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What happens when you're earning a lot of money, but still feel stressed all the time and are coping with money worries?
This is the situation that one Reddit poster is facing right now. The Redditor has a corporate job and has aggressively pushed himself to become successful, achieving in 12 years what it takes most people 20 years to achieve. He's making a lot of money, but he also hasn't enjoyed life for a long time. He doesn't know what to do, since his focus his been on increasing earnings, not on making a path to ever get out of the rat race.
I think I need help; 35, $3M, never been more miserable.
by u/Informal_Rope7509 in Fire
So, how can he figure out a better work/life balance that still allows him to support his family and pursue financial independence, while also finding a way to enjoy life and stop worrying so much that he stays up tossing and turning at night?
Image source: Getty Images.
Making a clear financial plan can help to solve a lot of money woes
First things first: The Reddit poster is clearly in a good financial position.
He's the sole breadwinner in a family with two kids, earns $250,000 per year in pre-tax income, and has a three-year-old start-up that he's predicting will make him $90,000. He has a home with $350,000 in equity and a $300,000 mortgage with a 2.25% interest rate. He also has $2.5 million in a personal brokerage account, $200,000 in an IRA, and $30,000 in personal savings -- and his three cars are almost paid off. He and his wife are also frugal and spend 50% or less of what he earns.
While those credentials on paper should make anyone extremely happy, the poster said he's "never been more miserable." He doesn't enjoy his hobbies, he can't sleep, he worries he is wasting the best years of his life making money, and he doesn't know what to do about it because he never created a plan to get on the off-ramp and stop hustling.
The good news, though, is that his own post provides the answers to what he needs to do. He simply needs to make that plan he was talking about doing.
You need end-goals for your money in order to achieve success
Ultimately, the point of making a lot of money is to be able to live the life you want -- and the OP clearly is not achieving that aim.
With the savings he has already and the income his business is producing, it seems like he could easily cut back on the work he's doing, especially given that he and his wife are already living on much less than he earns. But the OP may not be aware he has that option. He may not know what any of his options are if he doesn't have an idea of what he is working toward.
The poster should make a detailed financial plan, including:
- How much income his family needs to live on
- How much more money he wants to save to hit his retirement goals (based on his spending needs as a retiree)
- Whether early retirement or working solely for his own business is something he wants to pursue.
Once he knows those things, he can see if his business will provide enough money for him to quit now, or if he's actually got enough saved to retire entirely -- or will in a few years at his current pace. Some posters suggested talking to a financial advisor to create this path forward, and the poster can do that if he isn't comfortable doing these calculations by himself.
Once he has defined what financial success looks like, he won't have to worry so much about whether he's accomplishing his goals. He'll likely find that he's soon going to have achieved the financial independence he needs to live a life solely based on what he wants to do, not what he needs to. This could help him find a much more balanced approach, so he can start enjoying the fruits of his labor.
