Give Yourself A Raise

Before we get started, let me clarify that I do not judge what anyone chooses to do as a social activity. However, a proven model for success is to increase revenue and decrease expenses. Both of these tasks yield the same result: more money in your pocket. Most people only think of expenses as bills such as utilities, child care, car payments, rent, taxes, etc. Actually, an expense is anything that is not an investment; meaning it will not directly bring more money as an end result. We all have hobbies, vices, and social activities we enjoy that require our monetary contribution. We only get one run through life so you should be able to have and/or do many of the things you enjoy. Some of these things are stress relievers which add to your quality of life. Others are things that you could ultimately do without which would spare you the expense, essentially giving you a raise.

Take smoking cigarettes for example. It has been proven that smoking is detrimental to human health and our wallets. The average smoker puffs nearly a pack of cigarettes per day. The average cost per pack varies by state, New York being the highest and West Virginia being the cheapest, making the national average about $8/pack. Just 1 year of smoking a pack of cigarettes per day creates a $2920 expense. While experts agree that stopping is the best option, the reality is that if one wants to smoke, the cost nor the health consequences will deter them. Here's a tip, simply reduce the quantity of cigarettes smoked per day by 50%. That could instantly add $1460 back into your budget before factoring in the fuel cost saved by making half as many trips to the store to purchase them.

Smoking isn’t the only expense that we can remove from our budgets. I have things I’ve had to cut out or reduce in order to get my raise. I could then put that extra money in my IRA, vacation spending allocation, or gym membership. Try it out and come back with your comments so your experience may be a blessing to others.

-- Wood Butler, Jr.

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