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Your Income Changed. Did Your Standards?
10 Things You Should Upgrade, Once You Get Money
The First Investments Successful People Make After Earning More
Most finance stories tell you what not to buy. Today I am doing the opposite.
10 things that you should upgrade immediately once you start making real money, because I think that’s the point of having money.
It’s to make your life better. Now this assumes you already save and invest. And now that you have some money left over.
1. Upgrading Your Desk Setup
Starting with a standing desk, this is one upgrade you can make to your setup, and you’ll see benefits from day one.
That’s because if you’re able to break up your standing and sitting time, you’re actually going to increase your energy levels and your mood, and there are even other health benefits that have been extensively studied.
Cleveland Clinic, for example, has noted that standing desks improve energy and mood levels, increase productivity and focus, reduce rates of obesity, increase circulation and posture, and help you reduce lower back pain.
And if you do some digging online, I’m sure you will find some other benefits of standing desks.
But the whole idea here is that it’s not really about the desk so much as it is the standing and the sitting and the standing and the sitting.
We Americans are so sedentary in our lifestyle that if we’re able to break up the sitting time with some standing or perhaps some pacing or walking around, it’s going to be a lot better for our health and our productivity.
Another upgrade of my desk setup that I found really useful is having a second monitor.
This just allows me to be more productive because then I can put, let’s say, research on one screen and then have my work on the other.
Or perhaps I can have all my messaging apps and music apps on one screen and not clutter the main workspace that I’m working on.
I’m literally always so surprised to discover when some of my friends work from home.
They literally look like little shrimp hunched over their laptops. And the ergonomics of their setup is so bad that it just hurts my posture and back looking at them.
If they just bought one external monitor or just upgraded their desk chair, it could really improve the quality of their work and their back.
And these days, I think that external monitors aren’t even that expensive. And you can even get an ergonomic desk chair for pretty cheap.
Other items in your desk setup that you could upgrade are your keyboard or perhaps your noise-cancelling headphones.
2. Experiences
When you get some disposable income, I think something nice to spend money on is new experiences or fulfilling experiences that you can spend with other people that you like.
In fact, I would upgrade the amount of money you spend on experiences first before you upgrade any material items that you have. But that’s just me.
According to the University of Texas, spending on experiences versus possessions advances more immediate happiness. And they state in this article that quote experiences also provoke more satisfaction, even though people typically spend more time using their material possessions. The researchers said that a possible explanation is the endurance of experiences in people’s memories, while the perceived value of material goods weakens over time.
So that’s really interesting, right? The researchers are stating that even if you use a material possession for a long period of time, let’s say you buy a really fancy watch and you use it for the next 10 years, there could be a trip that you had taken 10 years before that provides way more satisfaction than that watch ever did.
I personally found that to be true in my own life. Every time I spend money on a physical material item, I really cherish it for a period of time, the honeymoon period, but then those feelings fade.
Memories of trips that I’ve taken with my mom, my friends, or my dad, those are the ones that I still remember and I think fondly of.
So, I think that if you do have enough money to take an extra trip every single year or perhaps a weekend trip, try to do it with some people that you enjoy.
3. Backdoor Roth IRA
There’s a point in time where you can make too much money for a Roth IRA, so you can’t even contribute to a Roth IRA anymore.
If you’re someone making over $165,000 as a single person or a couple making over $246,000, you are not eligible for the Roth IRA contribution.
However, what you can still do is what’s called the backdoor Roth IRA contribution instead.
It sounds secretive and illegal, but if you Google it, it’s actually pretty easy to do. You basically create a traditional IRA.
You contribute the funds to it. You don’t invest the money within the traditional IRA, and then all you have to do within your brokerage account is click convert it to a WTH.
The only times this gets a little bit tricky are if you already have an existing traditional IRA with funds invested at that point, you would have traditional IRA funds as well as Roth IRA funds.
And so you need to be a little bit careful here and avoid what’s called the pro rata rule.
4. An Accountant
Along the finance lines today, the next step is to get an accountant to file your taxes.
Currently, up to 75% of Americans file their own taxes, with 31% of them doing it completely by themselves and 44% relying on software like TurboTax, H&R Block, and TaxAct.
While that’s not a bad thing, I believe using do-it-yourself software like Turboax increases the chances that you make a mistake.
You could easily even misinterpret a question and input the wrong data, which in turn could affect your return or perhaps a refund if you’re eligible for one.
Tax software is much cheaper, and it’s way more convenient than, say, hiring a CPA.
But I do think that a certified public accountant can give you a lot more support.
A good accountant doesn’t just fill out forms. They proactively look for ways to reduce your tax burden legally.
They know which expenses you can write off, which retirement account strategies make sense for your situation, and how to structure things to reduce what you owe. Both now and in the future.
Usually CPAs for filing your taxes can be anywhere from $500 to $2,000 for the year.
But if they can save you $3,000 in taxes or $4,000 or maybe $5,000, that’s a pretty clear ROI to me.
I think the best part is that if you do hire an accountant, you don’t have to file your taxes yourself, which means that you get to save a lot of time and you save a lot of anxiety that might come up by not answering those questions correctly.
If you are making upwards of 150k or more per year, or perhaps you have multiple income streams, like you have your own business on the side as well as your normal job, or you have more complexity to your taxes than just filing a W2, I would probably start to consider looking at a CPA just as a starting point.
5. Quality Food
When you don’t have that much money, you’re usually buying the cheapest food available because it fits a purpose of getting full and not being hungry.
Cheap food is really good for building wealth and paying off debt because food is one of the biggest expenses that everyone incurs in their lifetime. And I think it’s an expense that we have direct control over.
Usually, if that person spends too much money on food or if that person is just in a lot of credit card debt, he will tell that person immediately to start eating beans and rice.
And that serves the purpose of rotating all of that person’s discretionary income to paying off debt or doing something more responsible.
However, once you do have some wealth and disposable income, I think it’s worth upgrading the quality of your food. The health benefits of quality food will compound over time.
So, higher quality food usually means that it has more nutrients, fewer processed ingredients, and it’s overall better for you in the long term.
Eating quality food will also improve your productivity and mental clarity.
Because if you’re just eating McDonald’s every day or fast food all the time, you actually might find yourself experiencing brain fog or just energy spikes and crashes throughout the day.
Also, I think with quality foods, they are usually more nutrient-dense, and they’re a little bit more satisfying because you don’t need as much of them to feel full and energized.
Now, I’m not saying you have to go shop at Arowan every day or Whole Foods every day. Nothing like that.
I think you just don’t need to buy the cheapest thing at the grocery store anymore once you have some money.
You want to find some higher-quality options for the foods that you eat very often.
And if you go to a Michelin-star restaurant, please invite me. All right, that was a bad joke, but okay. Hahahahaha :)
The goal isn’t to be wasteful with your dollars when it comes to food. It’s just to recognize that if you can afford it, the quality of what you eat directly impacts the quality of your life and your work.
6. Convenience
I would look to upgrade that. Now, speaking of quality, the next upgrade is quality time.
And that means spending money on convenience. And that is item number six today.
Because when you have some disposable income, convenience and services are actually a category that can make your life easier, or you can buy back your time. One example of a service could be a food delivery app.
I know that’s kind of a controversial topic, and some people are going to view it as a waste of money, but sometimes people want food delivery because they know that their time is valuable.
I’ve personally used DoorDash or Uber Eats before because I just don’t want to spend an hour cooking for just myself.
And if I can save that hour and then work on something else that can make me more money than the fee for the delivery, I think that’s pretty reasonable.
Another service might be like wash and fold laundry. There are lots of wash and fold places across different cities and suburbs, and I’ve even used this service before when I didn’t have laundry in my building.
I used to drop off a load of laundry at a wash-and-fold place once a week. It cost me about $25 a week, but in turn, I was able to get my laundry back the next day.
It came back all washed and folded, hence the name wash and fold. And I really valued it at the time because I didn’t have to do my own laundry.
I got to save an hour and a half to two hours, and it would come back folded better than I could fold it myself.
Other services you might consider here are housekeeping services, food prep services, lawn care services, etc.
According to payments.com, consumers who are not living paycheck to paycheck spend an average of $237 per month on services. Now, this article also has a stat on how much people who live paycheck to paycheck spend on services. It was $171 a month. If you are living paycheck to paycheck, you want to be mindful of how much money you are spending on services.
Maybe you can cut some of those where you can and then wait until you have more money to do so.
7. Your Health
All right, we’ve talked a lot about what makes a fulfilling life so far, but number seven, I think, is by far one of the most important in this story, and it’s lucky number seven, and that’s upgrading your health.
When you get more money, one of the smartest places to invest it is in your health, because everything else in your life depends on it.
You can’t build wealth, enjoy experiences, or be productive if you’re constantly exhausted or dealing with health issues.
Starting with sleep, I think this is one of the highest ROI upgrades you can make.
So, you want to buy a quality mattress, a quality pillow, blackout curtains, and even a white noise machine because you spend a third of your life sleeping.
There are studies out there that say that just one night of sleeping less than 4 hours can reduce the activity of your natural cancer-fighting cells by 72% and increase your rate of getting sick.
Good sleep also promotes brain health, cognitive function, and aids in your physical recovery.
The other thing that you can do when you start to make some money is to have a quality gym membership at a place that you actually want to go to.
Or perhaps if you prefer to work out at home, you build out a home gym that you will actually use.
You want to reduce the friction that is between you and your workout because then it becomes a habit much easier.
Back when I used to live in the suburbs, it would take me 20 minutes of driving to get to my gym.
And oftentimes, if I was feeling lazy that day or there was traffic, I just wouldn’t make the drive.
If you’re able to get to a gym that’s walking distance or perhaps you like to go running outside, I think you will find yourself working out a lot more often.
And once I’ve removed that variable of driving, when it came to my health, I went to the gym a lot more, and I was definitely more active.
There are so many other ways you can spend money on your health as well.
I mean, you could have preventative physical therapy appointments, regular doctor checkups, you could have mental health support, so going to therapy.
You can buy recovery tools like the Theraun, the foam rollers, and maybe you could even splurge on a massage.
The point is that if you’re spending money on your health and your longevity, I think that’s an excellent use of your money.
And that’s the whole point of money anyway, which is to live longer and experience things hopefully.
8. Financial Advisor
A professional that you might want to consider when you have some money is a financial adviser.
You could get a financial adviser for professional guidance on tax and estate planning, college planning, or even investing.
My personal opinion as an ex-financial adviser is that you don’t really need a financial adviser if you’re just investing.
They typically kind of just put you in a standardized product like an ETF that will match the market.
However, they can act as a behavioral coach and prevent you from destroying your wealth through emotional decisions.
A good adviser will keep you from chasing hot stocks, constantly tinkering with your portfolio, and also panic selling.
Sometimes you need that professional third party to look at your situation, especially when emotions are running high, or perhaps the market is down 10%. Just to tell you to be reasonable.
Also, financial advisors can help you with your major life decisions like getting married, having a baby, or perhaps inheriting money.
I guess they can’t really help you have the baby or get married, but what I’m trying to say is that they can help you with the finances of understanding how those life situations will impact you.
The key to finding the right type of adviser, I would look for someone who’s a flat fee only fiduciary adviser.
That’s someone who is legally required to act in your best interest and charges a flat fee.
There are commission-based advisers, that’s actually most of the industry, and they make money selling you products, and those are the ones that you generally need to avoid.
They will usually charge you a percentage of your assets under management. And that never made sense to me.
It’s like if you get more money, you now pay more of a fee. So, I would look for someone that’s a flat fee.
Honestly, if your financial situation is really straightforward, like all you’re doing is saving and investing in index funds with no major complexities, you probably don’t need a financial adviser yet.
9. Your Education
Once you do get more money, I think that you can upgrade your educational level because that will, in turn, transform your value in the job market.
You don’t have to go back and get another four-year degree or two-year degree, but what you can do is focus on certifications, training, and education that directly increase how much money you make.
For example, professional certifications like getting a CPA, CFA, or PMP can immediately make you more valuable within your industry.
You could also get a technical training. So, whether that’s a coding boot camp or maybe you take a data analytics course or a digital marketing course, whatever technical skill is within your industry that can also increase your earning potential really quickly, I would look into that.
I really like the idea that, let’s say, you get a technical training, and it costs you $3,000.
If you know that a $3,000 investment will eventually turn into 10,000 or even $20,000 more dollars per year for your salary, you can clearly see that there’s a correlated ROI tied to that.
Some other examples of education could be going to a networking event or a networking conference within your industry.
I know that might not sound like a good use of money, but even if you just make a connection there, and that could eventually translate to an opportunity down the road, it could be worth it.
The key question here to ask yourself is, will this education pay for itself within one to two years? If yes, it’s probably worth it. If not, you might need to re-evaluate.
I think that reinvesting some of the money back into your own education and capabilities is one of the smartest money moves that you can make.
You are always going to be your best investment. So, I would keep that in mind.
10. Your Hobbies
Now, speaking of investing in yourself is investing in your hobbies. I think that this is one that people often overlook when they start making more money, but investing in your hobbies can dramatically increase how you feel about your life and how fulfilled you feel on a day-to-day basis.
Hobbies definitely give you something to look forward to outside of work. And oftentimes, if you acquire a skill within that hobby, it can sometimes transfer back to your professional life as well.
An example here could be like a photographer, and you have all of a sudden more attention to detail because you’re taking photos of all these really great landscapes or streets or whatever it may be.
So, when you go back to work, and you’re looking at a PowerPoint presentation, maybe you notice things that your co-workers don’t.
Hobbies also help you meet people. And some of the best friendships and relationships that I have were formed around a shared interest.
So, I think that when you’re actually able to take some of your hobbies more seriously, you’re not just buying better equipment, you’re actually investing more into the community that you are a part of.
If you’re into running, maybe you upgrade from a random pair of shoes to a more fitted pair of shoes.
If you’re into golf, maybe that means you’re getting lessons or perhaps buying new clubs.
And if you love League of Legends, which is a hard ask, maybe it’s hiring a League of Legends coach that teaches you not to be toxic in-game every game when your teammates are being really big idiots. Just saying.
And here’s something that people don’t often talk about a lot. Hobbies can sometimes turn into side hustles and even full-on careers.
I’m not saying that has to be the goal from the get-go, but when you get really good at something you’re passionate about, sometimes opportunities just present themselves.
Again, back to the photographer example, maybe you start shooting weddings, or maybe you’re a runner who becomes a running form coach.
The point is that your hobby might just remain a hobby, or it could open new doors that you never thought of.
Life isn’t just about earning wealth, in my opinion. I think it’s about living a rich and fulfilling life.
And a huge part of that comes from spending money on the things that bring you joy, bring you health, or perhaps help you buy back your time.
Written by Sanjeev P.
I write about wealth habits and financial freedom—helping you think smarter about money and build the future you want. Subscribe: sanjeevnetwork.substack.com
I'm not necessarily disagreeing with any of your items but I have been reading many more financial articles since I've retired and I am disappointed that you and other secular financial writers very rarely say anything about generosity and blessing…
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You didn’t mention upgrading your home at all. I’m surprised. The first thing I did was improve my home. As the stock market rose, our local real estate prices rose. So I sold my home (for a large profit) and purchased my next. One thing that I…
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