A few years ago, at a conference, I met a particularly successful businessman. Musing on his previous year’s earnings, his tongue-in-cheek observation was: “The good news is, I made $500,000. The bad news is, I had to.”

His point: his need for half a million was directly tied to how much he felt he needed to spend. Of course, that businessman is hardly alone in feeling the pressures of an affluent lifestyle. In today’s consumer society, it often seems almost impossible to control our spending. The more we make, the more the concept of “money management” challenges us.

Many people believe the solution is simple: just earn more. Yet in my experience, this strategy rarely works. What I’ve found, in my 30-plus years of experience, is that the people who achieve financial independence usually do it by managing their spending, rather than by increasing their earning.

There are plenty of broke formerly-rich people around – sport stars, lottery winners, aging entertainers – to remind us that making money isn’t the same thing as keeping it. High earners may be blessed with a big income today, but turning it into lasting financial worth tomorrow is a skill that’s hard to come by.

The biggest culprit is usually over-spending. Our consumer-driven world makes it hard for us to delay gratification – makes it seem like too much of a downer to put off until tomorrow luxuries we could enjoy today. The recent recession may have put a crimp in over-the-top conspicuous consumption. But more everyday “spending too much” is unlikely to go out of fashion any time soon.

It’s just human nature to have unlimited wants; and without some type of structure to provide checks and balances, it’s not unusual for spending to start spiralling out of control. One BIG factor which comes between many consumers and their financial goals is their credit cards.

We couldn’t live without our plastic, but it’s a major player in distancing us from fiscal sanity. When you have actual bills in your wallet – whether it’s $50 or $500 – the moment you spend it, you receive instant feedback that you just got a little poorer. Yes, you have the pleasure of your purchase. But your wallet is noticeably lighter, and the thrill of your new toy is balanced by the painful depletion of your cash stash.

Credit cards, though, provide no such feedback. You get the joy of the new acquisition – but no immediate and corresponding remorse. Spending pleasure isn’t traded off against sacrifice any more, since you don’t have to pay the piper for thirty days or more.

If you’re lucky enough to earn well, you’ve probably noticed that along with a good income come a host of other challenges. Like most high earners, your finances are probably complicated. Your income may vary from month to month; you may have several different sources of income; there may even be some family trusts or holding companies to further muddy the waters.

The solution? If you really want to cut through the complexities of a busy and complicated professional and/or personal life, do yourself a favour and create some simple money disciplines.

Responding to the needs of high earners like you who feel they’ve wandered off the track, we’ve created some simple routines that have helped many successful people. In just an hour, we can show you the basics of how to cut through confusion and establish a simple yet effective system. You’ll learn an easy strategy for managing your cash flow and achieving your long-term financial objectives.

To find out how to increase your fiscal confidence and independence, attend our presentation on “Cash Control for Busy Boomers.” Specifically designed for high-income earners, this one-hour presentation is free of charge.

There are two sessions: one at noon on Wednesday June 17 and one at four p.m. on Thursday June 18. If you would like to attend, please reserve your space by calling Kathy Brunelle at 613-788-8011, or e-mailing her at Kathy.Brunelle@RichardsonGMP.com.

Alan MacDonald is an Investment Advisor with Richardson Partners Financial Ltd. Alan helps investors with over $500,000 of assets make smart decisions about money. For more information please visit www.alanmacdonald.ca or e-mail Alan at Alan.Macdonald@RichardsonGMP.com

Richardson Partners Financial Limited is a member of CIPF