Americans today are quitting their jobs in record numbers and many arestarting new businesses. While many employers may rue staff turnover it is in the long run a positive development. Here’s hoping those people are doing in with their eyes wide open. The late Casey Kasem used to close ‘America’s Top 40’ with the same line: “Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.” When you think about this is also good financial advice.

Daniel Pink in his new book The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward highlights results from a big survey of people’s big (financial) regrets. These include not getting their finances in order earlier, i.e. saving. Second, people also regret not taking bigger risks in their careers. Whether that be not leaving an unsatisfying job sooner or failing to start their own thing.

These two are in related. You can’t feel confident about striking out on your own if your financial house isn’t in order. This includes keeping your current job as you test out new ideas. Jack Raines at Young Money writes:

Luck and unknown variables often play an outsized role in success, but you can control the risk that you take in your new ventures. By keeping your old job while building your business, you minimize your risks.

We all want to be on the right side of asymmetric moves. However you can’t do that if you aren’t already on a stable base. Part of this is practical. The other aspect is psychological. If you are anxious about your financial situation you can’t really go all-in on a new opportunity with confidence.