I am on vacation in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. This trip has been planned, in one form or another, for a year-and-a-half. It is poor timing that between buying the plane tickets / reserving the hotel and my arrival I was laid off. But the plans were set, I had vacation time to burn before my last day at work, and truthfully, I really need this vacation.

Still, it is a unique spot to be in. Even though we are in a third world country and our beach vacation is cheaper than most, it is still more costly than it would be if I were at home, collecting my nuts like a squirrel does for the upcoming winter.

Now is technically a time when I should be living small, financially that is, and saving. Very soon my paychecks will stop coming in.

As I'm in this tropical paradise, on a vacation I technically can't afford, spending money I should be saving for my very near future, my relationship to money is on my mind.

I know I can make life work on the very minimal income I will soon have. I know the sacrifices I have to make to live this way. I know that there will seldom be dinners out, that I won't be able to buy drinks at happy hour, that personal luxuries will have to be cut. And I am on board with this. The incredible freedom and opportunity that is mine as a result of my choice makes living on a meager income completely doable.

When I think of my relationship to money I realize that it is my relationship to other people that I fear having to alter. For instance, when I was looking to buy gifts for friends today my boyfriend said to me, "Your friends aren't going to expect you to get them all gifts. They know you're unemployed. You can't buy gifts for everyone."

In many ways I am more dedicated to my family and friends than to myself. I will sooner spend money on a gift for them, or buy their dinner when I know they can't afford it. And that has to change. At least for now.

I have to defer my student loans. I have to cancel my vegetable delivery service. I am going to be eating many of my meals from cans. So I certainly can't express love with money I don't have.

In one way this can be viewed as a sad reality, but I am not in the frame of mind where I wish to view anything negatively. I have been given one of the greatest gifts a person can be given in life - the opportunity to do what I love with my time - and whatever sacrifices I have to make for that reality are well worth it.

My lack of decent income will not last forever. One day I will be doing well enough that I can resume showing my love in whatever way I please. And when I do, I will be living my life my on my terms. And truthfully, the sacrifices I make along the way will only make me appreciate my success even more. It won't be easy, but it will absolutely be worth it.