You Are “Not In It for the Money”: and 10 Other Signs You May be an Under Earner

Recently, I was working with a very successful young professional wanting to take her business up a notch. I asked her to elaborate on the plan she had for her business and she resisted assigning an actual dollar figure to her vision. When I questioned her about this, she said she was “not in it for the money.” I have heard this repeated by women more times tha
I can even count. This mindset is often the first indication that you might be an under earner. Answer this question. “Would you keep doing your job if you were not getting paid?” For most of you the answer will be “no”. That being said, it is time to acknowledge the fact that you are, at least in part, “in it for the money.”

Barbara Stanny defines an under earner as someone who earns less than her potential despite her need or desire to do otherwise. Making a conscience choice to simplify your life and live on less in order to create a saner and happier life is not being an under earner. Someone who enjoys her work because it feeds her soul while providing adequate income is the result of a deliberate decision. This is a mindful decision, not underearning.

Underearning is not a conscious choice; it is a habit we fall into based, in large part, on our history with money and how we view the world of abundance. Every under earner has a high tolerance for low pay, partly because they are “not in it for the money.”

Other traits of under earners are not so pervasive, some of these you will recognize and others will be foreign to you.

1. You talk as if you are trapped. You truly believe you have no control over your life. You justify every situation with excuses that blind you to your options.

2. You give your power away. You often blame outside forces for your problems and hope for someone (Prince Charming) or something (winning the lottery) to come and save you.

3. You underestimate your worth. You give away your time and skills for free or at a bargain. You offer your services at a price reflective of how little you think you are worth.

4. You crave comfort. Change is uncomfortable. You will often unwittingly sabotage your success rather than deal with discomfort. To change attitudes and habits means going outside your comfort zone.

5. You are a self-saboteur. You procrastinate, take on too much become distracted from your goals. Overspending and debting are examples of self-sabotage.

6. You are codependent. You tend to put the needs of everyone else before your own. You are so afraid of being “selfish” that you fail to take care of yourself.

7. You live in financial chaos. You live from paycheck to paycheck… never sure you will have enough to pay the bills, going from one financial crisis to another with no end in sight. You live in a state of denial and delusion…always hoping that tomorrow things will magically be all better.

8. You are vague about money and success. You have no clue as to how much you really earn, how much you owe or how much you need. Wishful thinking and the “philosophy of hope” keep you stuck in the same unproductive habits, believing that someone or something is going to come along and make it better.

9. You are anti-wealth. You can be ambivalent and even negative about money and/or the people who have it. You take pride in living on a shoestring and believe that being poor is a virtue.

10. You are controlled by fear. You are afraid of success, failure, rejection, being judged, etc, etc, etc. You are afraid of many of life’s challenges and the fear often paralyzes you into non-action.

If you recognize even a few of these traits you may be an under earner and the question then becomes, “What are you willing to do about it?” Making a difference in your financial life is about a change in attitude. Your attitude toward abundance will be stuck in the past and rooted in your early history with money unless and until you take the steps necessary to change your expectations and transform your relationship with money. The results will be life changing.