How to retire with a high income A definitive guide

How to retire with a high income A definitive guideHow to retire with a high income A definitive guideIts a common scenario, and one that Im super familiar with Youre in the prime of your career and earning good money. But, your job stinks. It provides no satisfaction. Youre paid well, but thats about it. You want out. You want to retire with a high income.I happen to know a little something about this.I did something similar after 14 years of working ininformation technology, I quit the rat race at 35 and now spend my time traveling the country with my wife in our Airstream travel trailer. I love almost every minute of it.And, Im about aserkennbar as they come in the last year both my wife and I worked full-time jobs, we earned a combined $250k. The year before that, it was about the same, give or take.My first job out of college in 2005 was worth $55,000 a year to me. Each year, Id get cost-of-living raises and every time Iswitched jobs(a tactic I highly recommend to maximize the growth of your earnings), I enjoyed a nice bump.14 years after I started my career, I increased my salary by a factor of three.In other words,I know what its like to earn a bunch of moneyway mora than what I needed to provide for the basic needs of life. Way more than I truly ever thought that I would earn.And if youre sitting in your career earning big bucks,Im going to drop some wisdom into your lap that might just transform the way that you think about your salary and your lifestyle.If youre earning a high salary and want to retire early, youre in the right place.3 things to know about high incomesA high income is different than being richIf you are not familiar with the term pseudo-affluence, heres what you need to know. Earning a high salary doesnt necessarily mean youre financially stable. Thepseudo-affluentare people who typically earn high incomes and do certain things to make themselves look rich.But, looking rich doesnt mean that you are rich.The pseudo-affluent generallyE arna high-income, but spend the majority of what they makeWearexpensive suits or carry Louis Vuitton pursesDrivehigh-end luxury or sportscars like BMWs, Porsches, and MercedesGenuinelybelievethat rich peopleact richNaturally, this does not mean thateverybodywho drives a BMW is pseudo-affluent. The world isnt black and white enough to make such a concrete statement. However, those who do spend the vast majority of high incomes DO tend to drive unterstellung cars and live in wealthy neighborhoods to display their wealth.Many are good people, well-educated and perhaps earning a six-figure income,writesAlexander Green, author of the bookBeyond Wealth The Road Map to a Rich Life. But they arent balance-sheet rich because its almost impossible for most workers even those who are well paid to hyper-spend on consumer goodsandsave a lot of money.stimmung of this story Your high income is worthless if youre spending the majority of it.High-income families still battle with debtYou might be surprised at how many high-income folks still live paycheck-to-paycheck. And,high-income debtis a thing that a lot of people struggle with.Nearly eight in 10 workers in the United Stateslive paycheck-to-paycheck, and its not just low-income earners that account for those numbers.More than half of minimum wage workers said they needed to hold down two jobs to make ends meet, while one in 10 workers earning $100,000 or more yearly say they live paycheck to paycheck, wroteU.S. News.And, thats only those who actually admit it.Heres the thing High-income jobs also come with an unwritten expectation to look the part. When were in high-level roles, we arent expected to drive to client meetings in a 2001 Toyota Corolla. Why? Because we look more successful when were rockin the brand new 7-series Bimmer.But,lifestyle inflationhas a way of eating through the hard work that we put into our careers.A couple of the best graphics Ive seen about this fake wealth come fromZack Van Zantwho mapped th eaverage Joessavings level relative to income and perceived needs.There are Average Joes and Extraordinary Joes.To the average Joe, savings rates increase marginally as our lifestyle along with our income, increases substantially.The average Joe is in contrast to the Extraordinary Joes savings level, who resists the temptation to increase perceived needs along with incomeMoral of this story Your lifestyle paints a better picture of your financial freedom than your income. Earning a high salary is a wonderful thing, but if we spend the majority of our earnings, its tough to truly get ahead.Your 5-step guide to retiring early after a high-income careerStep 1 You dont need a budget, but you need to know where your money is goingThough your budget doesnt need to look exactlyas mine did, tracking your spending and controlling where your money is going is equally important in a high salary as it is a lower one.In fact, theres a good argument to be made that its more important with a high income because high incomes enable more spending. Your means are greater, and as a result, more money can be spent on more expensive things that, if not controlled, can systematically squeeze the freedom out of your financial situation.High-income earners needfinancial visibilitycashflow tracking (money in vs. money out)a financial roadmap to help focus spending and investmentsWe usePersonal Capitalto provide the financial visibility that we need. We also track, through the use of spreadsheets, our cash flow and general trajectory toward our money goals even though were no longer earning a consistent income.Personal Capital is one of the easiest financial applications Ive used. Works well. Colorful. Gets the job done.If you are a high-income earner, what are some of the things youre doing to keep yourself honest? High incomes are great, but only when we entwurf a system where we keep the majority of the money that we earn. They can lull us into a false sense of security.Step 2 Esta blish an emergency fund of at least six monthsAnemergency fundis crucial tohigh-income earnersbecause our lifestyles very often require quite a bit of resource to maintain.Another way to describe your emergency fund is your FU Money. Meaning, if things get bad at work or you find a better option, having enough stashed away means we can easily say, F-U, Im out at work at a moments notice.FU Money means you can effectively put a stop to full-time income immediately and still remain financially independent, at least for a while. It doesnt necessarily mean or imply that you can flat out retire. But, it does give us options, and lots of em FU money is good money.Unfortunately, themajority of peopledont have adequate emergency funds. And, the last thing we want to do is plop unexpected costs onto credit cards.How much emergency fund money should we have?Usually, I like to encourage at least three to six months, but for high-income earners, err on the side of six months. If you cannot last six months without income, then you have a problem.Youre probably spending too much money. Your lifestyle has become overinflated to the point where its putting you into a position of weakness.Step 3 Forget what the experts say and just focus on YOU and your goalsThere isnt justone single wayto get out of debt, build wealth and achieve financial freedom.I dont care what the experts tell you. If they believe theres a one-track path to success (probablytheirway thats available in their book for the low, low price of $9.95), remove yourself from that conversation and never seek their advice again. Why? Its B.S.Im a big fan of the try it and see method, especially if youre a high-income earner.If an expert says that you gotta get up an hour earlier in the morning in order to be successful, then try it if youre properly motivated. If its working for you, then keep doing it. Otherwise, re-gain those 60-minutes of sleep and put your effort toward something else.Check out these point-blank statements that I believe wholeheartedly to be true.There is no one way toget out of debt. Your way is just as valid as mine.There is no one way to invest in the stock market. I prefer index fund investing. Others prefer dividend investing. Frankly, I dont care what method you choose. They all work. The point is to do it. Just try. More on this below.There is no one way to live asensiblelifestyle. If you want that 80-inch television, who am I to tell you that its unnecessary (we havent owned a television in years, by the way)? Buy whatever you feel is necessary for you and your family.There is no one way to manage your finances. Some married couples have combined finances (like my wife and me). Others have kept them separate. Some use Ally savings accounts. Others use money market accounts. As long as you arent stashing your wad of cash under your mattress, there are a ton of different ways to manage your finances effectively.There is no one way to budget. Heck, some people dont ev en use a budget. Many subscribe to the pay yourself first method and forget a budget entirely. Others prefer to keep their budget so they can see exactly where their money is going. If budgeting works for you, keep it upThere is no one way to retire early. My wife and I sold both of our homes and bought anAirstreamthat we live in full-time. While that works for us, it sure as hell wont work for everybody. And, thats okay. Big homes or small, it is up to each and every one of us to decide how to retire early and what well do once we reach that point of sweet no-job ecstasy.Dont blindly focus on what financial or so-called early retirement experts tell you (yes, that includes methough, I dont consider myself an expert). Do what works forYOU.Step 4 Dont just save invest your wealthNo one ever got rich by saving money.It seems to go against the grain, but its also a fact of life. Saving money isnt what gets the majority of us rich.Saving is not the magic sauce to early retirement. There is nothing wrong with it, thoughIt is true that saving money does not lead to wealth. That said, theres nothing wrong with saving some cash by changing up the spending habits you developed over the years that probably resulted inwholesale hemorrhaging of your precious greenbacksfrom your wallet. Dont get me wrong, saving money is great. Its wonderful. It all helps.Its just not the magic sauce to early retirement.Early retirement is enabled throughhousehold wealth. How much money youhave, rather than how much yousave. Thats the delicious gravy that, when smothered over a stack of steaming hot mashed potatoes, makes the meal.Ultimately,wealth is built by investing your earnings. Here, take a look at apretty graphthat puts in chart form what little effect saving money has over your household wealth. I warn you, however, that there are a bunch of sleep-inducing financial buzzwords that permeate that post.You know, things like market revaluation and consumer durable investments.Its not about how much money we have. Wealth is a direct byproduct ofwhat we do with that money. ItsTHISthat enables early retirement.Keep your savings in a Ziplock baggy under your mattress and you dont prepare yourself for anything beyond the apocalypse. And even then, I doubt your local merchant will be around anyway to accept your cash for a loaf of bread because their credit card processing machine was destroyed in the nuclear blast that annihilated most of humanity.Letcompound interestwork for you.Step 5 Plan your strategy by giving your money a purposeAs a high-income earner, your money needs a purpose in life, just like you.A reason for its existence. Youre not just going to work to earn a paycheck. If youre like most of us, youre at work toearn a living. To provide for your family. And, youre doing an awfully good job at it, too. Youre bringing in big bucks.The next step is to give your money purpose. Train yourself to think of your income as a tool. Its a tool that youll use to bu ild your future free of the constraints of full-time work.This happens by giving your money purpose.How to give your money purposeKnow where your money is going You cant begin to un-screw your financial situation until you realize where your money is going. Budgets can help, but frankly, your bank statement is all you really need to determine where your money is going and, importantly, whether your spending is setting you up to meet, or fail, at your financial goals.Show me a mans bank statement, and Ill tell you what he values.For example, those damn automated monthly payments for services that you may no longer use are killers. They were for us. Because you dont have to lift a finger to make those payments, you quickly forget that youre making them. Bank statements help. Just look at em. Can you justify it all?Care about your future More critical than most people realize, you need to care about what happens to your future self. Yes, we all want to be successful, but what does that mean? Do you actively want to retire early, or are you content with working through the traditional lifespan of a typical worker in our society? In 20 years, do you see yourself living in the same house? Working the same job? Driving the same car? What will change?For the record, its okay if you have no interest in retiring early. But, knowing exactly what you want out of life whatever that happens to be will guide your moneys purpose.Invest If your company matches 401k contributions, at least contribute that amount. Remember, 401ks are pre-tax money, which means not only is your company shoveling you cold hard cash, but youre lowering your tax burden by a dollar-for-dollar contribution into your 401k account.Brokerage accounts work, too. We like Targeted Retirement investment accounts and have heavily utilized their automatic diversification strategy so we dont have to worry about all that. Seriously, we just throw money into our brokerage account and literally forget it. Theres no secret sauce to getting rich in the market. Besides time. You gotta give it time.Persistence Early retirement is easy, but its not quick. It takes time, just like most goals worth striving toward. Avoid the rookie mistake of expecting 20% capital gains in the first year of investing your dough. It doesnt happen that way, even in todays outrageously lucrative market.Your lifes purpose takes time, just like your moneys. Dont expect miracles with your money. Reality doesnt work that way. Budget and invest. Then, stick with it. I mean stick the hell with it. Keep throwing those greenbacks into your investment accounts. Month after month. Year after year.Step 6 Automate your saving and investing strategyAutomation removes the element of discipline from the equation of saving money. With automation, we dont have to remember to move our money to where it needs to go.Through the magic of automation, we arent manually transferring our cash every single month, which definitely takes disci pline. We dont need to lift a finger after we set up an automated process to save money. Its all done for us, like clockwork.How does automation work?Payroll deductions are often the easiest way to automate your savings. If your company offers a 401k plan, youll probably be able to setup auto-deductions from your paycheck to fund that account for your retirement. An IRA account can work the same way.What are some of the things that can be automated?Company-sponsored 401k contributionsMoney transfers from checking accounts into savingsMonthly bill payments (cable TV, credit cards, etc) to reduce late feesBanks usually provide automation services to make this easy. Companies typically provide automated payroll deductions for 401k and IRA contributions. Credit cards may also untersttzung automated payments every month.Automation is key to removing the element of discipline from your financial life.If you dont yet have financial automation in your life, start today.Make an appointment w ith your companys HR department to find out about your 401k retirement options. Then, auto-deduct from your paycheck to start funding your retirement account.Or, establish a savings account through a bank (we like Ally, but it could be withany bank) and create a recurring transfer from your checking account into that saving account.Just start with one. Over time, consider other automation as well.Check out theAutomatic Millionaire, by David Bach, for an excellent in-depth look at how automation kicks our finances into high gear.This article originally appeared on ThinkSaveRetire.