EmpressWanderlust™

Strategic Nomadism. The Soft Edition.

I paid rent through December 20.
After that, I removed it from my monthly expenses.

Before that, my housing costs looked like this:

Rent: $2,000
Internet: $45
Electric and water: about $200
Renters insurance: $18

That’s roughly $2,263 every month, or about $6,800 over three months.

Since then:

I’ve spent about $550 for gap sits.
My annual house-sitting membership is $259.
Utilities and internet are $0.

I choose the homes I sit in.
Well-kept, upper-middle-class households.
Keeping the same routines as before.

I lived by the waterfront before.
I house sit by the waterfront now.
I also house sit in the mountains.

In 90 days, I’ve preserved over $6,000 by removing fixed costs.

Strategic Nomadism, for me, is reducing overhead without lowering my standard of living.

Now it’s your turn.
If you removed your largest monthly expense for 90 days, what would shift?

1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 1

EmpressWanderlust™

CALM Wealth thought

A lot of advice says people stay stuck because they do not ask for what they want.

What I have noticed is different.

Most people do ask. They just ask too early. When they are uncomfortable and want relief.

That is how people end up with yeses that cost them more than they expected.

CALM Wealth is about slowing down long enough to know what you are really asking for.

Have you ever seen this play out in your own life?

2 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 0

EmpressWanderlust™

CALM Wealth thought

A lot of expensive decisions happen when nothing is wrong. People are just uncomfortable.

CALM Wealth is about giving yourself enough space to see clearly so you can use considered judgment to make the right decision.

I do not need relief. I need clarity.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

EmpressWanderlust™

Nomad life doesn’t have to be hard to be real.
Being intentional beats struggling.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 1

EmpressWanderlust™

A lot of advice sounds responsible because everyone repeats it.

But if the outcomes are middling, repetition doesn’t make it right.

I care more about what actually works in midlife than what’s socially acceptable.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

EmpressWanderlust™

If you’re tired of drifting, guessing, or doing what everyone else does by default…
and you want real options instead of just a bigger paycheck…
this is a place where how you make decisions comes first.

Here’s the difference:

Resource-based freedom means:
• having choices even when income collapses
• designing life so one decision can’t corner you
• reducing dependence before pursuing more income
• building optionality first, net worth second
• making moves that still work if plans change

Wealth-based freedom is:
• “Once I make X, then I’ll be free!”
• tying safety to income alone
• pushing harder without changing structure
• living one paycheck away from panic

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

EmpressWanderlust™

A well designed life isn’t about luxury.
It’s about setting things up once so you’re not constantly re-deciding.

So:
• your time is yours
• your brain isn’t overwhelmed
• mistakes don’t snowball
• stress doesn’t make the choices for you

Most people don’t need more money. Not really.
They need fewer decisions on hard days.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

EmpressWanderlust™

Since December 20, 2025, I’ve been on a strategic sabbatical, living intentionally without a fixed address.

In the last month I’ve traveled from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the coast, stayed in different communities, maintained a consistent routine while learning new ones, and spent time with people who were strangers just days earlier.

What’s surprised me most is how natural this all feels.

I pay attention.
I stop when I’m tired.
I rest when I need to — and then I keep it moving.

With fewer fixed expenses, there’s more room for exploration, connection, and growth.

Luxuriating in adventure.
Making magic in the mundane.
No longer encumbered.

Still early days, but this way of living fits.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

EmpressWanderlust™

A woman, her dog, and a hearth.
Closest thing to heaven.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

EmpressWanderlust™

I started my strategic sabbatical one month ago.
I didn’t realize how much pressure I was carrying until it eased.
This is what relief looks like.

4 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 0