For high-income earners, move the needle by putting your bonus towards your freedom!

The other day I was listening to a mix by Jamie 3:26.  He played “Take that to the Bank” by Shalamar and it reminded me of when I received my first bonus.  “Whew hoo!  A bonus, a REAL bonus” (in my Lucy voice from The Peanuts).    I was ecstatic about all the possibilities of getting such a large chunk of money at one time.  My mind ran with the numerous ways in which it could be utilized.  I can pay “this much” on my horrid student loans, I can add “X amount” to my house-down payment fund, I can throw some of it on that last little bit of my car-payment (car note for the Left coaster’s amongst us). Not to mention I could fill up all my Y.N.A.B. categories to the brim. 

Giddy with excitement, I looked up blog posts on “wind falls” and how much of it you should save and how much you should blow. “Spend at least 15% on yourself” I read. What does that mean I thought. In my opinion, I was living pretty high-off-the hog already, so what possibly could I want with the extra cash? 

Little did I know my answer to this question solidified my path to becoming financially independent much much earlier than I anticipated.  

When that large amount finally hit my bank account the first time around, I felt (“… like a million bucks”).    I divi’ed it up immediately by writing checks to all the debts and filling up all my savings categories previously mentioned. I don’t remember spending one penny of it!  Ha, that’s right. It felt so satisfying to slash those balances, and fill up all my rainy day funds.  I even erased some small debts off my list. “Yyyaaasss” I shouted to myself; “Can you believe it DocToDisco? I just erased an entire column off my debt snowball spreadsheet!”  I twirled like Julie Andrews on the top of a mountain.  The hills are alive with the sound of compound interest.  Yup, it went all to debt and savings; zero to me. 

But in actuality (insert “hmm” emoji here) I DID spend 100% of my bonus on myself.  Having clarity about paying down debts and saving for upcoming expenses put me squarely on the F.I.R.E. speed train.   Not having any financial obligations other than food, shelter & transportation in my future was well worth not spending my bonus in the present.

Ha, wouldn’t it be amazing if we could make a deposit and in return get an allotment of time appear on the bank statement?  Taking a huge bite out of my student loans on a serial basis invigorated me to stay on my “hustle”. I was focused on the long game because what I really wanted was autonomy with how I spent my time. Yes! TIME became my splurge! More precious than gold.

Here’s some proof of my gradual evolution. I perused my journal the other day, and to my own astonishment in April of 2016 (~8 or 9 years after my first-ever real bonus and about 4 years before I retired early) I wrote “I’m there…………. I’de rather have my personal time over more things or more experiences”. That’s when it made serious sense to me. All these years when I felt a physical avulsion to spending my bonus on a shiny new car or a kitchen upgrade like most of my colleagues,

I had been using my bonus to get to the finish line; early-bird-special style (hehehe).

Not-so instant gratification but gratification indeed! From that first bonus forward, I paid for my philosophical freedom instead of more things and/or more experiences. 

In hind sight, I had tunnel vision and no balance.  It had to be a COLD day in Hell before I spent part of it outright on something as frivolous as a weekend away with my girls or another couple to chill (insert regretful sad face here). Maybe too much of a good thing is not so good.  After all, deprivation and delayed gratification are my love language. 

I turned my bonus into my super power and so can you!

When you have F.U. money and those student loans are paid off it changes things mentally.  You’ll be drinking considerably less “corporate” Kool-Aid without even noticing it at first.

When you start to get financial traction by paying down your debts and adding serious 000’s to your F.U. $ bucket, there’s a sense of power in your accomplishment that eventually turns into action much sooner than you think.

Something as simple as not taking on more call, all the way to considering a job change could be your new reality just by writing a few checks in a few month’s time. YES!  This could happen for you!

Resounding affirmation time…..All together now…..Say it with me…..

Spend 100% of my bonus on me!

Spend it on Time 

Spend it on Freedom

Spend it on what I choose to do with MY time and MY freedom

Ok, that was fun. What’s your plan Doctor Super hero(ine) when it hits your account?

If I may…

Incorporate these Jedi-mind tricks to spend 100% of your bonus on YOU!

1…..When you find out about your bonus start hashing out your plan.  If you don’t make a plan for it (in my scolding Grand-ma “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” voice) you will end up not utilizing it properly like blowing it on a shiny object (or shiny trip) for you and/or your kids.

Hint: for all those guilty Mommies out there, trust me your kid would much rather have you around instead of on call to pay for that new shiny object/vacation they won’t appreciate in 6 months. 

Have you thought about it?  There’s no time like the present.  Go ahead, I’ll wait (Jeopardy clock timer starting now). Done? Get that plan on paper or virtual paper or at least somewhere in your phone.  

2…. Next, take a look at your Net Worth. Get upfront and personal with your current debts and obligations and take a look at your retirement savings.  How many years (time bank) do you have saved up? Is that number on target with your plans?

Looking at your net worth ESPECIALLY before you receive a big sum of money at one time is one of my BEST Jedi-mind tricks for keeping you in reality and encouragement for you to see the glass as 1/2 empty, yes I said 1/2 empty (resting Grinch face).

If that doesn’t work, say my favorite mantra 3 times to yourself “stop acting rich” (hehehe). Yup, two cheers for scarcity mindset y’all.   While studying this document, it will become clear where you need to focus your super power energy.  Is there a debt you can completely eliminate?  Is there a savings goal that will be accomplished if you add most of it there? 

Do some quick back-of-the envelope calculations on spreading out that bonus and putting it to good use, your future time bank.  Doing this step will for-sure help with quelling that “I’m going to Italy on my private jet because I’m rich” feeling you get at first glance of your banking balance (hehehe).

Are ya still with me? The BEST part of all of this is the realization that if you keep the practice up of putting your bonus on your future time, you see with your own eyes the time line shorten to get to financial independence!

Work

Use bonus to buy time

Repeat

3…. Channel that super hero power right now! Put forth your plan into real action. Write those checks and forget about it. Don’t think about it, don’t collect $200 after passing Go on the monopoly board. Pay it off!  Just do it and keep it moving.

Crush those villains like life-style creep and not living within your means to smithereens with a few online banking entries!

YEAH! (mean grill/muscle emoji/Lion roar). The benefits you will reap are sooner than you think my friend and you’ll thank me late-tah!

Now go start exercising your 1st & 2nd phalanges to write those checks soon! I suggest you practice by snapping your fingers to Jody Watley singing “Take that to the Bank”.

Git it, Git it! I see you…………………………….. (DJ shout-out/winking at ya) in your super heroine glittering Disco outfit.