Overcoming my middle-class mindset
/As we head into the New Year I am brimming with anticipation for the magical year ahead.
brimming with anticipation and leaping into 2023 in the white sands.
As I’ve shared, Money & Mimosas is undergoing a transformation. We will no longer share tips on HOW to achieve financial freedom. We will focus on sharing life AFTER you achieve financial freedom.
From a business model standpoint, we’re transitioning to a lifestyle brand. This transformation coincides with my personal reinvention. When I started Money & Mimosas, I was trying to figure out how to create financial freedom on my own terms. I was tired of mansplainers telling me to stop eating avocado toast. I took some financial risks, bet on myself, and created my own Universe.
It’s all paid off and I’ve achieved my definition of financial freedom. Now I’m eager for the next phase. How do I spend and invest my money in a way that aligns with my values and my desires? How can I design a life that allows for full self-expression?
So far, I have one answer to my endless questions. One answer is that I now want to have 3-4 month mini-retirements every year. In 2021, I took my first mini-retirement. It was six months and completely changed my perspective on life and on money.
One perspective that shifted - or better put, one perspective that I realized I needed to shift- was my middle-class mindset. I’ve been practicing an abundance mindset since I was 17 years old, so I thought I was good in the money mindset arena.
Wrong.
My mini-retirement revealed how much I equated hard work with financial success. I was not comfortable with relaxing and doing things for the sake of pleasure. To be clear, I had balance in my life. I made time to hang out with friends, take care of my body, travel, and do other fun activities. Yet, I spent a lot of my time working or thinking about work. At times, I felt guilty during those six months. I became curious about the guilt. And like a good financial coach, I applied my abundance mindset exercises to unpack its root.
I traced the guilt back to the systemic conditioning associated with the middle-class mindset. In this Being Boss podcast episode, I chat with Emily about the middle-class mindset. We explore its characteristics, how I identified it within myself, the ways it held me back, and my process for breaking free.
Candidly, I’m still peeling back the layers to completely break free. One part of breaking free, for me, is my Substack newsletter. This newsletter is different from the Money & Mimosas newsletter where I shared financial advice for the last eight years.
In the Substack newsletter, I’ll be sharing the behind-the-scenes of creating my leisure lifestyle. Such as:
working with a stylist to update my wardrobe
becoming a member of a private ski resort with my fiancé ( like the Yellowstone Club where the initial membership fee is $400,000 - swoooooon)
becoming an NBA courtside ticket holder
and so many other dreams that the Universe will bring into my orbit as I become more of a magnet for the life I desire
And not all my dreams are super expensive. I also want to:
create more memories with girlfriends
make new friends
bake cookies with my Mom and sister on a random Tuesday afternoon
take my niece to the museum
randomly dance to the Tango rock playlist I recently discovered on Tidal in my bedroom
Some of these dreams are within reach right now. Others will take time.
If you haven’t achieved your definition of financial freedom, yet!, it's ok. My hope is my content will inspire you to take the steps needed to manifest your goals.
Let’s make 2023 our most abundant, most leisure-filled, year yet!
Cheers,
Danetha
