You can make six figures, have the career, take the vacations, pay your bills and still quietly wonder:

Where is all my money going?

Maybe you thought earning more would finally make you feel financially secure.

But now you’re asking yourself if you should have more saved, whether you’re investing enough, why unexpected expenses still throw you off, or why managing money feels harder than it should at this point in your life.

In this episode of Money with Saprina, I’m talking about why a high income and financial security are not the same thing.

I know this personally.

I was the first person in my family to go to college. I built the corporate career. I became a six-figure earner.

And I still ended up with $36,000 in credit card debt.

What I eventually learned was that earning money and intentionally managing money are two completely different skills.

And a lot of women were taught how to build the career and increase their income without ever being taught what to do once the money started coming in.

In this episode, we talk about how to give your money direction without creating another restrictive budget or depending on yourself to suddenly become more disciplined.

• Why making more money doesn’t automatically create financial security
• Why successful women can still feel confused or behind with money
• How family responsibilities, guilt, fear and expectations affect your financial decisions
• Why shame makes it harder to solve money problems
• The three questions I use with my financial coaching clients to create clarity
• How to decide what you actually want your money to do
• Why your financial goals should reflect the life you’re trying to build
• How automation can help you stop relying on discipline and willpower
• Why discipline makes a terrible money management system

1. Where is my money actually going today?

Not where you think it goes. Not where it should go. What is actually happening?

2. What do I want my money to do for me?

Pay off debt? Build an emergency fund? Invest for retirement? Help your kids? Give you the freedom to leave a job? Let you enjoy your life now?

You get to decide.

3. What can I put on autopilot?

Your financial future shouldn’t depend on whether you feel disciplined on a random Thursday.

Automate the things that matter.

Savings. Investments. Bills. Debt payments. Financial goals.

Build the system so your money keeps moving in the right direction without requiring you to constantly make another decision.

If you’re making good money but still feel like your finances don’t match the income you’ve worked so hard to earn, this is exactly the work I do with my private coaching clients.

Together, we look at where your money is going, decide what you want it to do, and build a personalized financial system that helps you pay off debt, save, invest and enjoy your money without constantly wondering if you’re doing enough.

Instagram: @ItsSaprina
Email : [email protected]

Money with Saprina is for women building careers, wealth and lives that look different from the ones they grew up with. We talk about debt, spending, investing, financial systems and the real-life stuff that comes with getting your money together when you’re the first in your family to do it.

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In this episode of Money with Saprina, we’re taking value-based spending one step further and figuring out your actual financial values.

Because “family, freedom, security and health” might be your values, but they’re usually not specific enough to tell you what deserves more room in your budget and what doesn’t.

I’m walking you through the same questions I use with my 1:1 coaching clients to uncover what they genuinely value based on how they want to live, the purchases they’ve loved, the ones they regret and the patterns hiding underneath both.

We’ll talk about:

• The difference between personal values and financial values
• Why value-based spending requires trade-offs
• How to use an imaginary extra $1,000 to uncover what you value
• What your favorite purchases can teach you about your money
• Why spending regrets are just as useful
• How to identify patterns in your spending
• How to choose your three “working financial values”
• A simple 30-day experiment to see whether your spending actually reflects those values

By the end of the episode, you’ll be able to complete this sentence:

Because I value ______, I’m willing to spend more money on ______ and less money on ______.

That’s where your financial values become useful.

Your financial values aren’t the things you think you should spend money on. They’re the things you intentionally make room for in your budget, even when making room for them means saying no to something else.

And they’re allowed to change.

Different seasons of your life can require different things from your money.

🎧 Listen to the episode, grab your notes app or journal and identify your three working financial values for the next 30 days.

Money with Saprina is a personal finance podcast about budgeting, spending, saving, debt, investing and building a financial life that actually feels like yours.

If you’re making good money but still feel like your finances don’t match the life you’re trying to build, apply for 1:1 coaching with me.

👉 Schedule your coaching consultation

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What happens if you miss your next paycheck? What about two or three?

Earlier this year, I was laid off from my corporate job. It was scary, but one thing kept me from spiraling: I had spent years building a financial safety net.

With Black women’s unemployment rising and so much uncertainty around the economy, I’ve been thinking a lot about what we can control.

We can’t control layoffs. We can’t control the economy. But we can start building something underneath us.

In this bonus episode, I’m sharing why I created Own Your Seat, my free 6-week savings challenge, and exactly what we’ll be doing together.

We’re not trying to save some arbitrary amount of money. And I’m definitely not telling you to stop buying coffee.

Instead, we’re going to look for money that’s already moving through your life and find realistic ways to keep more of it.

Every week, we’ll focus on one specific Money Hunt. We’ll look at forgotten subscriptions, bills you can negotiate, refunds and money you may have missed, food you’ve already paid for, and more.

The goal is simple:

Find it. Automate it. Move it. Count it.

Own Your Seat starts September 14 and it’s completely free.

Claim your seat: JOIN THE CHALLENGE  

Because we may not own the table yet. But we can own our seat.

If you’re making good money but still feel like your finances don’t match the life you’re trying to build, apply for 1:1 coaching with me.

👉 Schedule your coaching consultation

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For a long time, I thought being good with money meant being frugal.

Cut the subscriptions. Skip the latte. Do it yourself. Find the cheaper option.

And for a season, I needed that. I was in debt and trying to change my financial situation. But eventually I realized something: I wasn’t working this hard to get my money together just so I could spend as little as possible for the rest of my life.

The goal isn’t to spend less. The goal is to know where your money is going and choose where it goes on purpose.

In this episode, we’re talking about value-based spending and how I went from restrictive budgeting to intentionally spending more on the things that actually add color to my life.

I’m breaking down:

• Why frugality can be a useful season without becoming your entire financial identity
• What cutting almost everything from my budget taught me about what I actually value
• Why I’ll happily spend $500 on travel but say no to plenty of other things
• How to tell the difference between spending you genuinely value and spending that’s just there by default
• My cupcake method for thinking about your spending: the cake, frosting, sprinkles, and cherry on top
• A simple exercise to identify your own financial values

Your money check-in for this week: If you could spend your discretionary money in only three areas, what would you choose?

Not what you should choose. What would you genuinely miss if it disappeared?

Because being good with money isn’t about spending as little as possible.

It’s about knowing where your money is going and choosing where it goes instead of letting it happen by default.

Next week, I’m walking you through the exact system I use with my private coaching clients to identify their financial values.

Work With me

If you’re making good money but still feel like your finances don’t match the life you’re trying to build, apply for 1:1 coaching with me.

👉 Schedule your coaching consultation

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In this episode

• Why I stopped asking "was I good with money this month" and started asking a completely different question
• What changes when your income goes from $24K a year to $200K to a full-time pay cut in your own business — and why looser cash flow makes it easier to get disconnected from your spending, not harder
• My actual month-end process: reconciling in Monarch Money, why I still hand-transfer totals into a spreadsheet, making transfers between my four accounts, and paying my credit card in full every month
• The three questions, one at a time: where did my money go, am I happy with where it went, and where do I want it to go next
• Scoring my spending 1–10 — and why that number is an evaluation, not a grade
• The $80 tote bag I bought because it sold out, not because I needed it
• The $20,000 car I didn't want to buy but absolutely needed to — and why that's not the same thing as a bad decision
• What Marie Kondo's "does it spark joy" question gets wrong about your budget (hint: the spatula)
• The one question your whole month-end process is really trying to answer

Grab the freebie

I built a companion worksheet for this exact process — The New Money Month-End Close. It walks you through all three questions with space to actually write your answers, plus the reminder I want you to read every single month: your spending is data, not a verdict.

Download The New Money Month-End Close 

Loved this episode?

Subscribe to Money with Saprina so you don't miss the next one, and if it hit home, send it to the friend who's been beating herself up over last month's spending. She needs to hear this isn't a verdict either.

If you’re making good money but still feel like your finances don’t match the life you’re trying to build, apply for 1:1 coaching with me.

👉 Schedule your coaching consultation

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You know what you’re supposed to do with your money.

You’ve read the books. You’ve listened to the podcasts. You know you should budget, save, pay down debt, and stop spending money you didn’t plan to spend.

So why is it still so hard to actually do it?

In this episode, I’m talking about the piece of money management we don’t talk about enough: self-trust.

For years, I thought becoming “good with money” happened because I hit my financial rock bottom. But looking back, the crisis wasn’t what changed me. It forced me to make a decision.

What changed me was everything I did afterward.

Opening my accounts instead of avoiding them. Keeping the spending promises I made to myself. Telling myself the truth when I didn’t. And doing those small things over and over until I had something I’d never had before: proof that I could trust myself with money.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why knowing what to do and actually doing it are two different skills
• How keeping small promises builds financial self-trust
• The difference between saying you’re good with money and becoming someone who is
• Why your promises need to survive your worst days, not just your best ones
• What to do when you break a promise to yourself
• Why one mistake doesn’t erase the track record you’re building

The takeaway: Self-trust isn’t something you wait to feel. You build it. One kept promise at a time.

If you know what to do with your money but you’re struggling to consistently do it, you don’t necessarily need more information. You may need accountability and support while you build a new track record.

Ready for support? Book a consultation call to learn more about working with me 1:1.

https://calendly.com/hermoneyaudit/coaching-consultation

If you’re making good money but still feel like your finances don’t match the life you’re trying to build, apply for 1:1 coaching with me.

👉 Schedule your coaching consultation

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You did what you were supposed to do. The career took off, the paycheck got bigger  and somehow you're still living in the same debt cycle, still one surprise expense away from a spiral. That gap between what you earn and how secure you actually feel isn't a discipline problem. In this episode, Saprina breaks down the seven mistakes that quietly keep high earners stuck, and what to do instead.

In this episode:

• (01:00) Confusing income with wealth. Income is what you earn. Wealth is what you keep. Someone making $250K with no savings and a mountain of debt can be less secure than someone making $80K who's been building assets.
• (01:30) Lifestyle inflation. The raise comes in and instead of buying breathing room, you buy obligations. Enjoy your money — just make sure your lifestyle is funded by your wealth, not your future income.
• (02:20) Treating debt like it's normal. Affording the payment isn't the same as financial health. Debt isn't good or bad, it's expensive or cheap — and the real question is what it's costing you.
• (03:00) Having no money system. Discipline is a terrible budgeting tool. Saprina shares why saving "whatever's left at the end of the month" never worked for her either.
• (03:20) Ignoring your net worth. If income is the only number you track, you're missing the story. How to calculate what you actually own after everything you owe.
• (04:15) Waiting to feel ready to invest. You won't. Your brain reads unfamiliar as unsafe even when it's good for you — and time is the asset you can't get back.
• (05:05) Building income without building financial skills. Making more without learning to manage it is filling a bucket with holes in it.

The takeaway: If you saw yourself in any of these, your income is the advantage — you're not starting from scratch. You're building the system that turns it into wealth.

Next step: If you're tired of wondering where your money went and ready to build a plan for where it should go, book a consultation call — link below.

https://bit.ly/45WJmbO

Share this with the friend who makes good money and still feels behind.

If you’re making good money but still feel like your finances don’t match the life you’re trying to build, apply for 1:1 coaching with me.

👉 Schedule your coaching consultation

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You hit the income number you once called your "I made it" number. The promotion came. The paycheck came. From the outside, you look like you are winning.

But behind the scenes, you are juggling credit card debt, lifestyle inflation, and monthly payments you never quite get ahead of. And every month you wonder the same thing. How am I making this much money and still feeling this far behind?

In this episode of Money with Saprina, we get honest about the biggest trap high earners fall into. The belief that more money automatically means more security. It doesn't. Your income and your wealth are two completely different things, and one does not turn into the other on its own.

Saprina breaks down why the "I just need to make more money" fix keeps failing. If managing $80,000 feels overwhelming, managing $280,000 will not feel easier. It will feel bigger. Raising your income without changing your systems does not solve the problem. It scales it.

This one is for the woman everyone assumes is good with money because she has the career and the title. The one who is quietly exhausted from living the same money month over and over again.

Your problem is not that you are not making enough. Your problem is that your system has not caught up to your income yet.

Links and Resources

Book your free coaching consultation call: [https://calendly.com/hermoneyaudit/coaching-consultation]

Connect with Saprina

Instagram: @ItsSaprina
TikTok: @ItsSaprina
YouTube: @ItsSaprina

Loved this episode? Follow the show, leave a review, and send it to the friend who looks like she has it all together with money.

If you’re making good money but still feel like your finances don’t match the life you’re trying to build, apply for 1:1 coaching with me.

👉 Schedule your coaching consultation

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Getting a raise should feel good. So why does your budget still feel tight?

In this episode:

• What lifestyle inflation actually is, and why it isn't automatically a bad thing
• The three real causes of lifestyle creep: "I deserve it" thinking, social comparison, and spending on autopilot
• Why housing and transportation are the two areas of your budget that spiral fastest, and are hardest to walk back
• Subscription blindness, and how an extra $5, $10, and $20 charge quietly becomes an extra $389 a month
• The rideshare test: how to calculate your own lifestyle inflation rate and compare it to your salary growth
• Saprina's personal rule of thumb for allocating raises and bonuses between savings and lifestyle

If this episode gave you something to think about, share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you're ready to stop guessing and actually build a system for your money, book a free Coaching Consultation Call

Join me on Instagram or TikTok

If you’re making good money but still feel like your finances don’t match the life you’re trying to build, apply for 1:1 coaching with me.

👉 Schedule your coaching consultation

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70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, including 1 in 10 who make six figures. Saprina breaks down what living paycheck to paycheck actually means, why it is not always a budgeting problem, and the exact steps to build your buffer and break the cycle.

You make good money. So why does it still feel like you are one bill away from a crisis?

In this episode, Saprina defines what living paycheck to paycheck really means, and why it is not always about poor budgeting. For a lot of people, it is wages not keeping up with the cost of living. For others, it is a cash flow issue with one thing in common: no safety net.

Saprina breaks down the exact system for getting out of the cycle, starting with knowing your real numbers, telling the difference between fixed and variable expenses, building a spending plan before payday hits, and starting your emergency fund buffer even if you can only start with $100.

What you'll learn:

• The real definition of living paycheck to paycheck, and the simple stress test to know if it applies to you
• Why 1 in 10 people earning over $100,000 a year are still living paycheck to paycheck
• The difference between fixed expenses and variable expenses, and the test to tell them apart
• How to track your spending even if you have never done it before
• How to build a spending plan that gives every dollar a job before payday
• Why you should never try to save a full 6 month emergency fund all at once
• What "the credit card float" is, and the one question that tells you if you're doing it

Key moments:

• What it actually means to live paycheck to paycheck
• The stress test: could you cover your bills if your paycheck stopped today
• Fixed vs variable expenses, and why your nail appointment is not a fixed bill
• How to track your spending when you have no idea where your money goes
• Building your spending plan and giving every dollar a job
• Starting your buffer without needing a full emergency fund on day one
• The credit card float, and how to know if you're doing it

Ready to stop guessing with your money? Book your free Coaching Consultation Call and let's build a system you can trust. https://calendly.com/hermoneyaudit/coaching-consultation

If you’re making good money but still feel like your finances don’t match the life you’re trying to build, apply for 1:1 coaching with me.

👉 Schedule your coaching consultation