The Turquoise Passport Experience

12/13/2025

Happy Saturday, y’all! Me again! Just rambling about how I Took 10 Trips in 7 Months on a Government Salary:

Let me clear something up right now.

I did not get a raise.
I did not win the lottery.
And no, I’m not secretly rich.

I’m on a government salary—the kind that makes you calculate vacations down to the last iced coffee.

And yet…
I took 10 trips in 7 months.

Here’s how.

Step One: I Stopped Being a “Consumer” of Travel

For years, I booked trips like everyone else:
• Googling flights
• Paying retail prices
• Accepting whatever room I was given
• Coming home broke and wishing I could travel more

The shift happened when I stopped buying travel and started positioning myself inside the travel industry.

I didn’t become a blogger.
I didn’t start selling courses.
I didn’t need a huge following.

I became a travel agent.

Step Two: Access Changes Everything

Once I had industry access, everything changed—quietly and quickly.

Suddenly I had:
• Preferred partner pricing
• Insider rates and perks
• Room upgrades I never paid for
• Airline miles stacking faster than ever
• Commission on trips I booked (including my own)

Travel stopped being an expense and started becoming leveraged.

Step Three: I Let My Trips Pay Me Back

This is the part people don’t expect.

Every trip I took:
• Earned miles
• Built future discounts
• Generated commissions
• Created residual income streams

So instead of draining my bank account, travel began replenishing it.

I wasn’t traveling despite my salary—I was traveling because I changed the system around it.

Step Four: I Didn’t Quit My Job (I Got Smarter While Keeping It)

I didn’t take a leap of faith.
I am building an exit ramp.

I still clock in.
I still collect my paycheck.
And I still use evenings, weekends, and intentional focus to build something that works alongside my job—not against it.

Freedom doesn’t come from rebellion.
It comes from strategy.

The Truth No One Tells You

Most people don’t need more motivation.
They need better positioning.

The problem isn’t that you can’t afford to travel.
It’s that you’re playing the game as a customer instead of an insider.

I’m still building.
I’m still scaling.
But I’m no longer asking, “Can I afford this?”

I’m asking, “Where to next?” And if you know me at all…. You know I already have trips planned!

Counting down: 10 days until the next plane ride

—
XoXo
The Freedom Files

12/12/2025

💥 Good Morning, Freedom Seekers! Escaping The Cubicle Is The 2026 Goal.

It’s Friday! And look, if you’re reading this, you probably know that Monday-morning feeling: that deep, sinking dread when the alarm screams at you, forcing you back into the 9-to-5 grind.

That feeling? That is what I am actively creating an exit strategy from.

For 15 years, I've dedicated myself to Human Services. I love helping people, but I was living on a salary that frankly had me laughing in my own face every time I looked at a dream vacation cost. I am currently still stuck in a cage built by someone else’s schedule and budget. But I’m building the key to get out.

So, for the new year (and if you know me, you know I love a good, obsessive goal), I’m documenting the whole messy, amazing journey of using this side-hustle to become completely free from my traditional lifestyle.

How I Did the Great Pivot (While Still Clocking In)

Back in April, I decided to take a stab at the Travel Industry. I'm talking about being a Travel Agent and a Travel Industry Coach.

The only experience I had was booking my own insane trips. And let me tell you, juggling this new life with my only professional experience being in Human Services felt like I was trying to read a textbook written in Greek. There was a learning curve, for sure, and I'm still figuring out how other people travel (because my travel expectations are clearly wilder than most—but that's for another post!).

But here's the kicker: Getting my credentials was ridiculously easy.

I just paid a small one-time fee for the platform and access to all the preferred partners, and BAM—I was a travel agent. A quick 3-hour course, and I was ready to roll.

The Real Roadblock is Dumbfounding.

The coaching piece? That's what has been giving me the major headache.

I consider myself a great coach (I've spent years holding people's hands through the smallest tasks!), but my biggest hurdle has been finding people who see the big picture—the potential—like I do. I literally found people who passed up a platform designed to work for them, even while they were stuck in their 9-5, just like me. Why?!

Yes, it takes work. But what doesn't? Your 9-5 takes work, and it pays you less every single year. Anything worth having takes effort. The point is, this work is building my exit ramp, all while I still collect my regular paycheck.

Proof of Potential: My Life Since April (On a State Government Salary)

Let me just give you the receipts. This is what this side-business has allowed me to do while still working my 9-5:

✈️ 10 Trips taken (because now I travel as much as I want)

🌍 Visited 6 different countries since April

🤯 Free Room Upgrades that will seriously make you s**t your pants

💰 $2K+ saved on my own adventures, plus commissions earned back

💳 Over 100K flight miles earned.

💸 Residual Income. I'm still getting paid for the work I did months ago, and that money will keep coming in every single month for the rest of my life—a bonus paycheck while I'm still at my regular job.

I went to Thailand in November (get ready for that post, it’s amazing), and I got a direct deposit to my bank account while on the back of a motorcycle...What other platform allows you to earn real money and travel like this while you're still at your current job? Just asking for a friend!!

The Freedom Files Are Open.

My goal for the new year is simple: Scale this business so I can finally quit my 9-5 for good and be able to travel and live anywhere I want in the world.

This blog/page is where I’m documenting the effort. I’m sharing all the pain points, the ridiculously glamorous sides, my mishaps, and the fallbacks.

If you’re ready to see me succeed OR fall on my face—if you want to be a Freedom Seeker—please follow! If not, just scroll right past!

To you, my fellow Freedom Seekers, thank you for putting up with me in advance.

Until next time,
The Freedom Files

Send a message to learn more

12/12/2025

✨ Welcome to The Freedom Files ✨

Hey everyone — I’m so glad you found your way here! 💖💖💖

This space is something I’ve been wanting to create for a long time… a place where I can share the real behind-the-scenes of how I’m building a life with more travel, more income, and a lot more freedom.

Not the highlight reel.
Not the polished version.
The real story — the wins, the experiments, the messy middle, and the moments that make it all worth it.

Because here’s the truth:
I didn’t wake up one day with a “freedom lifestyle.”
I had to build it… one small decision at a time.

Inside The Freedom Files, you’ll find:
📂 My personal journey (unfiltered)
✈️ How travel became part of my lifestyle
💸 How I started earning from anywhere
🤍 Lessons, mistakes, and things I wish I knew sooner
🔥 Inspiration for anyone who wants more out of life than the 9–5 loop

Think of this as my open journal — and you’re invited to read along as it unfolds.

I’m excited to share what’s possible when you stop playing small and start choosing yourself.
If you’re here, something in you probably wants more too… and I love that.

So welcome.
Save your seat.
There’s a lot more coming. ✨