Detour to Financial Freedom: Live, Save, Retire and Enjoy

05/16/2026

Following what I stated in my book, the travel buddies are now retired and enjoying life. Hoping to continue living the lifestyle that was set. The “save” phase is past. So Live, Save, Retire and Enjoy!!!

05/05/2026

Read the title.

Before we can apply the message, first solve the main problem how to get rich and why you want to get rich.

These are good reminders to stay rich and being happy with yourself and about yourself.
Note: copied from FB.

ONCE YOU GET RICH, UPGRADE THESE 9 THINGS IMMEDIATELY

1. Your Face.

Your face is your identity.

Not about plastic surgery.
About presence and confidence.

Upgrade your face by:

• Eye contact
• Clear skin care
• Better grooming
• A calm, confident expression

When people see confidence on your face,
doors start opening.

2. Your Circle.

This one will cost you relationships. Do it anyway.

Research from Harvard shows your income is the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

• Stop hanging around people with no vision.

• Losers are not bad people — but they will pull you down quietly.

• Walk with people who are building something.

Your circle is either your ceiling or your launchpad.

Choose carefully.

3. Your Strength

Wealth without health is useless.
Upgrade your body.

• Build strength
• Exercise daily
• Eat clean food
• Sleep properly

The richest people protect their health like their most valuable asset.

4. Your Vision.

Money without direction is just noise.

Start walking with people who think bigger than you:

• Seek mentors who have already built what you want.

• Get in rooms where your goals sound small.

• Surround yourself with vision and your own expands.

You cannot see beyond what the people around you believe is possible.

Change the people. Change the ceiling.

5. Your Mindset.

This is the one most newly rich people skip.

And it is why most lottery winners are broke within 5 years.

A poor mindset inside a rich life creates chaos.

• Read daily — your mind needs new inputs to hold new levels.

• Audit your beliefs about money, success, and worthiness.

• What got you here will not keep you here.

Wealth is an inside job first.
Always.

6. Your Location

Environment shapes your future.
Upgrade where you live and work.

• Better workspace
• Better neighborhood
• Better people around you

Location affects:

-opportunities
-mindset
-network

Sometimes one new environment
can change your entire life.

7. Your Schedule

Poor people spend time.
Wealthy people design time.

Upgrade your schedule.

Remove:
• useless meetings
• endless scrolling
• random activities

Add:
• deep work
• learning
• thinking time

Your schedule decides
how fast your life grows

8. Your Conviction

Money tests your beliefs.

If your conviction is weak,
wealth disappears quickly.

Upgrade your conviction by:

• clear values
• strong decisions
• long-term thinking

When your mind becomes strong,
money starts staying with you.

9. Your Fellowship with God.

Every level of success comes with new pressure, new temptation, new loneliness.

Without a spiritual foundation, wealth becomes a burden not a blessing.

• Build a daily practice — prayer, gratitude, stillness.

• Stay connected to something bigger than your bank account.

• Humility is not weakness. It is the anchor that keeps success from destroying you.

Money tests character. Faith protects it.

Most people get money and upgrade their lifestyle.

The wise ones upgrade themselves.

Face. Circle. Vision. Mindset. Faith.

Upgrade these five and your wealth becomes sustainable.

Skip them and success becomes a countdown.

Real richness is not what you own.
It is who you become.

03/02/2026

03/01/2026

Enjoying an afternoon snack of Angus burger at Marriott Resorts World with Di and my Tony.

12/25/2025

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL FRIENDS and FAMILIES AROUBD THE WORLD 🌎 🌍

12/07/2025

Love of family is one of the reasons I wrote the book,“Detour to Financial Freedom: Live, Save, Retire and Enjoy.” I’d like to share my message to everyone that being financially independent especially during retirement tantamount to loving your family. You do not pass the financial burden to your children for they have their own obligations and responsibilities and problems too.

12/06/2025

It’s on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Archway Publishing.
Strive to be debt free, live within your means, earn more than you spend and save, but most of all invest. Make your money work for you.

10/24/2025

Below is the Foreword to my Book. If you want read more go to the link here.

Amazon: https://a.co/d/d41N2LP

FOREWORD

Detour to Financial Freedom Live, Save, Retire and Enjoy is an interesting book for legal immigrants like me specifically the chapter on starting from scratch. Like Ludy Cabanas, the author, I migrated to America with just my law degree and experience. I worked with a publishing company dealing with taxes for thirty years. Ludy Cabanas, is a determined person. Reading the book leads the reader to that conclusion. I met Ludy through her husband Antonio. He and I worked together as lawyers of a financial company in Makati, Philippines. Detour to Financial Freedom deals with her struggles to financial freedom and a happy and stable retirement. The book definitely helps the reader overcome similar struggles the author went through. She and Antonio worked hard to meet their goals of a comfortable retirement, travels, and fun. Ludy was epitome of determination in achieving their goals. She left a comfortable life in the Philippines to spearhead their plan to achieve those goals. She met obstacles along the way but her determination didn’t deter her from achieving their goals. She overcame immigration problems, acquired legal status, and was able to bring the family to the United States of America. The chapter on credit cards and debts is enlightening. It outlines the author’s road to meet her and Antonio’s goals through the use of credit cards to meet their daily needs, Sallie Mae for the education of their kids, and other loans. It lists the pitfalls of using revolving credit, and the strategy to a debt free lifestyle. Detour to Financial Freedom also has some historical insights that make a reader relate to the author’s stories. It also shares her experiences during her travels. Over all the book is a very good read. PAZ R. NOLASCO, Esq. Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Philippines

This is a story of an ordinary employee with an ambition to retire comfortably with $1 million. At first, it seems impossible as Ludy Baldoza Cabanas and her husband had accumulated an enormous amount of debt as a result of traveling, living beyond their means, and making bad choices. In this bo...

09/19/2025

This is a story of an ordinary employee with an ambition to retire comfortably with $1 million. At first, it seems impossible as Ludy Baldoza Cabanas and her husband had accumulated an enormous amount of debt as a result of traveling, living beyond their means, and making bad choices. In this bo...