What Changed About My Money Mindset at $100K, $500K, and $1M

I used to think more money would automatically mean more freedom. And in some ways, it does. But what no one tells you is that it also comes with more choices, more responsibility, and a whole new set of decisions you never had to think about before.

In the very beginning, my mindset wasn’t even about abundance, it was about possibility.

Can I actually make money doing something like this?

Not from a salary or a traditional paycheck, but by using my ideas. Could I really get paid for my intellectual property?

That’s when I read Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. It was one of the first books that helped me expand what I thought was possible. It gave me permission to dream a little bigger and build something that wasn’t just a job, but a business.

From there, my money mindset kept evolving with each season of growth. I used to believe that once I made more money, I’d feel more secure. That once I raised my rates or had a consistent $50K month, the anxiety would fade and everything would feel easier. But what I’ve learned (the hard way) is that money mindset doesn’t automatically evolve with your income.

You actually have to grow into your next-level beliefs.

So I want to walk you through how my relationship with money has changed over the years. From $100K to $500K to $1M+, there were very real shifts that had to happen in how I earned, saved, spent, and thought about my money.

And I’m not just sharing strategy, I’m walking you through the books that helped, the beliefs I had to outgrow, and the exact moments that stretched me.

Let’s get into it.

At $0–$100K: “Can I Really Make Money Doing This?”

Back then, my mindset wasn’t even about scaling. It was about proof of concept. Can I actually make money doing something like this? Can I really get paid for my intellectual property, for my interests, for what felt like something that came so naturally to me, not just for showing up to a salary job?

At the time, I was still working full-time as a transmission pipeline engineer for a utility company in Michigan. I didn’t feel comfortable quitting until I’d fully replaced my salary (I was super conservative). I wasn’t here to play around. I needed to know this could support me.

The first book I read that cracked something open for me was Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. It wasn’t perfect, but it introduced me to a completely new way of thinking, about mindset, belief, and possibility. And honestly, that was the seed that started it all.

At $100K: From Hustling for Every Dollar to Building Something Steady

Crossing that six-figure mark felt like such a big win. I had proof of concept. People were paying. The idea worked. But I was still hustling for every single dollar.

Everything felt tied to my effort. If I wasn’t pushing, nothing was happening. Sound familiar?

And here’s the honest truth: this was probably one of the calmest seasons of business I’ve ever had. I was making more money than I ever thought possible. My calendar wasn’t crazy. I didn’t have a team I was responsible for. And the money? It felt good. This was the first time I felt like I could exhale.

But underneath that calm, there was a quiet tension starting to build.

I had to ask myself: Do I want to keep growing? Do I want more? And if I do… what am I willing to change to get there?

Because while this stage was peaceful in some ways, it was also one of the most mentally challenging stages of growth I’ve ever navigated.

What got me to $150K worked— But it was manual. It was customized from client to client. Different packages. Wide range of prices. It required me to carry the mental load for every single client, switching contexts constantly. Almost nothing was standardized.

And that was the real growth edge: I had to decide if I was willing to make the tough business model decisions that would allow me to grow beyond this stage. I had to be honest: Was I willing to commit to a niche? To specialize in solving a specific problem? To stop doing the things that were “working” but weren’t sustainable?

This is the season when I read You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero. That book helped me see money differently, not just as something I had to chase, but something I could lead.

What shifted for me:

• I stopped negotiating with myself before ever saying the price out loud.

• I started valuing the energy it took to deliver at a high level, not just the time.

• I realized: this is no longer a side hustle or passion project. This is how I pay my bills.

That mindset shift didn’t just change how I priced. It changed how I saw myself as a CEO.

At $500K: From Making Money to Holding It

At this stage, the income was flowing. I was hitting numbers I used to dream about. But I remember thinking… why does it still feel tight?

I didn’t have a money-making problem. I had a money-keeping problem. I was a saver, but not in a strategic, investor-savvy kind of way. I was a hoarder.

I’d stockpile big chunks of cash in my operating account. I hesitated to pay myself too much. I’d hold my breath all year, hoping my accountant would tell me I was “good” at tax time.

There was no real plan for how much I could take home or pull out for owners draws. No clarity on what was actually safe to spend in the business. I was super hesitant. I had over six figures just sitting in one account “just in case”… because I didn’t have the financial visibility to feel safe using it.

At the time, I thought I was being responsible. In reality, I was still operating in survival mode.

• I was saving to feel safe.

• I wasn’t making CEO-level decisions with my money.

• And every month, I was just guessing.

This is when I read The Psychology of Money and The Millionaire Next Door. Those books cracked something open for me. They helped me realize that wealth isn’t about how much you make, it’s about what you do with it.

Here’s what finally shifted for me:

• I gave every dollar a job

• I set ceilings for each account based on my real-life operating needs, not vibes

• I created overflow rules, so once an account hit a certain limit, the extra would automatically get routed toward savings or investments

And to be clear, I was already implementing Profit First. I had multiple accounts. I had a system. But this is the stage where I got serious about making those systems work for me.

I created a clear, consistent take-home salary, something I could trust. I dialed in my tax planning and started cash flow forecasting annually. I built in intentional profit margins and cash buffers.

And maybe most importantly, this was the season I stopped making decisions based solely on what was right in front of me, and started thinking long-term.

I wasn’t just trying to earn more. I wanted to know what to do with the money I was earning.

I started working with a financial planner and building an actual investment strategy. But before I could even decide how to invest, I had to learn what I even believed about money beyond just making it.

I started exploring:

• What type of investor I wanted to be

• How much risk I was actually comfortable with

• What kind of financial future I was building toward and why

• Whether I wanted real estate in my portfolio or if I preferred a simpler, market-based path

• How to make my money grow without tying it all to business revenue

This was also when I started diving deeper into financial literacy:

• I finally understood the difference between net income, net worth, and cash flow

• I learned how to forecast, not just for taxes and payroll, but for my personal life too

• I built a rhythm of reviewing my numbers monthly instead of waiting until tax season to be surprised

That’s what helped me shift from “I hope this is enough” to “I know what enough looks like and I know how I’m getting there.”

Because scaling a business is one thing. But building lasting wealth as a woman, on your own terms, takes a whole different level of clarity.

Earning half a million isn’t the flex if you’re still living paycheck to paycheck. And saving everything out of fear isn’t wealth—it’s scarcity with a prettier bank balance.

At $1M+: From Scaling By Any Means Necessary to Enoughness

Here’s the part no one warns you about: when you hit $1M+, everything gets louder—but the goal gets quieter.

The pressure to keep growing. The expectations. The momentum you feel like you’re supposed to maintain. But internally? I started craving something different.

I realized I didn’t want a life where my calendar was booked in 15-minute increments, packed with client calls and team meetings. I didn’t want to live in launch mode or constantly be “on” just to keep up with the revenue pace I had built.

I wanted to work part-time hours. I wanted to coach clients I genuinely loved and deeply knew. I wanted slow mornings, where I could prioritize my personal health and not feel pressure to check my phone for Asana notifications and IG DMs.

Yes, I was still serious about my business. But I was no longer serious about the hustle.

This is the season when I read Happy Money by Ken Honda and it changed everything. I had the financial success. What I needed next was peace and more spaciousness. Alignment. A recalibration of what “winning” actually looked like to me.

Here’s what shifted:

• I got honest about what I wanted my day-to-day life to look like, not just my revenue goals.

• I clarified my Owner’s Intent: What am I building this business for? What’s the lifestyle I want it to fund? At this stage of my life with planning for motherhood in mind.

• I stopped chasing potential and started filtering opportunities based on congruency and self trust, not pressure and FOMO.

• I realized that growth doesn’t always mean “bigger.” Sometimes it means “cleaner.” “Simpler.” “More aligned.”

This wasn’t just a mindset shift, it was a business model shift, too.

Because once you’ve built the thing, you get to ask: Do I want to keep building more? Or is it time to build better?

And in my case, I chose better.

So… Where Are You in Your Money Journey?

Whether you’re trying to get consistent at $100K, navigating systems at $500K, or recalibrating after a big growth year, your money mindset will keep evolving.

It has to. Because each new level will ask for a more grounded version of you.

And if you’ve been questioning whether you’re undercharging… Wondering why things still feel stressful despite making good money… Or afraid to raise your prices because you might lose the client?

Just know, it’s not just a pricing issue. It’s a reflection opportunity.

Every financial friction point is just trying to show you something: A belief that’s ready to shift. A system that needs to be built. A new standard you’re being invited to hold.

Let this be your nudge to check in, not just with your numbers, but with the mindset driving them.

And if reading this has you thinking more deeply about how you're managing the money you're making… I recorded something for you.

On the Jereshia Said podcast, I did a full episode walking through exactly how I manage my profit and take-home pay. I break down how I set up payroll, manage personal finances, plan business expenses, and use tax strategies to keep more of what I earn—without the overwhelm.

It’s a behind-the-scenes look at how I keep my business financially healthy and personally sustainable.

👉🏽 Listen to: What I Do With My Profit & Take-Home Pay
Available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you tune in.

Because growing your business is great, but knowing what to do with your profit and keeping more of what you earn? That’s the real flex.