Underearners Anonymous: 12-Step Program To Make More Money

If you feel you are not earning enough money and you don’t know how to go about changing that, there is a 12-step program available to help.

According to a report on MSNBC.com,it is called Underearners Anonymous (UA), a group founded about five years ago. It uses the famous Alcoholics Anonymous 12-steps, with some modifications, such as “We admitted we were powerless over underearning – that our lives had become unmanageable.”

Branches have been set up in 32 cities worldwide, where they have in-person meetings. Telephone meets are available for people who don’t live in those cities.

But first, you have to admit you have a problem. MSNBC writes:

Those symptoms include giving away time, working in isolation, overworking to the point of exhaustion and putting off advancing a career. Just as Debtors Anonymous helps people recover from compulsively accumulating debt, Underearners Anonymous, or UA, helps people recover from compulsive underearning. But UA doesn’t just address the problem of not making enough money — it also focuses on helping members become confident enough to apply for jobs and express their skills.

Actress Juliette Fairley is a member – the only member who would give her real name.

While working in a play in New York a few years ago, Fairley gathered the courage to ask the director to be paid for her work. He gave her $100. She was ecstatic.

“I had no concept that I could be earning more money as an artist,” said Fairley. A friend suggested she try UA. She loved it, and has since moved to Los Angeles and started a UA group there.

Fairley is now earning $1,200 to $1,600 a month by acting in her own one-woman play. While she said she still isn’t earning what she’d like to, it’s a definite step in the right direction.

And, she said, it’s all because of Underearners Anonymous.