Nikki Jurado Imparts Her Insights on Journaling, Limiting Beliefs, and Values-Based Finance
Nikki Jurado is better known to her 150,000-strong online following as “Nomad Finance Girl” (NFG), and we began our #YouGotThis: Rewrite Your Story interview with her by asking her about her moniker.
NFG started as a passion project, said Nikki. “When I started it, people still didn't have the idea of being able to work from anywhere. Their idea of earning money was being stuck in a cubicle in an office, exchanging their time for money.”
She had learned from a very early age that “you can actually be super location-independent," and she found herself getting questions from people who wondered how she was making money while surfing and hanging out at the beach. Nikki decided to start sharing her experiences and expertise so that others could learn from them, too.
The journey to becoming “Nomad Finance Girl” was truly unconventional—it began when Nikki was all of six years old. "I was placed in a position where I had to work early," she said, sharing that she had to work as a cashier in a Divisoria stall. She got to know people who owned businesses and found her first mentors there.
At only 11, she got the opportunity to open a stall at Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall in Cainta. “The problem was, I was 11,” Nikki said, laughing. She couldn’t legally open a business, so she had to find a partner who was at least 18. She teamed up with a 19-year-old guy who was working as a porter in Divisoria. “On paper, the business was his, but I said, ‘this is ours,’” Nikki said. “That guy is still one of my partners today.”
As Nikki’s businesses—which early on included burning audio CDs and PS1 games—grew, she used her earnings to ventured into more traditional businesses like salons and taxi lines. Today, she has 10 businesses, three of which are business-to-customer. Truly, she has rewritten the story of her humble beginnings, and she wants people to know it can happen to them, too, at any point in their lives.
She said, “You don't have to be six years old [to start]! You can be 30, you can be 40, you can be 50. Whatever your age is, it doesn't matter. Whatever circumstance you are in, you just have to start. Imagine, I was put there because of a bad situation and here I am now.”
A huge part of what Nikki does now is educating people on values-based personal finance, which she defines as managing your money based on what is truly important to you, not what is important to society at large
“It asks questions like: How do you define success? What are your core values?” Nikki said. “Our core values act as our north star, they’re like our compass. And every person has different core values.”
One of the most important values to Nikki is freedom, which is why she said she wouldn’t take even a staggeringly large paycheck if it meant giving up her freedom. But that’s true for her and not for others—and that’s precisely the point. “This is my life. I get to choose how I define success,” said Nikki.
In our interview with her, we asked Nikki about limiting beliefs around money, and she admitted that she still has them even until now. Like most, if not all people, she had grown up with the mindset that she wouldn’t survive if she didn’t have money. “I grew up being scared of losing money because I already experienced having nothing at all,” she said.
But the thing about limiting beliefs, Nikki said, is that we aren’t born with them. “They were passed on to us. They are things that can be installed, which means they can also be removed.”
Uninstalling limiting beliefs requires you to ask why you’re holding on to them in the first place? Are they helpful to you? If not, why are you sticking to them?
Nikki added, “I don't think that you will be free from limiting beliefs just because you're successful financially.” She believes in a life that looks inward, not outward, which is why journaling and meditating are very important to her.
“I journal every morning, it's the first thing I do. That's when I get to talk to myself and see if I have beliefs that don't jive with my values. I still have [limiting] money beliefs now but I am working on them thanks to journaling,” she said. “Whenever I'm asked, ‘What is the one habit that helped you become a financially free person?’ I always say it's journaling.”
Two final reminders from Nikki: “Money is just a tool. It's not a goal. It's a useful tool, but it's not a requirement to be happy or successful.”
We loved the engaging and insightful interview with Nikki! Watch the full interview, titled “Learn to Love and Attract Money: Overcoming Negative Money Emotions,” here. (You can start at the 22:55 mark.)
NFG started as a passion project, said Nikki. “When I started it, people still didn't have the idea of being able to work from anywhere. Their idea of earning money was being stuck in a cubicle in an office, exchanging their time for money.”
She had learned from a very early age that “you can actually be super location-independent," and she found herself getting questions from people who wondered how she was making money while surfing and hanging out at the beach. Nikki decided to start sharing her experiences and expertise so that others could learn from them, too.
The journey to becoming “Nomad Finance Girl” was truly unconventional—it began when Nikki was all of six years old. "I was placed in a position where I had to work early," she said, sharing that she had to work as a cashier in a Divisoria stall. She got to know people who owned businesses and found her first mentors there.
At only 11, she got the opportunity to open a stall at Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall in Cainta. “The problem was, I was 11,” Nikki said, laughing. She couldn’t legally open a business, so she had to find a partner who was at least 18. She teamed up with a 19-year-old guy who was working as a porter in Divisoria. “On paper, the business was his, but I said, ‘this is ours,’” Nikki said. “That guy is still one of my partners today.”
As Nikki’s businesses—which early on included burning audio CDs and PS1 games—grew, she used her earnings to ventured into more traditional businesses like salons and taxi lines. Today, she has 10 businesses, three of which are business-to-customer. Truly, she has rewritten the story of her humble beginnings, and she wants people to know it can happen to them, too, at any point in their lives.
She said, “You don't have to be six years old [to start]! You can be 30, you can be 40, you can be 50. Whatever your age is, it doesn't matter. Whatever circumstance you are in, you just have to start. Imagine, I was put there because of a bad situation and here I am now.”
A huge part of what Nikki does now is educating people on values-based personal finance, which she defines as managing your money based on what is truly important to you, not what is important to society at large
“It asks questions like: How do you define success? What are your core values?” Nikki said. “Our core values act as our north star, they’re like our compass. And every person has different core values.”
One of the most important values to Nikki is freedom, which is why she said she wouldn’t take even a staggeringly large paycheck if it meant giving up her freedom. But that’s true for her and not for others—and that’s precisely the point. “This is my life. I get to choose how I define success,” said Nikki.
In our interview with her, we asked Nikki about limiting beliefs around money, and she admitted that she still has them even until now. Like most, if not all people, she had grown up with the mindset that she wouldn’t survive if she didn’t have money. “I grew up being scared of losing money because I already experienced having nothing at all,” she said.
But the thing about limiting beliefs, Nikki said, is that we aren’t born with them. “They were passed on to us. They are things that can be installed, which means they can also be removed.”
Uninstalling limiting beliefs requires you to ask why you’re holding on to them in the first place? Are they helpful to you? If not, why are you sticking to them?
Nikki added, “I don't think that you will be free from limiting beliefs just because you're successful financially.” She believes in a life that looks inward, not outward, which is why journaling and meditating are very important to her.
“I journal every morning, it's the first thing I do. That's when I get to talk to myself and see if I have beliefs that don't jive with my values. I still have [limiting] money beliefs now but I am working on them thanks to journaling,” she said. “Whenever I'm asked, ‘What is the one habit that helped you become a financially free person?’ I always say it's journaling.”
Two final reminders from Nikki: “Money is just a tool. It's not a goal. It's a useful tool, but it's not a requirement to be happy or successful.”
We loved the engaging and insightful interview with Nikki! Watch the full interview, titled “Learn to Love and Attract Money: Overcoming Negative Money Emotions,” here. (You can start at the 22:55 mark.)