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So your financial toxico is not always going to be obvious. Sometimes it looks like a credit card balance, sometimes it could be a car payment, sometimes it's just pretending like you don't know where your money went, just avoiding your finances, avoiding looking at them. So we are going to talk about how to identify that financial toxico and how to spot them. Amiga, some of us are treating our bad financial decisions or mindsets like toxico that we should have dropped a few years ago. You know the one, the one that's draining your energy, that's taking your money, that's sending you toxic messages of a payment that's due, an overdraft fee, a subscription that you forgot about, that you don't even use that service anymore, even just the mindset of like just overspending, anything that's really blocking your bigger financial goals. Today we are going to be talking about how to identify that toxic goal that is hindering you from getting closer to your financial goals, achieving your financial goals that's just weighing you down, and also how to get rid of it and you know a little bit of mindset shift. And also, I'm going to be sharing some toxic goals that I got rid of in my life that actually helped me get to where I am right now, pure, financially free, living with under one income because we reduce our expenses and all that. But before we get into that, if you're watching this on YouTube, like, subscribe, and share. Same if you're listening to this on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you listen to podcasts, rate and share this episode. It really helps us grow and have other Latinas or people that really need to hear this message find us. And don't forget to look in the show notes, the description. I always have resources there, the links to other related episodes that a referencing, and that will be down below. But yeah, let's get into this episode. So your financial toxico is not always going to be obvious. Sometimes it looks like a credit card balance, sometimes it could be a car payment, sometimes it's just pretending like you don't know where your money went, just avoiding your finances, avoiding looking at them. So we are going to talk about how to identify that financial toxic goal and how to spot them. So let's talk about it because when you want to start working on your money choices and want to start working towards achieving your financial goals, like you can't do that without looking at your finances, you can't ignore it, you can't justify it. You have to really take a look at your finances and see where your money is going. So the first thing you are going to do is again do an audit with your finances. And I do have a walkthrough of doing a financial audit down in the description. I'll link that episode. But you really want to take some time and look at everywhere because you're going to probably find that hidden subscription. Like, matter of fact, the other day during the recording of this episode, we of course the World Cup is going, and I'm rooting for Mexico, of course. And I'm looking to see where I could watch the game. And it dawned on my husband that, like, hey, you know, because I saw that it was on Peacock, and he's like, Oh yeah, I do have Peacock. And he's like, I've been paying for that for like a year, and we don't even use that. We didn't even use it for this whole time because my husband got this subscription sometime last year because my dad wanted to watch some game. I forgot what game he wanted to watch, and it was on Peacock. So my husband just subscribed to it, and he was supposed to unsubscribe to it, right? But no, now a year later, here we are. But now, of course, is like okay, now I need it for this game. So now we kept it. But for a year, this Toxico has just been pulling money. I don't even know how much the subscription is, but for a year, this Toxico has been laying low, just in the background, monthly, just taking, chipping away at his finances, his money, just paying, and we're not even using it. But now I think we're deciding to keep it because I saw that non-order SBU was on there, and some other shows that I want to binge are on there. So now it's like, okay, I'm gonna keep it. So I might just cancel another subscription. But yeah, that's how easy it is for a toxico to just be laying low in the background. So that's why you have to do a financial audit, see what you're paying, what's going on with your finances. So which one is being that toxico with debt? So this is where I want to kind of mention the episode with Justin from the price of avocado toast. It'll be linked down below. But I really like his mindset and the way that him and Haley they approach debt and credit cards with their clients on how to pay them off. Because, you know, logically you would think, hey, pay off the biggest one or the high interest or whatever. But a lot of times you don't stick with it because what's really being a toxical is a different debt. So you might think it's student debt, right? Like you want to pay your student debt off and blah blah blah. But really the one that's weighing you down, the debt that's being toxic and emotionally draining you, and it's just depressing you, living in your head, it might be just a different credit card that is maybe higher interest or whatever, but it's messing you up, right? It's unmotivating you, it's just like being there and just being a stressor. And so then you lose motivation because you feel like you're not going anywhere. So what Justin was mentioning was like paying that off first because that's like a small win. It's going to motivate you to keep going, you're going to lose that dead weight, and then now you can start working towards your financial goals. And that's kind of what I mentioned with the real estate cheese mode episode where I had someone ask me that in regards to a rental property that was just not doing what it needed to do, right? The point is for cash flow. And so, yes, you would think, like, no, you don't want to get rid of a property, but if it's causing you stress, it's draining you, it's mentally just like hindering you because you're just thinking about it and you're not getting closer to your financial goals, and it's actually taking you away from your financial goals, then it's just being a toxical. It's just being a toxical, a property that is not doing you any good. So get rid of it. And that is one of the toxicals that I want to talk about where I gave up that toxico because I had, matter of fact, three properties. Three properties. Well, the first one wasn't necessarily a toxico, that one was more of a mindset, which what I'll talk about in a second. But yeah, I had two properties, two houses that I bought for myself. I didn't know what I was doing with real estate investing, I didn't know how to do the numbers or anything like that. I was just like, I'll just buy a house and turn it into a rental property once I leave. And so I did that. But guess what? The rental properties weren't cash flowing. Matter of fact, my second one, I was paying $200, $200 to have it as a rental property. And then the third house probably could have made a little bit money, but I had some debt on it that I took out because I used the equity to fund my infertility treatments and my surrogacy journey, which I think I have an episode. If I find out, I'll do that. If not, I'll do an updated episode on that if y'all are interested on how I did that. But yeah, it just had a lot of debt, and people were telling me, like, you know what? Like, no, don't sell because the appreciation, the houses are gonna appreciate, especially the California house, right? The California house is going to appreciate it's in California, like, hello, why would you sell this house? But these were toxicals for me, these were financial toxicals that were weighing heavily on me. Like, I was paying $200, that's basically an extra bill. So, to me, even though it was rented and the majority of the mortgage payment was being paid off, that wasn't my goal. My goal was that I wanted to make money from my rental properties, not pay them, and I did not have the time, or I don't want to wait for the appreciation or whatever, right? And then with the property in California, like that was just too high of a risk that it didn't make me comfortable. Again, you know, my goal was to be financially free. I was leaving the military, so that meant I was leaving a stable paycheck, then I would have to go look for a job, but I didn't like I'm gonna be honest, I didn't want to work, like I was just so burnt out with the military after 14 and a half years that I wanted to take a year off. At that time, that was my mindset. I want to take a year off from working and just like decompress because I had been so depressed, I had gained so much weight, I was all over the place. So again, toxico that I just didn't want to have that high mortgage, it was a $4,000, like $4,200 mortgage payment for that house. So I said, bye, bye to that toxicos. I sold them, use the equity to buy properties, some multifamily, some duplexes that are actually making me money. So, again, going back, figure out what is being a financial toxical in your life, and be okay with letting them go. And you're gonna have people that might tell you otherwise, like again, going back to the credit card debt or debt, they're gonna tell you, like, no, pay this off first, or you should do this strategy. Like, no, what is going to help you feel better, gain that confidence, and help you continue on your journey because you doing a certain strategy, yes, might be logically the best strategy to pay off that debt, but are you gonna stick with it? That's the key thing. And again, go listen to that episode with Justin. We had a good conversation about that, really shifted my mindset as well with that, and I realized that I've been doing it because hello, I got rid of my toxicos. And the other toxico that I want to share with you that I kind of mentioned was my job, right? And again, crazy to leave a very, very secure paycheck. I was making, I'm gonna be honest, I was making 100k, six figures, but again, I was in California, so the BH was high, everything was high, and then additionally, both of us we left, my husband and I. So we were making good stable income, right? And that was income that I had been using to invest in real estate, right? But it was being a toxico, right? I mentioned it earlier. I was getting depressed, I was gaining so much weight, like I felt like I had zero control of my life. Additionally, I mentioned it again earlier was that I was going through infertility treatments, I did a surrogacy journey, which now I have my daughter, and so now I was like, you know what? I don't want to stay here and be deployed when I worked so hard and spent a lot of money to have my daughter to then get deployed and miss parts of her life. Like, that's not what I want. And again, I was so burnt out by the military, I was over it, of course. The political climate at the time. I mean, Curly and I saw where we were heading. I didn't want to still be in it anymore, so it was being a whole toxico, and that might be the case with you too. Maybe you're at a job, and I know right now with the economy and the job market, it's scary, but maybe you might be feeling that as well. And so it might be time to start thinking about leaving it, right? I'm not saying drop it tomorrow or today, like quit right now. With me, it took some time. Well, one, I had to luckily I was forced to, you know, really plan it out because I still was under contract, so I had like two years to really plan out my exit strategy, but I had made up my mind, okay, I'm going to leave this toxic ass job no more. And so I made my plan, set it in motion, and then I finally was able to leave. And so, yeah, maybe the toxico is your job. Maybe you realize that the path that you took or wherever you're at, like it's not serving you anymore. Maybe you reached the limit of promotion, they're not promoting you, they're not giving you uh more money or whatever. Then it might be time to think about leaving or shifting. Like I did a whole different career shift. I was again military and I did safety, and then now I'm doing podcast and real estate investing. That's my main job now, right? And I'm not making nowhere near, like uh this podcast still like only makes barely anything to cover the expenses, so big difference, but I feel more fulfilled. I am still working towards my financial goals and all that because I just finished a rental property and then I'm gonna go on to my next one. So, even though I don't have a job, so if you want to know how I did that, I'll do an episode on that on the real estate cheese med podcast because that would be a good episode. So, I'm gonna do a reminder on how, even though I don't have a job anymore, I still was able to buy a rental property, so I'll talk about that. And then the next one that I want to talk about is my idea of wealth. That's another toxico. So you might want to break up with that mentality of what wealth is, right? And really take a deep dive on what it means to you because that's one thing that I had to navigate, and it all all this was happening around the same time, right? Of me leaving my job and real estate, selling the houses, everything. Like I did a whole shift. I didn't even have a car. That's another toxico that I'll mention bonus right away was the car. I work from home. My husband works from home, and my sister lives aquí también on the land, and she has a car and she works from home. So I was like, I don't need a car. Like I sold my car originally, I had a Lexus, and I sold that one that which will tie in into this next one. I know I'm a little bit over the place, but I'm just she's me andorita, and that will tie in into a little bit the next toxico that I was gonna get into. But with this car, I sold it originally to have the money to buy the 10 acres where I'm living at now, right? And then we had a little beater card 2010 Honda Civic two-door really run down, like rusted, like pedals. I was kidding, the AC didn't even work, so that was a struggle driving. But my husband was using it because he had a truck and he drove an hour away, so and we were in California, so you can imagine the gas still. So I told my dad, like, hey, do you have a random little car out there? Because he's a mechanic and sometimes he knows people that are selling a random car. So he did have a client that was selling this beat-up car, so he shipped it to me. That was $800. So in total, I paid like maybe $1,800 for this car to get shipped to California. And then we used it for like a year and a half. It seemed just like good on gas, it was so good. So I just sucked it up with the AC. My husband used it first, but then he got out of the military, and then I still was in, so I still had to drive almost an hour. And I used that car, and then it finally crapped out on me. It died literally like one month before we moved, but that was fine, like I could suck it up for a little bit. And at that time, I was like, you know what? I did have plans to buy another car, but then when I thought about it, I was like, no, that's going to be a financial toxico because all it's going to do is sit here on the land. I'm probably gonna maybe drive it once whenever I decide to go somewhere, but for the most part, I'm here doing stuff. So then I'm gonna have a car payment that's just gonna be adding an expense when I am wanting to reduce my expenses because I want to be financially free and I don't want to work, right? And you know, my husband, I don't want to have that stressor. We have less income now than when we were in, and so I don't want any of that. That's just going to be a toxico. Why would I add another toxico to my life when I have access to my sister's car? If I need to go do something, I use that, or my husband. We go as a family everywhere, so why have a car with a car payment just sitting there, right? So that's a toxico that I got rid of. And then going back to the third toxico or whatever number I am on, was my mindset going back to that was understanding what wealth was to me because that car that the Lexus that was my idea of wealth, right? You have the nice car in California. I bought the nice bougie house, it was a two-story, 2,400 square feet, you know, nice house. It was a nice house, right? And that was my idea of wealth. I was buying like Gucci shoes, I had bought a RuVuin purse that I wore like three times because then I was too scared to actually use it because it costs so damn much. And like I was just spending, right? Because okay, that's what wealth is, that's what being rich is, blah blah blah. And so I had to leave that toxico mindset, right? And now I shifted it to what my life is, right? I get to just chill, I get to wake up cuando me da la gana. I mean, with my daughter, you know, she's two, so still, but luckily she wakes up like at 7:30, so it's fine. And I get to just be chillin', I get to go on my land, I get to go garden. Yesterday, you know, I met up con una amiga for some coffee, and like, you know, I own my time, I own my life, right? And that's what true wealth is to me. It's not having a nice bushy car. I still don't have a car, and I still don't have plans to buy a car. Maybe in way, way in the future, once I start going to more events around here, maybe I might need it. But again, I still have access to my sister's car. We just kind of like now share it, right? So we'll see what happens with that. But yeah, that's what well being here, being present in my daughter's life, in my family's life. I get what you thought, like you probably heard them because they're in the background, and so eventually going to build myself a she shed. So the only thing is I'm just kind of waiting for the sun, it's too hot right now, right? And other expenses that I'll talk about in another episode, but yeah, that's what well is to me, even with the real estate investing, and a lot of times you'll see like, oh, they want to have big, large portfolios of having like a hundred plus properties or whatever. That's not my goal, that's not my vision. I have shifted to like I don't want to grow such a big portfolio. If it happens, that's cool. But my goal is to just build cash flow because I want to then now my husband can be financially free and then, of course, support my parents during their retirement, give them something to do, so really focus. But now my wealth with that is also contributing to the community, making affordable housing. As a matter of fact, that was one kind of thing that I was talking to my friend about when I went on this coffee date with her was figuring out what I can do, have a positive impact here now that I'm investing locally and I'm seeing these things with the neighborhoods that I am investing in that I'm targeting and seeing what I can do with the city, the government, and try to navigate that to have a positive impact. So that was kind of some of the things that we talked about. So and even with my other network of investors, that I matter of fact, I have a meeting with them later today, and we're also discussing like maybe joining together and doing some investments together to do some affordable housing and things like that. So that's what wealth is with me, with the real estate. And there's somebody else that I follow too that really they're just trying to just build enough cash flow, enough investments for themselves. Their goal is not to become this big real estate investor that has all these properties. They just want to have enough, but also have a positive. Impact and things like that. So that's what wealth was with me. So that's something that you should take a deep dive and see if you have a toxical mindset of what wealth is, and really just sit and reflect on what it is that it actually means to you. Not what other people are telling you, not what social media is telling you. No, what is it to you? Like, what do you want your life to look like? How do you want to live your life? What do you want to leave if you have children? Or just an impact if you decide, or even if it's just for you. That is okay as well. As long as it's your journey, your mindset, what will looks for you. So sometimes we don't realize that that toxic goal mindset comes into our lives, especially with social media, and we see it and it makes us feel like crap, right? Seeing somebody else, like I used to do that and be like, man, that they are doing this, and still I have to check myself too, because I'll see maybe someone in my network and they bought this type of property or whatever, and I'm like, man. And then I'm really like, actually, that's not my goal. I'm just think it's cool or whatever, and maybe later in the future, maybe I'll go down that path. But yes, so to end this episode, just a few tips going back to what I mentioned was figure out your small wins, right? Again, you know, with that episode with Justin Price of a Karatos, we talked about that. Like that will motivate you to continue in this financial journey of yours versus something bigger, right? So find something that is actually going to have a positive impact on how you feel or whatever, because then you're not gonna stick to it, you're not gonna stick to it if it feels like a drain and you're not gaining any momentum. And then again, look at your finances so that way you could spot those secret toxicals, like in my case, it was a subscription, and see if it's actually draining you. Is it a credit card? Are you finding out that like you're just kind of swiping that card too much, whatever it may be. Now, again, little disclaimer not talking about living frugally, because again, understand that you're not gonna budget your way into wealth, but it does help. It's all a piece of the overall journey, right? You still want to not be paying some random company to giving them free money, right? Because that money you could use it for something else, like maybe paying off a debt or just saving towards a down payment, whatever your goal is, right? And so, yeah, basically what I want to leave you with is that again, you're gonna see all social media, all these financial gurus and all these financial advisors or whatever. But again, sometimes these personal finance people they act like we're robots. We aren't, right? We have emotions, we have goals, we have hopes and dreams, and you know, we have things that happen in our life like trauma, financial anxiety, all that stuff, our expectations, right? A family expectation, especially if you're like me, that you're not just responsible for your family, for yourself, you have your family, but also like your parents or other family members, you know, all of that combined. So just take, you know, their financial advice with a grain of salt, even this one, right? Again, just bringing it back. This is your financial journey, this is you. What is best for you? Only you know what's best for you, right? Like, we can only kind of give you tips and kind of like give you maybe some options, but at the end of the day, you still have that ability to choose for yourself what's going to actually motivate you because you know yourself, right? Like with me, it's not so much of the emotional aspect. I like to have my plan, I like to logically, strategically do things that are going to be the most effective. But for other people, it might be what's going to give me that small win that's going to actually motivate me to continue to stay on track. So again, neither one is wrong, neither one is the perfect path because at the end of the day, it's whatever's going to actually help you accomplish your goals, right? So that's all I wanted to say. I kind of rambled and went off track, but hopefully y'all enjoyed this episode, even though it was kind of like all over the place. And let me know. Like, what is a financial toxico that you found or that are trying to get rid of? I want to know. Tell me the cheese me. Like, drop it down below if you're watching this on YouTube or DM me or you know, drop it in the comments. I want to know what is your financial toxico. Again, if you like this episode, share it with somebody, like it, subscribe, follow the podcast. You could always send me any questions that you have, anything you want me to talk about or share, let me know. Other than that, I will see you in the next one. Bye.