Hey love

In my last email
I talked about the pressure to spend in December
and how financial peace often comes from the no’s we say first

But today
I want to share what I do say yes to
The kind of spending that actually feels like living

Because not all spending is rooted in self-abandonment
Some of it is rooted in joy
in depth
in story

My best friend — the brilliant Laura Anne Moore — once said:
“Memories are dividends.”

You know what “memories are dividends” really means?

When you spend on an experience
you make the transaction once
but the return keeps coming

It’s not just the trip
or the dinner
or the ticket

It’s the story you tell at a dinner party five years later
It’s the laughter you re-live every time you talk about that moment
It’s the moment that becomes part of your life’s greatest hits

The cost is up-front
but the reward lasts for years

That’s the kind of wealth I care about now
And it’s the kind I want for you too.

And it’s one of those phrases that lives in my body now
Because it’s true

I don’t remember the price of the presents I bought five years ago
But I do remember the sunset in Uluwatu
The last-minute flight to Paris
The solo night I booked a beach villa because my body needed the ocean

That’s wealth
The kind you carry with you

Because yes — I still honour my money
I’ve worked hard to build the life I live now

But that kind of financial freedom?
It didn’t come from hustling harder
It came from choosing smarter

It came from:

  • Saying no to performance-based spending

  • Getting honest about what actually matters to me

  • Putting my energy into what fills me up — not just fills the calendar

So if you’re in that space of wanting to live well without falling into the over-spend spiral
This is your reminder:

You can say no to what drains you
and still say yes to what delights you

You can spend with intention
You can gift experiences
You can build a life that pays you back in presence

Because you won’t remember the stuff
You’ll remember the moments

What’s a memory you want to create this month — just for the joy of it?
Where are you willing to spend — not to prove anything, but because it makes you feel more you?

This is the kind of return on investment that truly lasts

With love
M x

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