154 | Nobody Is Coming to Save You

Many lawyers view their financial situation as something that just happens to them. They treat their finances as if they’re powerless to change them and have to just do what they can to survive.

But if you don’t change your finances, no one is going to do it for you.

In this episode, let’s talk about the power that you have to change your own finances and the kind of change you want to be seeing with your money month after month.

• the view that many lawyers have of their finances
• the LinkedIn post that inspired this episode
• my story of changing what I could change with my finances
• why you have everything you need to change your finances now
• what not to do with your money each month
• creating a plan to achieve your financial goals

n/a

If you’re ready to learn the mindset and strategies to master your money, let’s schedule a call.

You’re listening to Wealthyesque. We are a community of lawyers who believe that true wealth is having control of our time. I’m Rho Thomas, and as a busy wife, mom, and former Biglaw associate, I know all too well the tension between the culture of the legal profession and pretty much everything else you want to do in life. That’s why each week, I’m bringing you the information and tools you need to improve your money mindset and manage your money to create true wealth. Because ultimately, it’s not about the money. It’s about the freedom and flexibility the money affords.

Hey, friend. Welcome back to the show. I hope you’re doing well and having an amazing day so far. So today, we are talking about the power that you have to change your financial situation, I plan to call this episode, nobody is coming to save you. Because there is this pervasive thought, this perspective, this mindset, that we have to just wait for some change to happen, or for someone to do something for us to improve our finances. And I got the inspiration for this episode from a comment that I received on one of my LinkedIn posts. So I posted on LinkedIn about being grateful to all the different past versions of myself, including the one who got into a bunch of student loan debt, and the one who paid it all off. And so it was almost half a million dollars of student loans between my husband and me. And one of the comments on that post was talking about how like the interest rates on student loans are so outrageous, and it’s not about us accepting responsibility is about us just surviving in this system that’s been created for us. And I told this person, I feel you, right, my student loans had six point A and 7.9% interest rates, my husband had one that was like 9%. But even so like, even if the student loan rates are just outrageous and whatever else, I’m not content to just survive in the system, I didn’t want to just survive, I wasn’t waiting for somebody to come and do something about it, I didn’t believe that the government would do something about it. And so we decided that we would do what was within our power to change our financial situation. And I think a lot of people think about finances, the way that this person does, that there’s nothing that I can do about it, this is just the way it is I just have to survive in the system and the situation that I’m in and play the cards that I was dealt. But that’s not true. You don’t have to just survive, you have the ability to thrive, you’re a whole lawyer, you’re smart, you have accomplished things that other people wish they could do. You have everything that you need to improve your finances. Now, even if nothing changes with the student loans, or with the economy or with the interest rates, or whatever else, you can use the money that you’re already making better, you can use the skills that you already have to bring in more money. And then when you bring in that money, you don’t just go spend it on stuff, you use it to put yourself in a better financial position. I was just telling someone this recently, like we’re not making money, just to make money and buy stuff. Don’t get me wrong, stuff is nice. I like to buy stuff too. But there’s a balance, don’t look up at the end of the month with nothing to show for all the work that you put in this month, you put in a lot of time at work, you get paid for that time, then use that money to improve your financial situation, don’t just have a bunch of stuff. And you’re still in the same place that you were in at the beginning of the month. Don’t get in this cycle that a lot of people find themselves in where they make money. But then all of it goes to paying their bills and buying stuff and going out to eat and whatever else. And you’re in the same position or worse at the end of the month. I want your net worth to be higher at the end of this month. I want your net worth to be higher at the end of this year. I want you to use the money you’re making to improve yourself financially. Because here’s the thing. Nobody’s coming to save you. It’s all on you. You have to do the work to create the finances that you want. Sure some people have been able to get their student loans forgiven and that’s great and all, but that’s not going to be everybody’s story and beyond student loans. What about credit card debt? There’s no forgiveness for that. What about your savings? Are you in a position where you can handle an emergency if one comes up What’s happening with your money each month? Where is your money going? Is it helping you build wealth for yourself and your family? Or is it going to build someone else’s wealth? are you improving your finances every month? Are you seeing your debt fall? Or is it rising every month? Are you seeing your net worth increasing? Do you know what your net worth is? I want you to know these things for yourself. And I want you to feel like you’re in control of your finances, I want you to know that the efforts that you’re putting in each month are leading you to better finances at the end of that month, that the efforts that you’re putting in are compounding over time, leading you to success with your finances, leading you to the goals that you have. It’s not just some pie in the sky dream, like, oh, I want to have a million dollars one day, what’s your plan to do that? Because you could absolutely do it. What’s your plan, you have to take control and do the things that are within your power to change your financial situation, to make those things happen for yourself. You can’t just sit back and wait for somebody to come and save you because they’re not coming. So we’re not treading water any longer. We’re not just staying stagnant with our finances, doing the same things over and over again, expecting different results. I don’t want you to just stay the same year after year, because this is just the way it is. And this is the situation that was created for me and I just have to deal with it. You have everything that you need to save yourself. So what are you doing to fix your situation? If you don’t know what to do, or if you don’t have a plan, I’ll help you. I’ll take you through exactly what my husband and I did to pay off almost $500,000 of student loans. And to build our net worth from negative six figures to positive six figures. All you have to do is schedule a call at rho thomas.com/call. And let’s talk about how we can work together. But you are too smart and make too much to be staying stuck in the same place. Something needs to change. All right, you got this and if you don’t reach out for help. All right. That is it for this week’s episode. Come connect with me over on social media. You can find me most often on LinkedIn, rho Thomas, and Instagram at I am rho Thomas. Subscribe to the show and leave a review both of which helped more people to find it. And please think of a friend or two who could use this information and share the episode with them. As we close out friend, I pray that you take the information you learn here, apply it in your life and open up to the realization that wealth is available to you. As you do that consistently week after week. You’ll continue to take steps to regain control of your time, build wealth, and live the life of freedom and choice you deserve. Talk to you later.