Women & Money: The Shit We Don't Talk About! | Purse Strings

Can You Afford to Move Abroad? with Cepee Tabibian

• Barbara Provost & Maggie Nielsen • Episode 154

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Moving abroad after 30 is not the reckless, blow-up-your-whole-life fantasy everyone assumes it is. Done right, it might be one of the smartest money moves you ever make.

In this episode, we have Cepee Tabibian. At the age of 35, Cepee upended her entire life by selling her belongings and moving to Europe and since then, has never looked back. Now, she teaches other women how to do it too, through her community-based business, She Hit Refresh: a global community of over 100,000 women age 30+ who want to move abroad.  She has even turned her overseas expertise into the digital book “I’m Outta Here! An American’s Ultimate Visa Guide to Living in Europe” which was featured in Forbes (spoiler alert: it’s easier than you think). 

She’s the proud daughter of Colombian and Iranian immigrants and grew up in Houston, Texas before becoming an immigrant herself in Spain. 

We get into the real financials of moving abroad: the savings cushion you need before you go, the taxes nobody warns you about, the hidden costs, and the surprising expenses that actually disappear. Cepee also gets honest about safety as a woman living abroad alone, how to pick your country, why a scouting trip matters, and what financial freedom looks like once you finally build the life you want.

How much money do I need saved before I move abroad?
Minimum six to twelve months of your actual cost of living there, not what you spend in the US. Use Numbeo or Expatistan to get real numbers for the city you are considering before you set a savings goal.

What do women forget to plan for financially?
Taxes. The US taxes citizens on worldwide income no matter where they live. Get an expat tax professional before you go, not after. Health insurance is also required for most visas and runs roughly $80 to $500 a month depending on the country.

What costs actually go away?
Your car and everything that comes with it. Renters insurance is largely not a thing in Europe. And your overall cost of living often drops significantly, which is exactly why knowing your real numbers changes everything.

How do you pick where to move?
Take a scouting trip, not a vacation. Walk neighborhoods, meet a real estate agent, go to local meetups. Then filter through three things: is there a viable visa for you, does the culture match how you live, and does this place support your long-term goals.

What is the first step in moving abroad if it feels overwhelming?
Know your number. Research the real cost of living where you want to go and find the gap between that and your current income. That one number makes the whole thing feel like a plan. Then find community. Talking to women who have already done it changes everything.

Cepee's closing line says it all: "you're never too old and it's never too late to hit refresh or to change your life."  The dream is real. The logistics are where most people get stuck. We’re breaking down the actual financial moves you need to make before you relocate, so you land ready instead of scrambling. Join us for the next Money Talks “Your Move Abroad Financial Checklist: What to Do Before You Go”. Click here to register for FREE and bring your questions!  

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Want to take this conversation one step further? Join us for our next Money Talks, a free 30 minute live session where we’ll dig into a question we hear all the time from women business owners: Budgeting for Businesses to Offer Benefits. Click here to register for FREE and bring your questions! 

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[00:00:00] This podcast today is all about moving abroad, and I couldn't be
more tempted now more than ever. It's something that I feel like everybody's
talking about, but so many people, think it would never happen for them for
whatever reason. And of course, it's not just gonna happen for you or to you.
It's something you have to go make happen. But really, how do we get off the
mark and not be so scared and actually do it? And of course, I was down a
rabbit, hole and reading about people and their experiences moving abroad,
[00:00:30] and nearly everyone was like, " Would do it again a thousand times
over.
Wish I did it sooner," all the different things. And so I was so excited to have
this conversation as I feel like as a woman in her 30s when everyone else is,
getting married, buying houses, having kids, and that's just not your path, it's
maybe just traveling and getting out and going to a new place might be the best
option just because it's always been something I wanna do, and there's really no
reason why to stay.
Yeah. So I'd love to hear kinda where people are going on their [00:01:00]
experiences in this because there's so many people that we work with at Purse
Strings who are living abroad for many different reasons, and it just seems so
amazing. But as we talk about in this podcast, of course, it's, you're still life-ing,
so there's not always rainbows and sunshine.
There still are things to overcome. You still might have, anxiety or whatever
that may be. You still have to work. It's not just travel like your vacation. And
you have to learn the language. So taking language classes, practicing that, still
[00:01:30] feeling like a fish out of water.
But it's possible, and I think it's a huge mark of growth for people. So I'm
excited to have Cepee on the podcast today to share her expertise, what her
experience has been, and how she's helping women move abroad and start those
lives. So I'm excited for you guys to hear this episode and would love to hear
when we're finished where you guys are gonna move to, what's on the vision
board, where we'd love to be and maybe we'll meet up there.
So listen in, and we'll [00:02:00] talk soon.
[00:02:30]

Maggie: Cepee, welcome to the podcast today. I am thrilled to have this
discussion. Everything about it is resonating with me right now. So before we
dive in, can you share with our audience who you are and what you do?
Cepee: Yes. Thank you so much, Maggie, for having me on. Excited to be here.
My name is Cepee, rhymes with Peppi, and I'm the founder and CEO of a
company called She Hit Refresh. And what we do is we help women age 30 and
over from the [00:03:00] US figure out and fast-track their move abroad,
typically to Europe. So we're helping American women who wanna move to
Europe, and we just help them to stop stressing about the logistics and the
overwhelm, and finally create that dream life that they have in a country that
feels like home
Maggie: I love it. It's on my vision board, so I was like, "Oh, this conversation
is gonna be great." I don't think it even matters when we're recording this
because, man, I know everybody is trying to move the heck out of America
right now, who doesn't have like, [00:03:30] families and kids making them stay
here. so I think this is gonna resonate with a lot of our community. I'm even
seeing this in kind of like an older retirement kind of, maybe I'll just retire
somewhere else as well. So lot of different travel opportunities. But I know you
moved abroad and kind of stayed abroad at 35, and that really changed your life.
Maggie: So what was going through... Give me kind of the details, also the
finances at the time, because this is a financial pod. Would love to hear the
deets.
Cepee: For sure. So yeah, so I moved to Spain in 2015. I was [00:04:00] 35
years young, and it wasn't my first time moving abroad.
Cepee: Actually, in my 20s I had tried and failed multiple times, and that's
because every path led me to teaching English, and from a financial standpoint,
that just wasn't the path I wanted to take because earnings were very limited. So
I kept coming back to the US to get a, "real job" like my dad would say
Cepee: Like, "Just come back and get a real job." But at 35 I had a real job. I
was living in Austin, Texas, working for a tech company, making good money,
had a [00:04:30] condo, living like the conventional American life, single and
child-free. But I just felt like something was still missing in my life, and I still
had this dream of wanting to move abroad.
Cepee: I had checked all the boxes that you're supposed to for a successful life,
but was feeling unfulfilled. But at that time, which is much different than now,

to really to move abroad you had to quit your job and kinda go teach English or
figure it out. The remote work wasn't really a thing. So financially where I was
is, like, I was leaving a good job to go teach English [00:05:00] for about 1,000
euros a month which is very unsecure.
Cepee: I didn't know what I was gonna be doing after that. Honestly, it felt
irresponsible, because in your 30s, like, everyone is trying to settle down and
here I was trying to shake things up. So I was a little bit, worried if this was a
smart decision and if I would be able to figure out how to make a, good living
abroad by making kind of this risky choice.
Maggie: And so did you leave that tech job or did you find a different job?
What's the job situation? [00:05:30]
Cepee: Yeah, so I had to quit that tech job I got basically a visa to teach English
in Spain for a year. And that was kind of for me, you know, everybody's
different. I know myself. I knew, like, if I can just get my foot in the door back
to Spain, I'll figure out what's next.
Cepee: Teaching English, again, wasn't my long-term plan, but I was like, "Let
me just get there." So I got to Spain, and I actually taught myself skills in social
media, blogging, writing, and I was able to get out of teaching and actually get a
work visa sponsorship with a Spanish company working on [00:06:00] their
marketing team.
Cepee: So that was a big pivotal point, but salaries in Spain are low, so I was
making, let's say, like $22,000 as a 36-year-old now with experience under my
belt. So that was not really a long-term viable solution either. So with time, I
was able to hone my skills and really just pivot into online work in social media
and community, and I started working for other people, making more money,
and then [00:06:30] that led to starting my own business.
Maggie: I love that. Yeah, it's, 2015, like we didn't have our COVID hit yet.
Not everyone knew how to work from Zoom, and there were so many people
who were just... I mean, I hear that all the time, "I'm just gonna go teach English
in another country." And as somebody, like I don't love, love children, so I'm
like, "Eh, I don't know.
Maggie: Like, can I teach adults?" Like, it's not really for me. So often I think
you go abroad and all your problems go away, and I know in one of your social
media posts you're like, you still have your stress, you still have your anxiety.
But the other part is like you're also [00:07:00] still working.

Maggie: You're not like traveling like you travel, when you have all day. Like,
how do you kind of learn to plan your schedule and get in your work and still
have fun and, still make it everyday life? 'Cause I think sometimes the picture
we have in our head is not quite like reality. What else is new?
Cepee: yeah, great question. Well, yeah, because a lot of people when they're
experiencing a foreign country, they are on vacation, and they're like, "Wow,
I'm so relaxed, and everything's so great, and look, everyone's at a café at 2:00
PM." But when you move somewhere, you're not on vacation anymore. I
[00:07:30] like to say a life abroad is still life.
Cepee: So yes, like many people now that are moving abroad are still working.
Before, people who moved abroad were, like, gap year college students or
retirees, not the in-betweeners like us that have real, you know, that gotta pay
the bills, gotta keep working. And so I think you balance it, one, by, you know,
you still have to work, so that's gonna be factored into your day-to-day life.
Cepee: But a big thing that changes is, I think, at least here in Spain and a lot of
countries in Europe, people are [00:08:00] social during the week. So I know in
the US, it can be kinda tricky to make plans with people post-work 'cause
people have, like, their workouts, and they gotta go home and make dinner and
if they have families.
Cepee: But in Spain, life is very spontaneous, so you can meet up. You can call
someone and say, "Hey, do you wanna meet up for a drink tonight, or you
wanna go for a walk?" And it's fairly easy to make those things happen on the
fly, even when people have children. I think there's a lot of creators now who
live abroad and in Spain with children, and they show that, like, the playground
is right next to, like, a [00:08:30] café bar, so you can, like, be social with your
friends and keep an eye on your kids.
Cepee: So I think just naturally how society is set up here, you're able to
balance, like, the fun and the work. And on top of that, at least here in Europe,
it's really easy to just take a city break for the weekend. It's inexpensive. it's a
short flight, so, you can easily, you know, be in Paris for the weekend and just
kinda build that into your life.
Cepee: It doesn't have to be kind of the big once-a-year vacation anymore.
Maggie: I mean, yeah, you think about America and it's so [00:09:00] big that
everything else is like a three-hour flight by the time you get to the airport.
Like, everything's a big haul, where it's like there's so much more public transit,

things are a lot closer, it's a lot more dense in a way that's like we could just
walk there, or we could just a quick flight, and just be there so fast
Cepee: Yeah it's so much more accessible
Maggie: And so what are women not thinking about that they should be
financially before they make a transition like this?
Cepee: Yeah, I think, I mean, because we're talking about money here, that's the
key. That's where I see people's moves abroad really can, where they make or
break those [00:09:30] moves abroad. So number one is crunching the numbers.
So instead of having, like, a nebulous idea of what you need, like really sit
down and know your numbers so you have a real pulse on what your cost of
living abroad is gonna be.
Cepee: 'Cause I see sometimes people think, like, what they're spending now or
what their costs are in the US is kind of what, roughly what it's gonna be
abroad, and I think a lot of people would be surprised at how much that goes
down. But you can't make a wise decision without [00:10:00] knowing the facts.
So I would say, there's a website called Numbeo.
Cepee: There's a website called Expatistan. And these are great websites to get
to understand the cost of living in certain cities. So if you want to move to
Berlin, then I would say go to one of these websites, look at housing costs, look
at groceries. Just understand the averages to give you a ballpark figure.
Cepee: On top of that, you need to know your cost abroad, but also, like I said,
we're moving abroad with responsibilities, so you may still have some ongoing
costs [00:10:30] back in the US. So be sure to include if you have a mortgage
that you're still gonna have to pay, property taxes, student loans, anything like
that.
Cepee: You just don't wanna let any expense get overlooked. And then I would
add two things real quick. So you gotta know your numbers of your costs, but
also savings is a big one. And people always ask me, like, "What is the magic
number? How much do I need to have saved?" And unfortunately, there is no
one number, but I say at the minimum to have six to twelve months of your cost
of living in savings before [00:11:00] you go.
Cepee: And some people may hear that, and they're like, "Oh my God," like, "I
that's so little," right? And some people may hear that and be like, "Wow, that's
gonna take me a while to save that." So it really depends on what you're

comfortable with also, but that's a good cushion to tide you over if you have any
unexpected expenses come up. And last, I think one of the most important is
taxes. That gets overlooked. Understanding your tax obligations abroad. As US
citizens, we're still on the hook for taxes in the US, but it's really important to
know what [00:11:30] you may owe or what you may be obligated to pay where
you're moving to as well.
Maggie: All great tips. I mean, yeah, having that emergency fund, that's kind of
the same amount we'd have in your emergency fund, that six to 12 months. But
having that just in case, because much harder if you're in a different place, don't
speak different language.
Maggie: You wanna have that prepared. But those taxes, we just did have a
money talks about this, and we have some of our purse strings approved
professionals who focus on like, people who live abroad and how to kind of
save on taxes, 'cause America is one of the only two places where you do have
to still pay taxes when you don't live here.
Maggie: And [00:12:00] so having sometimes a professional to help with that is
super important. But I'm thinking like, wow, I wouldn't have to pay for, like I'd
probably sell my car, wouldn't have car insurance, different things like that. But
do you have like, still renter's insurance? Do you get a different kind of health
insurance?
Maggie: Do you get like a travel insurance? What are some of those other
things, that you might add to that, you know, bill? 'Cause they're not all just
removing, but there are some things that we have to add back in that mix.
Cepee: For sure. So health insurance, I'm so glad you brought that up. That's a
must. Also, wherever you're moving to, [00:12:30] your visa, you're gonna need
a visa, and one of the visa requirements is to have private health insurance. But
I wouldn't let that scare you because the plans are going to be less expensive
than what people are paying back in the US.
Cepee: So for me, for example, for Spain, I mean, I'm 46, I'm healthy. I have a
plan that covers me, but it's nothing, you know, too extensive. It allows me to
go to the doctor when I need to and get checkups, and I pay roughly about, let's
say, $80 a month for that. So I would say health insurance, factor [00:13:00] in,
depending where you're moving to, anywhere from 100 to 500 a month.
Cepee: That 500 is probably gonna be maybe places like Switzerland or
Germany but you're really looking somewhere in between that more as an

average. Other than that, I would say, yeah, like you said, you don't need the car
expense, so that's great. Renters insurance really isn't a thing here so much.
Cepee: But any other expenses would be... I mean, housing is the number one,
but I just say, just wanna kind of highlight this because housing, just like in the
US, housing prices [00:13:30] have gone up all over the world. So when you
look at housing, it may just be a little bit more expensive than you thought. Will
be less than the US, but that's just something to really keep an eye on. And I
think the only thing out of that maybe people should plan for is the travel, travel
expenses. Once you move, you're gonna wanna travel, and that can add up
really quickly in terms of just, yeah, accommodation, flights, enjoying your life
when you're in another city. So those would be the things.
Cepee: Oh, and one more, language classes.
Cepee: you're going [00:14:00] and that's gonna be an ongoing expense because
you probably won't be fluent in a year, so this is gonna be something that's
gonna baked into at least a few years of living abroad
Maggie: How is your Spanish?
Cepee: It's really good. I mean, I've been here 10 years, so hopefully it should
be right?
Cepee: So yeah, I speak Spanish, I've worked in Spanish, but I would say even
after 10 years, I still in some ways don't feel 100% myself in Spanish the way I
do in English. So I still like have touch-up classes and it's still, an expense for
me [00:14:30] language classes from time to time.
Maggie: I think this is just so interesting 'cause, I'm kind of at that age where all
my friends are getting engaged, getting married, having kids, and it's like I just
don't see that at this point, and so it's so opposite, like going a different
direction, just getting the heck out of dodge, trying something new. so it's really
interesting. But as like a single woman, I was reading one of your Instagram
posts, and it was kind of talking about like having an emergency contact still
back home and having those connections because your post was like, even if
you died here, like , no one would know. You know what I mean?
Maggie: Which was [00:15:00] interesting because it's so true. Here it's like
Life360 all these people have or, you know, Find My Friends, and it's just not
quite the same as someone can't just call them up. So what are some tips you

kind of have about that, just kind of for some safety for women or anybody
traveling abroad?
Cepee: Yes Another great question. I mean, you, like me, like I was single,
child-free when I moved abroad. I'm still child-free, but I have a partner now.
But a lot of the women I work with are moving abroad alone, and so that is so
empowering and inspiring and, I'm all for that, and that's what we [00:15:30]
support at She Hit Refresh.
Cepee: But when you're going alone, like you still need to let people know
where you are and how you can be found. So some of those tips are, and these
are things that I didn't even do in the beginning, but now are like, "Wow, it's so
basic. I should've known that." But one, as you're making friends abroad, like let
someone know who your emergency contact back in the US is.
Cepee: Even if you don't know someone well, just know like, If something
happens to me, this is my mom's number. This is my mom's name," right? Like
just so somebody that you're in [00:16:00] contact with can relay that
information. On the flip side, your family back in the US or a friend, it doesn't
have to be family, just let someone know not only just your phone number, but
your address.
Cepee: That's often something we don't really share, 'cause I don't know if
people are sending packages anymore, but ' you just need to know how to be
found as well. So that's really important. And then, I mean, this is a bigger
conversation to have, but it is true, like this is life and I wanna prepare people
for real life abroad.
Cepee: If something happens to you, like worst case [00:16:30] scenario that
you do pass away, like at some point you should be vocalizing to somebody
what, just what your wishes are, right? If do you want your body to go back to
the US? Do you want something to be done with you in the country that, that
you passed away in, and what are those wishes that you have?
Cepee: I know it's uncomfortable and it is a morbid conversation, but it's
actually a conversation that, you know, really protects your loved ones from
making some really tough decisions that they won't know how to navigate if
they haven't heard what you wanted them to do.
Maggie: [00:17:00] Yeah, we talk a lot about, having your estate plan and
having these conversations early. we always talk about the average age of a
widow is 59, which is a lot younger than people expect. Yeah, but you know,

anything can happen anywhere. Life is lifing, right? And so we just wanna be
prepared, and I always joke, I feel like a lot of people, they think they're gonna
talk about it, and then they're just gonna fall dead once they, like, express it, you
know?
Cepee: That's so true.
Maggie: which is not how it works. Like, you don't have to be scared about it
like that. so yeah, I appreciate just kind of talking about that, as when you're
single, you do need to [00:17:30] have those people around you to kind of
support you. And I always think, like, if it was somebody else going, I would
wanna know.
Maggie: Like, please tell people my number and have me be that call person. I
would love to be there for you.
Maggie: so if someone is dreaming about, like, moving abroad and kind of feels
overwhelmed, what are a couple practical tips you would, start saying we could
start doing this week to, to move forward?
Cepee: Yeah. Well, I would say number one, going back to the numbers. So
just know your numbers. I think knowing that number will give you a lot of
confidence.
Cepee: So I think having that [00:18:00] number is important because then you
can reverse engineer, like, how to get there, right? If you know, like, my living
expenses are gonna be 5,000 a month in, I don't know, in Barcelona, then you
can start figuring out, like, where is the gap? Is there a gap? What is that? How
can I bridge that gap, right?
Cepee: And that, that can help you make some decisions right now. So I think
that's number one, knowing your numbers that you're gonna make an educated
choice. And I think number two is to find community. You don't have to
navigate this alone, and I [00:18:30] think community allows you to talk to
people who have already done the thing you wanna do.
Cepee: You can ask them questions, and I think it also just gives you examples
of what's possible. Because if you don't have those examples, it can really feel
like this is a crazy idea, you could never do this. But once you start seeing
women just like you who are doing this, then you're like, "Oh, okay. Well, if
she's done it, then I can do it, and now I just have to make my plan to get
there."

Maggie: Right. It's great when you see somebody in that similar situation like,
great, they didn't know [00:19:00] the language either, they haven't lived abroad
before, they still did it with this virtual job. I think I can do that too. How did
you pick Spain? 'Cause I feel like my biggest thing is, like, picking where to
live.
Maggie: There's so many amazing places. It's like,
Maggie: just one? just one?
Cepee: I know it's hard. I mean, that is kind of the privilege that you have as a
US citizen right now, 'cause there's so many places that it's relatively easy to get
a visa for. So, I would say, for me, picking Spain, I kinda had my Goldilocks
moment here in my 20s where I had been to different countries, and when I got
[00:19:30] to Madrid and Spain, it just felt right, right?
Cepee: That was that Goldilocks moment. And some people have those, and
some people are still chasing those. I talked to, you know, my refreshers as we
call them, and some are still trying to find their place. I think some tips to help
people narrow it down, 'cause maybe, you have a short list of places, your
Goldilocks places.
Cepee: But just understanding, one, what your long-term goals are. I mean, for
me, Spain offered me a path to citizenship, and that's something that I wanted.
So that made sense, but not every country does that. So is it a long-term goal?
[00:20:00] What kinda weather do you like? I need warm weather, so Spain
made sense to me.
Cepee: You're not gonna find me living in Norway ever. And then I think
another thing is there a visa that's viable for you? The UK doesn't have many
viable visas, and I know a lot of people wanna move there, so I tell them, you
know, "If that's your dream country, you may have to look for an alternative
because it's not likely going to happen So I would say those three things, and
maybe a fourth one is just knowing your preferences from a [00:20:30] cultural
standpoint because if we're talking about Europe, Southern Europe is very
different than Northern Europe. And for me I thrive more in the timetable, the
lifestyle, the slower pace of life of Southern Europe, and I know that's not for
everybody
Maggie: Yeah, and that's really awesome that you moved there after you visited
it a couple times. And I feel like that is important because as much as we think

it might be great just doing as much research as you can, it's never like boots on
the ground
Cepee: For sure. I cannot stress enough how important a taking a scouting trip
[00:21:00] is. Again, we were talking about like vacationing abroad is great. Of
course, it's gonna be great 'cause you're on vacation. But I think if you have the
means to do a scouting trip and that's just a trip where you're kind of giving a
test run to where you wanna move to, and you kind of use your time there to
look at it from that perspective.
Cepee: So you are meeting with real estate agents, walking around different
neighborhoods you could live in, going to meetups and talking to people who
have made the move before going to pharmacies to see if you can get the
medication you need. Just kind of, [00:21:30] living a day-to-day life there and
gathering information.
Cepee: I think a scouting trip can help you understand if a place or places
you're interested in are a good fit or not
Maggie: And so your partner, did you meet them in Spain?
Cepee: I did. So my partner is Spanish, and I met him after living here for five
years. So, five years I was building my best life, and then we met
Maggie: So how is the dating scene in Spain? I mean, like everyone here in
America just uses the apps.
Maggie: Is that a
Cepee: Yes. Yes. I mean, I love talking about dating. Yes, so apps are
[00:22:00] so popular here, and that's actually how we met. We met on an app.
So apps are very popular. Same thing, I think people sometimes romanticize,
like, dating in Europe.
Maggie: Of course. We've all seen those movies like Lizzie McGuire or
something, you know? Like
Cepee: Yes. And
Cepee: honestly, it can feel like that at times when you're, like, on a date in, you
know...

Cepee: I remember one date many years ago, I was on the back of a Vespa
going around the Colosseum in Rome, so I'm like, "This is straight out of a
movie." But of course, dating is dating anywhere, so you're gonna meet duds,
you're gonna get ghosted, [00:22:30] like, all the things can happen. But I think,
understanding that it's a different culture, there's gonna be, cultural
misunderstandings.
Cepee: I think dating is tough anywhere, so I'm not gonna paint it with a brush
that makes it sound very easy abroad. But I think it can be really fun and I think,
it's something that a lot of people are interested in doing. When you move to a
country, you're not just dating people from that country, but you have the
opportunity to date people from many different places.
Cepee: When I was single while I was living in Spain, I went on dates with, you
know, Irish men, Swedish men, all different nationalities, which was also really
fun
Maggie: [00:23:00] Yeah, I mean, everyone else is also, like, on their own kind
of moving adventure, and so it's fun to see, yeah, it's not just, "Oh, I'm in Spain.
It's gonna be Spanish people." It could be people from all over. So yeah, you get
to run the gamut and see what you like.
Cepee: Yeah it's a lot of fun, and you learn a lot of things. And also, the best
way to learn a local language is by dating. So, if you can also date some guys
who don't speak English, you're gonna be learning a language very quickly. I
Maggie: I love it. I love it. And so tell us a little bit more about like how people
can work with you. I think you have a book as well. give us [00:23:30] the
commercial of you.
Cepee: Yeah. So for any women over 30 who wanna move abroad you can
check us out on Instagram, website. Everything is She Hit Refresh. I do have
two programs that we support women with. I have a master class, which is kind
of a DIY if you just wanna get a plan to move abroad and wanna execute that on
your own.
Cepee: You can grab my master class, which is on my website at
shehitrefresh.com. But I know not everybody wants to do it alone, so we have a
lovely membership where we support women as they're [00:24:00] working on
their move abroad, and these are women who have timelines from anywhere
from three months to two years and wanna do it in community and want help

finding solutions to their biggest challenges, which is like, "What am I gonna do
for work?
Cepee: What visa can I get? What do I do with my stuff?" Basically, any
question you have, we are there to hold your hand along the way. So you can
find all that on my website and Instagram at She Hit Refresh.
Maggie: I love that. It's, there's so much information out there. It's like I need
someone to pre-sort that information for me 'cause everyone's like, "Oh, it's
[00:24:30] just online." And you're like, "Yeah, so is everything." Like, I mean,
it's so much information. Have you had people who've taken your program, like,
meet up once they moved?
Cepee: like the Oh my God, yes. Not only meet up, I've had people become
roommates, move in together, travel together. So definitely friendships have
been fostered.
Cepee: And I do meetups too when I'm traveling, so I've got to meet a lot of the
people in my masterclass or in my membership too, which is really fun to see
them like pre-move in the US and then meet them post-move after they make
that leap.
Maggie: I [00:25:00] love that.
Maggie: And so our last question we like to ask all of our guests is, what does
financial freedom look like for you now kind of living this way?
Cepee: Oh, yes.
Cepee: Financial freedom. Oh my gosh. I would say freedom in general is
something I've been chasing since I was 17, and I think, right now financial
freedom is really about, having choices. And so my younger self would be so in
awe of what I've been able to do. I think, that people say like freedom really is
being able to do what you want, when you want, with who you want, [00:25:30]
and I feel like I'm there, and every year I kind of, am able to expand on what
that really means for me.
Cepee: So really financial freedom is me allowing myself to run this business
that I love, doing work that I love, being able to work from Spain, from the US,
when I'm traveling, and not really feel trapped anymore like, like I felt for so
many years in those nine to fives.

Cepee: So, yeah, that's what
Cepee: financial freedom means to me
Cepee: right now.
Maggie: How often do you come back to the
Maggie: US?
Cepee: Often. Actually, the longer I'm in... Yeah, so I would say the [00:26:00]
first maybe seven years I would just go back for Christmas really and visit
family. But the last few years I've actually picked up a more, semi-nomadic life,
so I'm actually in the US maybe anywhere from two to three months a year.
Maggie: Oh, wow
Cepee: yeah, not all at the same time.
Cepee: I kind of go to the US two or three times a year and visit family, see
friends enjoy what I miss about the US, and then I'm ready to come back.
Maggie: You must be racking up the points.
Cepee: I am, yes.
Maggie: Good. Good.
Cepee: I am which is, [00:26:30] yeah, which is something that I can, yeah,
really do now that I am on the go so much more than I was
Maggie: Well, I appreciate you coming on, sharing your expertise, and really
just empowering us to, move if we wanna move or just live that best life for
ourselves because I think so often we just sit in that wanting to and sit in that
fear. And we just need to make the jump. It's not that scary, and if anything, we
could always move back.
Maggie: And so I'm so glad you're out here supporting women. You've tried it a
couple times. You've done it now. And yeah, I'm excited that everyone else can
go and adventure [00:27:00] the world. So thanks for sharing it, and thanks for
doing what you do.

Cepee: Thank you so much Maggie Thanks for having me on, and just last
words for women, like, you're never too old and it's never too late to hit refresh
or to change your life.

Maggie: Love it. We'll talk to everyone soon. Until then, be financially fearless.
[00:27:30]

Head Shot

Barbara Provost

Host
Head Shot

Maggie Nielsen

Host