One of the first questions I ask my clients in a coaching session is,

“What is the salary range you’re hoping for in your next role?”

Most people don’t take too long answering this question.

However, my follow up question causes ALL my clients to pause.

Here’s what it is.

“If you were handed the opportunity of your dreams with a big upward trajectory, what is the lowest salary you’d be willing to accept today?”

Very few clients have an answer to this question right away.

Here’s why I ask that question…

Most of my clients have done very well professionally, but aren’t happy in their current position or the company environment. The reason they’re working with me is to discover what type of work they could do next that will make Mondays the most exciting day of the week.

Sometimes this means taking a step “backwards” to go forwards in the right direction.

For some clients it’s about gaining more ownership by joining a startup with the opportunity to grow with the business, but taking a lower salary to start.

Or sometimes it means switching careers and taking a pay cut at first to build up experience.

This isn’t always the case, most of my clients land roles with a pay increase due to our work, but I ask this question because I need to understand the boundaries of the job search. And finances are a major constraint in the process.

I’ll never forget a client I worked with who had just been laid off after making $200K+ per year in sales.

As we worked together, he discovered that he didn’t want to go back to his original role in sales but wanted to pivot to corporate training. With excitement and purpose we started designing his job search in this direction.

Then we hit a big snag. The opportunities he started to uncover would have meant a 40-50% pay cut until he built up more experience in this area.

This was a problem.

Given his personal financial constraints this move wasn’t possible. As a result, he decided to go back to sales.

The upside of this story was that he discovered the type of work that made him feel excited about Mondays all over again. He now has a long-term strategic direction to focus his work, networking and future career prospects.

The downside was that he couldn’t make the investment right now due to his financial situation.

Now, as a parent, I get this. Costs go up the more people your salary is supporting.

But if you’re in a position to live lean, living well below your means now will always open up more interesting opportunities for you in the future.

This has played out in my own life.

When I left my role as a management consultant to join my business partner as Co-Founder, I didn’t get paid for the first eight months while we built v1 of the platform and raised our seed round.

If my husband and I hadn’t had a clear understanding of our finances, we wouldn’t have been able to make this work and I wouldn’t have said yes to this opportunity.

One of the most powerful tools we used during this season was our finance date night. Now that may not sound like the most exciting date night topic to you, but we started to think it was pretty awesome.

Why? Well, it gave us an opportunity to dream together, track progress and celebrate every time we achieved a financial goal.

Every date we did three things:

1. We looked at what we spent last month compared to what we budgeted for and talked about the areas that were either under or over.
2. We made our budget for the upcoming month, giving us time to talk about what to expect and debate how we’d spend our discretionary money.
3. We checked in on our financial plan for the year to make sure our savings goals were on track for that vacation, saving for property taxes or for retirement etc.

This practice not only helped us manage our money and avoid debt during a lean season, but it helped us say yes to exciting career opportunities knowing the experience would benefit our family in the future.

And the practice stuck.

So whether you’re in a lean season - investing for the future. Or if you’re in a season of abundance but want to create optionality for yourself in the future, my advice to you is the same.

Get a clear handle on your personal finances.

Budget, live below your means, save and get out of debt. Future you will not only thank you, but run back in time and throw their arms around your neck in gratitude.

If this practice is new to you, that’s okay. Great money management skills can be learned - it just takes time and commitment. You’re not supposed to be great at it right away.

So whether you’re a pro or just starting out, I’d like to share my favorite budgeting app with you. This is the app my family uses and we love it. It’s transformed our money conversations over the years.

It’s called EveryDollar. Oh and this isn't a sponsorship, just one professional sharing a recommendation with another.

If you do download EveryDollar and start a Finance Date Night, could you tell me?

I’d love to hear your feedback.

In the meantime, I’m cheering you on!

Until next week,

Beckie

When you’re ready, here are 2 ways I can help…

1. ​Transform your career in 2025: Join the waitlist for my signature coaching program and get exclusive FREE content from me now to start making moves in your career.
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