5 Tips: How to Travel Without a Savings

There’s a misconception that only the wealthy can travel well. While some could debate the meaning of “well” in this instance, there is no doubt that if you enjoy and have fun on your travels, then you are doing it well!

Even if you don’t have a big budget or savings account to splurge on all the tourist spots, you can still travel – and well! Creative ways I’ve found to make my travel dreams come true are outlined here for you.

1. Sell What Weighs You Down: I preach over and over again the magnitude of minimalism – and with reason. Take a look around – what’s keeping you locked in the cycle of debt, that could instead earn you income by selling it?
   

2. Simplify: Are you buying things just to impress others? Living in a luxury home when a simpler home would suffice? There are many ways to simplify life that can boost your ability and freedom to travel!
   

3. Take A Leap: Rather than booking fancy hotels and overpriced tourist activities, approach your travels with the intent to actually experience the local culture. LIVE IT rather than just VISIT IT.
   

4. Be Resourceful: Learn skills to earn money while on your trip, use campgrounds and public transportation, get out of your comfort zone. Getting out there and doing the things you’re afraid to do lead you to adventure and becoming the person who travels freely and flexibly.
   

5. Don’t Abandon Responsibilities: It’s not about running away; it’s about building a life you don’t need to run from. Get out there and LIVE!

If you want to travel, but lack the budget – look again. When you focus on gathering experiences rather than belongings, your money goes further. Vacation doesn’t have to be reserved for the summer – let’s make it part of your everyday!

CREATING A HEALTHY WORK-LIFE BALANCE

I see you over there… Working hard, pushing hard, you’re dong a great job! I know you may not feel like it at the moment, maybe you feel like its not enough or you wish you could do more. Do you find yourself questioning if t his it, your max capacity? My hope is by the end of this post you’ll have a few new ideas on how to re-calibrate in order to have a healthy work life balance scenario. Because, I have a feeling you could not only use the balance in your life but I know you can so much more!

So you want more energy, time and balance in your life?

Let’s talk about the energy automation wheel.

 It consists of 3 elements:

1.     Work

2.     Resonation

3.     Enjoyment

The goal is to have balance in these three areas of your life.

Most of us tend to be over worked! Spending at least 90% of our time in this element! The remaining 10% typically goes towards errands, picking up the kids, cleaning the house, preparing for the next day and this still feels like work!

-or-
We tend to be good at working hard and playing hard leaving no time for restoration!

All of these things take energy out of our lives so if we are not taking time to restore that energy then we are going to feel depleted!

This goes for those of you that feel you don’t do much with your life, your schedule is pretty easy but you’re still feeling burnt out all the time, you’re exhausted, waking up tired all the time and find it hard to enjoy life. This is because you are missing the 3rd part of the wheel RESTORAION!

So how do we restore?

Imagine your energy as money. If you’re looking to get more money you typically do 1 of 2 things, or preferably both, you either save or invest your money.

 ·      SAVE = Rest & Relaxation

·      INVEST = Movement (this creates return of investment or more energy)

So in order to restore we need to take our time and we need to save and invest. To save we need to take time every single day to rest and relax. Make Time For This! Get to bed on time, take 5 minutes every 30-60 minutes to deep breath. Then invest your time into things that are going to return your investment, things like movement, if you need some inspiration try out The 5-minute MOVE challenge; this is going to create more energy. If you can manage your energy then you can manage your time and if you can mange your time you can be more productive, more fulfilled, you’re going to get more done and enjoy your time more!

I hope the time you just invested in reading this post has left you feeling more energized and inspired to find more balance in your life.

 Until next time,
-MJ

MY 8 FAVORITE PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS

There is so much stuff to do on a daily basis and it can get overwhelming quick! At least over here, anyway, or for any of you out there that are hustling, starting your new business, you’ve got jobs, you’re taking care of the kids, starting a new life and you’re really trying to conquer, level up and be the best you can be.

That is way I have gathered up some of may favorite productivity tools to share with you in hopes they can help elevate your situation and of course your productivity.

#1 GOOGLE CALENDER/iCAL

For the longest time this was all I used! But, then I realized I could be more proficient if I incorporated other things to schedule all my things like my workouts, mediations and bills. I seriously used it for everything, it’s great and I love that you can sync it with your computer or access it online.

#2 BUILT IN ALARM CLOCK

This is just the alarm clock on my iPhone. I have alarms set for when to wake up, when to go to bed, my 5 minute breaks, drink water, take vitamins, move sessions. Yup, I use it all the time!

#3 TRELLO

This is a website that I had used for a while but then fell off of, I was hesitant, I loved making my to do lists, but I’ve recently moved back and I’m loving it. The features and options are wonderful. You can share lists and make lists of list, oh my, you can make notes between people viewing, there are alarms and due dates, seriously so many options, its great and I highly recommend it!

#4 EXCEL SPREADSHEETS

I’m all about Excel; I have money, energy, mood and workout trackers that I’ve created on with it. I used to do all of this on graph paper but it took up so much of my time and energy!

#5 QUICKBOOKS

This was hard at first, since I am such a fan of Excel its what I have always used to keep track of my business finances but since becoming a corporation I was almost forced into QuickBooks but its awesome! It’s syncs with your account, you can snap photos of your receipts and attach them effortlessly. It’s so different from what I was originally used to but it’s so efficient!

#6 DROPBOX

I use this for everything! A lot of people use things like iCloud or other cloud backups, but Dropbox is defiantly my favorite! It syncs my photos, private and work related, project sheets for work when we are out an about, also sending and sharing files when we are traveling or away, yeah… digital life is pretty cool when you think about it.

#7 SCHEDULING APPS – LATER

I am big on social media so a scheduling app like www.later.com makes my life so much better! Ill normally schedule post out for 2 days or so and it allows me be so much more present with my posts and the content I’m trying to share. I don’t have to post on the fly or on the go and I can even schedule out social media posts for when I have a vacation planned so I can focus on spending quality time with friends and family.

#8 MINT OR CLARITY

I used these apps for setting budgets to help me track my spending. These apps will send notifications if you have reached or are reaching a spending limit, it even keep track of reoccurring expenses!

Do you have any productivity tools that elevate your life? Let me know us know in the comments below!

May you be productive.

Until next time,

-MJ

9-5 VS. Entrepreneurship – Pros & Cons

You all know I love business building and the path of entrepreneurship! I think it’s a great way to challenge yourself and to create self-improvement, it exposes us to adversity, so we can learn grown and refine. Entrepreneurship has been so fulfilling and value adding to me and my life and in return I get to share this value and fulfillment with others.

I have noticed along my journey that a lot of people tend to be on the fence about whether the path of entrepreneurship is for them, what’s really involved when it comes to leaving your 9-5 and whether it’s worth it or not. My hope is that I can bring some clarity about the differences between working a 9-5 vs. Entrepreneurship the benefits and the downsides as well.

9-5 PROS

1.    Steady work, income and clients
It’s not up to you to make sure the business is up and running. Your main responsibility is the one task at hand, the task you have been hired for and typically the pay scale reflects the amount of difficulty or responsibility you’ve taken on.

2.     Integrated Benefits
Wages are, typically, withheld, its common to receive a store discount and even health insurance, this makes things easy, straight forward, consistent and routine. You just have to show up, do the job and get paid.

3.     Community
I’ve made some really great friends through work and I’ve always looked forward to starting a new job knowing that the potential to meet new people and build a community, was there.

Entrepreneur PROS

1.    You have full and total control
Some might call us control freaks ;) that’s fine by me. Honestly, though I love being able to control my time, the amount of time work, for how long, how much or how little. You have control over what type of work you do and the amount of money you make for that job.

2.    Full optimization
You can focus on the things that you enjoy.

9-5 CONS 

1.     You’re at the mercy of your job
You’re capped at how often you can work, you only have so many vacation days and sick days, if you don’t like working with somebody… you’ve got to deal with it, same goes for some of your tasks. Of course, often times you can talk with a manager to work something out, but most of the time you are at the mercy of the job, boss or company and their expectations of you.

Entrepreneur CONS

1.     Your responsible for everything
If you’re not bringing business in, if you’re not making money… It’s your fault.

2.     We were never properly trained for this
In school we were trained to be “factory workers” we clock in, we clock out, we show up, we stand in a line, we do what we are told. This has made it difficult to navigate the unknown of entrepreneurship while learning to solve problems we didn’t even know we had! 

3.     No work integrated benefits
It’s up to you to figure out what insurance plan to go with and pay for, you need to file your own taxes… you need to file your own taxes… one more time, you need to file your own taxes! If you’ve been following my journey, you’ll know there was one year I had a wonderful lesson with this one!  

It’s so important to figure out the important stuff and be sure to have your ducks in a row.

If you think there is anything I’ve missed please let me know by leaving it in the comments below, and I am curious which do you prefer? I think its pretty obvious which way I lean.

Until next time,
Be good, be great and most of all be grateful.

-MJ

Charity Ideas – How to Contribute

Giving feels so good, doesn't it? And it’s that time of year when we tend to make that conscious effort to be especially giving. Outside of the holidays and regular daily contributions of love, making time to contribute to a greater cause regularly is crucial to our happiness… but where do we start? Truly there are no rules to contribution but here are some helpful tips on how to start, whether it be to charity or just contributing your time to a loved one. 

1.    Time
Nothing is more valuable than our time. There is no way to create more and no way to get it back. That is why I see giving of time as the highest contribution you can make! A few ways you can give your time are by locating a local food kitchen or shelter that needs volunteers. You can donate your time by going to a local beach or neighborhood to pick up trash or you can give your time to a particular cause by contributing your efforts to building new schools or homes in areas of need.

2.    Money
For some of us it might be possible to actually give a portion of our income back via charity, to someone in need through websites like GoFundMe, or to an organization that is dear to your heart or that supports a cause you feel passionate about. The organizations that I have felt strongly about contributing to lately have been Charity Water & 4ocean. Another favorite way to give money is go to a restaurant and give my server a large tip if the service was exceptional or, maybe, I could tell they were having a bum day.

Often times it may feel like we don’t have enough to give but when we give, it seems, that life conspires to give back 10-fold.

3.     Create Your Own
If you see a problem or an issue ask for help by creating a campaign. Facebook has a wonderful feature now, for birthdays, you can ask for donations to a charity or campaign of your choice! How amazing is that!

I recently had an amazing experience with this when my Brother-In-Law lost his baby and almost his wife in the process. They had so many medical bills (I didn’t have enough money to contribute on my own), I thought about asking others for help and sure enough, all of you banned together and made it happen! It was a wonderful first-hand experience to see how much relief it brought them. It gave them time to grief, it took stress off their shoulders, when it came time to deal with finances - it allowed them time to focus on mental and physical health. This is something that will stick with us for the rest of our lives, that is the power of giving, you can make a real difference for everyone involved.

There are always going to be different reasons or notions that might inspire you to give. I always say, follow them! 

Until next time,
Be good, be great, and most of all be grateful!

-MJ

Why I Love Working Online

A lot of these reasons may not come off as a complete surprise to you but I figured it would be a great topic to discuss seeing as there are some of you out there that are thinking about working online or are considering your next side hustle or project.

Lets go ahead and jump right into it!

1. You have access to the global marketplace!
   There are so many great tools and softwares available online that can help us to target our demographic and find our audience and client base that we are looking for to buy our product or service. That means endless possibilities!
   

2. Mobility
   This was such a huge motivator for my husband and I when we started our family! We didn’t want to be tied down with other business ventures like franchises or real-estate. We wanted to travel and have freedom so we decided to create income that was mobile! This is the power of working online!
   

3. Less Overhead
   If a majority of your transactions take place online you have significantly less overhead than if you owned a physical location. It’s a relief to not have a massive location, there is less to manage and less cavities that come along with it. This supports my minimalist approach to life and business. I can literally pack up my business in a backpack and take it with me wherever I go!
   

4. Minimal Equipment & Supplies
   This goes hand in hand with #3 Although, my husband and I are photographers which means we do have to have equipment. We have significant storage space for lighting and products as well as propping and staging, but you don’t have too! Thats the beauty thing. if you just do consulting, coaching, strategy or teaching online course you don’t necessarily need so much for work or for your clients.
   

5. The Marketplace Is Open 24/7
   You never have to close up shop! People can still contact you, e-mail you, look at your products or services, check out your portfolio or website. Even while you are sleeping people can still shop!
   

6. Optimal & Efficient
   You guys know I am all about optimizing, optimizing life, money, time and experiences! I believe working online has helped me optimize not only my business but also my life!
   
   Until next time,
   Be good, be great, and most of all be grateful!
   
   -MJ