Three ways you’re leaving money on the table
THE STACK #6If I told you just won a $500 prize and all you had to do was call a particular number, would you call? (I'm talking about a legit prize you entered your name for, not all the spam calls you get 😆 )
I'm sure you'll call every day until you get that money.
So why do you walk away from hundreds and thousands of dollars daily?
Let's look at some ways you might be walking away from money.
THE STACK
1. Not negotiating
Do you feel icky negotiating?
Most of us feel like negotiating is terrible or makes us seem greedy or ungrateful.
Maybe we feel we don't deserve what we are negotiating for, so we settle for whatever we are offered.
Perhaps you might even believe the offer is a good deal, so we take it.
Here's a tip for you;
Never accept the first offer.
Always, always, always, always, always negotiate!
You can increase your salary by at least 10% simply by asking for more!
Some of the things you can negotiate are:
❖Your base salary
❖ The yearly rate of increase in your salary
❖ The number of vacation days you get
❖ Your benefits
❖ The number of Employee Stock Units you will receive
❖ Paid sick days
Negotiating shouldn't only be for your salary. You can also negotiate:
☞Cell phone plan
☞Internet plan
☞When buying a car
☞The interest rate on a loan
☞Airline tickets
☞Insurance and so much more
You could put thousands of dollars back into your pocket every year by constantly negotiating.
If you don't ask, you won't get it and hey...the worst they can say is NO.
2. Not taking advantage of an employer match
Ughhhh...retirement, here she goes again.....
Listen, if your employer offers an employer-sponsored retirement plan with a match, take 👏🏾 it 👏🏾.
Let's say your employer offers a 50% match of your contributions. This means that if you contribute $2,000, they will contribute $1,000 to your retirement plan.
That is already an instant 50% return on your money before you even invest it.
This is a great way to boost your retirement savings so you can worry less about retirement and spend more of your money living your #richlife.
3. Not investing
I'm sure you already knew we were going to end up here 😆
By leaving money in a savings account or GIC, you're losing hundreds of thousands of dollars and even millions.
You're also losing hundreds of thousands of dollars by waiting to invest.
I'm sure you're probably thinking...
How do I know how much I should be asking for?
🧐 The best way to find out how much you should be asking for is to talk to people.
🧐 Talk to colleagues, friends and even competitors of the company.
🧐 Find out how much they're getting paid or how much they are paying for their services. Use that as a starting point to negotiate your offer.
🧐 Go to multiple job interviews and use each offer to negotiate an offer at the following interview. You'll be shocked at how much the company budget suddenly increases when they know their competitor offers more.
The easiest way to reduce my phone plan is to show them a deal another provider is offering. It works every time!
If your pocket is feeling a little empty today, it's time to call your bill providers or pull up to your employer and start taking off all that money you left on the table and put it right back in your pocket where it belongs!
And then, when it lands in your pocket, remember to invest it! 😜
THE TOOL
Speaking of negotiating your salary, my friends at Pep Talk Her will be hosting a FREE 5-day challenge talking about all things negotiating!
The Challenge starts on February 21st, 2022 so join now!
THE ACCOUNTABILITY
This week, talk to your HR to find out if you're participating in all the employer benefits available.
I didn't participate in my employer group RRSP which has a 100% match, for almost one year because I had no idea I had to opt-in to the plan 😫....talk about leaving money on the table!
THE COURAGE
THE KNOWLEDGE
REGISTERED RETIREMENT SAVINGS ACCOUNT
The Registered Retirement Savings Account (RRSP) is a government-registered vehicle created to incentivize people to save for retirement.
Contributions into this plan are not taxed and grow tax-deferred until withdrawal.
Withdrawals are taxed at your marginal rate at the time of withdrawal.
This could help you save in taxes as many people earn significantly more during their working years than at retirement.
That's it for this week's STACK!
Talk to you next week,
But until then...Keep Stacking!
about the newsletterEvery Saturday, subscribers will receive one money tip, one tool, one actionable step, one word of courage and learn a new finance term to help you gain control of your finances in less than five minutes.
Free resources
Keep reading the latest NEWSLETTERS
How I manifested a girl's trip to Costa Rica