Financial Planner to High Earning CROs: You're Trapped in a Seven Figure Prison

You're making $500K. Maybe $800K. Maybe a million bucks a year.

But you feel stuck.

One layoff. One bad quarter. One market shift. And you're vulnerable.

Mando Sallavanti calls this the "seven-figure prison."

High income. Low actual wealth.

Here's what that looks like:

Making $1M/year. But only $50K in liquid savings.

Everything else is locked in retirement accounts and home equity. Illiquid. Inaccessible without penalties.

One job loss? You're scrambling.

"Most people don't even know they're in the prison. Their W2 looks great. Their 401k looks solid. But if one bad situation happens, they're in a tough spot."

Why high-earners stay trapped:

Mando's worked with hundreds of CROs and sales leaders. The pattern is always the same.

Average CRO tenure? 18 months.

That's job to job. Constantly under pressure. Constantly delivering or getting pushed out.

So they delay financial planning. "I can't focus on this right now—my career pressure is too much."

Which is exactly why they SHOULD get help.

Second reason: Perfection paralysis.

"These are people who want 100%, not 70%. If they can't be perfect, they stuff it beneath the rug."

Third reason: The spending environment.

Your paycheck hits your checking account. That's a spending environment designed to spend money.

401k gets deducted. Maybe you automate some investments. Pay bills. Gas. Groceries. Nice dinner with your wife.

Then there's money left over. And you think "I'll save it this month."

You don't.

Amazon's in your face. You sneeze and bought something on Instagram. Everyone wants you to sponsor their golf tournament.

End of month: "Where'd the money go?"

The reservoir system that fixes this:

Mando's clients save 24% on average (after 401k). American average? 4%.

Here's the system:

Paycheck → Reservoir (separate bank) → Checking account

Not paycheck → checking.

When money hits the reservoir, automate a fixed amount to checking. Example: $8,000/month on the 24th.

Now you CHOOSE to exceed that amount. It's not automatic.

"By setting this mechanism, you get ahead of the psychology of how you manage money."

Income doesn't equal wealth. Here's what does:

Marcus’ M5 framework: Mind, muscle, mission, marriage, money.

If you only optimize for money, you're missing the point.

Mando’s dad worked 30-32 hours/week as a family doctor. Never missed a single game (football, basketball, baseball). Made less money than he could have. But that's wealth.

"What you're feeding your mind is conditioning your subconscious. Are you feeding it junk food: news, sports radio, wasteful things? Or something that helps you grow?"

Bad habits CROs need to break:

1. Keeping too much cash (or too little)

2. Thinking every dollar's job is maximum return

3. Doing everything themselves (cut your own grass at $500/hour?)

4. Spending money on things that don't bring joy (keeping up with other execs)

5. Never defining "enough"

The buy-back-your-time framework:

Your hourly rate if you make $1M/year? $500/hour.

Mowing the lawn takes 2 hours. Costs $50 to outsource.

That's $1,000 of your time vs. $50.

Unless you LOVE mowing the lawn, outsource it.

Same with taxes. Same with cleaning. Same with admin tasks.

Mando's rule: If outsourcing costs 5x-8x less than your hourly rate, and you don't enjoy it, delegate it.

"Buy back your time to spend with family or take actions that make you more money."

Wrapping Up:

Making $1M/year with $50K liquid isn't wealth. It's a prison.

Build cashflow engines. Create the reservoir system. Define what "enough" means.

And get a financial advisor who shoots you straight.