Episode Details

There is a peculiar thing that happens when a woman begins making very good money.

The house gets bigger. The car gets nicer. The kitchen that seemed charming at $150,000 a year becomes an intolerable human-rights violation at $500,000.

None of it feels reckless. She can afford every payment.

She just can’t stop working.

This is the crux high earners run into on their path to building work optional wealth— The loan officer will tell you that you can afford the home. The dealership will tell you that you can have the car. It turns out everyone is thrilled to help you spend all of your income.

But the math that you begin calculating becomes VERY different when you decide to have two things:

* Work optional wealth for the future AND

* An extraordinary lifestyle NOW

My husband and I are considering buying a multimillion dollar home, and today I am breaking down what I’m doing after joyously perusing shimmering pools on Zillow, to calculate the less photogenic realities: property taxes, insurance, landscaping, maintenance— and how much future income the house will require.

Because Zillow tells you what it costs to buy the house. It does not tell you what kind of life you’ll need to maintain to keep it.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

* Createa deep understanding of what is “affordable” based on your current income and the wealth you intend to build (not the debt someone will approve!)

* Calculate the four different costs hidden inside every big purchase you make that extend FAR beyond the purchase price

* Evaluate a house, car or lifestyle upgrade against your work-optional goal

* Distinguish intentional lifestyle expansion from the perfectly respectable spending that keeps high earners working forever

* Know when spending more will enrich your life—and when the wiser answer is not yet

The goal is not to keep your life small.

It is to build enough wealth that your life can become gloriously, intentionally large—without costing you your freedom.

🥂 Craving luxurious support on your journey to creating Work Optional Wealth? Explore private mentorship and ways to work together here:Work with Me Here

📖 Head here for a curated collection of essays on wealth:The Arete Salon: The Art of Wealth Collection

🎤 Media inquiries, keynote speaking, podcast interviews, and collaborations:Media & Speaking Requests

💌 Join the House of Arete Substack for weekly essays and audio drops on wealth, marriage, motherhood, sensuality, and the art of Apex Living:House of Arete on Substack

🎧 Enjoyed this podcast?Subscribe above, drop a comment with your biggest takeaway, and share it with the women you know are meant for the apex of life, wealth, love, and freedom.