Almost 14% less salary and 40% less pension than our respective men. When it comes to money, we women often still lose out. And that is mildly shit. We live longer than men (about 6 years on average) AND over 40% of couples break up. Chances are, as a woman, you have to manage on your own for a moment in your life. That means taking better care of ourselves financially. Aside from the fact that taking good care of yourself financially is hugely important, it’s also fun. Yes, not dropping out now, but having it right financially simply gives you choices and opportunities in life. Money is oxygen for dreams and goals (hello sabbatical, hello vacation home, hello starting your own business!). In this article, 3 tips for increased income. Bye bye salary gap, but also: hello independence.
This article was written by the Elfin editors and also appeared on flair.co.uk
Tip #1: mindset
Unfortunately, we still often see that when it comes to money, women are given all kinds of tips to save and skimp. Nothing wrong with that, but during the time you’re scouring various supermarkets looking for the cheapest rolls of toilet paper, you can also focus on another side of the coin: earning more. After all, you can only save up to a certain level. At some point there is little left to save, because fixed expenses you always keep. Earning more, on the other hand, has many more opportunities. However, it requires a different mindset and long-term vision. Because working on a plan for more income now will not immediately add a few hundred euros to the account. That takes time. But give yourself time, this will pay off, literally.
Tip #2: Start a side hustle.
Imagine a table with 1 leg instead of 4. If that one leg falls away, what happens? A no-brainer, but many people have only 1 leg (salary from work) under their financial table. Multiple legs, or multiple sources of income, can help you create financial stability. For example, consider a side hustle. Hip term for “an extra source of income. Maybe you have a hobby or talent that you can make other people happy. Then you might think about starting a blog where you can earn affiliate income. Imagine your enormous love of dinner parties. Then you can share tips for decoration and post links to shops that sell decoration. If someone buys a product through your link, you will receive a commission. From a few tens per month to thousands of dollars, affiliate marketing can be very lucrative. Here, though: this too takes time. Other side hustle ideas include taking surveys or testing websites. An additional source of income will by no means give you an immediate second full-time income, but it does provide a touch more stability that you can build on.
More side hustle tips? Read the article “Making money from home: 11 side hustle ideas” here.
Tip #3: Start negotiating.
93% of women do not negotiate her salary. Schock! Are you also a woman who doesn’t like to negotiate? So you are not alone. It’s a huge waste, though, indeed you’re leaving a lot of money on the table. The reason women are less likely to negotiate is because of the association we have with negotiation: conflict, uncomfortable, brutal, too much. Whereas: we are born negotiators! It is time for us to use our female superskills to negotiate more salary. Two ultimate tips we learned from Wies Bratby, the best negotiation coach in the world:
1. Think of negotiation as relationship building, rather than difficult conflict. The moment you stand up for yourself and negotiate your worth, you thereby show that your supervisor has a strong personality on the team that you do have the ability to send a message to.
2. Negotiation is about creating a win-win situation. Empathize with the other person. How does your effort, your expertise and your skills help the company you work for become better? This requires you to listen carefully, and let’s just say that as women we are very good at that.
One last HOT HR tip from Wies: there is always 5% negotiating room. So go for it!
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