Ramit argues that high earners should avoid letting future wealth targets dominate their current lifestyle and daily decision-making.

“Beware of picking a number and building your entire life around it. This is what I mean when I talk about the tail wagging the dog.”

She views their current high income as a temporary, non-permanent situation, leading her to prioritize safety and debt elimination over investment.

“I just feel like it's it's not realistic that we'll do this forever so this money is not forever and so it's hard to build an expectation for your life when you don't have your real numbers”

Mel prefers to live modestly and delay major lifestyle upgrades despite future increases in household income.

“Part of the plan that we've come up with is that when Bobby takes on this higher paying job, we are going to continue living how we currently are for at least two or three years until all the loans are done and then we can think about a mortgage, new cars, etc.”