This version of the Money Framework aims to help you define the “ecosystem” of your money and tailor the steps towards your future financial wellbeing, whether you are at the beginning of your career or reassessing your current situation.
There will always be uncertainties and unforeseen situations, such as accidents or health problems. However, in most cases, you have significant control over your financial decisions and the steps you take next.
Around 7 out of 10 people considered economically active in Europe are employed. The remainder are self-employed, entrepreneurs or job seekers. According to Eurostat, 6 to 7 out of 10 Europeans have a job, making employment an important factor when setting life and financial goals.
When you have other sources of income, such as rental income or investment earnings, either as a primary source of income or as a complement to your salary, the speed at which you move through the different levels of our financial pyramid can vary. For example, if additional income goes directly into your savings, you may be able to spend your entire salary. If you depend solely on your wages, however, you need to find ways to build a cash reserve and financial safety net.
Define Your Work-Life Purpose
Do you want to work for a large company? Would you prefer to be self-employed? Do you want to become an entrepreneur and launch your own project? These are common questions. Less common is taking a long-term perspective and thinking about the next 30 or 40 years. Nowadays, this is understandable.
The changes we have seen in the world, particularly in terms of technological development, the organisation of companies and financial markets, have been so significant that many families have stopped planning for such distant horizons. The world is moving so quickly that Millennials and Gen Z are often not planning their financial future more than five years ahead.
In this context, we are somewhat “old school”: we recommend building a long-term financial plan and creating a roadmap for your life. The Money Framework can help you structure that plan.
It is worth reflecting on what your long-term path might look like, not only professionally but also in terms of family and personal goals. You cannot predict the future, but defining the broad direction of what you want to achieve can help improve your future quality of life.
Your plan can be reviewed whenever necessary and adapted as circumstances change. As we will see at the next level, having a clear direction is also essential for organising your personal finances and planning for the future.
First the Diploma, Then Show What You Can Do
“First a diploma, then the wedding” was, or used to be, the standard path in many cultures. Today, building a successful career is a major priority. The idea of “wedding after the diploma” has increasingly been replaced by another question: what can you do in addition to your formal education?
Is it simply a case of saying, “study hard and you will go far”?
According to OECD statistics, in OECD countries, people with higher education earn 30% more than the average, while those who do not complete secondary education earn, on average, 20% less than the standard level. If you are young or have young children, it is worth knowing that, on average, higher levels of education are associated with higher salaries, regardless of profession or country.
It is true that many people have succeeded without higher qualifications. Many entrepreneurs have created businesses, developed professional activities or built skills that they have successfully converted into income. However, when looking at the working population as a whole, the data is clear: on average, professional opportunities and earning potential are higher for people with formal qualifications.
However, having a diploma and accumulating training courses are no longer enough to enter or progress in the labour market. So-called soft skills have become increasingly important on a CV. Employers often value characteristics such as communication, interpersonal skills and the ability to adapt to different environments.
Tip: Do you know how employers evaluate your soft skills? Understanding your own strengths and characteristics can be an important professional asset. Use it well.
Should You Start Your Own Business?
After graduation, many people consider launching their own business or project. Any moment can be the right time, but certain circumstances can make entrepreneurship easier. It is not only about having the desire to become an entrepreneur and seeing an idea or product reach the market.
Typically, young graduates may not yet have a mortgage or car loan. They may not have children to support and may still live with their parents or receive financial support from them. If this is the case, it can be a good opportunity to take a calculated risk on a project that will require time and resources.
However, aspiring entrepreneurs should seek support from more experienced people to compensate for a lack of experience in areas such as business management, project management or product development.
Some people take a different route. They may start their own business after several years of a successful career — 15 to 20 years or even more — when they are around 40 or 45 and have accumulated enough capital to avoid significantly affecting their quality of life and family wellbeing.
In this case, the entrepreneur has greater professional experience, although the margin for error may be smaller. It is important to remember that the failure rate of new businesses is relatively high. Studies show that only 4 out of 10 new companies survive beyond the five-year mark.
The Case for Self-Employment
Self-employment depends on many factors, including the type of activity, the country where the business operates, the macroeconomic environment and the level of available government support. Strong market demand is also essential for a freelancer to build a sustainable business.
Self-employed professionals should also consider factors such as their family situation, age and years of experience in their field.
There is a tendency for some self-employed workers, particularly those who regularly provide services to just one or two companies, to compare their relationship with those companies to that of an employee.
At the same time, the labour market is seeing an increase in self-employment and more flexible employment relationships. For this reason, we recommend that self-employed professionals consider themselves entrepreneurs running a micro-business, rather than simply individuals providing work to a company.
Does this make a difference? Yes.
The approach of a micro-entrepreneur should be to develop a sales and business plan, rather than simply looking for enough work to pay the bills. This plan can incorporate appropriate business development, marketing and customer acquisition techniques, adapted to the activity and scale of the business.
How many times have you had to turn down work because you could not meet all the requests you received? If this happens regularly, why not adopt a more business-oriented mindset?
One option could be to accept a project and outsource part of the execution to another self-employed professional you know and trust, while charging a profit margin. The margin can be larger or smaller depending on the circumstances and the relationship involved.
Of course, this approach requires careful management. You need to ensure that the work meets your quality standards and that you know the professional who will collaborate with you. Ideally, they should be able to adopt your way of working, or at least a compatible approach.
This can be one way of growing a self-employed business, increasing income and creating opportunities for other professionals who may otherwise have less work or free time.
This is just one example, but it illustrates our recommendation: think like a businessperson and your own boss, rather than simply as an employee of the company you provide services to.
Working as an Employee
As already mentioned, no general article can provide a solution for every individual situation. That is not our intention. The goal is to encourage reflection and self-assessment through questions such as:
- What are my professional goals?
- What gives me professional satisfaction?
- What am I achieving in my current career?
- After 10 or 15 years, what have I accomplished?
- Have I made use of all the solutions and opportunities available to me?
- Am I staying in the same role while continuing to complain about a low salary?
Perhaps it is time to redefine your plan.
Above all, do not simply sit back and wait for dissatisfaction or discomfort to resolve itself. That is unlikely to happen. Observing successful colleagues and friends can be a useful starting point before making a change. Whatever your situation — good, bad or somewhere in between — do not hesitate to ask for help.
Sometimes, a simple tip or a piece of good advice can make all the difference. Sharing your situation with more experienced people or with professionals from different areas may be enough to help you find the direction you were looking for or give you the confidence to take a path you had previously been afraid to pursue.
Tip: If you are unhappy with your current situation, stop simply complaining and rethink your approach — or even your career. Do not be afraid of change. “Fortune favours the bold.” There is often an opportunity for those who are willing to adapt and take action.
We know that change can be challenging, but in many cases, it can lead to positive outcomes.
Income as the Foundation of Financial Autonomy
To summarise what determines your sources of income and financial resources, which form the basis of your financial autonomy both today and in the future, we can recall the Canadian writer W. P. Kinsella (1935–2016):
“Success is getting what you want, Happiness is wanting what you got”.
Having an income that is appropriate for your desired lifestyle makes it easier to move on to the next steps of your financial planning journey and build greater financial autonomy for the future.
From Career Decisions to Financial Planning
The decisions we make about our careers, income and professional paths can have a significant impact on our financial wellbeing, both today and in the future. Building a clear financial plan can help connect these decisions with broader life goals and provide a framework for adapting as circumstances change.
For some people, navigating these decisions may benefit from an external perspective. Euroconsumers Invest's financial advisory can provide support in understanding different financial options, assessing priorities and building a plan that reflects individual objectives and circumstances. The purpose is not to predict the future, but to help bring greater clarity to the decisions that shape financial autonomy over time.
Ultimately, financial wellbeing is not about following a single formula. It is about understanding where you are, defining where you want to go and having the knowledge and support to make informed financial decisions along the way.
On World Savings Day, this is also an opportunity to reflect on the role that saving, financial planning and informed decision-making can play in building greater financial autonomy and wellbeing over time.