Amazing Financial Advice if You Make Less than $75,000/yr

Here’s some amazing financial advice to obtain financial security over time. Although prices and inflation are still elevated for 2023, it’s possible to retire wealthy on less than $75,000 per year. How is it possible?

The answer is simple; Action + Consistency. No one can force you to do this, you have to want to get up and get after it, every single day.

Fortunately for you, you didn’t click o a motivational speech. Instead of being like the majority who wish they were famous and lust to spend money frivolously, you should aim to be part of the minority. Instead of trying to get lucky, let’s tackle what you need to do to improve and evolve.

Table of Contents

The Identity of “Making Less than $75,000”

According to a report by Zippia, nearly 52 percent of Americans had an annual household income of less than $75,000. This constitutes the US Middle class with the highest percentage of Americans (16.5 percent) having an income between $50,000 and $74,999.

The median household debt in America is $59,800. The average American household has a debt balance of $96,371, according to 2021 Experian data. Additionally, these households carry as much as $6,473 worth of credit card debt.

Suffice it to say that most Americans fall into this picture.

Unfortunately, over the last seven decades, the US middle class has steadily contracted. Slower wage growth, micro expenditures, long-term subscription models, and higher global costs of goods have shifted the Middle Class into the working poor.

Even with the chips stacked against us, there are ways to adjust to the new normal.

Advice on Fixing Your Mentality at $75k

Winners crave consistent success. And being rich doesn’t come easy. Sure there are people who inherit money, but they aren’t rich. They simply have money (for now).

While more dollars can give them access and pathways to wealth, it’s one’s worth ethic that keeps them there. Furthermore, it’s not about winning on the margin by one point or two. That’s the stuff that excites the spectators, the glorified people watchers. They love a good underdog story. Those who rise up by some chance or miracle to defy the odds. A winner’s mentality is different. Everything is earned.

The goal is to dominate the board. You want to prove yourself against the best opponent but you don’t want to scrape by.

As such the first part is to not be stuck at $75k. It’s time to do the work; this will likely require that you invest more into yourself. The first part is easy. You have to show up for work. Can’t keep sliming around and mildly performing. You look sloppy.

Successful people show up ‘looking the part’ and dressing the part. The look requires that you 1. get adequate sleep, 2. drink water and 3. eat right. Dressing up will require that you 4. get more exercise. Why does this matter?

People are attracted to healthy people

Pretty privilege is a thing. People give preference to the person that looks ready to take on the world and the next project. More importantly, they promote and give raises to that person. While it sounds strange to give non-financial advice at this point, I promise that it does make an impact.

Speaking of projects, you need to own your career and your space. This means reviewing the employee handbook. It will require more hours than you currently dedicate before, during, and after work. Most people wing it. Meaning their life is on a casual autopilot toward mediocrity. Stop doing that.

This leads to 5. find a professional network such as Toastmasters or something unique to your industry. You have to be able to recite a 1-3-5 minute speech about who you are and what you bring to the world. Basically, you need to practice public speaking, branding, and marketing. It has to be second nature. This is what will help you with a resume.

You have to become comfortable with yourself by asking, “Would you hire you?“

More to do with money

Here’s another protip from a soon-to-be millionaire, MONEY has more uses than merely spending it. You can deploy money for assets that create more money. Additionally, you can use it to create opportunities for more than yourself.

For this reason, I am a true believer that it does not matter how much money you currently have, but what you are doing with it. I know many people who earn more money than me, however, they are struggling. Additionally, I know a lot of people who are influencers with 10k followers who are struggling with mental health issues and poverty.

A lot of people you know are living deep in debt. Most have maxed out on their credit cards. Many are shifting their spending habits. Most are living paycheck to stress. However, my wife and I learned to accomplish more with less. Mindset and cash flow management are key, no matter how much money you earn.

Here are TNFG’s Top Three Financial Tips

Recreate and Redefine your own Financial Narrative

Your ability to get financial freedom depends on a multi-factorial approach. Although there are common documented habits among millionaires; your steps will differ. We all have different skills, financial vantage points, responsibilities, and even inheritances.

If you want to start saving and earning extra income, start by creating your own perspective on finances that is in line with you. For example, I stopped going to happy hours. The buzz wears off and it was costly. I was happier working on my mental health or physical fitness.

In the end, the result was a happier version of me in whatever income range.

Most people avoid knowing how much they spend per week, month, or per year. Stop that. Face your fears. Use Mint.com to track your expenses. Recognize your bad habits and those pesky micro expenses.

Learn to trick yourself into being responsible with automatic payments and automatic investments. Do what works best for you by focusing on your real NEEDS, first. It will eventually open doors for your to do more of what you want.

As you set your SMART+ER goals, ensure that they are realistic and relevant to you. Unrealistic goals can set you up for failure which can leave you discouraged. The best financial advice for modern life is to take smaller incremental wins over grandiose ones. Stop aiming for the marathon if you haven’t run the block. While it is still great to dream, you have to eat this elephant, one bite at a time.

Baseline Financial Advice – Managing Real Life versus Lifestyle Inflation.

It’s important to truly understand the difference between “needs” and “wants.” Most people start blurring their wants as needs, especially if they see everyone else doing it.

Your real lifestyle should allow you to save more without having to spend more. To this point, I would recommend that you stop following all the social spending accounts on social media. Those travel, fashion, and influencer reels merely show you how to spend but negate the real-life toll. A lot of these influencers are lonely and living contract to contract (if at all). Avoid becoming like them by learning to be disciplined with your dollars.

Micro expenses (or phantom expenses) do add up. You aren’t just going to brunch. You are spending on average $100 per sit down as well as $100 in supplementary expenses. What are those expenses? Your outfit, parking or ride shares, before and after hangouts, and most importantly your time. Turns out your hours are valuable.

Endeavor to find new ways to grow what you already have. Building up your assets early can produce additional income for you to live an unmitigated lifestyle in the future. When you can cancel automatic subscriptions and memberships that you don’t usually use.

For example, some people pay for more than one streaming service per month, but it is better to pay Netflix for 3 months, watch all the series you want, and then pay Disney+ to watch another series. In this way, you can save more than $100 per month.

Critical Financial Advice – Learn the Power of ‘No’ and When to Say Yes

Only say Yes to opportunities that will move you closer to a life-changing scenario.

Not every opportunity is “life-changing.” Some of these can ruin your life and send you into a downward spiral.

As such, it’s important not to make many decisions in desperation. Just because a friend or family told you of a ‘great opportunity” doesn’t mean that it will work out for you.

The first thing you need to do when you have an opportunity is to ask yourself if that opportunity will move you closer to what you want to achieve. If it’s moving too fast for you or it’s too complicated, it’s ok to pause and reflect.

Great opportunities don’t follow an exigent time constraint. Real opportunities stand the test of time. Some opportunities will require you to learn new skills. Beyond that, most opportunities don’t come cheap. You have to work at them, and it takes time.

Contrary to social media, you can’t skip steps on the road to success. Build your tolerance that saying NO in order to say YES to you. Instead of spending more, pay off your credit cards. It will lower your monthly interest which will leave more room for you.

The goal of being wealthy is to understand the power and scarcity of your own TIME.

On the Other Side of Financial Advice for Those Making $75,000 or Less

Financial Freedom is a skill.

Build on it and work through the challenges as they come. Don’t just wish for more money to fix your current problems; first, focus on becoming someone who can handle the current problems with the money you already have.

Beyond that, it’s ok to start small.

Even if you begin with an investment of $100 per week and do nothing more after 40 years you will be a millionaire if you invested it into an index ETF. That $100 will eventually turn into $12,000 per year. That’s where the magic begins.

The goal is to build your confidence by creating new sustainable habits. As your mindset changes and evolves, you will start seeing life beyond $75,000. It’s truly not how much you make; instead, it’s about the life you are intentionally deciding to live.