Tax Tips for US Expats: Stress-Free Filing with Tax Strategist, Sandra Morno

[00:00:00] Welcome to Black Expat Stories, the show where we dive deep into the experiences of Black

[00:00:04] people across the diaspora who have boldly decided to immigrate abroad in search of a better life.

[00:00:09] I'm your host Courtney Bowden and I'm a Black American writer who also took the leap of faith and moved overseas.

[00:00:15] Coming to you once again from my home in Playa del Carmen Mexico, today I'm in conversation with Sandra Mornel.

[00:00:22] She's a globe-trotting US tax strategist helping expat entrepreneurs take the anxiety out of tax time

[00:00:28] while optimizing their finances so they can continue living their best lives abroad.

[00:00:33] From her home base in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sandra shares the details of her Blacksit journey and

[00:00:39] she's also spilling secrets on how expats and digital nomads can legally reduce their tax burden.

[00:00:45] Get ready for tax wisdom that will completely shift your mindset around money

[00:00:49] and if you're pondering it, you'll move abroad.

[00:00:52] With over two decades of experience helping six figure entrepreneurs Sandra shares her hard one

[00:00:57] lessons. This is one episode where you might want to take notes without further ado,

[00:01:02] here's my conversation with Sandra Mornel.

[00:01:05] Hey Sandra welcome to the show.

[00:01:08] Hi thanks for having me!

[00:01:10] So I always like to ask my guest what inspired you or motivated you to start your expat journey.

[00:01:18] I am originally from Miami Florida and I guess was 2018 I was living in Houston, Texas

[00:01:25] and I just felt like it was time for me to leave the United States.

[00:01:31] And it was just a really weird time in my life and so I was asking like my military friends

[00:01:36] like we should say for a black woman to go and they were telling me not the places not to go

[00:01:41] and in that year I was just like you know what I think I'm gonna go to Thailand but God had some

[00:01:46] other things in store for me that year so I actually ended up getting sick and that didn't have

[00:01:53] been I had to move back to Miami so my plans to move were put on hold.

[00:01:58] Move to Thailand did not happen but eventually you ended up in Argentina.

[00:02:05] So talk to me about how you got there.

[00:02:07] I know that there were a few more places that you tried on for size before you landed there.

[00:02:14] It's so funny I was in Medellin I had been there for about five or six months and we just kept

[00:02:18] running into people who had just come from Argentina. You're just like oh my god you're gonna love it.

[00:02:22] The weather the people the food the cost of living and so I really had being a no matter

[00:02:28] really had no plans. So I was just like oh all right let's try one as I just see what it's like

[00:02:33] because initially my plan was to be five hours or less away from my mom and my sister if something

[00:02:40] should happen but I was just like you know what if Argentina is worth it then whoo that 10 hours

[00:02:46] I'll suck it up and I'll make Argentina our big Argentina home. I am gonna hit three months in a

[00:02:51] couple of days and it's been okay so far. I like it. Interesting. I know that a lot of people who are

[00:02:59] watching or listening are also planning their own international move and alongside or along with

[00:03:06] those plans folks have some things that they have to consider you mentioned wanting to only be

[00:03:13] a certain distance away from your family so how did you set up your life to where you were able

[00:03:18] to swing making an international move. Oh the first thing I had to do was downsize you never

[00:03:24] realized how much stuff you have until it's time for you to like make a move so it all started when

[00:03:30] I left Houston. I had a two bedroom apartment so I had to downsize that and then we'll stay with

[00:03:36] my sister so I had to downsize again and it just I just kept downsizing to the point I still have

[00:03:42] a good amount of stuff but it's I don't want to call it crap but it's stuff that like if I haven't

[00:03:47] seen in about a year then I really don't beat it so I'm still figuring that part out. So I think

[00:03:53] downsizing is important you need to look at the cost of living of where you're going and also how far

[00:03:59] it is because if it's further that means the ticket is a lot more perfect example my sister was

[00:04:04] like I'm gonna come visit you in Argentina and then she saw the price of the ticket and she was just

[00:04:08] like yeah no I can't swing two thousand dollars before a round trip ticket and I can't blame her

[00:04:14] as opposed when I was in Medellin it was probably like five hundred or six hundred dollar

[00:04:19] round trip so much more feasible so I think you have to think about the distance you have to

[00:04:24] think about the language barrier are you willing to learn Spanish? Meaning from Miami I have a

[00:04:29] little bit of background since I was surrounded by Cubans so I can get by but that's a huge thing

[00:04:36] learning the language learning the lay of the land and doing the research because traveling is

[00:04:42] changing so much these are requirements cost of living cost of food just it's a lot it's a lot to

[00:04:49] keep up with so you definitely have to do that research and figure out what it is you really want

[00:04:53] in a place and no place is gonna be perfect but you're gonna get that eight out of ten and make it work.

[00:05:00] That's the resounding theme that I'm hearing from all the expats that I talk to is find a place

[00:05:06] that has the majority of the things that you want and need because even your home base doesn't

[00:05:14] have everything that you want so we have to level set our expectations so career wise how were

[00:05:21] you able to set up yourself professionally to be able to work from anywhere? So I've been doing

[00:05:28] what I've been doing since 2009 and starting off just as a seasonal job right so I would work

[00:05:34] about six months and be not in Florida for the other six months so I started that way and then

[00:05:41] when I branched out on my own in 2013 I was in Houston I was seeing clients all the clients that

[00:05:48] wanted to see me face-to-face honestly for me it gave me anxiety someone sitting across from me

[00:05:52] just looking at me for two hours so in 2017 I went virtual with my tax business so let the clients

[00:05:59] know hey this is easier for us we can communicate we can text their phone calls you don't have to

[00:06:05] sit in front of me for two hours and thank God for technology so that led the way for me to do this

[00:06:12] virtually and so when COVID hit and everyone else was freaking out I was just like man I haven't seen

[00:06:17] a client in three years so it's nothing for me and I could be anywhere in the world and still do it

[00:06:23] as long as I have good stable wifi I have my secure portals my clients can reach me via email or

[00:06:30] text then I was good to go to them and didn't matter where I was as long as I got the work done

[00:06:36] it seems like technology has really untethered so many of us from offices from in person

[00:06:44] brick-and-mortar interactions and given us the opportunity to live this life so I think

[00:06:50] that's incredible thank you I want to go back to your experience and Buenos Aires what do you

[00:06:56] love about living there I know you mentioned in a previous conversation that you're getting ready

[00:07:02] to make another move but I know what drew you there but what do you enjoy about that place right

[00:07:10] because where I'm at your neighbors could be blasting mariachi music right across the way and it's

[00:07:17] just a way of life and it lets you know that it's a vibrant and thriving place hey so how did your

[00:07:24] friends and family react when you first told them that you were moving abroad so my sister's

[00:07:31] like my rhododai so she's the first one that I knew and she was like okay yeah just let me know

[00:07:35] where you at so I can come visit so she had herself this reason for being on board and honestly I didn't

[00:07:42] tell many people I told people who I know like in my heart would be like go for it try this out

[00:07:49] like one of my really good friends she's a flight attendant she's the one that would just like

[00:07:53] get your feet wet try it because I think you're gonna love it and so I always give her that credit

[00:07:59] for getting me started on this journey my mom is slowly catching up because she knows how I am

[00:08:05] I don't like to stay in one place for a long time and so now she's just okay just take care of yourself

[00:08:12] and she'd be asking like the weirdest questions like what about your doctor and your medicine

[00:08:16] I'm like mom their doctors everywhere let her fight the services probably better here than it is

[00:08:21] in the United States so she's okay with it now she's gotten used to it but honestly only a handful

[00:08:27] of people know that I'm doing this because I just I don't want to hear any naysayers when I

[00:08:32] one night when I first started my journey I was telling people and they all had something to say

[00:08:37] and I'm like have you been there or are you going by the news okay yeah you ain't been there so

[00:08:41] I'm not going to listen to you so I just I stopped talking to them about that part of my life so

[00:08:47] when they asked me where I'm at I tell them and well I keep it moving I don't really try to

[00:08:52] go into any deep conversation with them about that yeah and sometimes it is unfortunate

[00:08:57] with some of the connections that we have how that conversation can devolve into a lot of fear mongering

[00:09:03] a lot of what ifs and one of the reasons why black expats stories exists is to debunk a lot

[00:09:12] of these myths about places outside of the United States because the media the mainstream media there

[00:09:19] does a great job of scaring people into thinking that certain places especially we're talking

[00:09:26] about Latin America are dangerous or more dangerous than where you might be based in the states

[00:09:34] and my husband and I we did the same thing we moved in silence only our immediate family and close

[00:09:40] friends knew that we were making a move and it was a year before folks actually knew that we left

[00:09:45] the United States and we were here in Mexico for those very same reasons wow that's crazy but you have

[00:09:53] to do that right you got to protect your peace like I'm all about that these days yes that's a fact

[00:10:00] and I think that eventually as the narrative starts to shift and as more of us start to become

[00:10:08] more visible hopefully those conversations will start to change and people will start to become

[00:10:14] more curious as opposed to judgmental yeah so what were some of the early challenges that you faced

[00:10:21] when you first embarked on your expat journey I don't think I didn't do enough research

[00:10:28] for sure I'm one of those people that likes to just dive into things and you can't do that when

[00:10:33] traveling abroad especially alone so I didn't do enough research I did connect myself into

[00:10:40] different groups but like I'm the type of person I just need one or two people I don't aid a lot

[00:10:46] of people so that was hard right that was challenging finding someone who's on that same

[00:10:52] who has that same mindset as me and a little bit closer to my age because you travel differently

[00:10:57] like I'm not trying to pop around every month somewhere now I don't just have a book bag

[00:11:01] I got my whole life with me there's a different level of person that I needed to find and so for

[00:11:08] me I think I just I didn't do enough research I didn't really find out like what the food was

[00:11:14] like what the cost of living was like I was just like oh okay let me just go there and check it out

[00:11:18] for a month and learn the hard way I mean to eat just own right and in some ways it makes your

[00:11:25] experience richer I would say and because you are embarking on this journey by yourself you don't

[00:11:34] have anybody else to run decisions by but you don't have to convince anybody of anything I think

[00:11:40] that's one of the benefits of solo travel so what unexpected ways have you been able to immerse

[00:11:46] yourself in the culture there and how have you been able to make friends and connections

[00:11:51] so the good thing about it there are so many like a no mad group so what's up it's hard to keep

[00:11:58] up with I'm in one that has a spin off about five or six of them so they're constantly having

[00:12:03] events and I appreciate that so for me that's how I've been able to eat people that don't look

[00:12:08] like me and I forced myself to get out and just start speaking if I'm at a restaurant I'm

[00:12:13] speaking in Spanish or I'm asking questions because one thing I've noticed about Latin America if

[00:12:18] you're trying they're like okay I see that she's trying because they talk differently on some

[00:12:26] words and I'm like lady you know what I'm in like you didn't have to correct me so that's

[00:12:32] what I've been doing and there's another lady that I met and that is she and so we're out

[00:12:37] and about the lot like she's out way more than me because I still have a job as we're out we're

[00:12:42] practicing you know we're talking to each other some days we're out the streets are like okay we're

[00:12:46] only going to speak Spanish right so they don't know that we're from America so I'm constantly trying

[00:12:51] to put in more work with my Spanish and meeting other people from other countries and other nationalities

[00:12:57] as well what is the makeup of Buenos Aires is it diverse is it like a melting pot let's see

[00:13:07] so they're actually let's not a lot of people that look like us but perfect example I'm with

[00:13:13] Tahitian restaurant the other day and she came from Haiti 12 years ago so she speaks Creole

[00:13:19] French and Spanish and I was just like oh my gosh that's so cool so there's a Haitian population

[00:13:24] somewhere here I'm not sure where there's a lot of Colombians there are a lot of people from Peru

[00:13:31] and then you have the Argentinians but yeah it's mainly white but I guess you won't say

[00:13:37] okay okay so what does the black expat community look like there is there a community of folks

[00:13:44] that look like us or it is it pockets of places that you found it's so I'm into what's at first

[00:13:50] right so there's one is called sisters in B.A. and then just black Americans are blacks in B.A.

[00:13:56] I don't know so there's a good amount of us but it's oddly enough it's not that active

[00:14:01] that the WhatsApp group is there for questions and stuff but like doing things together

[00:14:07] they don't they don't really do much and I think it's because most of them actually live here

[00:14:11] and the WhatsApp group is just a safe space for you to land if you have questions

[00:14:15] and for me it's so different because when I was in Colombia every other day something was going on

[00:14:21] which is like come support me here let's do this someone's DJ in here so it's so totally different

[00:14:27] and for me it's made me learn that I need an active community because if something should happen

[00:14:33] I need them to know that I'm here or I need to meet people more often it's been me I don't

[00:14:39] want to say forcing myself on people hey girl let's meet up for coffee so I know who you are

[00:14:42] I know who you're I know your story I want to know why you're here and when is art is it's been

[00:14:47] hard to do that here mm okay okay and in some places it's like that right here in Playa del Carmen

[00:14:57] it's similar to how you describe Medellin you know there's always something going on the

[00:15:03] community is very active and vibrant but for other people Buenos Aires might be a fit because

[00:15:10] some people might want to say you know what I kind of want to unplug will you first leave the

[00:15:14] States I'll speak for myself when I first left there was a period of about six months where I was just

[00:15:21] just trying to find my footing and I wasn't very social we were just trying to figure out how to

[00:15:28] pay our electricity bill we were the grocery stores and finding our way around and then when we

[00:15:34] emerged there was a community there but some in some places you are able to be a little bit more

[00:15:40] anonymous but I'm with you it's good to have some connection to folks when you're so far away from

[00:15:48] your home base or from people that you're more familiar with so you are a tax strategist and one

[00:15:56] of the reasons why I wanted to have you on the show is because it is tax season it's about to be

[00:16:03] tax season for those of us for those who aren't the procrastinators and that's why I wanted to

[00:16:11] catch you right now in this window because I know it's about to be crazy with folks trying to

[00:16:15] buy for your attention and your support and as an expat understanding my tax obligations and

[00:16:26] just the different things that are available to me as a US tax-pating citizen was a bit daunting I'm

[00:16:35] not gonna lie and then there are some folks who are watching and listening who maybe expats

[00:16:41] who say you know what I left the states and I left my taxes there too there's some folks

[00:16:48] which I know that makes you cringe but it's the reality right I'm sure you know how to book like

[00:16:53] that but I don't want to leave our viewers and listeners hanging black expats stories is a resource

[00:17:01] and it is important for us to have these conversations and social media just doesn't do it

[00:17:08] it doesn't do it a lot of the cost of living and how much they're able to save but we also have

[00:17:15] to understand and make sure that our tax obligations are fulfilled okay you don't want to mess with

[00:17:24] the IRS right so can you talk to me about what types of clients you work with what types of

[00:17:32] businesses do you enjoy supporting the most so my ideal client I think my avatar is me right so

[00:17:39] it's a woman living or traveling abroad that has a business based in the United States right US

[00:17:46] citizen and it's someone who's I would say as a business owner once you hit six figures things change

[00:17:54] because you're just like wait what why do I owe this and a lot of people don't understand why

[00:17:59] and then as an expat like you said there's some other credits and things that we can use to help

[00:18:05] bring them bring down that liability that a lot of people don't know about like the FEI is it's

[00:18:11] like a godsend for a lot of people if they know how to use it and that's the foreign earned income

[00:18:16] exclusion right if you have W2 income you can write off up to $120,000 if you're self-employed

[00:18:25] it's a little different but it does save you on income tax but not self-employment tax which can

[00:18:30] be a confusing which is why I tell people please get some help don't do turbo tax get you some

[00:18:37] help pay for it is worth it okay and the types of businesses I like to work with like business

[00:18:42] coaches marketers attorneys creatives because I think those people know how to stay in their lane

[00:18:49] it's just like me right I'm not a I'm not a huge marketer right I'm not gonna come I'm not gonna

[00:18:54] try to do your job I'd rather outsource you because I don't have time to learn that so I've

[00:18:58] that market because they're open to learning physicians therapists they're just like now I don't

[00:19:04] do this you can you can take care of this and I'm trusting you with that yeah and you're absolutely

[00:19:13] right about the different credits that lower your liability I say this all the time that for a lot

[00:19:22] of us moving abroad is a wealth building strategy and if you know about how the wealthy operate with

[00:19:31] the taxes that's how they often keep their wealth so what is one piece of tax advice that every US

[00:19:39] expat or aspiring expat should know I think just as an entrepreneur or self-employed person the most

[00:19:50] important thing is keep in track of your income and expenses I cannot stress that enough I know

[00:19:54] it may sound very simple or mundane but you'll be surprised how many people I meet and I'm just like

[00:20:01] okay give me your books let me look at your income statement your profit and loss and they look at

[00:20:05] me like a deer in headlights and I'm like how do you keep track of your income and your expenses

[00:20:09] you're like also paypal okay what about your expenses I don't know it's between my business and my

[00:20:13] personal accounts so it's just I cringe a little bit because I'm like oh my gosh so you have no idea

[00:20:20] where you stand financially as a business owner right you could be in the hole or you could have

[00:20:26] a net income of like eighty thousand dollars and now you're gonna owe the IRS tons of money

[00:20:31] that is the basic foundation right having your books up to date using some type of an accounting

[00:20:37] software excel she something to keep track of your income and expenses yeah yeah and this is

[00:20:46] an important conversation I have to because a lot of us who are entrepreneurs self-included or

[00:20:52] self-employed being able to live the expat lifestyle is dependent upon whether we do have the

[00:21:00] revenue and the income and so your taxes and your tax situation is hugely important for that hey

[00:21:08] friends I want to take a quick moment to let you know that if you want to dive deeper and unlock

[00:21:12] more advice and insights on expat life then I encourage you to become a friend of the show

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[00:21:22] just head over to black expats stores.com slash support to upgrade your access now back to the show

[00:21:31] what's a common tax myth that you often have to debunk with your clients for expats it's

[00:21:37] you already mentioned it they're just like oh I don't need a file and I was like as long as you are

[00:21:41] a US citizen you need to file some taxes and don't be like I'm just gonna renounce my citizenship never

[00:21:48] you never do that you always keep that US citizenship because it's worth a lot in these other

[00:21:54] countries and you just don't want to deal with the repercussions of that but I think people think

[00:21:59] they just they don't have to file like honestly and this last year I've met people who haven't filed

[00:22:05] three to five years and they're just like I'm like okay so you've just given them money

[00:22:10] right because there's a chance that you can get back all of what you were held

[00:22:13] and now you've let the time pass and now you just gave them three four thousand dollars because

[00:22:18] you didn't file or even think you needed to file. What in your professional opinion

[00:22:26] keeps so many people from filing their taxes is it the fear of the unknown is it the intimidation

[00:22:34] factor of not understanding how to file and not knowing you know who to go to for support what is

[00:22:41] it that keeps so many people so behind on their taxes. It's all about it's the lack of guidance

[00:22:48] right and you what you don't know you don't know right so people are just thinking okay I don't

[00:22:54] need a file and no one's telling them something else right they're not getting the right type of

[00:22:59] and that is huge as an expat because your taxes are a little different and then your business

[00:23:04] all right I am an advocate of people finding a tax expert or a tax professional someone who

[00:23:09] boasts the honest file that your taxes between Jenny Ray you need year round help because as much

[00:23:14] as you bump around or wherever you live that person needs to make sure that you're in a territory

[00:23:20] where you could take advantage still take advantage of those tax deductions and then the last one

[00:23:24] is just the fear of the IRS so many people are like oh my gosh I'm trying to stay under the radar

[00:23:28] I was just like that's impossible with them but good luck let me know how to go

[00:23:35] because given the power of technology we're being tracked okay they can reach out and touch if

[00:23:41] they wanted to I believe so these are all great insights and I hope those that are watching and listening

[00:23:47] are taking notes because again by the time this episode comes out it will be closer to tax time

[00:23:53] and I don't want you to go another year if you're one of those expats that Sandra's talking

[00:23:57] about who hasn't filed in a while without addressing your tax situation and so Sandra what resources do

[00:24:06] you recommend for expats to educate themselves on their specific tax liabilities if they are US

[00:24:15] citizens and what about those who might be in other countries who might be looking for

[00:24:22] residency citizenship maybe starting businesses because I often talk to expats who start businesses

[00:24:28] in these countries because everyone's tax situation is so different the main place to go if you're a US

[00:24:35] citizen and you're living abroad is the IRS website get it from a horses mouth because it's like

[00:24:40] you said you got social media telling you one thing tick-tock telling you another and some random Joe

[00:24:45] telling you something else no to the IRS website call the IRS honestly don't be afraid to ask them

[00:24:51] questions that's what they're there for believe it or not I know a lot of people are afraid of them

[00:24:54] but call them and ask them questions they'll send you to a form or a webpage or something where

[00:25:00] you can get the help and if you're starting businesses in another country you need to find

[00:25:06] a person that can help you specifically with that like for me I don't dive into people who start

[00:25:12] businesses in other countries I'm only about US-based right businesses because I don't want to learn

[00:25:18] anyone else's tax code I have enough issue just with ours so there are a lot of professionals

[00:25:25] out there like I know quite a few that focus on foreign US citizen started foreign businesses in

[00:25:31] another country still having one in the US just find the right person that can help you and

[00:25:36] make sure that they're able to help you all year long and not just start tax filing thank you for

[00:25:43] sharing that I'm sure so many people are going to find that helpful now I want to talk about the

[00:25:50] black sit movement what I love to call the next great migration there's so many of us who have

[00:25:58] decided to leave the United States and countries like Britain Canada and others what is your

[00:26:05] favorite part about expat hood I I love being in a new culture and meeting new people that are like

[00:26:14] me like it's I can't remember what it was when I was in Medivap Mexico it was so funny like the city

[00:26:21] is not that big right so you're walking down the street and you see someone else that looks like

[00:26:24] you like we got excited oh just like oh my god I'm not alone all this journey so that just brought

[00:26:31] me so much joy and you know from that trip I you know they're women that I still connect with to

[00:26:38] this day and that was like two and a half years ago so I love the meeting other people that are on

[00:26:44] the journey that look like me and I like being in Latin America because it allows me to practice my

[00:26:49] little Spanish and getting a little bit better with that and learning the culture and learning how

[00:26:54] they do things learning how they eat dinner at 10 o'clock and I'm like okay that's different

[00:27:02] I guess so it's it's interesting learning how they do things like here in Argentina I believe they

[00:27:08] have a two hour Cesta and I was just like oh okay that explains why y'all eat something because

[00:27:13] y'all see in a bit of a day that's not something we do in the US like we just work through will be done

[00:27:18] about five five to seven and that's it so I'm enjoying learning how people outside of the US live

[00:27:26] that's great to hear now Sandra some see the blacks it as a temporary reaction to racism

[00:27:32] and brutality in America recently others see it as a more permanent migration what's your take

[00:27:40] oh it's a permanent thing yes racism has an issue has something to do with it all the violence but

[00:27:45] when I first started this journey the women that are meeting which is like I just want peace

[00:27:50] I just I want to feel free and I want to feel safe you know what I mean and that's only

[00:27:56] as the US is getting so expensive to live people are just trying to find that balance right

[00:28:02] they don't want to just work until they die pretty much and just barely making it they want their

[00:28:08] dollars to stretch they want to have a work life balance so I think a lot of people are

[00:28:12] searching for that there's so many women that are leaving the corporate America that are just like

[00:28:17] I'm done with this I'm ready to live my life yeah and as we've seen in the headlines recently

[00:28:24] all of the microaggressions and outright bullying that black women specifically have suffered

[00:28:34] in academic spaces, in corporate spaces I am not at all surprised that so many of us have decided to

[00:28:42] really divest and say you know what I'm prioritizing my peace yeah what other trends are you noticing

[00:28:51] with the recent increase in black folks black Americans specifically moving abroad and how do you

[00:28:58] see this blackset movement evolving I think what I'm noticing now is like there's no age limit right

[00:29:05] people aren't afraid they're not saying that hey I'm too old to do it they're making it happen

[00:29:11] they're figuring out how to get those ducks in a row if it means that they need to sell stuff I'm

[00:29:18] that a lady that sold her house so it's gonna be Monday's day so I can get about a here and she was

[00:29:23] in her like I think late 50s early 60s but of course she's having family members telling her

[00:29:29] are you sure you want to do this so I think now that it's just really no age limit to it you can't

[00:29:34] really say who's going to do it and who's not gonna do it I know people who have families like

[00:29:40] with three kids and they're doing it I feel like when we're set on something we're gonna make it happen

[00:29:46] and nothing is gonna stop us and a lot of people are like I might as well try and say that I tried

[00:29:52] instead of living in that regret yeah and I love to see it and I think that's also the power

[00:29:59] of technology and social media bringing people together allowing people to tap into information

[00:30:05] that otherwise they wouldn't have gotten unless they were on the ground and that's the beauty

[00:30:10] of platforms like black expats stories and others Sandra in what ways can living abroad provide

[00:30:17] black expats with wealth building opportunities that may not necessarily be accessible to them in

[00:30:22] the United States just the cost of living right instead of you paying two thousand dollars for

[00:30:27] a two-bedroom you might be paying half of that so hopefully people are wisely using those savings

[00:30:34] to invest in other opportunities to start a business to just find ways to make that money

[00:30:41] multiply in a way that wouldn't be possible for the United States and also depending on what type of

[00:30:49] no-mad you are if it's remote work or not think about getting your entire withholding back to

[00:30:55] right if you would tell four or five thousand dollars like getting all that back what would you do

[00:31:00] with it I'm hoping you won't spurt like splurge on it with something that's not necessary but

[00:31:05] invest it in something buy a property build a property do something that's gonna bring you money

[00:31:11] and that's what I love about us like we're figuring out ways to create different sources of income

[00:31:17] I know a lady who just built like a ten unit apartment in Wilhaka and I'm just like wow I want

[00:31:23] to be like you so there's so many ways to make this the quote unquote American dream but not in

[00:31:29] the United States so I'm hoping that people just use their money wisely yeah I saw somewhere

[00:31:38] that somebody said the American dream is actually to leave yeah yeah like I was like oh that hits

[00:31:47] because true at least for me Sandra thank you so much for sharing all of these insights again

[00:31:55] I think that when we talk about this expat lifestyle you can't not talk about money matters

[00:32:04] and so many people ask me and others that I talk to how are you able to live abroad and what ways

[00:32:12] can we do it too and I think that one way you can do that is by making sure that your tax situation

[00:32:21] is buttoned up right because the worst thing I think or the worst feeling is to leave one space

[00:32:30] with your business undone and move to another space because a lot of people who embark on this

[00:32:37] journey honestly are running from a lot of things and it doesn't matter where you go you can go

[00:32:42] to the ends of the earth wherever you go there you are so any final words of advice for those who

[00:32:48] are considering a move abroad I would say just do it don't overthink it I know we are so good

[00:32:56] and thinking ourselves out of something like just start off small it doesn't have to be a month

[00:33:01] it doesn't have to be a big move go for a week see if you like it because you may not like it but at

[00:33:06] least you can say you tried you made that effort and you can always go back home that's one of the

[00:33:11] things like I stand off if I fail I'm gonna go back home and trust me there will all be happy

[00:33:17] that I'm back home but I'm like now I'm just repeating so I can get back out but at least I can say

[00:33:21] I tried that's right that's right where do you see yourself headed next I know you said somewhere else

[00:33:29] in Argentina but because you're more nomadic I always love to hear about what where you plan on

[00:33:35] happening around you I'm actually going to Medusa which is about a three hour flight away from

[00:33:44] here it's the wine country as they call it and I am a wineau so I'm excited about that it's a

[00:33:50] little bit more relaxed quiet mountainous I decided this year I was really gonna seek out more

[00:33:56] pizza and so for the next two months I'm gonna be there and I'm excited about it I'm excited about

[00:34:02] the slow paceness of it all because Argentina is a little it's a little loud for me it's a lot going on

[00:34:08] right now there's someone yelling out of microphone I don't know if you can hear that but

[00:34:12] I just ready okay I'm just like what are you saying sir but yeah I totally that will not be the case in

[00:34:19] Medusa well I wish you all the best as you journey to Medusa enjoy that wine country and before we

[00:34:28] get out of here where can our viewers and listeners connect with you and learn more about you as a

[00:34:35] text strategist the easiest place to find me is on LinkedIn I'm the only Sandra Mornow on there so

[00:34:41] you can connect with me there and then you can find information about my website or DM me if you

[00:34:46] have some questions that's the easiest place to find me great thanks again Sandra thank you

[00:34:54] thanks for listening and watching as we continue exploring the journeys of black expats finding

[00:35:00] freedom healing and belonging across the globe are you feeling inspired to embark on your own

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[00:35:46] until next time I wish you peace love and passport stamps