Howdy
You are watching a live stream on my channel Traveling with Kristin where I take you behind-the-scenes in the digital nomad lifestyle
to help you become location independent and free and live life on your own terms! And
We are
I'm here with my friend. Kristal, aka Pino, right? "yeah" and
She spent a long career as a CPA
At a traditional accounting firm and then finally she freed herself of that lifestyle
traveled around the world for a couple years and now
she has her own company as
Still as a CPA
but helping travelers and expats and digital nomads with their taxes and running their businesses and
basically
Facilitating their location independent lifestyle. So she is one of the very few
CPAs in the entire world that I have met in ten years...
Fifteen years! of being an expat or digital nomad - who knows what the F she's talking about. :) We just had lunch and
It's an interesting coincidence that today is the first day of tax season, right? tax season....
Happy first day of tax season
So we just had an amazing lunch of
Chicken soup and it was what $1 to $2? and now we're walking through beautiful, Snowy Bansko. I'll show you guys the scene
We're in downtown Bulgaria
Downtown Bansko, Bulgaria and
We are headed back to the co-working space. So I wanted to share
some of Pino's insight and
lessons learned from traveling around the world and maybe even a couple of hints as
tax season opens up so Pino - welcome! tell us where you're from and
How your journey into the laptop lifestyle started?
yes, so I grew up in Buffalo, New York and
Then I lived in Birmingham, Alabama for about 20 years. Um
Like she said, I did the traditional CPA thing. I loved my firm loved my job, but kind of felt like there was something missing
...I ran across a program where I decided to travel for a year with a group of people [Remote Year] and
Just absolutely fell in love with the [digital nomad] lifestyle. So when I went to work on just designing
how I could
Do what I love while doing what I love! so working, travel, etc... Kristin: and how many countries have you been to you know?
Pino:I think I'm on number 34 in a little under two years. So
Making up for lost time Kristin: I have to ask this question because it gets like a 90% rate
of the same answer, but do you see yourself ever going back to your old way of life?
Pino:Oh, it's one of my biggest fears that I'll never be able to settle down again
You know like this lifestyle like it gets in you and it affects you
So, I mean I never say never I don't see it any time in the foreseeable future
Yeah
Most people including some of the studies that I've seen like 80 or 90 percent say that they want to keep doing what they're doing
or
Have some hybrid way where it's not exactly what they stopped doing, but it's not exactly traveling full-time anyway
so or all the time and
so why should
people be...
Why is it important that today is the first day of tax season and if there are any digital nomads or remote workers out there -
What should they know?
And what should they be prepared for today? Pino:Um, I mean season is open and we all have to file our tax returns
unfortunately
and I think you know as as travelers in the way that we travel like there are some
Significant tax savings out there for us. If you where of you know the tax savings that you could be getting for yourself
Um, you know talk to somebody who who knows more than you. Um, I always tell people like I read tax
publications so that you don't have to! haha
so yeah
I'm mean definitely get up and out into there because I mean well how many plane tickets and
B&Bs and excellent adventures. So why not fund those with a little bit of tax savings? Yeah, definitely and
Kristin: What um, why is it so difficult for
entrepreneurs and
Solopreneurs and people who work for themselves? Why... why is it so hard for us to find
Tax professionals who understand the dynamic of working for yourself and from different countries?
Pino: Well, I mean, I think that you know, you don't you don't know what it is until you do it yourself
I mean, I have kind of the advantage that I've seen both sides of it, right?
I've been the accountant who works in the firm who has absolutely no understanding of what the lifestyle entails
You know what it what it does for us and kind of the advantages and disadvantages
You know, so I think that that's kind of where where my my edge is in. My niche is I
Understand this life because I live it. (Kristin: Yeah) Pino: Yeah, I know and I've done all the research for myself and you know
I put the strategies in for myself and then you know
I talked to my entire network about what their struggles are, and I understand it
So it's just a deeper level of understanding that if you've never done it, you just don't know. Kristin: Yeah
Kristin: And what would you say for people who think that because they live in another country?
They don't have to file a tax return in their home country. Is that accurate?
Pino: That is NOT accurate! if you are US citizen you are required to file
there's at least a filing requirement even if you don't owe any taxes, and so
And I will tell you that if you don't file a tax for long enough, they will take away your citizenship. So
That that can be a thing so yes, you're at least gonna have a filing requirement, so be aware
so Pino and Grace from Gracefully Expat are the only
two
U.S.
tax - either CPAs or IRS enrolled agents that I've ever met who
have such a thorough knowledge on this topic and this is something that
I've personally been researching for the entire time that I've been an expat
Like almost the entire time... about the past 13 years and it's been very difficult to uncover this information. So I highly recommend
Reaching out to one of those two ladies. I will post Pino's contact info in this description and
also
the interview with Grace about some of the ins and outs of this that will be coming out in a couple weeks or you know,
So this is a top that we're gonna keep bringing up
Because everybody needs reliable
advice and tax planning advice and in financial advice for your business because if you don't really hard to sustain this
lifestyle, yes, so
that's all I wanted to have a Kristal on the show today, but just as a
Just as a regular digital Nomad - What advice would you give to people? because you, or we have a very similar background
We both did the right things. We're the same age
We followed the linear path in life of going to college going to grad school
Getting internships and all of that stuff and I ended up basically
Exiting out of that
Abruptly, it's like when the when they eject you from an airplane like a parachute. That's how I got out at 21
accidentally 21 or 22, but
Kristy was in it for her... (Kristal) Right Kristal. Sorry - Kristal was in it for
Years. So what would you say now that you have more of an insight look into the corporate,
Traditional lifestyle than I do... What would you say it to people who might be in
professional roles who are at a company that
forces them to
Clock in for at least eight hours a day and they feel like there's something missing and they can do their job from somewhere else
But they're just not sure if they could actually do it themselves. - What advice do you have?
I say I mean, honestly you just got to do it. You got to feel the fear and
Face it. Anyways, I mean, it's just a fear of the unknown
And once you're on the other side of that fear you realize that you know the freedom and the flexibility that this lifestyle entails
You know
like I said earlier you get to do what you love while doing what you love and you get to see amazing places and
Do amazing things!
So don't let fear stand in your way
You know, I can embrace it and see what it's like on the other side
Yes, if she could leave a traditional southern
firm in
Alabama and
Spend this year in Bulgaria and Chile and Mexico
And all sorts of other cool places - like her life completely changed in a matter of months and that could happen to you guys, too
So if you have any questions about tax season or becoming a digital Nomad or anything else,
Write in the comments and one of us will answer and I hope to see you guys again tomorrow
On another live video here on traveling with Kristin. (Pino:So thanks for having me!) Bye from frozen Bulgaria!