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Cindy Lamothe
5 min read
Picture this: You’ve worked hard, landed a solid job and your paycheck reflects that sweet “upper middle class” status you’ve been longing for.
But somehow, when you look around, it feels like your lifestyle isn’t quite matching up to your salary. Bills start piling up, your savings seem to disappear, and you’re left wondering where all that money is going.
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The thing is, if you’re a high earner, you’re in a much better position than the roughly one-third of people Bank of America found “strongly agree” they were living paycheck to paycheck in late 2024.
So, take a look at the bigger picture. Here are some changes to make if your great income no longer feels enough.
According to Kevin Shahnazari, founder and CEO of FinlyWealth, many high earners struggle because their spending increases proportionally with income but lacks intentional allocation. He’s seen clients who earn $200,000 plus annually yet feel financially constrained, because their spending expands to fill available resources without building wealth.
“The solution starts with conducting a spending audit to identify exactly where your money goes, then realigning these expenditures with your actual priorities and values,” he said.
When Shahnazari first reached a six-figure salary, he fell into this exact trap. He said his spending unconsciously expanded — nicer restaurants, premium subscriptions, impulse purchases — but his financial satisfaction didn’t improve.
After tracking every dollar for three months, he discovered he was spending over $2,000 monthly on conveniences and status purchases that didn’t truly enhance his quality of life.
“Redirecting just half of that amount toward investments completely transformed my financial trajectory while maintaining the lifestyle elements I genuinely valued,” he explained.
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Upper-middle-class earners often suffer from what Shahnazari calls “someday syndrome” — believing they’ll start serious saving and investing once they reach some arbitrary higher income threshold.
This mindset, he said, prevents wealth accumulation regardless of income level.
To counteract this, start by automating at least 20% of your income toward investments and savings before lifestyle spending, essentially putting your financial priorities first in line.
