Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to do without and be in need. …But when he [finally] came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough food, while I am dying here of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. – Luke 15: 14, 17-18 (Read Luke 15: 11-32)
Does that sound familiar to you; “I make good money; I am just not good at managing it.”?
You have a lot going for you. You’re a child of God and you’re confident in that. You have a great career and/or you run a successful profitable business. You can’t deny that you’re a high-income earner. But there’s a problem: you’re often not sure where your money is going or you never seem to have enough of it. You know there is a deeper issue for not managing your money well.
You know making more money isn’t the answer you need to be financially successful or to reach your life goals. Rather, you know you need to get a grip on your money. You need to start mastering your money from inside-out. That is key to your financial and life success.
Becoming and staying wealthy is not a matter of how much money you’re making but what you do with it that makes the difference. Wealth isn’t defined by that big pay you receive or that high level of business revenue you gain but by how much you save, invest and I dear say, what you give too!
The High-Income Earner’s Conundrum
The conundrum you face in relation to money is that more you have of it, the more you think you need to do something with it. Unfortunately, that ‘something’ most often is not beneficial to your wellbeing – financially or otherwise. And sadly you find yourself in a financial bind and in need of help.
There are few reasons why as high-income earners you struggle financially:
- Lifestyle Inflation – Often times the more money you earn the more you think you need to spend on expensive homes, luxury cars, whatever is trending or on you’ve always dreamed of having. This kind of spending is often disproportionate to your income level and will often lead to less wealth.
- Living to Impress Others – Society has convinced you that you have to live the part. If you are a high-income earner, you have to show it. Unfortunately, even without realizing it, we have bought into that way of thinking and begin to live it out. When your income increases, your auto-response is to spend more and to impress family, friends and foes with your new found wealth.
- Over spending – Not only do you spend more as your income increases but you end up spending more than you earn. To make up for shortfalls, you max out credit cards and end up with more debt than you can manage. Why? You thought you could afford the upgraded lifestyle but didn’t count the cost of the new lifestyle.
- No Money Plan – The more you earn, the more you think you don’t need to plan. Often high-income earners don’t have a money plan or even a simple cash flow system. When it comes to money, they often make poor financial (and life-impacting) decisions. They often unprepared to deal with changes in the lifestyle and unprepared for changes in their future earnings or if faced with an emergency.
- Live for the Moment – One thing that consistent high-income earners face is that they live for the moment. And even when faced with financial challenges, they will often think “Oh, I will make it up next time.” They are often thinking that the next deal, the next sale, the next client will bring in enough to cover any shortfall they have. The challenge with this is that they are often living at high-stressed levels – and that is not good for their well-being (emotional, mental or physical health).
Does any of this resonate with you? Even if you don’t consider yourself a high-income, I am sure some of this may speak to you.
How Do You Fix This?
I am sure you’re wondering: “How do I overcome this high-income earner conundrum Pam?” Don’t’ worry. Here are a few money mastery tips you can act on right now to help you. Though they may seem simple or even obvious they work!
Go on a spending fast for 30 days. – Plan ahead and purchase what you need in advance for the month. If you need some thing during that 30-day period, buy the bare minimum. HOWEVER, if you don’t need it, don’t buy it. Stay away from the shopping mall. Unsubscribe from the mailing lists of your favorite online retailers. Eat at home. Take lunch and snacks to work or wherever you go during the day. I am sure you’ll have extra in your account that you can save.
Save the pennies 😊! – I know you have heard it often enough that your eyes may be rolling when you read this – SAVE your money! Consistently set aside money for your benefit. Give a positive assignment to what you save and/or invest. Save for your Freedom Fund (or what is known as an Emergency Fund). I call it a Freedom Fund because having that money set aside when life happens, frees you from the stress of not having any!
Come to your senses – Ah yes, you have to make a decision that you don’t want this lifestyle anymore where you are spending more than you earn, buying things you don’t need or really want and that don’t satisfy you but rather add more burden to your life. Don’t wait to hit rock bottom like the prodigal son, before you come to your senses. Now is the time to make a change for the better.
Take action – The prodigal son took the decision to ask his father for forgiveness. You to may need to do that too. But along with that, he was willing to make other changes i.e. to go back to his father house and work as a servant if that is what it would take to feed himself! Fortunately for him, the father received him and honored him as a son. Your action to get yourself out of financial challenges will involve some effort too – you will need to make some adjustments to the way you manage your money. But you don’t have to do it alone …
If you want to learn how, I can share with you the exact 12-step process I use to help my clients flourish financially rather than struggle financially.
If you would rather see your wealth increase rather than deplete or if you rather have more than enough than not enough; book a call with me to learn more!
Wishing you success in breaking free from the high-income earner conundrum!