Escape the Salary Trap

First: stop confusing income with wealth. A $200,000 salary is income. $50,000 in savings

and investments is wealth. One disappears if you stop working. The other stays.

Second: protect the gap. Keep your expenses intentionally lower than your income—even

when you earn more. Third: redirect that gap into assets that work for you, not obligations

that work against you. And most importantly: build optionality. The moment you have

three to six months of expenses saved, something shifts psychologically. You negotiate differently.

You take smarter risks. You stop accepting situations that don’t serve you.

The goal isn’t just to earn more. The goal is to no longer need the paycheck.