In this episode of ThimbleberryU, we dive into an increasingly common experience for those working in the tech industry: burnout. We begin by acknowledging that tech burnout is unique—fast-paced roles, unpredictable compensation, constant decision-making, and job instability combine to create chronic stress. Amy Walls shares how burnout shows up not only emotionally, but also financially, and how we can use financial planning to move from depletion to clarity and control.
We explore how burnout rewires our ability to make decisions. Stress from long hours and mental overload shrinks our decision-making capacity. This leads to automatic, often reflexive spending as a way to cope—ordering food, shopping online, or subscribing to convenience services not out of indulgence, but survival. Many of us say we make good money, yet still feel stretched. Amy explains this disconnect through the lens of decision fatigue and lifestyle inflation as coping tools, rather than conscious choices.
Then, we walk through Amy’s Burnout Blueprint, a three-pillar framework for using financial planning to support mental and emotional wellbeing. The first pillar is intentional spending. We learn to distinguish between energy-saving expenses, like cleaning services or meal prep, and stress-coping spending that signals a deeper need for rest or support. We hear how small shifts—like outsourcing chores—can buy back time and change our relationship with money.
The second pillar is career pacing. Amy shows how financial clarity gives us room to pause, reassess, or even take sabbaticals. Instead of being chained to the next RSU payout or promotion, we can model what “enough” looks like and make career decisions from a place of health, not fear.
The third pillar is structured downtime. Real rest requires more than intention—it requires the freedom to disconnect without guilt or financial worry. Whether it’s a full sabbatical or just a microbreak, planning for rest helps rebuild energy and perspective. We also look at underutilized workplace benefits that can support recovery and reduce costs.
To wrap up, Amy leaves us with a powerful reminder: burnout isn’t a personal failure—it’s a mismatch between demands and energy. Small, intentional changes around spending, work, and rest can restore control and support our overall wellbeing.
Jon Gay (00:07):
Welcome back to ThimbleberryU, I’m Jon Jag Gay, joined as always by Amy Walls from Thimbleberry Financial. Hello, Amy.
Amy Walls (00:13):
Hi, Jag.
Jon Gay (00:15):
So, today, if you work in tech or you love someone who does, you probably know how intense that tech pace can be: the pressure, expectations, the constant pings, the race to keep up. For many people, that pace eventually hits a point where energy runs out faster than it refills.
Today, we're looking at something we don't talk about often enough: burnout. It's emotional, but it is also financial. Money can either add to the strain or help you reclaim your time, your energy, and your sense of control.
Amy's here to walk us through what burnout actually looks like in the tech field, why it shows up the way it does, and how financial planning can become part of the solution instead of another stressor. Amy, let's start right there. Why is burnout in tech different than burnout in other fields?
Amy Walls (01:00):
Tech has a unique mix of expectations, rewards, and uncertainty that can put people on a treadmill that they never meant to be on. And here's what I see in my conversations with clients. Many roles carry an unspoken expectation of being available all the time. Even if no one says it directly, people feel like they need to respond quickly, answer late messages and stay alert.
Jon Gay (01:28):
Yes.
Amy Walls (01:28):
Also, keep in mind, I have a husband who works in tech. And he may be up at 5:00 AM, and he may be on a call at 10:00 PM at times. So, I know that is normal for our clients too.
Compensation can be unpredictable. RSUs, bonuses or promotions that come quickly until they slow down adds a layer of financial pressure that is always running in the background. Just this loop, the career ladder moves fast in tech.
Many people change roles or companies every couple of years. And when growth slows, it can feel like falling behind even when the work is strong. I'd also say that lifestyle inflation becomes a coping tool.
Jon Gay (02:14):
Okay.
Amy Walls (02:15):
Convenient spending is not indulgence; it's often survival when there's no energy left at the end of the day. And job insecurity, especially right now in tech is real. And even really high performers are aware of how quickly teams can shift, and that uncertainty wears on people long before anything actually changes.
Jon Gay (02:38):
Yeah.
Amy Walls (02:38):
So, Jag, quick little tidbit from a client conversation, and this goes to one of the points I just talked about. I was having a conversation a while back with a client who was acknowledging how burnt out he was feeling.
Jon Jag (02:55):
Yeah.
Amy Walls (02:56):
And he shared that he didn't realize how burnt out he was until he was going through our annual planning updates process. And he looked at his spending and really his credit card statement, and recognized how often he just kept ordering things.
He wasn't splurging, he was coping. And really, by going through that exercise, he recognized that something deeper was happening, and that was burnout. So, burn out in tech is rarely about one thing, I think is an important takeaway. It's about a combination of things; vigilant speed and unpredictability most often.
Jon Gay (03:38):
Retail therapy has been a coping mechanism for all of us at some point.
Amy Walls (03:42):
Yes.
Jon Gay (03:43):
And that really resonates, Amy. It leads into a question we hear often. People say, "I make good money, but I still feel stretched." What happens to those money habits when somebody's burnt out? I feel like we're getting into this already.
Amy Walls (03:55):
Yeah. Well, burnout changes how your brain handles decisions. When you're overloaded, it becomes harder to think clearly, plan ahead or make choices that feel intentional. Stress shrinks mental bandwidth.
Jon Gay (04:08):
Yeah.
Amy Walls (04:09):
Research found that heavy cognitive loads can reduce decision-making capacity by the equivalent of about 13 IQ points.
Jon Gay (04:19):
Wow.
Amy Walls (04:20):
That's not about intelligence, that's about depletion.
Jon Gay (04:24):
And in my case, I don't have many points to spare.
Amy Walls (04:29):
(Laughs) I don't think that's true, but okay. And really, what we're saying here is decision fatigue takes over. After you've made decisions all day long, sometimes even into the night, even simple choices feel heavy.
I mean, how hard is it figuring out what you're going to eat for dinner if you didn't plan it ahead, whether to work out or whether to cook or order in? Those questions all start to feel like too much.
Jon Gay (04:56):
You hear stories of veterans coming back from overseas and they had a very simple life, very regimented. Everything was assigned to them- to the minute, to the hour. They go into the grocery store, they walk into the cereal aisle, and they're overwhelmed because of the need to make more decisions. And those tiny decisions, we make hundreds of them a day, and it really taxes the brain as a muscle.
Amy Walls (05:16):
Absolutely. And that happens in so many aspects of our life. My husband and I have a story that we periodically bring up to each other about the toothpaste aisle at the grocery store. Or when I first saw a Peanut Butter Snickers bar. Two hours later, I was still talking about why do we need all these choices and options?! I wasn't even looking for a Snickers bar. It was just too much. So, yes, it is a problem.
Jon Gay (05:46):
Have you tried the Peanut Butter Sneakers bar though? I mean, really?
Amy Walls (05:49):
I haven't.
Jon Gay (05:49):
You should.
Amy Walls (05:52):
Maybe. Basically, this decision fatigue, the important thing here when we bring it back to financial is it leads to more automatic spending. Obviously, automatic is a word that somebody could object to. Why being tired- is it an automatic spend? You have choice.
People aren't trying to indulge themselves; they're just trying to make one less decision. And so, they spend as a result. And when this happens, long-term planning gets pushed aside. When your brain is tired, the future feels like a luxury problem rather than future self being your best friend.
Jon Gay (06:29):
Right.
Amy Walls (06:30):
Even when you have strong income, that sense of control is lower and control is what reduces stress, not income alone. So, burnout doesn't only show up as exhaustion. Sometimes it shows up as a pattern of small decisions that feel like the only way you can get through the day.
And the antidotes are clarity and control, or at least two of the main ones are, and that's where financial planning can make a big meaningful difference.
Jon Gay (07:00):
Yeah. So, let's talk about that. I know you call this the Burnout Blueprint. How can financial planning support someone's mental and emotional wellbeing? We'll start with your first pillar.
Amy Walls (07:09):
Yeah. The first pillar, and I'm going to use a word that I've used frequently in this podcast is intentional. Pillar one is intentional spending. And the heart of it is understanding the decision fatigue we just talked about.
Like we said, it happens when you've made so many choices during the day that your brain is simply out of capacity to make small decisions. And tech work comes with a constant flow of decisions, technical decisions, people decisions, polarizing decisions, micro decisions all day long.
So, when your brain is tired, the easiest option wins. It's that simple. And that's why convenience spending becomes the default even when it does not restore your energy.
A way that I cope is Instagram sometimes. It doesn't restore my energy. I was sitting last night trying to figure out how to replenish my energy before I went into a jiu-jitsu class and I was like the last thing I need to be doing right now is scrolling Instagram after my day.
But in this case, you can start by separating spending into two categories. One is energy saving spending, like cleaning help, meal support or therapy, which all reduce mental load. The other is your stress coping spending, which often shows that you need a break rather than another purchase.
Both types show you something important. They give you a lesson. They reveal where life needs more structure or support. And once you have that, then you can review: what can I outsource? And those small shifts often make a big difference.
So, this probably doesn't sound like a big example for our listeners, but we had a client who was trying to tackle everything themselves. They'd said, "I don't need to spend money on housekeeping, grocery prep. I keep my life simple on purpose." And they really felt like they kept their life simple, but they outsourced house cleaning and grocery prep, and they got back about five hours a week.
They didn't use that time to work more. That would've been easy to do, which is often what you hear in hiring cleaners, or that sort of thing. They used it to breathe. And that reduction and decision fatigue for them changed the way they approach money, their work, their health.
So, intentional spending is not about cutting back necessarily. It's about directing money towards the choices that give you back what you need. And if you're burnt out, that's time, energy, and clarity.
Jon Gay (09:52):
Time is the only finite resource, and this all makes a lot of sense. When your brain's tired, your spending becomes reflexive instead of restorative. It's that retail therapy I mentioned a minute ago.
We'll get into pillar two here, Amy. That is career-pacing. What does that look like inside the financial plan?
Amy Walls (10:10):
Career pacing is really supported by the structure of money. And this is where financial clarity really translates to emotional relief, if you will. So, many people in tech feel tied to the next promotion or vesting cycle, even when they're exhausted. I've got to get to this next big RSU payout.
Financial planning can give people room to breathe and make choices based on health rather than fear. So, first of all, we can start with modeling what enough looks like. You know, Jag, from our conversations, we aren't growing money to grow money with our clients, we're growing money for the purpose, which is what they want their lives to look like.
So, this isn't theory, it's based on your life and your goals. And seeing that your long-term security does not always depend on the next level, the next level on the latter often brings some pretty noticeable relief.
So, we look then at equity compensation planning. Let's use RSUs as an example and creating predictable income from variable compensation significantly lowers stress. What does it mean if you give up these RSUs because you are in a place where you need to take the sabbatical and make a shift to a different organization?
We can figure that out. We also explore pacing. What happens if you slow down, shift roles, or change companies? What happens if you take that sabbatical? We've talked in prior episodes about how we often help our tech clients build in sabbaticals every five years or so. And through all this work, what we found is when you see the numbers clearly, decisions feel less overwhelming and more grounded.
Jon Gay (12:11):
Yeah.
Amy Walls (12:12):
A real-life practical story around this is someone we work with was convinced: “Absolutely, I need to take these promotions, I need to take these promotions.” And they felt their energy running low. They were on track financially. No concerns there.
Jon Gay (12:29):
Yeah.
Amy Walls (12:29):
But they made a lateral move to a healthier team. And within months, they were like, "My sleep, my clarity improved, I feel so much better." Really, in our conversations, what it seemed, is their decisions were no longer coming from a place of pressure, and they actually realized they prefer being lower on the ladder.
I thought that was so powerful when they shared that. So, money can create options that protect your wellbeing.
Jon Gay (13:02):
Yeah, it's counterintuitive, but it really works sometimes. And that brings us really to our third pillar, which is downtime. A lot of people struggle to take real breaks. How does money support rest?
Amy Walls (13:14):
Gosh, this is one of the most powerful tools for preventing burnout. And yes, I'm (the) pot calling kettle black here. Rest needs structure in order to work. Not just the intention to rest, but the ability to step away without fear. That's so important to do it without fear.
Basically, a solid buffer gives your brain permission to disconnect. And when you know you are covered financially, you can actually rest. PTO, sabbaticals, whatever it is, can be mapped into a financial rhythm so time off fits naturally into your plan.
We'll talk about micro breaks. A day, an afternoon, a long weekend can make a big difference. Yes, this sounds like life coaching, but financial planning is getting what you want out of life. And so, if we don't build the patterns and habits, it's not going to happen later and you're not going to have as clear of a thought process as to what you actually want.
We also look at benefits that may go unused. So, a lot of employers do have therapy sessions or wellness stipends, coaching, or mental health programs that can reduce out- of-pocket stress and support recovery. There's definitely options here in figuring out what downtime looks like for you.
My husband used to recognize I needed downtime. We tweaked this and he'd say, "Okay, well, on Thursday evening at five o'clock, I will take the kids out until 6:30, and you get an hour and a half on Thursday evenings to yourself."
Jon Jag (14:53):
Okay.
Amy Walls (14:54):
That to me wasn't downtime because I felt like I had this very tight window. His intention was great, but this little tight window kept me stressed for the entire hour and a half.
Jon Gay (15:09):
“I have to get these things done in the hour and a half and nobody else is here,” kind of thing?
Amy Walls (15:13):
Yes. Or I can go somewhere, but then I have to be back. I had a firm, firm deadline.
Jon Gay (15:20):
Okay.
Amy Walls (15:21):
And he didn't mean it that way, but being given this specific hour and a half window every week made me feel boxed in even more. So, we had to find other ways to work around that.
Jon Gay (15:36):
And talk about planning this downtime. To me, it's similar as planning savings. If you don't budget a certain number out of your paycheck to go to savings every pay period, you're just not going to do it. If you don't plan this downtime, it's going to fall by the wayside as your schedule fills in.
Amy Walls (15:53):
Oh, Jag, absolutely.
Jon Gay (15:55):
So, let me bring it back to the beginning here, Amy. For people listening who are wondering whether burnout's affecting their financial decisions, what's a good way to sort of self-check ourselves?
Amy Walls (16:04):
And obviously, I am not a therapist, but I think there's some easy lists that we could probably all agree to. Hopefully, our listeners can reflect on this quietly as they listen or loudly, either way.
[Laughter]
Am I spending on convenience because I am exhausted, not because it helps?
Do I feel guilty taking time off even when I need it? (Oh gosh, I'm not doing well on this right now).
[Chuckles]
Do financial decisions feel heavier than they used to?
Jon Gay (16:35):
Yeah.
Amy Walls (16:37):
When was the last time I took a break that restored my energy?
Do I feel like I am always behind on my own life?
These questions aren't about judging yourself, they're about noticing, and noticing is the first step towards inviting and accepting change.
Jon Gay (16:59):
You were a little self-critical there, Amy. If one of our listeners or viewers hears themselves in those questions, what can they start doing today?
Amy Walls (17:07):
Yeah, they can start with simple steps and let that build some momentum. Choose one area of spending that is tied to stress and look at what might give you more energy instead.
Set one boundary at work this week that protects your time or attention.
Use one benefit you have through your employment this month that supports your wellbeing.
Look at your financial projections if you have those, or work with someone who can help you understand what enough looks like.
And give yourself one microbreak. An afternoon, a long walk or a quiet morning can really help with a reset. And all those small steps really create change that can impact life.
Jon Gay (17:57):
Yeah, those are really good specific tips. As we wrap up, let’s zoom back out; can you leave our listeners with a few key takeaways here?
Amy Walls (18:05):
Well, hopefully, they absorbed it all, but no, really (laughs).
Jon Gay (18:09):
Amy, they're burnt out, how can they absorb anything?!
Amy Walls (18:11):
(Laughs) Exactly. So, I think burnout, it's not a personal failing. Number one, it's a mismatch between your demands and your energy.
Jon Gay (18:20):
I like that.
Amy Walls (18:21):
At any point in time. Money can create pressure or relief. It depends on how you use it.
Small, intentional choices around spending, pacing, and rest make a meaningful difference.
And you deserve a financial plan that supports your wellbeing, not just help.
Jon Gay (18:43):
I like it. Amy, to find out more about your team at Thimbleberry Financial and how you can help our listeners with this or anything related to their financial future, how do they best find you?
Amy Walls (18:52):
Yeah, they can find us online at thimbleberryfinancial.com, or they can give us a call at (503)-610-6510.
Jon Gay (19:02):
Alright. If you thought this podcast resonated with you or know somebody else it might resonate with, please feel free to share it with them. We're now on video on YouTube as well as on audio podcast as well.
Amy, good stuff. We'll talk again in a couple of weeks.
Amy Walls (19:14):
Sounds great, Jag. Thanks.
[Music Playing]
Voiceover (19:16):
Securities offered through registered representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc, a broker dealer, member of FINRA/SIPC, advisory services through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc, a registered investment advisor. Cambridge and Thimbleberry Financial are not affiliated.
Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions.
Securities offered through registered representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc, a broker dealer, member FINRA/SIPC, advisory services through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc, a registered investment advisor. Cambridge and Thimbleberry Financial are not affiliated.