Dear Money Adventurer,
Over the last year and a half of living through a global pandemic, many of us find ourselves navigating a shift in perspective, realigning our goals, or fine-tuning personal priorities.
Personally, I’ve found myself pondering life and death, like so many of us probably are, and I’ve realized that I want to experience more of life right now.
So, after saving up to have nice new carpets put in our home, I’m taking my family to Barcelona instead. The flights, hotel, and kitty sitter are all booked and we’ll be celebrating Christmas, the new year, and my birthday in Spain!
After talking it through with my husband – with Forest asking some great questions, me doing a body check-in, and us working through the answers together – I realized that I would rather be a woman who takes her family to Barcelona than the lady with nice carpets.
But it’s also about me wanting and needing to give my family quality time together, an adventure to explore, discover, and create priceless memories.
It’s me revisiting the numbers, alongside my big-picture priorities, and aspirations, in the here and now to make the money decision that is most aligned with my deepest values, hopes, and dreams.
I am outrageously excited for this trip to happen – it feels like I’ve been waiting forever. While we’ve been to Barcelona once before, and did all the sightseeing things, we had a second trip planned for the spring of 2020. That was canceled, two weeks before take-off, when COVID-19 shut everything down.
Now here we are, a year and a half later, ready to venture safely back out into the world. We’re all vaccinated, and hoping to get the booster before we go if it’s available. Vaccine rates are high in Catalonia, masks are required for all indoor spaces, and the weather will be nice enough that we’ll be able to eat outside and enjoy our surroundings. I cannot wait!
If you’ve been to Barcelona before and have any must-sees or beloved hidden gems to share, please let me know! I’ve already started researching the food tours, so I’ll be good and ready for that part of the adventure. The last time we visited, I did a chocolate tasting tour and it was incredible! I know, me and chocolate? Who would have guessed?!
This is one of those dreams that I have been sitting, waiting, and wishing for, and I am so excited to make it happen again!
So, let this be a loving reminder that you are allowed to change your mind and choose again – in life and in money. You get to decide what next step is right for you.
Sometimes those choices are simple and clear, and other times we find ourselves struggling to find the answer or solution that feels best for us. Recently, Forest and I listened to this Ted Talk about how to make hard decisions – especially when one option isn’t necessarily “better” than the other – and it’s helped us navigate decisions as this journey continues to unfold.
Each one of us gets to determine the choices we make as we pursue our values, goals, and deepest dreams to create a life, and a relationship with money, that is beautifully, uniquely, intimately our very own.
