• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Gen Y Planning

Financial Planning for Millennials

  • Home
  • Meet the Team
  • Work With Us
  • Speaking & TV
  • Current Clients
  • Press
  • Blog
  • FAQs

How to Earn More and Grow Your Net Worth

When you’re young and just starting your career, you’ve likely never earned five figures before, so that $30,000 offer for a job in New York City can feel like a king’s ransom! Besides, you barely have relevant work experience yet, so it’s not like you deserve more money. Right?

Wrong! As you gain experience and show your value to your company, you deserve more. As you hunt for a new job and get lowballed on salary even though you’re super-qualified, you deserve more. Asking for a raise or a higher salary offer can be an uncomfortable experience, but at worst you get told no — and at best you get told yes!

Think about the long-term effects of asking for more money. A 2010 study showed that an additional $5,000 a year in income could mean more than $600,000 in earnings over the course of a 40-year career. Add to that a yearly raise, and you’re in a better position to save more money for long-term goals and retire with a comfortable level of savings.

Growing your net worth takes years of earning more and saving more. Let’s get you there!

How to Ask for a Raise at Your Current Job

From the moment you start a job, keep track of your accomplishments. What project did you knock out of the park? What annoying process did you make more efficient? Have you been doing the work of two people because your boss decided not to replace someone who left the company? Did you impress a difficult-to-please client? Write that all down.

After a year, check in with your boss. Lead with your accomplishments. Talk about your plans for future work. And then … ask for a raise. If you have a specific number in mind, mention it. Repeat this every few years, any time you’ve had a major win at work, or any time you switch roles within your company.

Always frame these conversations around your value to the company — not around the fact that you need more money to buy a house, or the fact that you know someone else on your team earns more (that’s helpful information to know, but probably not the reason you’ll get a raise).

If your company can’t give you a raise at this time, see what other perks you can get instead. Maybe you’ll be happy for now with some extra vacation time, the budget to attend a conference, or a bump in your title? Ask for feedback on what would make you more likely to receive a raise in the future, and discuss a raise again in six months.

How to Negotiate a Higher Salary on a Job Offer

The best opportunities you have for rapidly increasing your salary come when you switch jobs, so take advantage!

Negotiating begins well before you receive a job offer. Use tools like Glassdoor to research salary ranges for your field in your geographic area. If a job listing doesn’t indicate the salary range, it’s more than okay to ask during the initial phone interview what they had in mind. This will save you both time if what they offer is much lower than what you’d accept.

Don’t share your previous salary with an interviewer. You want them to pay you what their company thinks this role is worth, not what your former employer paid. If they insist on you giving a number first, offer a range you’d be willing to accept.

If you receive an offer that’s at the low end of your range, tell them the number you were hoping for. They might have room in their budget to pay you more, especially if you were their favorite applicant.

How to Earn Extra Income

I’m a big fan of the side hustle. It’s a great way to start your own company while maintaining the security of a full-time job, learn a new skill set, or broaden your professional network. This can all make you more marketable the next time you search for a new job.

And of course, you’ll make more money! Bringing in additional income can help you speed up debt repayments or saving for retirement. Even earning a few hundred extra dollars a month can make a big difference.

If you’re at the top of the salary range for your field, or your company instituted a salary freeze, you might not have a chance for a raise through your full-time job. Taking on side work is like getting the raise your company can’t give you right now.

You might also enjoy reading:

Should I Hire a Financial Planner?
Ask Gen Y Planning: Is Student Loan Debt Worth It?
How a Decision Matrix Can Help You Make Big Choices With Confidence
Tax Tips for Freelancers, Side-Hustlers, and the Self-Employed
Share
Share
Tweet
Share

Don’t Miss out

Join our newsletter to get all the latest!

Previous Post: « The Role of Career Planning in Financial Planning
Next Post: How to Create Your Own Career Path »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Primary Sidebar

I'm Sophia! And I'm not your father's financial planner. I work virtually with clients across the country to help them navigate through big life changes and reach their goals. I'm also a foodie, a true crime junkie, and a lover of karaoke. Let's chat! Click here >>

Stay up to date

Subscribe to get all the latest news!

Let’s Connect

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Latest on Twitter

Sophia Bera Daigle, CFP® Follow

Founder of Gen Y Planning. Entrepreneur. Wife & Mama. Theatre kid at heart. Lover of breakfast tacos and karaoke.

sophiabera
sophiabera Sophia Bera Daigle, CFP® @sophiabera ·
3 Feb

Here’s a peek into how we set clients up for long-term financial success. #FinancialPlanning #FinancialAdvisors #BuildingWealth https://buff.ly/3CI9Cto

Reply on Twitter 1621614678274105352 Retweet on Twitter 1621614678274105352 Like on Twitter 1621614678274105352 Twitter 1621614678274105352
sophiabera Sophia Bera Daigle, CFP® @sophiabera ·
3 Feb

Housing and transportation costs are often the most expensive items in our monthly budgets. By reducing these costs and simplifying your life, you can free up cash flow. #PersonalFinance #SimplifyingYourFinances https://buff.ly/3R4WoLE

Reply on Twitter 1621312657449009155 Retweet on Twitter 1621312657449009155 Like on Twitter 1621312657449009155 Twitter 1621312657449009155
sophiabera Sophia Bera Daigle, CFP® @sophiabera ·
2 Feb

Every path to financial security starts somewhere. The good news is that, wherever you are today, that’s the perfect place to start. #FinancialPlanning #PersonalFinance #FinancialPlan https://buff.ly/3u9zpp8

Reply on Twitter 1621154039177293825 Retweet on Twitter 1621154039177293825 Like on Twitter 1621154039177293825 2 Twitter 1621154039177293825
Load More
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • ADV Part 2
  • Photo Credit: Matthew Johnson

Copyright © 2023 · Cultivate Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in