Speaker 2:

Get a good return of investment on your money. That is so important. I think people overlook that the money is. I mean, the time is an asset or a liability, however you want to do it. And just a shout out to one of my old episodes with Ben Miller who talks about time is money and that's his whole app is equating the two, which is an interesting way to look at some. But question I have for you as you talk about this is are goals an important part of your life? Setting your goals and understanding your goals?

Speaker 3:

Absolutely, absolutely. I will be quite honest and say the financial goals are more so secondary. Where, for me, the business goals and milestones because that's where a lot of the income comes through is the business. So I really have to set goals for the business and then that will translate into money. So for me that's how it works as an entrepreneur it may not look the same for everybody, but absolutely having both professional goals so within the business, knowing what the finances are going to look like, the clients and whatnot but also, on a personal note, personal goals as well. You know, what do we want to achieve, what investments are we looking at that look interesting within the shorter term, so you know, six months to the pretty long term, which can be five years down the line. And those personal goals sometimes they kind of merge for me with business goals as well, because we do handle real estate and whatnot with our clients. So sometimes looking into that with clients kind of translates over to the personal for us, where it's like, okay, this looks interesting or this city is interesting, let's explore this a little bit. So it's nice that they can merge a little bit for me personally, just due to the nature of the business, but, yeah, also the personal goals.

Speaker 3:

We need to be really mindful. When I say we, I mean my partner and I were very mindful of what the future trajectory looks like. And while we don't I am type A but I don't like to plan too far ahead in the future but we do have a picture of what the next one, three, five years are going to look like, from both a business and a personal standpoint. You got to have fun along the way, so not every single second or day is mapped out, not by any means. But having a loose picture and goal of where we're going to be going and what that's going to be, what's that, what that is going to look like for us, is very important.

Speaker 2:

Well, that's awesome and I think that's important, you know, because most people really do think that way when they think of their goals. Is, you know, they? They don't think, boy, I want to retire and I want to have one point three million dollars when I retire. Is there like, oh, you know, maybe they want to retire to a different country, which is right up your alley, or they want to, you know, be comfortable, spend time with their grandchildren or travel, or whatever that. You know that we're thinking of goals, thinking of goals. Most of us don't think about the tactical things, which is what you're talking about. Is you're talking about, you know, the big picture, and I think that's that's important thing to understand is that all these other things are tactics to get you to your goals, and I love that. So you know, let's get into the get ready questions.

Speaker 3:

The first one is to the get ready questions. The first one is what basic money concept do you wish people knew? Oh, wow, okay, I mean there's definitely a lot. I feel like personal finance is on the rise, which is amazing, and there are some great accounts, even just on social media, out there that I think are really doing a great job of educating people on personal finance. But I'm a big proponent of you know I know somebody else says this as well but I truly believe that personal finance is very unique to that individual and so they're what Sally's doing and you know her American dream living and lifestyle.

Speaker 3:

I have a lot of friends who are still in Canada and living that lifestyle and love it and I am so happy for them and I always say you know, if, if it is truly what you want, you've thought about it and you're like this is the life that I want, the American dream, the nine to five, the white picket fence, the 2.5 kids If that is what you are, what truly lights you up in your life, go for it. I'm so happy for you. It's when people kind of start lying to themselves a little bit of like, oh, I need to do this or oh, I should do this. That's when it changes for me and I think, okay, this isn't really true to who you are, so going off of that. I think that personal finance is very personal to every individual. It's not going to look the same for every single person and that is okay. What your neighbor is doing and what your parents think that you're doing does not need to be what you're doing.

Speaker 3:

Actually, a very interesting example. I was just talking to my partner about this. I was on a call with my parents the other day and was talking to them about potentially we were looking into some real estate here in Mexico and you know they had amassed five or six homes as landlords, rental income throughout their life and so you know they have a good income in Canada. And they were saying on this call yeah, you know you need to start buying some real estate and you need to get into the market and in any country. You know Mexico is a great country because there's a lot of foreigners here and what are you going to do when you're 65? Like, we have this rental income and it's great because we, you know we we we're sitting on this great portfolio now and I'm like that is great for you, but the world has changed.

Speaker 3:

A lot of things have changed since you started getting involved in real estate decades and decades ago, and I I I'm trying to think of a good way to say this you can amass a one, two or $3 million portfolio over the course of your lifetime.

Speaker 3:

You can also amass that in one year.

Speaker 3:

You know, the world is a lot different now and there are so many different ways that I think you know and I'm not going to explain all of this to my parents, because they've amassed a great portfolio through some real estate properties, which is amazing. But there are also so many other ways and so many quicker ways to amass a portfolio, and so that's why I think savings is great, but you really want to put that into something these days, because savings is not what it used to be, that's for sure. So, yeah, I guess that's my kind of long answer and little story that I hope will get listeners thinking a little bit that things are not the way that they are. And just because we hear our parents I think especially people my age and millennials they hear or is it Gen Z? I'm a millennial. I guess Gen Zs they'll hear our parents saying that real estate's great and it's like, yes, it is great, but there are so many either faster ways or different ways to amass more money and more investments than what it looked like 50 years ago.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, well, I think one thing there, of course, is that things change, but I think something you said earlier is also super important Personal finance is personal Teach of us and, to be true to yourself, that's what really resonated with me is, you know, personally, you know my wife and I have talked about, you know, buying real estate rental properties, but I have no interest in being a landlord and doing all those things you have to do in managing a real estate portfolio. I invest in a real estate investment trust where somebody else does the work for me. You know, and that's what works for us, for me, and that's what works for us. We give up some of the return for that, but, as you point out, there's so many different ways and options that you can do. Find the thing that you're comfortable with that maybe your values align with. So that's awesome advice. So what is one simple thing people can do each year to set themselves up for financial success?

Speaker 3:

Yes. Well, in my opinion, I think that you have to have some understanding of your finances in order to have financial success, and that can look different for everybody. I like to use a good old spreadsheet. That is what works for me and, quite honestly, I know in the US there's probably much better ways to do it. I know there's programs like Mint, and Copilot is one. That is just. The interface looks amazing, but you have to have the American cards to link to that. So, living a global lifestyle, sometimes it's a little more tricky because a lot of these products are based towards Americans and I have cards and credit cards in five, six, seven different countries all over the globe, so they don't always connect to these programs. So for me, what I find works is just a good old spreadsheet, but it looks. The how looks different for everybody.

Speaker 3:

But the understanding of really knowing your finances is the underlying key of what is important and knowing money that's coming in, money that's going out, where that money is going out to, is it going out to, you know, and once you start tracking, you realize patterns sometimes where I'm going out for brunch three times a week and if you just swipe the card and be done with it, you will oftentimes forget that that transaction even occurred. But once it's in, kind of like a ledger somewhere, whether that be the spreadsheet or copilot or mint or whatever that looks like so then you go in at the end of the month and you see okay, where is my money allocated to? I got a custom spreadsheet created for myself and I was selling at one point as well and it just shows where the money is allocated If it's going to food, if it's going to eating out, if it's going to rent, if it's going to investments. I have a separate category for business, for personal, so that I can really just see at the end of the month and I go through it at the end of every single month and I see what came in, what went out within personal, within business income expenses.

Speaker 3:

So we kind of have those four categories and that works for me, because I like to see it visually in a pie chart, but might look different for somebody else what works best for them. As long as you have a system to track and that doesn't have to be a forever thing, you don't have to be doing that in 10 years time but especially if you feel like your money is just. I know a lot of people will say like oh my gosh, I all of a sudden have no money in my account, like what's happening. Then that might be a good sign for you to have to see some sort of visual representation at the end of each month of like where is this actually going?

Speaker 2:

That's awesome and I hear that from so many of the guests. The listeners from the show have heard this from pretty much every guest is know your numbers, have an idea, nicole. You're not telling people that they have to do this or they have to do that, but they have to have an understanding of what's coming in or what's going out. And I think the other thing that you said that a lot of people come back to spreadsheets. Spreadsheets work, especially because you can customize them.

Speaker 2:

I've played around with a lot of personal finance programs myself and I come back to using a spreadsheet for many things just because, as you talked about, I want to see certain things, I want to be able to change this or change that. And unfortunately a sad note, if people haven't heard Mint is shutting down and so if you have a Mint account, you need to migrate to Copilot's a good one. Monarch I'm personally playing around with new retirement has some very interesting features. Or you can download from the Get Ready Movement dashboard a free cash flow worksheet, so I have that available for people as well. So great points. So the next one's about habits what?

Speaker 3:

is one habit that people can change when it comes to their money, oh my gosh, that's a big question and I'm going to say about habits first. I am a big believer and I'm sure we say about habits first. I am a big believer and I'm sure we've all heard this at some point. But your habits make your life. What becomes a habit will make your life, and so a lot of the things that I originally didn't really enjoy doing and, quite honestly, that looks like making short form content for me and going to the gym, I think, is a big one for a lot of people I took the mindset of. These are not. These are not habits. These, it's not. I'm going by discipline, it's just who I am and this is what I do. You know, either every day or every other day, I the things that are difficult for me, because the things that come easy are easy. That that's not the struggle. The struggle is the things that are a for me, because the things that come easy are easy. That that's not the struggle. The struggle is the things that are a little bit more difficult. So, like going to the gym, like for me, creating short form content, even though it takes 20 or 30 minutes. It's not really something that I enjoy too much. So I built that into who I am as a person and it's like Nicole is a person who either goes to the gym every day or goes to the gym every other day. You know, if I want to take a day off, I'm not going to beat myself up about it, but I'm not going to the gym three times a week, I'm going every day or every other day. I'm creating content. I was actually sick, quite sick, last week, so I did take a little break there. But it's like I'm creating content three to five times per week, short form content and so I build that what could be a habit or discipline into just who I am as a person. This is what Nicole does, and so it's not a question of am I going to go to the gym today? Am I going to make short form content? It's just like this is who I am and this is what I do.

Speaker 3:

And once you get into that I would say for a month, sometimes two months, depending on really what it is it becomes who you do. And once you get into that, I would say for a month, sometimes two months, depending on really what it is. It becomes who you are and you really want to get to that point and at that point it's you're laughing, hopefully at that point. But it's really those first months sometimes two months, depending on what it is that you have to just really keep in mind. You know, this is who I am as a person and this is what I do, and it becomes less of motivation or discipline, because, especially motivation, you can fall off that bandwagon. But even discipline, you know you don't want to be disciplined to do something because it means that it's not really something that you enjoy. You just want to make it who you are as a person.

Speaker 3:

So that's kind of my look, my outlook on habits. I wouldn't say for me that there is one specific habit or something like that. It's going to look different for everybody and it could definitely look like sitting I have at the end of every single month in my calendar. I live and die by my calendar, which is great. So anything that's in there, it's happening.

Speaker 3:

And so at the end of the last day, or actually the first of every single month, I have a recurring event in my Apple calendar of take a look at the finance spreadsheet, and so now, I've been doing it for years, so it's a habit, I guess you could say.

Speaker 3:

But it's just something that's in the calendar.

Speaker 3:

So it's something that I do because it's there and I take a look at it, I see the income, the expenses, personal business, all of the things, and so I think, really just setting yourself up for success, figuring out what those I guess habits look like and then building them into who you are as a person, I will say and I'm curious your opinion on this, tony, I will say I think you have so much more time freedom as an entrepreneur than working, especially going into an office and working for somebody else. So it is a little bit easier, I find, to tell myself I am this type of person, I'm going to do this like this is just who I am, it just happens without a thought or question, when you have a little bit more time freedom as an entrepreneur, versus having to live your life on someone else's time for five to nine hours per day as an employee. So I do think it can be a little bit easier as an entrepreneur, I will say, when you get to plan out your own schedule.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I would definitely agree, as you know, as being out on my own is your schedule does become more your own, you know. But if you are an employee, there's nothing wrong with that is. For some people, being an employee is an awesome way to go, but you can still take control of your schedule to some degree. To some degree, I mean, that's part of the trade off you make for working for somebody, for all the benefits that you get from being an employee. You know the employee benefits, the security of the job, you know. So maybe you can't control 100% of your calendar but, like you talked about is, you can control a lot of what you do in your work and so, yeah, I think that's a great habit is to make it a part of who you are.

Speaker 2:

But to get started, like you're talking about working out is that's hard for some of us. You know to get started, but once you start doing it, it's pretty easy, once you've done it for a couple of weeks, because then you just sort of do it and you know, think about it. So that's awesome. Like I used to play basketball every Tuesday night and it wasn't something we thought about, it's just what we did every Tuesday night we went and played basketball. There wasn't a thought about it, it was just our habit of doing it. Also, it's when we could get the gym. So that was important too. But you know that's another story. So you know, let's talk about money myths next. What money myth are you trying to break?

Speaker 3:

you know, let's talk about money myths next, what money myth? Are you trying to break that? Okay? Well, you know. So this year, at the beginning of this year, I really dove a lot more as an entrepreneur into the mindset aspect of being successful, and some people may think that this is woo woo, and it is it completely.

Speaker 3:

Is I, like I said, you know, I'm very type a. I always believed that you just work hard and it's going to come to you, and I never really understood the power of your thoughts and the power of knowing what is going to happen and then the universe making that happen for you. And and maybe I lost some people here but I do think you know, if this isn't like me, if this isn't something that you're so aware of there's so much more to this space. You know, the manifestation let's call it space and spirituality than I ever knew, and I am not an expert by any means, but I am, you know, in a program where I'm learning a lot more about it because I'm not the expert. So I want to learn from the expert and I think, as an entrepreneur and as even an employee, you really need to understand these principles. So, in terms of money myths. I think one of the big things that I always thought until quite recently was that you just work hard and money will come to you. And you know, sometimes your how hard you work is equated to how much money you bring in, which now really understanding not completely, but definitely more about the mindset space that you don't necessarily need to work harder, you don't necessarily need to grind yourself to the bone to show that you're worthy of money or to bring more money in, and that really, especially, like I said, as an entrepreneur, just in my case, I am now starting to understand that money doesn't necessarily respond to how hard I work. It responds to what I think about it and what I think the trajectory of money in my future is going to look like, and I think this is on the rise. But I mean, I'm a perfect example of.

Speaker 3:

Until a few months ago, I just thought this was complete BS. Quite honestly, you know I was like this is some woo, woo, fluffy stuff, and. But now I'm really and it's also your beliefs too, you know like is this something that? Why not believe in it? Like, what do you have to lose? Maybe you try it for a year and it doesn't work, like you're doing it wrong, or you go back. But what have you lost? I mean, maybe some time to understand these concepts, but I think these are important concepts to understand, so why not take that time to understand them? I don't really think there is so much to lose from it, pardon, but so, yeah, I think, to kind of wrap up, that is a huge money myth that I think probably you weren't expecting me to say. You were probably expecting more of a concrete answer. But I think you know, really learning and understanding the power of mindset and your thoughts and your beliefs to manifest more money and to bring more money into your life it's not necessarily just correlated with how hard you work.

Speaker 2:

Actually that's one of the eight get ready habits is thinking about how you think. So I am totally in line with you because I think mindset is so important and part of it is just people not getting freaked out about money, is understanding how money impacts you, and maybe you know what you've learned about money. You know is you could have, in your case, taken the traditional route of you know my parents invested in real estate. They were successful. I'm going to invest in real estate, but that's not really you and you know you took your own road and are taking your own road. You know to create how you want money to act in your life, and I think that's the other thing that we've heard a lot on the show is the money is just a tool to get to your goals and it really is about how you think about money. That's really the key to success.

Speaker 2:

I absolutely love that advice. So you know, let's get out the time machine for a minute. You know, let's go back to 20-year-old Nicole. What advice would you give your younger self if you could go back in time, knowing what you know now about money?

Speaker 3:

yeah, oh gosh, there's probably a lot. If I, I could probably write a whole list if I sat there and thought about it all day. I'm sure we all could at 20 years old. But I think that I guess kind of riding off of what I previously said was that I thought at 20 years old.

Speaker 3:

I think probably a lot of 20 year olds think this starting your career and finishing your higher education, that you have to work for somebody else. You have to have a salary, which can be great in some cases, you know, a high paying salary with some benefits. That can be great. But that's not the only way to make money and I didn't grow up in a family that really that were entrepreneurs let's say they actually are. Now my mom has like a million businesses, but growing up it was very much so you work for somebody else and you bring home a paycheck, and sometimes my parents would work just for the fun of it. My mom had five jobs at one point, not because we needed the money, just for fun, and it's like that. Now I see that's not a good mindset to have around money, because it just shows that you have to work so hard to have money, but I think that not enough people still today talk about there are other ways to make money. You can make money. I have clients who are 21, I think maybe 28 years old. I'm thinking of one specific client who is making a million plus in his business. You know, and it's like, that is not uncommon, that is very common. It just depends on the circles of people that you are in and who your network is and who you're choosing to spend your time with, which myself and my partner are very particular with. We, I will say like we don't have two, we don't have a large network of friends or acquaintances, because those who are in our network are people who are like-minded individuals who we really want to curate and who feel the same way when they meet us. So, yeah, I think really just sharing with myself that there are so many ways to make exponential amounts of money, especially in today's day and age.

Speaker 3:

And you, you know I'm grateful that I went to university more from the, I think, social aspect. It really helped me in that aspect with a lot of things and developing who I am as a person. But do I remember a lot of what I learned? Probably not. Was it a waste of money and time for four years of my life, probably.

Speaker 3:

And if I were to have a child in the future, just from myself and my partner's opinion, that wouldn't be something that we would necessarily say you have to go to university. If you want to go to a higher education, then that's great, but there's so many different ways to make money online. Now, if you have a skill, if you understand whether it be a high paying job like coding, whether it be really understanding crypto, which I know I've mentioned, you know is what I have been into for since the last bull market bull market, so about three, four years ago there's so many ways that you can amass wealth, and pretty quickly. Quite honestly, if you are savvy and you understand what you're doing, you don't have to go work for someone else and, unfortunately, give most of your life away.

Speaker 3:

If that's what you feel called to do and that's what you enjoy as a person and I know there are probably people listening who, like they, love going into work every day and they love their co-workers, like I said previously, if that's your heck yes life, then awesome. But if it's not and it wasn't for me when I was working a nine-to-five, I was so miserable going into the office every day, so I can speak more from that standpoint. Then there's other options out there. It's going going to take work, it's going to take time, and you might be up till 2am for the next year researching and understanding. But is that going to pay off in the long run? If the answer is yes, then there might be a better option out there for you.

Speaker 2:

Well, that's awesome advice, and I think one thing you said that I want to highlight, that I think people don't think about much, is to be intentional about who you spend time with, and I think that's a really compelling point is you know your network, who you network with, who you spend time with. You know whether they have a positive attitude or a negative attitude, you know really does have an impact on your life. So you know. To wrap up, nicole, what is your number one tip on changing the way we think about money?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, oh, this is a loaded question, tony. I feel like there's so many ways to respond to this. But my number one tip you know, I think I am going to kind of go back to what I have said previously because I think it's so potent is that you control your life, you control your money. You are the master. Whatever is happening in your life now and however you are working for money is of your doing. If you want to change it, you can. It's going to take effort, it's going to take time and it might take money in courses and trainings and whatnot, but you are the only person who controls that and nobody is going to we all know this, but nobody is going to come save you. Nobody is going to learn how to code for you. You know you have to learn those skills. You have to figure out what is the best trajectory for you and then take action on that. And then I think another important piece of that is really the mindset aspect.

Speaker 3:

I think when I started as an entrepreneur, I had a belief that I could make, you know, a few thousand, 5k per month, like that was my belief. And so I made that and I stayed there because I didn't realize, I didn't think, I didn't know for myself that more was possible until you really start doing the work and knowing like I could make million dollar months. Yes, you have to do the work. The universe isn't going to just drop that in your lap. There has to be work put into it and really understanding the business model and what you're to do the work. The universe isn't going to just drop that in your lap. There has to be work put into it and really understanding the business model and what you're doing and the service that you're bringing to people and how you're really helping them change their lives. But there are so many opportunities out there.

Speaker 3:

And just a quick note and I'm sure you've experienced the exact same, but on my podcast Work, wealth and Travel, I have had so many guests on the show and it's so interesting, as I'm sure you have. It's so interesting because they all make their money. Most of them are entrepreneurs, if not all of them, and they all make their money in different ways and not all of them have hit a million, but a lot of them have hit a million and surpassed that. And I think it just me as the host, the host having conversations with guests.

Speaker 3:

It goes to show that there is not just one or two or a few ways to make money, and to make a significant amount of money in this life. I'm a true believer that there, if you are passionate about it, it will be sustainable. And anything, absolutely anything, you can make the big bucks it could go, you know public potentially in the future, if that's what you want. That wouldn't be that big of a company is not my dream, but for some people it is, and so anything is possible in any field and you really just have to put in the hard work and also have that belief that it is possible.

Speaker 2:

Well, you said so many amazing things in there, but you know what you close with is that you have to put in the hard work. You know nothing is given to us. I think the other thing, too that you said I think is really important is you talked about service and understanding how you can help people, and I think that's at the core of any successful business, person or just person in general, is how can you help other people that when you're asking that question, you know that's that's when you're changing things, that's when you're changing people's lives and that's where you find success in serving other people. And I mean when you know we need to wrap up. But you know, when we think about your business is your business serves other people and helps them. You know, maybe you're not working for a big company, but you're working for your followers and your customers, so we're always serving people. So that's awesome advice to close on. So, nicole, where can people learn more about you? Where can they check out the Work, wealth and Travel podcast?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, absolutely so. Everything across all socials is Work, wealth and Travel. If you are interested in learning more about some potential residency and citizenship options that could work for you, youtube would probably be the best way to go. We have new content coming out all the time on the channel, so that's just Work, wealth and Travel on Instagram, on I guess it's called X these days on threads on LinkedIn as well and then we have blog posts on the website workwealthandtravelcom. Well, and then we have blog posts on the website workwealthandtravelcom. And then, as you mentioned Tony, we also have the podcast, which is you guessed it Work, wealth and Travel is the name of the podcast, and we have almost 200 episodes. We'll be hitting in the coming weeks there with, like I said, entrepreneurs who are high achievers. Tony has been on the show. Talking about entrepreneurship is definitely a topic that we like to dive into, and then also the global citizen lifestyle and what that looks for each individual.

Speaker 2:

Cool and for everybody watching and listening, I have links to all of Nicole's social media channels the YouTube channel I personally am enjoying. The Instagram channel, go, wow, that looks so cool. Where's Nicole today? Not quite Waldo, but it's like or not, carmen, san Diego, that's who I was thinking of. You know, where in the world is Nicole? So it's pretty fun If you want to see some really cool places. I just enjoy the pictures and your Instagram and um really appreciate your time today and coming on the podcast and sharing your insights.

Speaker 3:

Thank you for having me here, Tony.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so, and everyone, thank you, as always, for tuning into this episode of the Get Ready Money podcast. If you learned something today to change the way you think about money, please subscribe and share with a friend. Until next time.

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Tony Steuer

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