Life Lately
Happy Mardi Gras season! Even though I’m no longer in New Orleans and in the thick of their Mardi Gras, Lake Charles has its fair share of events and king cake thankfully. We are planning on taking the girls to the Eunice Children’s parade, so that will be all of our first time to chase chickens and have that unique experience. The girls already have their traditional costumes that their classmate’s mom made, and I cannot wait to share photos of that day!
We are going to Disney in a week! My husband is a huge Disney/themed park fan because he came to America almost every summer growing up to visit. The Venezuelan dollar was very strong to the U.S.’s dollar in the 90s, so they would stay for multiple weeks! So we decided to take them once before they are 3 because kids under 3 get in for free.
A lot of Andres’ family and friends are in Orlando, too, so we’ll be splitting our week up between parks and catching up with family.
This is going to be a very travel-heavy year for me, which is exciting. Half are for pleasure and half are for work (which allow for pleasure as well!) I am turning 40 this year–can’t believe I just typed that–so it’s very satisfying to know and feel like I’m living my best life and spending a lot of quality travel time with friends and family.
Some of the places I’ll be going are Orlando, Fredericksburg, TX, Nashville, Houston, New Orleans, Destin, San Diego, Cabo, back to New Orleans and hopefully a 2-week RV trip up to the Georgia/North Carolina area. If you have any strong recommendations at any of these places, send them my way!
Wealth Things
In wealth related news, I polled y’all on Instagram, and many of you said that you would love a webinar/class where I guide you through my 5-Step Roadmap that many of you have downloaded. So I’m hosting a class!
Save the date for March 1st at 12pmCST and register here. Join me as I guide you through my 5-Step Roadmap Towards Building a Solid Wealth Foundation!
You can expect to learn:
- The 5 steps that are crucial to building true wealth
- How to prioritize your debt
- How to calculate how much you need in Emergency Savings
- Retirement Accounts 101
- Why you need an “Intermediate Bucket”
- The simplest way to protect your wealth
In the weeks leading up to this class, I’m going to be doing a deeper dive into each step on the blog. This week, I tackled the first step, which is figuring out how to prioritize your debt. I also talk about changing your mindset around debt, and I think you’ll be surprised at how it can relieve some of your stress around debt!
What I’m Cooking & Watching
It took me all winter, but I finally made my favorite gumbo: My Dad’s “Tick” Chicken & Sausage Gumbo ! This recipes is pretty fail-proof, partly because of the amazing store-bought roux I use, which is Kary’s. No matter where you live, you can access Kary’s through their direct-to-consumer website , which I highly recommend.
The other key ingredient is the smoked sausage from our local Market Baskets here in Lake Charles. If you don’t live in the area, do your research to find which grocer has a butcher that smokes their sausage. So much of the flavor comes from the sausage in this recipe.
I finally got around to finishing season 4 of Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which always leaves me wanting for more. Susie and Abe are the real stars of that show and no one will convince me otherwise!
Of course, I am a huge White Lotus fan, and if you haven’t watched yet…what exactly are you waiting for?!
I don’t know about y’all, but I need some new blood in my lineup. I feel like I’m just in a holding pattern waiting around for Succession and And Just Like That, and all of the other incomparable HBO shows that are making us wait until April!
In times like these, I turn to documentaries. Lately, I’ve watched The Way Down (HBO), I Just Killed My Dad (Netflix / story based in Baton Rouge) and my favorite: Madoff: the monster of Wall Street.
It really is shocking that this happened in our lifetimes, and will cause fear and trust issues surrounding advisors for decades, if not generations to come. It has also motivated me to start working on a comprehensive guide to hiring a financial advisor. I hope to unveil that work/detailed dive this Spring.
Happy 2023! Or at least, here’s hoping. Hope you enjoy these ramblings & hope to see you in my free class on March 1st! 🙂
Danielle G. Nava, CFP®
P.S. For all those getting back into a workout routine or those just looking for some throw-on-and-go yoga pants, these Amazon LuLu Lemon knockoffs are the real deal. You can thank me later!
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.