This week’s newsletter:

• A week of love and adventures
• Our Work Trip Hacks: How we maximize perks, save money, and make the most of our time away ✈️💻

A week of love and adventures

Last week, Angie was home for exactly one night. One night. Not a day.

She took a work trip to hang out with her beloved co-workers, catch up on life, and squeeze in multiple family meetups in the evenings. 🩵

Then, she flew back and immediately hit the road 🚗 the next morning for a mini trip to Leavenworth (aka Bavarian Disneyland) to celebrate Tyler’s birthday.

It was actually her manager who nudged her out the door.

"Angie, you’re remote. You need to be less isolated."

Angie protested, arguing that all this flying was slowly dismantling her physical health, but in the end, she caved. 🐒

She meal-prepped some survival food for Tyler and headed to the airport.

And, as many times before, the work trip unfolded just like this:

💓 Social dose? On steroids.
💓 Heart? Bursting with joy.
💓 Body? ...Crumbling. Kind of.

Angie LOVES seeing her co-workers and family, but she rarely voluntarily books these trips. 😔

Kind of like working out 🏋️‍♀️—she knows she’ll LOVE the serotonin boost, 🤩 but actually starting? A struggle. Every. Time.

Funny how we know certain things are good for us, yet we still hesitate.

Same with building wealth—we all dream of Financial Freedom™ and all the amazing things it could bring, but somehow, setting aside just 5-10% per paycheck to invest feels impossible.

May we make the effort to do what’s truly good for us 🙏—whether it’s nurturing our relationships, prioritizing our mental health, or just finally booking that trip (even if we have to be pushed a little). 💛

Our Work Trip Hacks: How we maximize perks, save money, and make the most of our time away ✈️💻

Booking the Trip

• Find out if you must use the company’s credit card to book flights and hotels, or if you’re just “encouraged” to.
• If you can use your own credit card (even though the reimbursement process might be a hassle—make sure to learn how to do that too!), go for it.

Why?

• You can rack up points.
• If you apply for a new credit card, the expenses from your work trip could help you hit or accelerate the bonus limit.

Before the Trip

• Check on the budget: 💰 How much can you spend on food, transportation, and other expenses?

  • Also, team reimbursements often have a few exceptions worth considering. It might be beneficial to look into them.

• Plan your route step-by-step if you’re unfamiliar with the meeting location. 🧐

  • Does the office require a badge or security app?

  • Does the receptionist know where to direct you?

  • If possible, meet up with a co-worker to guide you around.

    On Angie’s first office visit, she had an awkward moment of showing up, not knowing how to go through multiple security layers or where to go next. Plus, after months of Zoom calls, she wasn’t sure if she’d even recognize her co-workers. 🙉

• Other important details to check: 👀

  • Is lunch provided? If so, on what days? Do you need to sign up?

  • Do you need to reserve a work desk?

  • If renting a car, what’s the parking situation?

  • Is there anything helpful you can grab from IT or office supplies?

    Angie discovered her office offers a power charger with multiple ports, and she's been loving it!

  • Does the office have a gym and shower?

    If not, your hotel should. If you’re like Angie, you might dread hitting the gym on a work trip, but it can be incredibly refreshing 🔋 after a long day of meetings and socializing. Just hard to drag herself there. 😩

  • Is there anything fun at the office to enjoy during downtime? 😍

    🍵 Angie loves the free espresso bar with unlimited made-to-order matcha lattes and smoothies—yep, not a coffee person.

    💆🏻‍♀️ The 20-minute massage slot she had to fight for with her life.

    🏓 The new ping-pong table (finally!). Hey post-lunch cardio!

    🚴 The gym she begs her coworkers to join—yet secretly hopes no one else shows up. On the bike, she looks more dying than thriving.

    🙏 The adjustable desk that her spine is forever thankful for.

    🍫 Even perusing the snack bar is quite fun.

    🍼 Not for Angie, but some offices have nursing rooms for new moms.

    There’s always something new to discover at the office!

• Lastly, plan dinners with your loved ones. ❤️‍🔥 And consider extending your trip for a post-work vacation, cause why not?

During the Trip

• You’ve traded a lot to go on these trips—quality time with family, disruptions in your routine, and physical health for Angie (who has done too much flying). 🫠

• So DO NOT hesitate to use your stipends! You deserve every penny of it.

  Angie used hers for dinners with her favorite people, daily delivery of different boba oolong teas🧋, snacks she craved for, and even self-driving rides with Waymo! 🤭

• Take photos of all receipts. It’s quite easy to mindlessly hit the “No receipt” button.

After the trip

• Angie likes to submit expenses for reimbursement as she goes but you can always save all of them till the end to do all at once.

Hope you’ll make the most of your work trip—soak up the joy and fun! 😘

Hope it's helpful for your journey to Freedom 🙏

Love you to freedom and back, 🫰

Angie & Tyler

Things We are Loving Right Now ❤️‍🔥

🏋️‍♀️ Health

• 💆🏻‍♀️ Eye massager: We got one for Angie, one for her dad, and one for Tyler’s dad—each one was a hit! 💚 Angie has been trying to take mid-day power naps, 😴 and this makes it SO easy. Just put it on, relax, and enjoy the massage!

• 🐁 Ergonomic mouse: The name speaks for itself. 🤭