Hello from Tenochitlan, my new home of Mexico City,
Today’s update is more personal, than money related. However, at the end of the newsletter you’ll see an invitation to a money workshop and an upcoming self-guided budgeting course. Thanks for reading!
I made it! I am in Ciudad de Mexico and the journey of building a home is just starting. I’m grateful that I only have to go through my first year of being in this city once…
Although both of my parents are Mexican and it was only during the pandemic that I spent more than a year without going to Mexico, I am getting schooled on what it means to do culturally aware money in Mexico.
Culturally Aware Money as an Immigrant in Mexico
For example…
- A few weeks ago, I didn’t have cash on me and I wanted a tamal. The tamal salesman did not take any kind of electronic payments so he told me to pay him next time. He literally gave me a tamal and just trusted I would pay later.
- Apartment prices are negotiable. If I say my budget is X, they’ll assume X+Y. If they say their asking price is A, I should ask for A-B, and if I can pay several months up front, then it’s A-B-C.
- You can’t buy single cigarettes at stores anymore, so instead if you want one, you should walk up to the cashier and shyly ask them if they sell any – which they generally do if you ask quietly.
After two years of being a nomad and a lifetime of being of Mexican ancestry there is so much I’m learning, not all of it enjoyable. Yet there is nowhere else I’d rather be.
What would you give yourself permission for if everything were possible?
A few months ago I shared with a friend that I was burned out from launching group courses given my small audience. She said, what if you don’t launch again? I was floored by the idea, yet I trusted her enough to give myself permission to make everything possible.
It felt good to release launching, to release my expectations, to sink into what life is asking of me next – I feel humbled by the experience of pushing to brink of exhaustion. I was so burned out that I forgot to write to you in July! I was shocked on the third Thursday of the month when I realized that I did not publish a newsletter the day before… I apologize for that my readers.
And just like that with rest the clients, the workshops, the podcast invites began to show up. I’m re-introducing myself to work with the twin mantra of SPACIOUSNESS and IMPACT.
Have you ever burned out? From work, from a relationship, from marathon training, or a demanding tamagotchi? I’d love to hear what your recovery journey was like! Please hit reply and share.
Con cariño,
Diana Gisel Yañez