Worse than buying crypto at the peak
Ditch the earn-more, spend-more trap
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I had a call yesterday that perfectly illustrates the most expensive financial mistake high earners make.
It wasn’t a risky investment gone wrong.
It wasn’t buying crypto at the peak.
It was asking simple questions… and then doing nothing whilst waiting for perfect answers.
The story
Last December, I spoke with Jack. Tech sales, good money, knew he needed to sort his finances. We had a productive 60-minute session covering the basics.
Since then? New job at a major tech company. Big salary increase. Total earnings now over €115,000.
But when we spoke yesterday, nothing had changed since December.
Still sitting on €16,000 in cash.
Still in the default pension fund.
Still no investing plan.
Not because he’s lazy. Not because he doesn’t care.
Because he had questions.
“I just, I needed a bit of advice. I have a couple of ideas of things I’d like to do, but I just need a little bit of guidance.”
The questions that paralysed him
Here’s what stopped Jack from taking action for eight months:
Should I put money in a savings account or invest it all?
How much should I increase my pension contributions?
What’s the difference between these pension funds?
If I contribute through my payslip, do I still need to claim tax back?
Read those again.
These aren’t complex financial mysteries requiring a PhD in economics.
They’re straightforward questions with clear, actionable answers.
But when you don’t know where to look for reliable guidance, they become paralysis.
The brutal mathematics
Whilst Jack wrestled with these “simple” questions:
His cash depreciated: €16,000 earning 0% instead of potential 7-8% annual growth.
His pension underperformed: Money sitting in a “moderate growth” fund instead of a global equity fund that could double his retirement wealth.
Tax money left on the table: €1,000s in potential tax relief unclaimed.
Zero compounding: Eight months of missed investing that compounds over decades.
I showed Jack a calculation during our call. His current pension balance of €8,500, left untouched in moderate growth, might reach €25k by retirement.
Switch it to global equity and add regular contributions? We’re talking potentially €2.8 million.
His reaction:
“That’s insane when you’re reminded of it, like, it’s just mad.”
The real cost
Jack’s continued hesitation will likely cost him €200,000 over his lifetime. Possibly much more.
But here’s the thing: every single one of his questions had a straightforward answer that took minutes to explain.
The pension fund switch? “Click here, select this fund, done.”
The tax situation? “If you contribute through payslip, you don’t need to claim separately.”
The savings vs investing split? “Based on your goals, here’s exactly how much in each.”
After 90 minutes, Jack went from confused to clear: “I know what I need to do over the next month.”
Why this happens
Jack represents thousands of high earners I see. Smart people who get paralysed because:
They know just enough to realise they should be doing something
They don’t know just enough to feel confident taking action
They assume the “right” answer must be complicated
They fear making an expensive mistake by guessing
So they research endlessly, bookmark articles they never read, and ask friends who are equally confused.
Meanwhile, compound interest doesn’t wait for your research to be complete.
The lesson
The most expensive financial decision isn’t picking the wrong investment.
No my friend, it’s picking no investment whilst you search for perfect certainty.
Jack’s story reminds us that procrastination costs more than almost any financial mistake you could make.
“This is my issue, I go around in circles being like, I need to do this, I need to do this, I need to do this.
And then I don’t do any of them because I’m not taking the action.”
What questions are costing you?
Maybe you’re sitting on cash you know should be invested.
Maybe your pension is in a default fund earning half what it could.
Maybe you’re paying more tax than necessary.
The questions stopping you probably have simpler answers than you think.
The cost of not finding out? Potentially €100,000 over your lifetime.
As Jack said at the end of our call: “I’ll be in a much better position” by this time next year.
The difference between wondering and knowing is often just one conversation.
Now Jack invested in 1:1 time with me to get to the solution the fastest.
But there can be 1,000 reasons why you might not find that interesting:
You might not trust me yet.
You might feel embarrassed talking about your finances.
You might not have the funds.
Or you simply don't invest in 1:1 coaching (I never would have until recently!)
But if you are still looking to improve your financial skills without having to speak to me 1:1, I do want to help you.
I am working on something exciting that will help more people like you become financially free.
If you want to be the first to find out the details, you can join the waitlist right here:
And if you do want one-on-one coaching, the price for Money Mastery will be going up €300 on Monday.
If you want to lock in the current price, make sure your intro call is in my calendar before then:
Book to change your financial life!
I have opened up my calendar for strategy calls this week. After that 1:1 coaching will be closed until my calendar clears up.
That's it for this week. I'm going to run 30 (again) this time in Dublin rain. 2 weeks to go until my first race!
Wishing you a lovely weekend,
To your financial freedom
Sjoerd
