We cover five pillars: Financial psychology, Increasing your income, Investing, Real estate, and Entrepreneurship. It’s double-ii FiiRE.
Today, we’re diving into pillar two: increasing your income.
Pillar II | Increasing Your Income
Imagine this: You’ve been spending weeks, maybe months, looking for a new job.
You’ve updated your LinkedIn. You’ve refreshed your resume.
You’ve contacted every professional in a related industry that you can think of, including old college acquaintances you haven’t talked to in decades.
You’ve been on job boards and in WhatsApp threads. You’ve joined professional associations and industry Meetup groups.
You’ve gone to networking mixers — you know the drill. It’s the same every time.
You awkwardly hold a plastic cup filled with club soda with lime while hunched over the day-old charcuterie tray. You pretend to be looking at your phone, so no one will realize you’re actually too shy to start a conversation.
For what feels like an eternity, you stand there alone.
When someone finally approaches you, you offer a handshake, then suddenly realize your hand is freezing cold and slightly damp because of that sweaty club soda.
Damn melting ice. You force the corners of your mouth to smile, while making a mental note to start holding drinks with your left hand.
But you’ll forget. You always do.
When you return home, you stay up late, sending cover letter after cover letter into the void. It feels like 19 times out of 20 you just get ghosted.
And then 1 out of 20 times, you make it to the second interview, maybe the third interview.
Maybe there’s a complicated skills test involved, and you nervously quadruple-check to make sure you followed the directions to a tee.
Maybe you even board a flight, sitting in the middle row in the back of coach, to interview in person at the headquarters in InconvenientVille. You wait 40 minutes at security. TSA confiscates your shaving cream.
You invest full work days preparing for interview round after round — only to get that eventual dreaded email that they chose the other candidate.
Of course they did. It’s just your luck.
You complain to strangers in your job hunters subreddit. They’re the only ones who seem to get it.
This sucks.
And so when you finally, finally, finally get that job offer (!!) and they say, “We can start you at …,” you’re inclined to accept whatever number they suggest.
You don’t want to be difficult.
You don’t want to blow the opportunity.
You don’t want to look like you’re not a team player.
You’ve come this far. Why chance it?
But the reality is that you could be making more.
The reality is that you might be buying into some unstated assumptions that are costing you tens of thousands.
Even after all that effort, you might hold limiting beliefs that keep you from getting what you’re actually worth.
Because here’s the secret. You know how hard you’re trying? On the employer side, they’re trying just as hard to find you.
To find someone with your skills, your experience, your ideas.
To find someone with your gumption, your hustle, your ambition.
And now that they’ve found you, they don’t want to be difficult. They don’t want to blow the opportunity. They don’t want to look like they’re not a team player.
This is your opportunity to carve an incredible win-win — so you can forge a lucrative and mutually beneficial partnership.
You bring value, and they reflect some of that back to you in return.
But limiting beliefs prevent even the most talented people from seeing this.
Here are eight expensive myths that limit your earning potential.
Myth #1: Asking for more money will create drama
You picture the conversation getting tense. Maybe your boss getting defensive. Maybe HR getting involved.
But here’s the thing: most compensation conversations happen in normal conference rooms with normal people who expect these discussions.
It’s business, not personal drama.
Myth #2: If you get more money, someone else gets less
You worry that your raise means a coworker doesn’t get theirs. Or that the company has to cut costs somewhere else.
But smart companies know that keeping good people is cheaper than replacing them.
Your value isn’t taking away from someone else’s — especially if you’re a great worker who takes initiative and solves problems. You’re adding to the whole pie.
Myth #3: They’ll rescind the offer if you ask for more
This is the big fear, right?
You finally got the offer, and now you’re going to mess it up by seeming greedy.
But here’s what actually happens: 85 percent of people who negotiate their offers are successful.
Companies expect it. They budget for it. They’d be surprised if you didn’t ask.
Myth #4: It’s all about the base salary number
You fixate on that one figure in the offer letter.
But what about the signing bonus? The extra vacation days? The flexible work arrangement? The stock options?
Sometimes the best deal isn’t the highest salary — it’s the package that actually improves your life.
Myth #5: The budget is the budget
They say “this is what we have budgeted for the role” and you believe that’s the end of the story.
But budgets are guidelines, not laws.
If you can show additional value — taking on extra projects, generating revenue, solving problems — suddenly there’s room to move.
Myth #6: You need to stay completely professional and unemotional
You practice your poker face. You rehearse sounding detached.
But authenticity actually works better than pretending you’re a robot.
It’s okay to be excited about the opportunity. It’s okay to express genuine enthusiasm. Just don’t let emotions drive your decisions.
Myth #7: Accepting their first offer shows you’re grateful
You want to seem appreciative, not demanding. You think saying yes immediately proves you’re the right culture fit.
But thoughtful questions and strategic responses actually show you’re taking the role seriously.
Gratitude and advocacy aren’t opposites.
Myth #8: Some people are just natural negotiators
You tell yourself you’re “not good at this stuff.” That confident people have some gene you’re missing.
But income advocacy isn’t about personality — it’s about preparation and practice.
The people who seem naturally good at it? They’ve just practiced more. They’ve learned the skills. And so can you.
