Getting A Home Made Pay Raise
Guest post: FDL, BSN
Great News: I Got a Raise This Year
It’s true, I now have $250 bucks more every month, which adds up to $3000 for the year. Not bad, huh?
Extra Cash: Pain Free Raise!
Through my day job, the outlook for a raise this year, and five years down the road, is bleak.
It’s a state job and I may find I don’t even have job in the near future.
We’ve been extremely busy at my day job and seeing a steady rise in our patient numbers. That’s a good thing. We offer free or almost free medical services and are able to give good medical care to our mostly indigent population.
The numbers who are not productive in our society are growing and need our help, but since they give nothing back in the form of taxes, my government job is in grave peril.
How did I do it? How did I raise my ‘income’?
Raise Your Income, Without A Raise.
I decreased my ‘out go’!
I finally stopped paying for four different little items that had crept onto my charge card as monthly fees ‘for services’.
I have fond memories of how each little bundle of services first caught my attention; tiny little wonders of the digital age that would make my life better, simpler or easier.
Precious little things they had been in their infancy as they crawled onto that statement the first time. Ah, the dew was definitely on the rose.
Then: Bam!
Reality slapped me in the kisser.
A year or more later, sweet no more, languishing on my monthly bill, the harsh reality was that they were there every month and providing services I had not actually found useful, didn’t need, wasn’t using, had grown out of, could do without.
That’s how I increased my income. It didn’t even hurt. Like a bird dog on the hunt, I put my nose to the ground and sniffed out a covey of birds (wasted money), then Poof! I took care of the problem.
No shotgun necessary, just a few keyboard strokes, “Are you sure you want to cancel?” Yes indeedy, I hit enter and bang! 100 bucks a month in my pocket. “Take that!” Hit ‘Enter again….Another 40 bucks a month, cool stuff. Goose bumpy, even.
You can do the same thing. Get a raise! Tighten, tweak, seek out the odd casual spending folly.
How do you find your raise?
It only takes a few minutes to monitor where your money goes each week.
Ask yourself these three simple questions:
- Do I still need/use/want this?
- Is it worth the monthly cost?
- Do I still love/benefit from this like I once did?
Look at your checkbook register, your online statement, your credit card bill,your Quicken register or Mint.
Note where your money leaves your pocket every month, especially those automatic deductions that easily become slick demonic seductions taking wealth rather than giving pleasure.
What might you find?
- Weekly lunches-$35 bucks….Pack your own!
- Twice weekly visits to marvel at the local barista…..Brew your own.
- Premium movie channels….How do you say Free Hulu?
- Shoe fetish-Maybe counseling, or maybe fall in love with retro Converse sneakers.
- Gotta have that new vampire book…try the library.
Frugal by nature, I already make my own lunch and morning coffee. The library is my friend. But I have my spending demons, just as you-and I’ve just slayed a few.
I am looking for more areas of careless spending after this current windfall.
There are probably more money drains I can curb. Cull-able Cash Cancers… Watch out. Your days are numbered. I’m on a roll.
Reader questions:
Come on, help us all out. What has made the “I can do without this” list in your household? Or what have you said “No more!” to??? I know there’s something there. Share it, you’ll feel better. But better still, go hit the “Cancel Now by hitting Enter” button. It’s practically orgasmic.
FDL BSN, works in public health and is a frequent contributor here.
{photo credit: stevendepolo c.c.}
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Tags: controlling your spending, getting a pay raise, how to control spending, how to monitor your spending, increasing your spendable income
Keep you cell phone, cancel you land line. I got a raise of $70 per month. Then when the phone company says they will give you unlimited calling for only $17 per month, tell them where they can put their phone
Good job!
Orgasmic eh? Cancelling services you no longer use is quite rewarding but orgasmic!?!
It wasn’t my post, but who am I to argue…whatever floats your boat huh!
If I can get my wife to be orgasmic about saving money, I’m moving to a tent tomorrow.
We cut our land line, and last month I cut three magazine subscriptions. I should cut the local paper (it’s hilarious to call it journalism), but I like knowing what’s going on in our little town.
Agreed, it isn’t rocket science, it’s often a lot easier to reduce outgoings than it is to increase our income. The problem is it’s easy to become complacent about what we spend our money on, so a wake up call to jolt us to action is very useful from time to time.
With me it was coffees – about $10 every working day. And other little stuff.
Talking orgasmic, why ‘rewarding but…’ when it surely is ‘rewarding and…’.
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