#160 - The High-Income Paradox with Sean Rawlings

Your income can grow fast and still leave you feeling behind. That's the paradox we dig into with Sean Rawlings, founder of WealthBound Advisors, who works with young, high-income earners scaling toward $500K or seven figures only to realize they have no system for taxes, spending, or big decisions.Sean shares his story: Southern California roots, a start at a mutual firm, and the growing discomfort of watching "financial planning" turn into product pitches. He explains what pushed him toward independence, how he found the fee-only model, and why building an RIA is more achievable than many new advisors think.From there, we get specific. Sean covers what great onboarding looks like for first-time planning clients, how he uses modern tools (including AI like Claude) to stay efficient while keeping things high-touch, and the biggest pain point for fast-growing earners: tax planning around variable income. We close with real estate as an asset class, when it's worth the complexity, and how concepts like cost segregation and 1031 exchanges fit into a coordinated plan.Sean's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-rawlings/?skipRedirect=trueMusic in this episode was obtained from Bensound.