Leaping to Mexico City!
Welcome
Welcome to Erika's Artsy Travel Blog, where I share about the art I create, see, and taste through my travels! First of all, thank you for joining me on this journey. The road here was paved in second guessing, stress, and tears! I have been wanting to be a #digitalnomad since the year after my college graduation when I realized the harsh reality of the corporate world. I went from feeling like I might change the world and really help people; to feeling like a numbered body in a desk, serving a corporate mindset based on lack/scarcity and resource-hoarding to the upper levels of the company.
After 8 years in Corporate and over 15 years leading people, processes, and operations in IT, Retail, and E-commerce I was tired and was ready to bet on myself. I was very, very fortunate to be in a position to take an intermittent retirement and travel the world, as I have been for the past 9 months. Mexico City, I have finally made it!
“After 8 years in Corporate and over 15 years leading people, processes, and operations in IT, Retail, and E-commerce I was tired and was ready to bet on myself.”
In this posting I will focus on my journey getting here. I have been asked by many friends, family, and strangers online how I got so lucky. Hopefully, this blog will serve to help those that want to do the same by learning through my experience.
The Lead Up
So how the heck did I get lucky enough to take the leap from working full-time to intermittent retirement? The answer is three-parts: 1. Manifest, 2. Investments 3. Making the decision to do it.
Manifest:
As crazy and woowoo as it may sound I truly believe in the power of manifestation and I can say from personal experience that when I practice it, I get EVERYTHING I ask for and sometimes MORE! #manifest
How I did this? Write down my most outlandish goals.
Examples from my list: make over $100k/year before age 30; be 100% debt free; travel five times per year twice internationally and three times within United States; meet and do life with a romantic partner who is kind, respectful, honest and we have a life filled with passion, laughter, and creation; retire by 30.
Read goals to self each day, sometimes twice a day and envision it happening and the feelings felt when it does, and think of all the good that can come from this happening. Then stay open to signs from the Universe. I learned this from Denise DT's book Get Rich Lucky B*tch (#getrichluckybitch #denisedt #audible). At first I was skeptical, so I started with a harmless one, one that would help, but that I wasn't desperate for. This goal was to get an extra $5k in one month outside of my normal W2 income "for the highest good of all, doing harm to none". Low and behold, I received a $5k check in the mail for a car accident that I had had 3 months back. I cried with joy and my mind was changed...also, all those example goals came true within the timelines I requested. #proof
Investments:
I invested in a diverse set of stocks, bonds, EFTs, IRAs, and mutual funds that have lent themselves to an average of 8-12% returns annually, so while I did lose some funds from my portfolio during the downturn of 2022, I did not lose nearly the amount that some of my acquaintances have. Also, I prefer to play the long game not the short game (#notadaytrader), which also makes me remember that I can white-knuckle-it through some temporary rough patches until the market corrects.
I invested in real estate, pre-pandemic, so I was fortunate enough to profit at the right time from a very strange circumstance. Inflation doubled the value of my home and I did not have much to pay off, so I chose to sell, pay off all my debt, and place my remaining money into interest bearing savings accounts and my investment funds. I rented a small one-bedroom apartment until I could determine what my next move would be. Due to the inflation I did not feel it was a smart time to purchase another home, and decided to wait to do that at a more favorable time. I ran into a legal issue, that ruled in my favor and I invested that money as well. At the time I was still working, so I could continue to add to my savings account.
Making the Decision:
I was burnt out with working, and I had been on the grinding for a long time. I had not had a single break other than maybe four weeks over the course of 15 years where I was not working, going to school, or doing both. Some of the positions I held were on contract so I was not provided vacation time for about three years of my career. PS, that to me was so not worth it. I looked at my finances, realized I was set for about 2 years without working, and decided to let myself reach my goal of retirement by 30...it was intermittent, though it was retirement none the less. The good news, I could afford it, I knew I deserved it despite really fighting some guilt demons about how unfortunate it was that many other folks could not do the same. I decided to just go for it and see what happens. I budgeted for travel and after my first trip to Mexico City for my friend's wedding, I booked more travel, and decided to visit Mexico City again but this time for a two-month stay!
Below is an inspirational image of me living my best life in Mexico City! I look forward to sharing more of the beauty that I find in the city with you in my coming blog posts. Thank you for reading!
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