Why It’s Better to Make More Money Instead of Stressing About Saving

“It doesn’t matter how much money you earn. It’s how much you save that truly matters.”

Some variation of this quote has been shared with you at one point in your life.

While I do agree with it, I firmly believe that making more money is better of if you want to get ahead financially in your 20s.

I’ve had this debate with readers, other bloggers, friends, and random folks. I’m going to weigh in on why it makes more sense to focus on increasing your income.

Why’s it better to make more money if you want to get ahead faster?

Before I write out my reasoning behind focusing on your income, I want you to check out my new YouTube series. In this video I quickly answer the question if you don’t feel like reading. Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel and share it with your friends.

You can save more money by making more.

You can’t save very much money if you’re not making a decent amount of money. If you make $40k/year and don’t care to increase your income, then there’s only so much that you can save. The math is pretty simple.

How much can you save after taxes and living expenses?

Making money is fun.

What’s more fun to you? Cutting something out or making an extra $100?

Be honest. Nobody enjoys clipping coupons or saying no to everything. We all want to be able to go out and buy cool things. Nobody wants to be told no.

I’m a very competitive person. I love the chase of making money, solving problems, and helping others. The more money you make the more fun it becomes. Don’t spend your 20s being boring. Don’t complain about how the world isn’t fair.

Money gives you more options.

“I don’t think twice before doing anything.”

One of my good friends told me this over the holidays. He invited me over to catch up and he shared his views on money. This guys hustles 24/7. He never loiters. He spends his time working on his side business and real estate ventures.

He told me that his favorite part about making more money is the new options that become available to him. He truly does live life. He travels whenever he wants to and doesn’t worry about where he’s going to go for lunch. He saves money by investing his money and enjoying the profits. He doesn’t worry about where he’s going to eat or what he’s going to do on the weekend.

You open yourself up to more options and a different kind of lifestyle when you focus on increasing your income.

You always need a backup plan.

You should never rely on one source of income. Too many folks get comfortable with one job. I have friends who complain so much about their jobs. If they only put this energy into quitting. I can’t even fathom how successful they would be. That’s another topic for another day. I want you to have a backup plan.

There’s only so much money that you can save before you snap. You’re going to have to increase your income so that you have more options. Life’s too short to spend it being broke and pissed off.

What would you do if you lost your job? What would happen if your job cut back on your hours? You need to create a backup plan for yourself by finding ways to make more money.

Should you still save money?

Of course. You should always save money. I’m not telling you to spend your savings. I don’t want you to make a killing and then end up broke. You don’t want to be remembered as someone who squandered their money and ended up poor.

I just want you to become relentless. I want you to pursue your goals. I want to see you increase your skills so that you can make more money. I don’t want you to become stagnant. I want you to focus on increasing your income. I want you to always get better. I want to see you strive for more. I never want to see you settle.

Why’s there such a debate here?

I believe that people swing too far in each direction.

• You don’t have to be a miser to save money. It’s okay to buy coffee and pay for a decent haircut.
• You don’t have to work long hours to make money. You can find ways to get more out of your time so that you can increase your income.

We have all read some extreme case study about a guy who lives in a van to save money. We all also know about the millionaire who spent all of their money. These are two extreme scenarios. You don’t have to swing too far in either direction.

I just want you to make more money. I want you to get ahead faster. I want you to make some big moves in your 20s so that you don’t spend your 30s wondering where you went wrong.

I save money without sacrificing on my life today. I’ve gone through phases of extreme frugality. That came out of necessity since I was a college student. I save up like mad when I want to travel or spoil myself. I also know the value of treating yourself and setting financial priorities.

I’m assuming for the sake of this article that you’re deciding between working more or trying to cut down to the bone. Please don’t give up on life to save up for some magical day down the road. Use your new income as an excuse to beef up your savings, pay off your debt, and to enjoy your life a little more.

Here are a few simple ways that I save money to simplify the whole process:

• I pay myself first bi-weekly. I put money aside. This is negotiable. I’ve already told you about forced savings.
• If I want to travel I stay in for a decent amount of time before the trip. A simple idea. Sometimes you have to go after the low hanging fruit.
• I don’t get sucked into the newest trends.
• I don’t buy crap I don’t need to. I’m sorry, but you don’t need that.
• I keep things simple. I love to train, travel, and focus on creating. I don’t care about impressing strangers with my newest shoes. I don’t care about having the most expensive wardrobe. I would rather experience things.

Get out there and make more money. Don’t complain about the economy or about how life isn’t fair. Don’t post another useless meme out there. Do something productive for once.