<p>She was one of the baddies who showed up on this show back in 2021 — and four years later, Vanessa Wachtmeister is back and she is NOT the same woman. She's paid off $130,000 in debt, earned her German passport, and is about to launch her second tech startup. And she did all of it from Europe, where blueberries cost a dollar and a minor surgery runs you 300 euro — total.</p><br><p>In this episode, Vanessa and I are getting into ALL of it: what it actually looks like to build a career, a business, and a life abroad. How she navigated work visas, taxes, and even burning down a GmbH to the tune of $100K of her own money to rebuild her startup in the US. We're talking passport diversification as the new financial strategy, why the American dream was always a lie, and how her new job platform Go Onwards is coming for LinkedIn's neck.</p><br><p>If you've been thinking about leaving, this is your sign to stop playing and start moving.</p><br><p>WE GET INTO:</p><br><p>00:00 - Intro: The Baddie Who Left America in 2013 and Never Looked Back</p><p>02:51 - Why Vanessa Said "Bye, America" at 21 with $2,000 and a Dream</p><p>04:20 - The World Tour: China, London, Syria &amp; Germany</p><p>05:42 - What Her Life Would Have Looked Like If She'd Stayed</p><p>08:42 - How to Actually Get a Job Abroad: Visas, Work Permits &amp; What Nobody Tells You</p><p>10:22 - How to Choose Where to Move</p><p>13:20 - Grocery Bills, Free Healthcare &amp; Why She Can Never Come Back</p><p>16:16 - From Masterclass Girlie to Tech Founder: Her Creator Evolution</p><p>18:57 - The Gap in the Market That Built Go Onwards</p><p>21:55 - Why LinkedIn Doesn't Give a F*ck About Job Hunters (and She Does)</p><p>23:33 - Pricing, Features &amp; What You Get with Go Onwards</p><p>24:44 - The $100K Founder Mistake She Made in Germany</p><p>28:36 - The Real Tea on European Taxes</p><p>31:33 - Digital Nomads, Remote Work &amp; What 100% Remote Actually Means Abroad</p><p>32:03 - How She Made $310K and Paid $26 in Federal Tax</p><p>35:22 - Passports Are the New Insurance Policy</p><p>36:03 - The (Very Legal, Slightly Gray) Way She's Bringing Her Family to Europe</p><p>38:08 - How to Financially Prepare to Move Abroad</p><br><p>KEY TAKEAWAYS:</p><p><br></p><ul><li>Getting a job in Europe as a US passport holder is more doable than you think — but you need to understand how work permits and visa sponsorship actually work</li><li>The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion lets you exclude up to $130K of foreign income from US federal taxes — stack it with tax credits and you'll be shocked at your bill</li><li>Passport diversification is the new financial strategy — multiple citizenships give you options that no investment account can</li><li>Go Onwards filters out ghost posts, non-English jobs, and low-paying roles so you only see high-quality opportunities with visa sponsorship across all 30 EU economic areas + the UK</li><li>You don't need to fundraise to fund a startup — Vanessa liquidated part of her stock portfolio at peak to self-fund, treating it as diversification into a revenue-generating asset</li><li>Living abroad doesn't have to be expensive — Vanessa's all-in monthly budget in Berlin (including rent, health insurance, CrossFit, and Ubers home) is $2,500</li></ul><p><br></p><p>RESOURCES MENTIONED:</p><p><br></p><ul><li><a href="https://yoquierodineropodcast.com/podcasts/episode-21/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Listen to Vanessa’s past episode of the pod</a></li><li><a href="https://go-onwards.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Go Onwards (Vanessa's job platform)</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>CONNECT WITH VANESSA:</p><p><br></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/wanderonwards" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li><li><a href="https://wanderonwards.co" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Website</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>TAKE THE NEXT STEP:</p><p><br></p><ul><li><a href="https://yoquierodineropodcast.com/membership" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Yo Quiero Dinero Private Membership</a></li><li><a href="https://financiallylitbook.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Read my book, Financially Lit!</a></li><li><a href="https://yoquierodineropodcast.com/voicemail" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Leave me a voicemail</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>This episode of Yo Quiero Dinero was produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>