In this episode...
Have you ever looked at how much money you made and wondered, “Where did it all go?” In this episode, Abby breaks down three reasons you may still feel broke even as your income grows.
You’ll also learn a simple three-step framework to start feeling more in control. Because making more money doesn’t automatically create wealth. What matters is what you do with it.
Key Moments:
00:00 Why More Money Still Doesn't Feel Like Enough
02:50 Reason 1: Lifestyle Creep
06:23 Reason 2: Your Money Doesn't Have a Plan
07:35 My Biggest College Money Mistake
10:06 Reason 3: Everything Really Is More Expensive
13:31 The Three Step Solution to Feeling Less Broke
14:02 Step 2: Audit Where Your Money Is Going
15:03 Step 3: Build A Structure That Creates Wealth
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Questions this episode answers...
Why do I still feel broke even though I make good money?
Making more money doesn’t automatically make you feel wealthier. As your income increases, your spending often increases with it, sometimes without you even noticing. A $30 Target trip becomes a $300 Target trip. Vacations get nicer. You upgrade your car, your home, or the everyday things you buy. None of those decisions are necessarily bad, but when they happen without intention, your lifestyle can expand to absorb nearly every raise or increase in business income. That’s why someone can go from making $40,000 in a month to $75,000 in a month and still wonder, “Where did all the money go?”
What is lifestyle creep, and how do I avoid it as my creator income grows?
Lifestyle creep happens when your expenses gradually increase as your income increases. It doesn’t always look like buying a huge house or an expensive car. Often, it’s a hundred smaller decisions: eating out more often, buying nicer clothes without thinking about it, upgrading subscriptions, spending more while traveling, or turning a $30 purchase into a $300 purchase. The goal isn’t to avoid improving your lifestyle. You worked hard to make more money, and you should be able to enjoy it. The key is intention. Decide which upgrades actually improve your life instead of automatically increasing your spending simply because you can afford to.
How can I stop feeling overwhelmed about what to do with my money?
There are so many opinions about saving and investing that it can be easy to become paralyzed and do nothing. Instead of trying to find the perfect financial strategy, start with a simple framework: Vision: Decide what you actually want your money to help you accomplish. Audit: Understand what is currently coming in and going out. Structure: Put a repeatable system in place for what happens with your money every month. You don't need to make every financial decision at once. The goal is to create a system you can consistently follow as your income and business continue to grow.
How do I build wealth with inconsistent creator income?
Building wealth is less about finding one perfect investment and more about developing habits you can repeat over time. Create a structure for your money that helps you consistently save and invest, even if the amount changes from month to month. Those habits become especially important as your creator income grows. If you don't have a system when you're making $100,000 a year, making $500,000 or $1 million won't automatically create one. The earlier you build the habit of intentionally setting money aside, the more opportunity that money has to compound and help you build long-term wealth.
I make a lot of money but don't know where it goes. What should I do?
Start by doing an audit of your money. Know exactly what is coming in and what is going out both personally and inside your creator business. Look at where your income comes from, where you're spending it, and whether those expenses are actually helping you build the life and business you want. The goal of an audit isn’t to immediately cut everything or put yourself on a restrictive budget. It’s simply to create awareness. When you understand what your money is doing, you can start making intentional decisions instead of wondering at the end of every year where it all went.