Jun 10, 2021
How much do you earn per month? Is your income enough to cater for your pressing needs, not to talk of your wants? Do you want to increase your income? If your answers to these are as we’ve guessed then you are in the right place.
We are already in the middle of the year 2021 and you must be thinking it’s too late to make a move to increase your income, good news is it’s never too late. Whenever you wake up is your own morning so start doing what must be done to achieve what must be achieved.
You are aware that Naira is losing its value by the day and it’s becoming clearer that depending on a single paycheck won’t cut it. So how can you turn this over, increase your income, and beat the spirit of paycheck to paycheck?
So here are the 4 tested ways you can increase your income this year.
1. Get a side hustle: We are almost certain you must have heard this before and even at a point considering it. This is one of the surest ways to shoot your income to the moon. Having a side-hustle alongside a regular 9-5 job is quite daunting and that’s why people who do this successfully are often called superhumans. They are not superhumans, but a bunch of level-headed people who have hacked into things they could do alongside their jobs. Things that are not time-consuming and won’t eat into their employment. It could also be things they are naturally good at and won’t take extra effort. For example: If you are good at writing, you can offer a ghostwriting or blogging service; If you cook really tasty foods, you can start cooking for friends and colleagues for a fee.
2. Spend less and Save more: Actually, this is the oldest trick in the book. Don’t spend all your income, save some, in fact, save more of it. Sometimes it’s not your income that’s not enough but you spend like Nigeran politicians during elections. Stop this low budget Tinubu behaviour. We know It’s hard not to spend the money you have but try and take out your monthly sustenance then put the remaining in savings.
In a case where your income is enough to take care of your default needs but doesn’t leave you with some excess, you could go back to your monthly budget (you should have one if you don’t) to see if there are expenses you can cut off the list. For example, why are you doing a Netflix premium subscription when there is a basic one? Remember you are not rich and stop going to all the Bistro in Lagos, eat in your house.
3. Avoid Ponzi Scheme: Lots of people have lost their life savings in a blink of an eye to Ponzi schemes where they fall for a promise of 100% return on investment in a ridiculously short period. This never ends well and instead of making you richer, it will leave your finances high and dry. Avoid it with everything you’ve got. Be patient and follow due process, in fact, wealth building takes time and your finances are bound to have an accident if you choose to hasten it. Please do me a favour and google MMM.
4. Avoid Bad Debt: Never allow your loan to stretch too much that it compounds beyond you, it’s better to borrow money or take a loan you know you can return in the stipulated time. Taking loans you have no plan on how to pay back will only leave you in bad debt. Don’t take loans greater than your earning capacity. For instance, if you earn 100k/month, the highest amount of loan you should take must be pegged at 30% downwards to avoid ‘gbese’. Help your income to help yourself.
If you want to access a loan where you enjoy a relatively low interest rate and won’t have to pay through your nose, start here.