How Do You Afford This?
How Do You Afford This? answers the question everyone is already wondering: how do people actually afford their lives?
Ashley Feinstein Gerstley, CFP®, founder of the Fiscal Femme and award-winning author is on a mission to find out and bring you along for the ride.
Each episode takes the inspirational, and makes it tangible. Whether that’s international travel, buying a dream home, raising a family, a fabulous wardrobe, or building a million dollar business, Ashley and her guests will break down the numbers - what it costs, how they make it work, and the financial strategies behind the lifestyle.
It’s part voyeuristic, part practical, and completely judgment-free. Come for the tea. Leave with a financial blueprint to start building your dream life.
How Do You Afford This?
#01: The Finances Behind the 12 International Trips She Takes Per Year
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Ally Case has traveled to 58 countries and takes around 12 international trips a year. She's a content creator, part-time flight attendant, and the CEO of digital marketing agency Uppercase Media, which she runs with a team of five. In our very first episode, she sits down with me to break down how she actually affords the lifestyle.
Ally and I walk through exactly what she spent on her recent 8-day trip across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman, and Qatar, the six income streams that fund the fabulous life she’s crafted and the trade-offs she had to make to get there. Plus, she shares how much she gets for free as a travel influencer and her favorite travel hacks the rest of us can use.
Ally reveals what’s changed about money in her relationship since getting engaged, the money visualization that drives her career, and why she considers her gold jewelry part of her investment portfolio.
Get the travel budget template Ally and Ashley use.
https://www.thefiscalfemme.com/travel-budget
Connect with Ally on Instagram at @allycase1 and @uppercase.media, and on TikTok @allycase1.
Check out Ashley’s Money Club to join a community of women unabashedly going after their money goals.
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My guest today has traveled to 58 countries, takes 12 international trips per year, and has built a life that genuinely looks like a dream as a content creator, flight attendant, and digital marketing agency owner. But this episode isn't just inspiration. We're getting into the actual numbers. Ali breaks down a real eight-day trip through Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman, and Qatar for countries under $1,700.
SPEAKER_01My estimated budget was $1,850, like $1,850 for the whole trip. And I ended up spending $1,600, like $1,611. So I did better. It was under budget.
SPEAKER_00And I just don't even know how much. She shares how much she earns across three income streams and how having money coming from all directions is the whole strategy. Plus, why she considers gold jewelry part of her portfolio.
SPEAKER_01I'm like, I can't wear my portfolio. So like, why not buy a cool necklace that's gonna retain its value and increase in value over the next five, ten, fifteen years? And I'll pass it down.
SPEAKER_00And she gets real about the trade-offs, the stability she gave up, and the life she built on the other side of that Fed. I'm Ashley, certified financial planner, founder of the Fiscal Fed, and I'm asking the question everyone is already wondering. How do people actually afford their lives? This is how do you afford this. So, Al, you've traveled to 58 countries. You take 12 international trips per year. Every time I open up Instagram, you're in a new, exotic, fabulous place. How do you afford this? Please tell us.
SPEAKER_01First of all, that is so crazy to hear back. And I am very aware that those are crazy stats, but that's also such a fun way to start the podcast. And I have three jobs. So that definitely helps fund all the crazy adventures.
SPEAKER_00You are busy, to say the least. Very busy. Okay. And I can't wait to dive into the numbers of all of this, but it's clear that travel is just a huge pillar of your life. What drives your passion for traveling?
SPEAKER_01I think a lot of it is the feeling of freedom that it gives you. I think like ever since I was little, I kind of always just wanted to like break outside of the walls that I just grew up in and I wanted to explore the world. So I think like that feeling of freedom is really, really exciting to experience when you're traveling. And I really like the way that when you're on a trip, you're very challenged. Like whether it's from language barriers or new types of foods and unfamiliar surroundings, you're kind of just forced to step outside of your everyday routine and do something new. And it's really refreshing. And I just think the growth that comes from traveling and the fun experiences that come with it are just like priceless, honestly.
SPEAKER_00And you are, you're in places that sometimes that I've never even heard of. So you're navigating a lot, I'm sure. Lots. Walk us through what your finances look like. I know there's probably not a typical trip. We're talking we're talking 58 different countries, like hundreds of trips. But what do your finances look like for a typical trip, would you say?
SPEAKER_01For a typical trip, I would say most of the money is being spent on accommodations. I think like since we'll we'll get into this later too, but I don't have to pay for flights, thankfully. It's like one of the perks of one of my jobs. So flights is not really an expense for me, but I would say, like, as far as like the breakdown of what everything costs, I would say like accommodations are probably the most expensive. Then like tours and excursions, and then like food and maybe shopping. And that's kind of like the breakdown that's pretty, pretty standard, I would say, across each of my trips.
SPEAKER_00Is there like a number, like a goal number per day or something? I know like it would depend if it's like a five-day trip versus a 10-day trip versus a one-day trip, but like do you have a ballpark of how much this would cost?
SPEAKER_01So because everything is super last minute and I kind of just plan by the seat of my pants, like flag by the seat of my pants, and sometimes just plan like the day before. Honestly, I do just roll into it, being like, all right, let's see what we can do. The most, the most that we can do for like a not so crazy price. So as far as like a specific number, definitely depends trip by trip. And I can't even think of one off the off the top of my head, honestly. I'm just rolling with the punches usually.
SPEAKER_00I often see you'll you'll be on a flight and you're like, we decided to stay. And now we're figuring, and I guess too, there's different currencies. So sometimes you might not even know what you're what you're paying in or what the conversion is.
SPEAKER_01Oh my gosh, I made a video that was like spending like going shopping and spending 3,000 yen or like spending whatever I want because I have no idea what 3,679 yen is. And like it's a I'm like, no, but I've I've gotten really good at like the currency conversions, but it is kind of hard to track sometimes between like the US currency and you know, sometimes I'm in like five different countries over the course of like 10 days. So like switching your brain to be like, oh, now we're on this currency and this one definitely adds for like a little bit of a challenge to when you get homed.
SPEAKER_00Are you ever like, oh my gosh, I can't believe I spent that much? Or is it usually you have a good idea of what you're doing?
SPEAKER_01I usually keep track, like kind of throughout the days. Like there, I feel like there's kind of like a gut feeling of like, oh, that one maybe is a little more, so maybe I'll go a little less here. But like in different categories of spending. But I would say like at the end of each day, I kind of have like an idea of what I spent. And then at the end of the trip, sometimes I do like a breakdown. I'm like, oh wow, like we just spent eight days in this place and it was like less than $2,000 or something, which is also crazy.
SPEAKER_00I'm gonna look because we just have to do a specific. So let me see what's your last trip?
SPEAKER_01Um, so you know what I did do a I did, I used your budget planner for my trip to Dubai. And that was actually incredibly helpful because Dubai is also pretty expensive. So I think that was like a really nice thing to actually like plug in and see like what am I actually spending on these trips? Because sometimes it's like you spend $10 here, $15 here, and all of that ends up adding up, and it maybe doesn't feel like it in the moment. And then you track it at the end of your trip or at the end of the day, more like you're tracking it like dollar for dollar, and then it's definitely eye-opening. And I think doing the using your budget tracker after the Dubai trip was incredibly, incredibly helpful. So maybe that's a good one I could pull up.
SPEAKER_00Yes, that'd be awesome. And then we can also talk about the specifics because I'm curious. Obviously, flights are a big expense for traveling, but curious, like with what's left for you, how you decide what to splurge on, what to save on, if there's like if that's something you do every time depending on your values, or if it's something that you choose in the moment based on the place.
SPEAKER_01I would say it definitely depends on the place. There are some cities that are known for just having like these crazy wild adventures that you're like, I have to go do the canyoneering and I have to do the bungee jumping and I have to do the whatever. And so some cities are like that, and then other ones, it's like maybe just more of a walkable city. You do a walking tour. So it totally depends on the city.
SPEAKER_00How much did it cost to go swimming with the whale sharks? Do you remember? Oh, that one was incredible.
SPEAKER_01That was in the Philippines, and I'm pretty sure that was $100 per person. And it included like, so we we got picked up in Cebu City, and it included like the four and a half hour drive there, four and a half hour drive back, and it included swimming with the sardines, the the whale sharks dive, and then an island, a beach, and like breakfast and lunch. It was crazy. Oh my god.
SPEAKER_00And how did you get photos under there? Did you have the camera or did they have the camera?
SPEAKER_01So you could rent a GoPro for like five US dollars, and and then they would have someone on the boat with you just like jump in and take all your content for you, which was really cool. That was like probably the best $5 I spent that entire trip. You got great content.
SPEAKER_00So the whole day essentially was $105, like meals, the trip out, the swimming, and also what is swimming with sardines? I know we're getting a little off topic, but it sounds very specific.
SPEAKER_01Yes. So there are like a few places in the world that just have like massive amounts of sardines. Like I'm talking like millions and millions of sardines, and you can dive with them. And it's so crazy because like when you're just swimming around, you're like, what is that? And it's just like a bunch of little fit, like millions of them, and you could just like swim through them and they kind of move out of the way, and like like you just swim with them, and it's cool content too. But it was such a cool experience, very awesome. Okay. Yes, I pulled up the travel budget. Awesome. Okay, so walk me through. Okay, so do you should I start with like what I estimated and then what my total actually was? That's kind of fun. Yeah, let's do it. Okay, so I estimated, and this was like a I want to say this was an eight-day trip, and it included Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat in Oman, and then Doha in Qatar, which are all pretty expensive places. Like the Middle East tends to be pretty expensive. But I I my estimated budget was 1850, like 1,850 for the whole trip. And I ended up spending 1600, like 1,611. So I were under better. I was under budget. And I break down.
SPEAKER_00And when you get free flights, do you pay like the fees or anything or none of it?
SPEAKER_01So when I'm flying for the the airline that I work for, it's zero dollars going to whatever country I'm going to, and then I pay taxes on the way back in. And if we fly a different airline, which we actually did, we took United from Newark to Doha. We we can fly other airlines as well. We just pay a discounted price. So I didn't get it for $0 going in on my airline, but I got it for $297 total between there and back, I guess.
SPEAKER_00Wow. So round trip. Okay, great. So take us through the $1650.
SPEAKER_01So there's that $290 for the $297 for all flights. So that includes getting from Newark to Dubai, and then from Dubai to Muscat, Muscat to Doha, Doha, back to the United States. $297, which is crazy. Definitely like a major perk of working for an airline because that's like a lot of the times, like my entire budget is what the flights cost. So very lucky with that. Travel to and from the airport, $60. And I believe that would have been included for all travel to and from the airport. And then visas and passports slash other fees, $20. Trip prep, I spent $150. So that was I didn't put exactly what it was for, but it could have been clothes, suitcases, travel size products, etc. We spent $403 on lodging slash accommodations, $262 on food. Wait, for the lodging was how much? $403. So that was for eight nights? For my between my friend and I too.
SPEAKER_00Okay. So if you're splitting, so you're finding pretty affordable places to stay.
SPEAKER_01So it would have been, so yeah, I guess that would have been $806.
SPEAKER_00So $100 a night for the places.
SPEAKER_01About that, yes. Exactly. And then food, $262. Shopping was $68. I just remember like buying, like I bought a few like headscarves and then entertainment and tours, about $300. And that would be like the like sandboarding in Dubai and like doing like swimming with fish and in the sea and Oman, those sort of things. $56 in Uber slash taxi and lifts. And that was it. And these are like half the cost. So because like I did travel with a friend. So like my price, my overall amount spent would have been double if I was not with a friend. So I did get 50% off traveling with a friend.
SPEAKER_00Right. And I'm also hearing from the budget that you prioritize kind of the experiences, like going on the sand, you called it sandboarding. Yes. Yes. And I remember the videos of that, or like the so it sound and those almost are as expensive as your stay, right? So it's showing kind of what you value, at least on this trip. Curious, your dolomites trip. How much was that hotel? Because that it looked so luxurious.
SPEAKER_01So the Dolomites was I actually went with a friend as a plus one who had all of the places comps. So we did not spend anything there, which was really nice.
SPEAKER_00I'm curious. So this is actually leads me to my next question. I'm curious, as like a non-travel influencer flight attendant, what do you think it would cost someone to replicate your lifestyle? Like adding in the flights or like trips where you're comp something or a friend's comp something.
SPEAKER_01That's a really great question. I would say, I mean, just like looking at that Middle East trip in itself, like if we were paying for our own flights for that trip, it probably would have been over $2,000 each person to cover all of that. And we got it for like less than $300, which was so crazy to think. And for someone who does trips like that, usually once a month, sometimes like maybe 10, 10 times a year, like skipping a few months. But I mean, that just in flights alone could equal like $30,000, which is crazy. And it's it's depending on the season, too. Sometimes the there's peak seasons where it's more expensive, and traveling on weekends tend to be more expensive. So things like that. So it could be just in flights, could be like $20,000, $30,000. And yeah, I feel very lucky to have my flights covered.
SPEAKER_00And then how about like in like on your content creator side, even through your friends or yourself, like how much free stuff do you think you get for travel and like and other things?
SPEAKER_01So you know what? I will say, my a lot of my friends and I, we are hustling. We're working really hard, we get lots of really fun and cool opportunities. So I mean, definitely, like I would say, like a few trips a year, we get comps. And usually, like if it's me that's doing it, I can bring a friend with me. So I get to bring a friend on the experience. Or if one of my friends is going on a trip and brings me, that's really cool too. But I mean, that could be another few tens of thousands of dollars that we don't spend, which is incredible. And I feel like I've like crafted this life. Like I feel like I've manifested this life because I could have never imagined this growing up. And so it's kind of like crazy reflecting on it and talking about it because it's just it's kind of wild to say out loud.
SPEAKER_00And it's it's masterful in the way that you've you're you have a passion for travel. And so then naturally you have your flight attendant job gets you the flights. Then you're also creating content and then you're getting things. It's it's really cool how the different parts of your life work together. We'll talk more about that. But for those of us who want to travel more, do you have any travel hacks for us to save money and be able to travel more?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, totally. I would say there's so many different things I think that are overlooked a lot. Like traveling on weekends tend to be a little more expensive. So if you're flexible with your travel plans and you can fly on like a Tuesday, Wednesday, flights tend to be a little less expensive. Hotels are a little less expensive. Choosing a credit card that has zero foreign transaction fees is super helpful. I would also say taking public transportation. I think a lot of people, when they go on trips, they immediately think we have to call an Uber, we have to get a taxi, we have to do whatever. When I'm traveling with my friends, we are always using public transportation. We want to feel like locals and we're like, let's take the bus, let's take the train, let's do whatever. And it's a fun experience as someone who's not from there. You get to experience the like local way, but it's also so much cheaper. Like an Uber could be $60 to $80 and the train's like $250 or something. So that's another, another big tip as well.
SPEAKER_00I love those. And it's such a win-win to like to get to experience it in most of the time, not always, but experience the transit in somewhere in a place that you're visiting. Totally. And so we're talking about this incredible life that you've crafted and manifested. Would you say there are any trade-offs to it, like any spending or even just career trade-offs or life trade-offs that you feel like you have to make for this incredible life?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, specifically early on, definitely I traded stability with working a full-time nine to five office job in marketing in Los Angeles before I became a flight attendant. And I traded that stability for like a pretty uprooted life when I decided to be a flight attendant. So definitely traded, had some trade-offs there early in the beginning. I think as I've progressed in this flight attendant career over the last seven years now, I think I've made it work really well where it doesn't even feel like a trade-off anymore. It feels like I've kind of just taken different pieces of like of my interests and made this like masterful puzzle. Whereas I think like when I first became a flight attendant, I was like, I want to do it for a year. I want to start my social media agency, build that on the side, also create content on my own pages and all of this. And then I'll go back to working for a startup and have that stability and like consistent income. And I think I've just kind of figured out how to make that flexibility work with my type B personality. And it's actually been very fulfilling. And I've built a lot of fun things, like doing all of it at once. So that's kind of cool.
SPEAKER_00It's so cool. And it's amazing to have watched the trends, like the transformation over time. And I also love that you're a self-proclaimed type B person. Very much. I love your type B content. Um, so let's talk about your income because we talked about the like the outgoing expenses of all the travel. What are the different ways that you earn money? I know we've alluded to a few of them.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So I have, I would say, three main sources and then like a few other little extras, which I would say, like my number one being my social media agency, digital marketing agency. It's called uppercase media. And we work primarily with CPG brands, consumer packaged good brands in food and beverage and health and wellness. That's my, I would say my number one. And then my social media pages, Alley Case One. And then third would be flight attendant. And then those would be like my three jobs. And then there's other ways like private money loans, and then I guess like interest from like interest from that. And then also, I guess like I kind of think of when I invest in the market that I'm also like making money, even though I'm not actually touching that money or spending it, but you know, it's kind of passive in a way. Yes. That's it. Oh, and I also have a home, a rental home that I I bought with my brother and sister like five years ago. And so we also have income from that rental property.
SPEAKER_00That's incredible. And would you say, so what can you share as far as the amounts or ranges for those different revenue streams?
SPEAKER_01So for the flight attendant, that's actually like fresh top of mind because I was just looking at all my donks for that. I think this last year, I as a flight attendant, and I want to preface this by saying I consider myself like a part-time flight attendant. I fly 40 hours a month, which is about half, if not like 30 to 40% of what most flight attendants fly. So my number does not reflect what a full-time flight attendant would be paid. But I made about $25,000 last year as a flight attendant, which is incredibly low as you know, thinking of it as like a full-time job, considering the fact that the flights that I take are worth way more than that, it's an amazing trade-off. And and it is just part of my income. And then I would say for my agency and my personal social media accounts, it's you know, in the six figures. So that's when you add them together.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, or yeah. I guess yeah. Six figures. Yeah, yeah, it's amazing. Awesome. And then you have the property, the rental property, the loan income. Any so, and I think about this a lot when I'm uh seeing your social, and I know social is not always real life, but I'm curious what work looks like for You because you're traveling either for your work or for fun, like you're filming when you're traveling. I always feel like I don't know if it's like the elder millennial in me, but I'm trying to get away from that. I need to be at my computer to think and be working. So curious, like, what is a work? I know it's probably hard to say, but how does work look like for you, especially with multiple jobs? How are you getting all this done while traveling?
SPEAKER_01It changes all the time. I do love to have my laptop with me, but I have had to get really good at working from my phone as well because sometimes it's just the the easiest thing versus like pulling out my laptop in the middle of who knows where the heck I am. So a typical workday would be, I mean, it honestly changes day by day or week by week. I would say sometimes it's at home, sometimes it's on a flight or sitting at an airport gate. And sometimes it's, you know, taking a few hours in the middle of a desert or a rainforest somewhere to work from my phone or laptop. I would say, like when I'm in like a hotel or at my house or like at an airport gate, I'm usually on my laptop. And then if I'm in flight or kind of like in between excursions or things like that, I'm usually on my phone. And I do film a lot in between everything. So like I get, I mean, I it's funny because the social media side of like filming for my own pages, it doesn't even feel like work. It just feels like fun. And you know, they say like you'll never work a day in your life if you are having fun. And even though, so technically it's like working around the clock, but it just is so fun for me to be on the way to an excursion and you know, be doing a tour of the hotel or whatever it is, and just like filming it without even thinking about it. So I guess work it, I with the work never stops, but it's all really fun.
SPEAKER_00Yes. And I'm thinking back too when you what you were sharing about your income and saying that it sounds very low, but you think of it in a much more strategic way because the trip costs would be after tax, like the that you would be expending to get those experiences. And so if you add that to what you're earning as a part-time employee, right, and then you extrapolate by adding taxes back to that, you're actually getting to a much higher salary. So just something that I'm thinking about how someone else might just say, oh, that's not worth it. But given how you've strategized and built this life, it's so worth it to you.
SPEAKER_01Totally. And I think there, there are a lot of people that message me on Instagram and all the time too. And they're like, I want to be a flight attendant. I want to travel a lot. Do I need another job? Should I get another job? And I'm like, it's totally up to you. You can totally like fly the full hours and travel. Like I did that for my first like few years. You get so many opportunities to travel just like and get paid for it every single time. Like, whether you're in South America, Central America, Europe, the US, you can do that full time too. I think just for the life that I have kind of constructed somehow. I still look at it, I'm like, I don't know how I did this. I feel like I always say I life hacked, don't know how, but it all manifested. And for me, it it works in my like with my goals and my aspirations that I wanted to be building things at the same time as being able to travel the world and get paid for it or for free. And so yeah, I kind of constructed it that way myself. But if someone wants to be a flight attendant, they can also be a full-time flight attendant and make a great salary. It takes, you know, some time to to work up some seniority and increase pay and all of that. But the the perks are definitely a major, major win.
SPEAKER_00And just a couple of questions about uppercase media. Like, what does your current team look like? Like, what does Allie do versus what others do? Like, how does that currently structured?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I have there's five of us in total. So five employees, my myself included. And I am running a lot of the strategy and just kind of like overall everything. And so uppercase media, we do all things digital marketing. So you could think of content creation, strategy, influencer marketing, email marketing, Google ads, meta ads, any of that. We do all of that. And I am overseeing everything. I'm creating content, I'm in the ads managers, I am seating influencers, everything I'm in the mix of. But I do also have like a dedicated email, like someone who's on email and a paid social lead and content creators so that they can kind of focus on those and I can kind of like help delegate and manage everything overall. But I am in the weeds of everything, but I have people now, after all these years, to be able to help execute, execute on their specific areas of expertise, which has been incredible. I have an amazing team and I'm so grateful for them every day.
SPEAKER_00That's amazing. And this question's kind of selfish as a business owner. Just curious how you decide between, and this might have been like a hiring question, right? How do you decide between pocketing income and like taking it as earnings versus like investing into the business? Like when is it like, oh, I need to get this new person and take that hit and hire them to grow the business versus paying yourself more or as much?
SPEAKER_01Definitely. I I would say I calculate the risks for sure. So number one, I always pay myself first. Like I make sure I put money in my savings count, my brokerage accounts, anything. And I learned that from you, Ashley. Ever since I opened any of my retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, anything, I've always made it a point to pay myself first. And that has been incredible. I think it's literally like the best, like the best advice anyone could give anyone. And so I would say I pay myself first, and then I look at those calculations. And if it makes sense to invest in a new role, then I would prefer to invest in a way that is going to make the company scale versus like pocketing it for a trip. It's kind of interesting because I do have so many different types of income that I can kind of maybe if I'm investing in uppercase media with like an additional salary, I'm able to like maybe cover some personal expenses through like other sorts of income. So I'm kind of lucky in the sense that maybe it's not coming like I'm investing with business income on this side, but I'm able to pull from personal for personal trips with the other business.
SPEAKER_00So that is that does like the diversity of income gives you the space to be able to put the money back in after you pay yourself first, which is so important.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. And I actually love too, like there's a lot I follow a lot of founders on Instagram and TikTok who have their own businesses. And it's so interesting to hear them talk about their own businesses, how they're like, I never even had to take a salary for myself. I just invested everything back into the business because I was able to pay myself from this other stream of income. And I feel like for a really long time, that's exactly what I was doing. Now I'm able to pay myself from all businesses, but I definitely it's nice to have that, those different streams to kind of create that space as well, like you said.
SPEAKER_00Yes, I feel like there's a lot with business finances that you don't hear about and you don't realize. But some that's why a lot of times people raise money. It takes money invested into the business a lot of times to grow. And so it's like that balance of how do you you survive while also investing in the business. So switching gears a little bit, you're newly engaged. Congrats. Thank you. Has that shifted how you think about spending or saving at all? And I I'd love to have you back on to do an entire wedding episode because that's a whole nother how do you afford this, but curious if anything shifted with that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I would say now we have some pretty potentially big expenses coming up now that we're serious after all these six years. And it will be like, you know, a wedding, a house, kids. So like I think when we're thinking about finances, we're definitely kind of combining forces and like, how are we going to afford this? What are what's our path there? So I would say definitely big picture thinking, kind of like starting to tie that knot, is starting to like give us that mentality of like these, you know, these long-term investments into our future. So definitely have started thinking about that a lot.
SPEAKER_00And how do you handle money like in your relationship with the two of you?
SPEAKER_01We spend pretty similarly, spend and save pretty similarly. So I feel like we're never, we don't really have many moments where we're like, I can't believe you did this. Or without talking to me, like, we're very much like we we don't ask each other for approval on expensive, like we very much just trust each other with like how we're spending. If there's anything like that's a really large expense, we'll want to talk about it, like a car or something that is kind of like on the on the higher end. But we're we're pretty like good, I think, about just spending within our means. And as far as like how we spend, I would say we between the both of us, we print split everything pretty much 50-50. So it's pretty balanced there. And then yeah, we just not many surprises. It's funny though, because on trips, like this trip that we were talking about with Dubai, when I travel with my friends, we definitely travel in like a more budget-friendly way because we're like, oh, we're never even gonna be in the hotel. We're just gonna be like out on excursions so we can like get a cheaper hotel because we're gonna be out all the time. When I travel with Rafi, he likes to travel a little more luxuriously. So, like my friend trips compared to my Rafi trips are pretty funny to compare. So it's amazing. Yeah, that's just like an interesting take. He's definitely more like, let's get a nice hotel, let's do a nice this. And so it's it's a it's a fun balance. I love like kind of like roughing it in ways with my friends and then like having like a little more like relaxing trip with Rafi.
SPEAKER_00But and it sounds like if you've been together six years and you've seen how each other spends, you've been open about money, then like you said, there's not that many surprises once you're engaged because you things kind of continue as they were. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01And I think it's so important to talk about money early on, too, because it's just it's an important part of relationships, I think. And you want to know like how what are what each other's habits are and like how they fit into you know your your future goals. And we've always been really transparent about all things money. So that's great.
SPEAKER_00And what's something about your finances people would never guess?
SPEAKER_01Something that they wouldn't guess. I would say, okay, maybe two things. So one is that everything, the like everything that I have and everything I've built is a hundred percent like I have like worked for every single dollar, like to the point where I was just like like saving and spending, like, you know, missing out on certain things because I was like, I have to save this and whatnot, kind of like managing in that way. Every single dollar that I have, I have worked so, so incredibly hard for in ways that is interesting that I've always had multiple streams of income. Like since I was little, I just kind of was like, the way I see myself being financially free is having income being thrown at me from all different angles. So, like even when I was working in an office, I would like babysit. Or like I just I've always had like side jobs. Like I've had like a full-time job and then a side job. So I think that's like something interesting is that I was just like, I need multiple streams of income to be able to feel financially free and like kind of have this freedom to travel and buy what I want and not have to ask my mom and things like that. My mom told me no because it's not not happening or something like that.
SPEAKER_00So I love the visualization of all the money flying at you in all the directions. I'm gonna I'm gonna take that one on.
SPEAKER_01And the more it's coming from different directions, the better. It makes it all more freeing.
SPEAKER_00One thing, so this is random, but I've been watching a lot of your content and you're you're into jewelry. Curious, like I see you wearing the most beautiful jewelry when you're shopping. Like, are you buying something every time? Are you often just visiting it, looking at it? Like, what does your jewelry budget look like? That's an excellent question.
SPEAKER_01So when I'm posting all these videos in these different stores where I'm trying on different jewelry pieces, most of the time I'm window shopping and admiring these gorgeous pieces. I am very good about not impulsively buying. I calculate all of my, like I, if I'm gonna make a big purchase, I will need to sleep on it many nights. I will need to dreamt about it many nights. Like there are many requirements I think that I need to meet before I make a big purchase like that. So, in all the content, I'm usually just admiring when it comes to a piece that I really want to buy after I think on it and kind of calculate the the value for it. Cause I'm also a big value spender when I think about what I'm spending. It's like, what does this value bring to my life? What's the trade-off if I buy this? What won't I be able to do in this way? So as far as budget goes, I would say there's not a budget, but there's a budget. Like, I don't have a specific like I can spend this much a month, but I also like this might be a toxic trade, but with the increased price of gold these days, I'm like, it's all an investment. So I just forget a gold ETF for gold bars, you're getting gold on your neck. I'm like, I can't wear my portfolio. So like, why not buy a cool necklace that's gonna retain its value and increase in value over the next five, 10, 15 years, and I'll pass it down. So like I think of it like that too. So if I find a piece that I'm like really like I feel emotionally attached to, it feels like it, you know, kind of is feels like it's my personality or it says something about me that just kind of like it feels like me, and maybe it feels like a good investment too. Then yeah, maybe I'll get it.
SPEAKER_00I know I love it. I love too the the sentimental thought of passing it down. That's beautiful. What are you working towards affording next? You know, this was all about how do you afford your current life, but like what are you working towards affording next?
SPEAKER_01Definitely a house and a wedding. Those are both very top of mind and both very expensive. So lots of lots of lots of planning involved in both of those.
SPEAKER_00This was so valuable, Allie. You are such an inspiration. You're so savvy with lifestyle creation, how you spend, how you think about it. So thank you so much for giving us this in-depth look into the numbers behind your fabulous lifestyle and how it actually works. Where can everyone find you and support your work?
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much for having me. It is such an honor to be here with you. And for as far as social media goes, I'm at Alley Case One on all socials or most socials. YouTube is Ally4044 because I could not change that for whatever reason. And then uppercasemedia.com for any agency things.
SPEAKER_00Everyone, go follow Allie. You will not regret it. Thank you, Ashley. Thank you so much for listening to How Do You Afford This? If you loved this inside look into how people are actually affording their lives, follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. We have new episodes dropping every week. And trust me, you do not want to miss them. And if you're enjoying the show, it would mean the world to me if you left a review. It takes just a minute and it helps more people find the show, which helps me on my mission to make crafting a wealthy life more accessible, more transparent, and a whole lot more fun. See you next week.