You can make $50,000, $60,000, even $100,000 a year and still live paycheck to paycheck. The problem is not what you make. It is what your income is becoming.

On the first episode of Across the Table, our new remote-guest series, Esther Jackson-Stowell sits down with Kenneth Botwe: author of Why You Can't Get Ahead Financially, a former member of the U.S. military and creator of Financial Metabolism. Kenneth grew up in poverty in Ghana, selling kerosene at night and bread in the morning at nine years old to help his mother and two sisters. He met his father for the first time at 15, when he came to America. Today he teaches people how to stop financial leakage and turn the income they already have into real progress.

In this conversation

• The three places every paycheck goes: consumption, debt reduction and growth
• Financial leakage: the subscriptions, fees and lifestyle creep quietly draining you
• Esther's one-card "honest account" exercise
• Kenneth's order: stop the leaks, build an emergency fund, take the 401(k) match, then a Roth IRA
• Snowball vs. avalanche debt payoff, and why you test every change for three months
• What financial freedom really means (it is not being rich)

Free: The Money Leak Finder, a 7-day illustrated walkthrough built from this episode: thebrokerstable.com/free/?g=money-leak-finder (or comment LEAK on our Instagram).

Kenneth's free 2-minute Financial Metabolism assessment (his own product): financialmetabolism.com
Kenneth's website and book: kennethbotwe.com · YouTube: @KennethBotwe1

Book a 1-on-1 coaching session with Kenneth: kennethbotwe.com/coaching

Go deeper: Plug the Leaks, our 30-day money reset playbook from this conversation: thebrokerstable.com/product/plug-the-leaks-30-day-money-reset-playbook · Free tool: Money Leak Finder

Read the magazine feature: thebrokerstable.com/magazine/kenneth-botwe

Chapters
0:00 Cold open: six figures, still paycheck to paycheck
0:24 Welcome to Across the Table
3:31 Selling kerosene and bread at nine
7:00 Before the interview: Ghana to America at 15
10:08 Income vs. wealth: where your money really goes
14:55 Financial leakage, explained
18:44 Emergency fund, 401(k) match and Roth IRA
22:27 The top money leaks
24:55 How often to review your finances
29:14 Three steps without earning more
32:37 Inside the Financial Metabolism assessment
36:41 Is your money building strength?
39:45 If this feels out of reach
43:09 One habit to start this week
44:31 Closing thoughts

Executive Producer: Esther Jackson-Stowell. Produced and edited by The Broker's Table Studio. Want your interview produced like this? thebrokerstable.com/interview-packages

For education and conversation only; not individual financial, tax or investment advice.