5 Ways to Increase Your Income

You want to increase your income, but you aren’t sure where to begin. I’ve been there. I’ve tried many ways to increase income. You can find all kinds of ideas online, which can make it difficult to know where to start. I’ve boiled down those ideas into 5 main methods to increase your income. 

Some of these will have immediate results, others will be long-term strategies. Some require more time or effort and others take less time and energy. I’ve done all of these, and method #2 and #5 have had the biggest impact in building my wealth. 

Here are 5 ways you can increase your income. 

1. Negotiate a raise
2. Accept a new higher paying job
3. Work a second job
4. Start a side hustle/business
5. Make money while you sleep (invest)

Negotiate a raise

Negotiating a raise is probably the fastest way to immediately increase your income. If I said this out loud to a group of people, I’d expect the men to nod and puff their chest. I’m afraid a lot of the women would visibly shrink, as if they were turtles receding into their shells.

Negotiating a raise can be intimidating, especially for women. *Me resisting the urge to spin off and explain why society has literally raised women to act and feel this way.*

Instead you and I will focus on the aspects we can control. If you are hesitant to ask for a raise, ask yourself why. Do you feel like you deserve one? So often, we are our own worst critics. 

In the past, I would never even go for some things I wanted. People asked me why and I told them that there was someone else out there better than me. They pointed out I was rejecting myself before I even gave myself a chance.

After that, I promised I would become my own #1 supporter. From then on, I waited for other people to tell me no instead of telling it to myself. Promise me, even if you feel doubt, you will put yourself out there anyway.

Wealthy women have one thing in common: confidence. At a very minimum, they always appear confident, even if inside they are shaking with fear like they just left a haunted mansion.

Channel your confidence and gather evidence to prove to yourself and your boss why your performance deserves a raise.

Women tend to value relationships, and accordingly can also exhibit people pleasing behaviors. (Guilty!) Some people have this misconception that a negotiation is a conflict, where you and your boss have opposite sides.

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss entirely changed my perceptions on negotiation. He was a former FBI hostage negotiator so he could never lose a negotiation. Even so, his negotiation tactics made both sides feel like they “won.” 

My main takeaway from this book is that negotiation is just a conversation where you ask questions and actively listen so you can understand your boss’s side and she can see yours.

I applied these techniques and the person I was negotiating with actually complimented me afterwards. She applauded my ability to keep my composure, communicate respectfully, and confidently share my requests. This proves negotiation doesn’t have to be a conflict when you approach it like a conversation. 

Before reading this book, negotiation scared me more than a jump scare in a horror movie. Now, I can approach them with confidence and you can too!

One by one ladies, we’ll negotiate raises and get compensated for the value we bring.

Get a new, higher paying job

You may be the best negotiator in the world and get a great raise from your employer. Even so, there may be more opportunities for you to increase your income. Forbes revealed if you stay at a job for more than 2 years, you can miss out on upwards of 50% of your potential lifetime earnings. That means your loyalty could be rewarded with HUGE lifetime earning losses. 

The alternative is to switch jobs. If you apply and get an offer with higher compensation, then you know you are worth more.

If you really like your current job, you could use the better offer to negotiate and get paid what you’re worth.

You deserve to be fairly compensated for the value you bring. It’s up to you to make that happen. And you can do it.

Work a second job

You could find another job with another employer to increase your income. Depending on the work schedules and the pay, this may or may not be worth trading your time for. 

The benefit of having a second job is having another stable income stream. A downside is you’re trading your time for money where the amount of money you earn has a limit.

You could find a second job doing something you’d want to do anyway. For example, if you love fitness, perhaps your second job could be teaching a fitness class.

This method to increase your income may work well for some; however, if you aren’t a fan of trading more of your time for money, keep reading.

Start a side hustle or business

Starting a side hustle or business is often a long-term play to increase your income. This method is SO powerful because there is NO limit to how much you can earn. 

Depending on the structure of your business and the stage, you may be able to outsource the work. At that point, you will no longer be trading your time for money. That would make the income passive.

It’s also your business, so you have complete control over every aspect.

If entrepreneurship inspires you, check out 7 ways you can make money online here.

Make money while you sleep (invest)

The whole making money while you sleep implies this is easy and effortless. Investing in the stock market can be that easy and a truly passive way to increase your income. It requires some initial setup, but then you can automate it.

I should mention there are other ways to invest your money outside the stock market, like real estate, digital assets, etc. I prefer the stock market because it requires less effort. It’s also a relatively reliable way to build wealth over the long term.

If you want to start investing (or optimize investing), check out this complete index fund investing guide. It has fun and specific examples for women, but guys, I think you’ll get the references and a lot out of it too.

You can also take advantage of what I call the “investing profit loop”. Essentially, you earn extra money, then you invest the profit. This makes that money work twice as hard for you and helps you increase your income easily.

Conclusion

There are an unlimited number of ways to increase your income; however, most of them boil down into one of the five methods outlined here. You can negotiate a raise, find a new higher paying job, get a second job, start a side hustle or business, and/or invest.

Regardless of which method you choose, confidence in yourself will give you the courage to take risks and believe in yourself. You are worthy.

Which of these methods will you try first?