Am I Financially Ready to Change Careers?

You make good money. You’ve built a career. You may have strong benefits, a title you worked hard for, and a life that looks successful on paper. But you’re tired. And maybe you keep thinking: I cannot do this for another 20 years. Then comes the next thought: But I can’t leave. I make too much money. In this episode of She’s Talkin’ Money, I’m breaking down what it actually takes to make a career change in your 40s without blowing up your financial life — and why changing careers does not necessarily mean replacing your current salary dollar for dollar. We’re talking about how to figure out what your life actually costs, how much income you really need, and why your current high salary may be the very thing that helps fund your exit. I’ll walk through how to test-drive a lower income before making a move, how to build a freedom fund, how to think about a sabbatical, and why having enough money to live on is not the same thing as having enough money to launch a business or fund your next chapter. We’ll also talk about the parts of compensation people often overlook — health insurance, retirement benefits, bonuses, equity, PTO, and other benefits — and why comparing salaries alone can give you the wrong answer. In this episode, you’ll learn: how to figure out what it really costs to be you why you may not need to replace your current salary how to practice living on a lower income before you leave how to build a financial runway while you still have a paycheck the difference between an emergency fund and a freedom fund how to think about taking a sabbatical what to consider if you want to start a business when a lower-paying job may actually make financial sense how to compare total compensation, not just salary and the signs that you may not be ready to make the move yet Career freedom does not mean having enough money to never work again. It means having enough money, flexibility, and planning that your current job is not your only option. Your job should not own the next 20 years of your life just because it pays well. If you’re ready for personalized, judgment-free financial guidance, learn more about working with Shari. Shari Rash is the founder of GWA Wealth, a virtual advisory firm helping women make confident, values-aligned decisions with their money. Visit GWA Wealth to explore your next step. Talkin’ Points → where your money gets smarter. Real talk, practical tips, zero guilt straight to your inbox. Sign up here. Be sure to like and follow the show on your favorite podcast app! Keep the conversation going on Instagram @shestalkinmoney Shari Rash is a financial planner and Investment Adviser Representative of GWA Wealth, a Registered Investment Adviser. This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not personalized investment, tax, or legal advice. Nothing discussed should be considered a recommendation, and listening does not create an advisory relationship. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Please consult your own financial, tax, or legal professional before making decisions based on your individual circumstances. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

• 0:01Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration blog, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required. Compatibility and availability varies 18 plus.

• 0:26Speaker 01

  They're running a cover two defense, but you're running to get game day deals on Uber Eats. Keep everyone at tonight's watch party fed with deals from your go-to restaurants, or stock up with deals on your favorite snacks and groceries. Whatever the occasion, get game day deals on Uber Eats all season long. It's not football without food. Uber Eats, order now. Terms apply. Product availability varies by region. See app for details.

• 0:57Speaker 02

  This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Football has a play for just about everything. You can go deep, keep it on the ground, or draw up something nobody sees coming. And whether you want to run a flea flicker or the tush push, you need a plan to fit your unique situation. That's why State Farm takes the time to get to know you so they can help personalize coverage for your life and budget. Now that's a solid game plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

• 1:25Speaker 03

  You make good money. You've built a career. You may have good benefits. You have a title you worked hard for and a life that looks pretty successful on paper, but you're tired. And maybe you keep thinking, I cannot do this for another 20 years. I don't even know if I can do this for another five years. And then almost immediately comes the next thought, but I can't leave. I make too much money. Or I have student loans. What on earth would I do? My job has been my identity. So today, we're talking about what it actually takes to make a career change in your 40s without blowing up your financial life. And why changing careers does not necessarily mean

• 2:07Speaker 03

  replacing your current salary, dollar for dollar. Welcome to She's Talkin Money. I'm Shari, financial planner, founder of GWA Wealth. And after 20 years in personal finance, I've seen just how much the bad, generic, one-size-fits-all money advice women are expected to follow can sometimes do more harm than good. This show is for women who are doing well on paper, but still have questions about what to do next with their money. We're going to talk about investing, taxes, retirement, spending, saving, and the decisions that don't always have one obvious right answer. I'm going to give you honest advice, explain things in a way that actually makes sense, and challenge some of the financial rules

• 2:52Speaker 03

  you've probably heard your entire life without shaming you for what you've done, what you haven't done, or what you're still figuring out. So if you make good money, but want to feel a whole lot clearer about what to do with it, you are in the right place. This is She's Talkin Money.

• 3:14Speaker 03

  Okay, so let's first ask the question, why do you want to leave? Do you hate the career? Or do you just hate the company? Do you want to work fewer hours? Do you want less stress, more flexibility? Do you want to take a sabbatical? Is this job or career not really what you thought it was going to be? Are you exhausted? Would you like a lower pressure role? Do you want to start a business? Do you want to completely change industries? Like, what is the reason? What is the motivating factor here? And here's the big question. What do you want to do instead? We don't need your whole future just to be figured out.

• 3:56Speaker 03

  Like, we don't need the answer to every single question, but I want out is not enough. We need more than that. So we have to get to the root of what exactly is going on. Because when you get to the root of what's going on, you then are more likely to not repeat the same issues in your next career, your next job, this next phase of life. When I sit down with clients that are having this like breakdown or breakthrough, whatever you want to call it, when they're like, I can't be in this job for the next 20 years. How much do I need to get out? Or can I afford to change jobs?

• 4:41Speaker 03

  And same thing with like, I want to retire. Can I afford to retire? Because we are put, you know, the headlines are put in front of us. This is how much money you need to retire. Or like last episode, this is how much money you need to have by 40, by 50. And so we just want like the dollar amounts. Like, how much do I need to have in order to make this reality? It's a simple question, but it doesn't create a simple answer. Because what I need to know is, what does your life actually cost? How much does it cost to be you? To run your household, to have your family? Whatever it is, what does it cost to be you? So how much are you spending right now?

• 5:26Speaker 03

  And how much of that spending is actually needs-based spending? And going forward, how much of your spending is going to be needs? Like, what is going to happen in your life over the next few years that could potentially change how much your needs spending is? What are your fixed expenses? So what are some of the things you have that cannot change? How much do you actually need to live comfortably? When I'm working with my clients, I talk a lot about needs versus wants. So what is your needs-based spending? And what is your wants spending? And ideally, your needs spending has some lifestyle enhancements built in.

• 6:11Speaker 03

  So the going out to dinner, maybe once a week, or running through the drive-through once a week,

• 6:18Speaker 03

  getting your hair done, maybe getting your nails done. Whatever it is, there is the needs. That stuff is built in. Not every added expense, not every extravagance is built into the need spending, but some of it is. Because when you enter a period of your life where you have to pare back a little bit, you can then just remove the wants. Remove the wants, so then you know how much you actually need to live comfortably. And the answer is, those are my needs. It still has some quality of life stuff built in there, but I can live and be comfortable on my needs spending.

• 7:00Speaker 03

  I don't feel like I'm living off of ramen and going without everything. That's the big difference. And that's where a lot of people get tripped up because they think of their need spending as just like basic necessities. And then they say, well, here are my basic necessities. This is what I need. And then it happens. And they're like, this is no way to live. This sucks. And then they question all of their decisions and maybe go back into the career that they wanted to get out of because they don't feel comfortable in this new life. So looking at your spending, what is a need? What is a want? But slipping some of that stuff in there

• 7:43Speaker 03

  that some people, some talking heads may call wants, but we're doing it for quality of life. So that coffee once a week, running through the drive-through once a week, whatever it is, getting your hair done every couple of months, slip some of that stuff in there too, so we have some quality of life. If you're earning $200,000 right now, you may assume you need another $200,000 a year job because you're not looking at what you spend. You're looking at just what you're earning. Maybe you don't. Maybe you could make $120,000 a year and be perfectly comfortable and fine. So that's understanding where your money is going and what does it cost to be you. By doing that, that shows us what income

• 8:28Speaker 03

  you actually need to support the life you want. Now, we do want to build into this income continuing to save. So we don't want to just say, well, X amount is my need spending, so that's all I need for income. No, we still want to have some spending too. But if we look at your needs income, that's going to point us in a really strong direction of how much do we need in this new job or as we make this transition. I have clients that quit their job, did not have a plan, and they're living off of their savings. But they're living off of their, they're using their needs expenses to live off of their savings. So their savings is lasting a whole lot longer than what they actually thought

• 9:13Speaker 03

  because they just said, well, if I make $100,000 a year, I need $100,000 and my savings is $100,000, so that lasts me a year. Maybe, maybe not. But if you look at, well, my need spending is actually $50,000 a year, now your savings of $100,000 actually lasts you two years. There's more to it because then we need to figure out, like, do we want to have no cash? You know, after two years, no. We probably do want to have cash, so we need to go back to work a little bit sooner. But again, we need to have some math behind these decisions. The emotional decision is the first thing. I can't live like this for the, you know, for 20 more years? Great, now let's assign some math to it. Here's a big one.

• 9:57Speaker 03

  Let's practice this new income before you make the move. So if you make $200,000, but you think your needs plus a little lifestyle is $120,000 a year, let's test it out. Let's start living on that needs-based amount while you still have the higher salary. And what are you doing? You are banking the difference. You are saving all of it. And what can that savings go towards? It can go towards, if you're buying a business, it can go towards that transition period. Your future self is going to be very grateful. So now, as you're going to work every day and you're like, oh my gosh, I'm miserable, but you're also telling us, you're telling yourself, this is the means to the end.

• 10:41Speaker 03

  This is how I can make this transition. I'm performing a little experiment right now. I need to see how much money I need to live on. Before I make this transition, I need to learn whether this lower income is actually realistic. I need to see what my lifestyle is going to be like. So we need to figure out what life changes you would need to make. And it's a lot better to have this experiment while you're still making the $200,000 a year versus I quit my job, I'm making nothing. Now I need to make the lifestyle decisions. Any decisions you make when you have no money coming in is automatically going to feel a little bit more stressful and a little bit

• 11:26Speaker 03

  more rushed. So building the plan while you still have the salary is huge. We cannot do this overnight. I met with a client yesterday and she was really the motivation for me to do this episode today because she's in a career that is draining. She's in therapy every week because of this career. It is draining her, but she has the student loans. She had like, this was what I went to school for. This is my identity. There's so much more to it, right? Like, I'm only 10 years out of school. How can I change careers already? Like, I'm in my 40s. This sounds crazy. And she mentioned to me like, two

• 12:10Speaker 03

  years. And I'm like, okay, well, we cannot do this overnight, right? We cannot make this change overnight. We need to plan. We need to have runway. So she makes $400,000 at least right now, right?

• 12:25Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration blog, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required compatibility and availability varies 18 plus.

• 12:51Speaker 03

  Any job she goes into after this, even if she stays in the same industry, she is not going to make that same amount of money. Because with that salary comes added stress, added pressure, all of that stuff. So like, she recognizes like, I'm not going to make this money in the future. So great, we need to save as much of it as we possibly can right now. We need to build up your cash. We need to build up your after-tax investments, build up your freedom fund, because that is what is going to fund your next chapter. We need to reduce your fixed expenses. So right now, you are living the life of someone

• 13:31Speaker 03

  that makes multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. We need to pare that back. We can't say yes to everything. We can't say yes to every dinner, every night out, every vacation. We just can't, right? We need to start changing our lifestyle now to save for future self. So then future self does have a quality of life. What's your health insurance going to look like? That's going to be a big expense. We need to start setting up what your next career is going to look like. We need to start networking. Maybe you start the side business now that then turns into the main business. So then, yeah, you're working really hard daytime, then nighttime, you're also working really

• 14:12Speaker 03

  hard because you're setting up this new hustle for yourself. Do you need to take classes or earn certifications? And then what's the cost associated with that? It's a good idea if going, starting your own business route is the next chapter, let's test it out before you're relying on it solely for your income. And then that's where we look at, again, it's the experiment of my current salary is funding this experiment is helping to fund the exit. And this is exactly why a freedom fund exists. The emergency fund is for when something goes wrong, right? It's put away with lock and key when something

• 14:51Speaker 03

  bad happens and we need cash on hand to pay for it. That's our emergency fund. A freedom fund gives you the option to choose something different. It gives you the ability to pivot in life. So then you don't feel stuck until you're 65 years old. You may need money for your living expenses during the transition, transition costs, money needed for the next opportunity, classes, schooling. Starting a business, having enough money to live on is not the same as having enough money to fund the business. So your freedom fund may have to serve a couple different purposes. That's the purpose of it. That's why we are

• 15:34Speaker 03

  saving into the freedom fund. An emergency fund is not enough. So as we're looking at this transition, more questions to ask. Are we taking six months off? So how long are you going to be without income? So are you, are you quitting, saying my, my cash is going to fund this period of time? And then I'll go into another job? Are you quitting then immediately job hunting? Are you taking a year to build your business? How long do you realistically expect to have little or no income? If your cash has a couple different purposes, to fund my lifestyle while I have little or no income, to help me start my

• 16:18Speaker 03

  business, how long is it going to last for? Look at, how much cash do I want to have when this journey is over, right? Do I want to have no cash? Then you may be able to afford longer. What will your financial situation look like when those six months are over? If you're in a new job, is your new job enough to cover your expenses? Or are you still going to be using cash for this period of time? Here's another idea, a sabbatical. A sabbatical can be for so many things. Is it for rest? Is it for recovery? Is it to explore your new career? Is it to build your business? Do you just need to

• 17:00Speaker 03

  take a step back from your job? Like, do you need a break? During this break, do you just want to chill out? Do you want to build your new business? Do you want to network? Do you want to figure out what's next? It can be whatever you want. Not knowing what you want to do next and being broke on top of it is a bad combination. Let's only have one of the two. If we're running out of cash, let's have a plan and let's have a strategy. Not knowing what you want to do is okay, but having the cash makes that a lot easier. So let's just create the plan. We don't want to be broke and not know what we want to do. So if we decide, okay, we're going to pivot, maybe we're going to change careers,

• 17:45Speaker 03

  or maybe we're just going to stay in the same industry, but just change the job, we may have, have a salary shift, right? So if your lifestyle works comfortably at $120,000, you may not need $200,000. Did that $80,000 difference, like, cost you your sanity, make you lose sleep at night, make you go to therapy every week? So a lower paying job may give you the flexibility you need, the less stress, fewer hours, better quality of life and room to do something else. You just have to make sure your lifestyle has, works with your new income. We cannot live the same lifestyle with our past income. Something else important

• 18:30Speaker 03

  is to compare total compensation. So salary is not the whole package. Maybe your new job has like killer health insurance. My client I was talking with yesterday has the $400,000 a year. Job has no 401k match, where a lower paying job may have a 401k match. That may be worth it to, to catch up on the retirement savings. Get that free money that's not taxed to you. Bonuses. Does your new job have bonus opportunities? Can you get stock or equity in the company? Is your PTO more generous? Disability insurance,

• 19:10Speaker 03

  life insurance, is that stuff cheaper? Does your new company with the potentially lower salary offer a Roth 401k? That could be very powerful for you. So $120,000, or making 80 grand less, for example, is not the same as $120,000 or making 80 grand less. Sometimes the dollars don't equal the dollars. And we need to look at the entire package, not just the salary. I'll be honest, though, you are not ready to change careers if you have no cash runway. If you don't know what you spend, if your fixed expenses are really

• 19:50Speaker 03

  high, if you rely on credit cards, if you have debt, if you have no health insurance plan, if you have no idea what's going to come next, if you have no freedom fund, AKA that after-tax savings, if you have no room in your budget to earn less, like, if you are in a position where you need to earn every single dollar that you're earning right now, because that's what your budget is telling you, you're not ready. We need to make a change. You're not ready if your plan assumes everything goes perfectly. Well, if X happens, and Y happens, and Z happens, and so on and so forth, everything's going to work out just as good as, just as it should. And that's probably not a good plan. We need to reevaluate

• 20:32Speaker 03

  it. But just because you're not ready now, doesn't mean you're not ready, never. It just means not right now, not yet. So again, let's perform the experiment. How can we reduce our expenses? How can we live off of less? We need to get out of debt, right? When you don't have that debt payment, that frees up a lot of money each month that can then go to your lifestyle or to savings. So we need to get out of debt. We need to understand how much we're spending. We need to start saving in a freedom fund. So we need to hit these milestones first. And again, let's perform this experiment. So we are, we're going to work. We may not be thrilled with it. We may, you know, we've already

• 21:17Speaker 03

  accepted the fact that like, I am not going to do this until I'm 65 years old. That's fine. But you may have to do it till 45, till 47. Let's conduct the experiment. Let's save as much as we can, get out of debt. So then when the time is right, we are ready. We're not stressed and broke. So let's, let's work through an example. Let's say you're 43 years old. You make $200,000 a year. You spend $9,000 a month. You want to take six months off. You think, though, you, you could earn after those six months about $120,000.

• 21:54Speaker 03

  You have $150,000 in cash and taxable investments. On paper, can we afford it? So first, let's look at how much is she actually spending? Spends $9,000 a month, wants to take six months off. The quick math, $54,000. So

• 22:13Speaker 03

  Of our 150,000 saved, we're going to use about 54,000 of it. So we'd have about $96,000 in cash left over. So if she thinks she could earn about 120,000 pre-tax, then that means we're spending about $108,000 a year. So again, if the 120 is pre-tax, we're taking taxes out, we're spending 108, we probably will still be dipping into our cash to make up for the slight difference. So how comfortable are we when we are dipping into our cash?

• 22:55Speaker 03

  How, what is that number where it's like the sirens start going off of like, my cash is starting to get low? Also, if we're spending 9,000 a month, that means we're spending $108,000 a year. That means we're not saving anything. So how comfortable are we with earning 120 grand, spending 108 of it, probably having to dip into our cash because 120 grand is pre-tax? Not saving anything? I don't know. You know, we, for a period of time, like as we go through this transition, it's completely reasonable to expect to not save. But do, do we want to always continue not saving?

• 23:38Speaker 03

  So then how can we adjust our lifestyles slightly? So we then can save versus just spending the 9,000. So can we reduce the 9,000 in spending to at least break even? Like, that's the first step, to break even and then reduce it slightly more to then be able to save. We don't want to use every dollar we have and to fund the break even and leave yourself with no options afterwards. Using obviously the cash for our transition is, is fine. That's why we have the Freedom Fund. But we don't want to have to then depend on the Freedom Fund to just make up for,

• 24:22Speaker 03

  well, I'm spending more than what I'm making. Because then you're at a loss every month, plus you're not saving on top of it. So the math isn't completely in our favor in this example. So then we either need to spend less or find a job that earns a little bit more to at least first get us to break even, then ideally so we can save a little something each month. Career freedom doesn't mean having enough money to never work again. What it means is having enough money, flexibility and planning so that you don't feel stuck in your current job. So in your current job is not your only option. A career change does not have to be reckless. It does not have to be this big emotional decision that it's like,

• 25:06Speaker 03

  I'm out of here, like goodbye, I'm eating ramen. I don't know what I'm doing next. It can be planned and, and, and, and it can be strategic and it can be very calm. Like, how awesome is it to be like, I am changing my life. I am changing my job and I have a plan and I'm entering it with complete confidence. Isn't that so much better than just like, peace out, I'm done, I can't take this anymore? So like, if you're at the, I can't take this anymore point, acknowledge it, sit in it. But we need to first know what we need to do before making the move. We need to understand what our life costs. We need to know what you're going to do next, or at least have a direction.

• 25:51Speaker 03

  You need to understand how long you may be without income. You need to have an understanding of how much to save, have saved to fund this transition. You need to think through your benefits and your total compensation and have a plan for what happens after, after the transition period. Your current job should not be your only option just because it pays well or because you took out student loans to be in this career or because you feel like this is your identity or, or because you feel like changing jobs is irresponsible. The goal is not to build enough money that you will never have to work again. The goal is to build enough freedom that you don't have to stay somewhere you no longer want to be. If you want to talk this out more, please use the link in the show notes.

• 26:35Speaker 03

  Schedule some time with me so we can work through. This is why financial planning exists, because it gives you the flexibility of being able to make a major life decision. So schedule a call with me and we can talk through this, what makes sense for you and how financial planning can impact not just this part of your life, but every impact, every part of your life. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Shari Rash and I can't wait to see you next week.

• 27:15Speaker 01

  They're running a cover two defense. But you're running to get game day deals on Uber Eats. Keep everyone at tonight's watch party fed with deals from your go-to restaurants or stock up with deals on your favorite snacks and groceries. Whatever the occasion, get game day deals on Uber Eats all season long. It's not football without food. Uber Eats, order now. Terms apply. Product availability varies by region. See app for details.

• 27:46Speaker 02

  This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Football has a play for just about everything. You can go deep, keep it on the ground or draw up something nobody sees coming. And whether you want to run a flea flicker or the tush push, you need a plan to fit your unique situation. That's why State Farm takes the time to get to know you so they can help personalize coverage for your life and budget. Now that's a solid game plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.