Last Updated on Nov 22, 2021 by James W
Many people seek to earn more for a variety of reasons, including paying off debt, saving for the future, having a financial cushion for unforeseen expenses, and simply living more comfortably. There are numerous ways to increase income, including earning a new certification or launching a side business.
In this article, we’ll go through the benefits of making more money and the top ideas you can do to increase your current income.
Summary of Ways to Make More Money
Passive Income
From low barrier to entry to higher cost investment ideas, there’s something for everybody here.
Side Hustle
A list of the most common side hustle ideas that help shore up your revenue streams.
Higher Pay
Explore all possible options on earning more at your current job, including negotiating for a raise.
Hidden Money
Figure out ways to cut back on several of your largest expenses to make more money.
Learn a New Skill
Still, one of the best ways to leverage your spare time is to pursue new learnings and commit to developing them.
Why Make More Money: The Benefits of Increasing Your Current Income
More people need to learn new ways on how to make more money. Increasing your current income will help change your life for the better as you:
- Diversify your revenue streams
- Create and develop a business plan
- Set aside money for large purchases, such as a vacation.
- Clear your debts
- Shore up your emergency fund
- Stop living paycheck to paycheck
- Approach your retirement age
Cutting your budget is always a great idea, but that and living frugal only goes so far. We can all agree that the people who save money and find ways to generate more of it make the fastest progress toward achieving their financial goals.
Ways to Make More Money
Passive Income
Passive income is revenue you earn without doing a lot of “active” labor to sustain it. In effect, you can perform most of the work upfront and put in additional effort along the way to earn more income.
The key thing to understand about passive income is that it requires a particular form of investment (either time or money).
Some of the passive income ideas you can consider are as follows:
- Creating digital courses and e-books to turn your skills and expertise into something people are willing to pay for
- Blogging for writers and hobby enthusiasts
- Teaming up with retailers to promote their products through affiliate marketing
- Investing in the stock market
- Building a website to take your brand wherever you want
“Making money while you sleep” is perhaps the most compelling reason people want to earn passive income. However, making more money this way isn’t possible unless you’re willing to invest time, money, effort, or all three first.
Side Hustle
When thinking about which side hustle you should launch, one question that can help you generate ideas is, “What are you the go-to person at work or in your personal life for?”
Other people routinely come to you for assistance with something. Whether it’s hosting events, doing their hair and makeup, helping others learn new technologies, or creating gluten-free pastries. Being aware of this offers valuable information when looking for a side hustle and demonstrates an actual demand in the marketplace.
The best side jobs that’ll help you make more money while working from home includes:
- Become a freelancer wherein you can work as a writer, video editor, web developer, graphic designer, bookkeeper, photographer, etc.
- Sell information products about a popular topic that you’re well-versed about.
- Build your brand and become a social media influencer.
- Work as a virtual assistant and perform tasks involving administration, bookkeeping, social media, and more.
Besides helping you earn extra, you can also utilize your side hustle to build your portfolio and brand, develop new and current skills, and eventually achieve more freedom. When done right, a side hustle can serve as an opportunity to live life on your own terms.
Higher Pay
Another way to increase your current income is by maximizing what you can do with your current job, which can involve negotiating for higher pay.
In reality, not everyone does this, mainly because not everyone is a born negotiator. Just like communication, time management, efficiency, and others, salary negotiation is an acquired skill.
Before attempting to negotiate for higher pay, try the following tips:
- Know what your role is worth by researching the wage overview of major sectors in different markets, the corresponding roles and functions, and their salary estimates.
- Assess your value. Keep in mind that your value to your company doesn’t necessarily equate to your work designation. Peripheral skills that you learned and mastered over the years allow you to command a certain amount of salary.
- Assume you’re entitled to top pay. Most certainly, your employer will negotiate down, so you’ll need the wiggle room to still end up with the amount you want.
Last but not least, consider your timing. It turns out that timing is everything. Don’t be like most people who wait until their performance review to request a salary adjustment. Then, your boss is likely to have already decided what raises will be applied to the team.
Find Hidden Money
When we ask you to find hidden money, we don’t mean searching for a secret safe in your basement or checking your cushions for them. It’s finding ways to save money on your current expenses.
Some of the ways to find hidden money are:
- Negotiate lower rates on your current bills, such as your credit cards, cellular plan, gym membership, or car insurance.
- Speaking of membership, cut back on membership fees and subscription services. They might look cheap at first glance, but not when you add them all up.
Learn a New Skill
As the cliche goes, “life is a learning experience, and the more you learn and grow, the better equipped you will be for new challenges.”
By leveling up your skills, you can make yourself stand out at work and put yourself in a better position to negotiate a salary increase. Also, these new sets of skills can help you land a side hustle or business of your own.
Currently, there are numerous ways to learn a new skill, and most of the time, you can get them without paying. You can:
- Take an online course (most of which are self-paced, and again, you can get them for free.
- Ask a family member, friend, or colleague to help you learn a skill that they have.
- Watch videos and read content to learn more about the new skill you’re interested to learn.
Once you acquire a new skill, don’t forget to practice to be better at it. Your willingness to put in the effort and move away from your comfort zone to hone a new craft will eventually pay dividends and help you earn more.
Key Takeaways
Finding ways to earn more certainly allows you to do a lot of things, including paying off your debts, saving for significant purchases, reducing financial stress, retiring early, and so on. There are both small and huge steps that all add up to a healthier financial present and future.
You can try one, two, or all of them. Even something as simple as calling your gym or car insurance company to inquire about a lower premium is a step in the right direction.
Consider the ideas we mentioned here, and you might be well on your way to increasing your current income, even while you’re asleep, in no time.
