Give Yourself a Raise

At times like this, many of us feel lucky we even have a job.  If you’ve read the newpaper within the last year, you already know that unemployment is on the rise and that things don’t look like they are going to be getting better anytime soon.  If you were lucky enough to see a bonus last year, chances are you may not have gotten your typical annual raise.

In times like this, those of us who still have a job may not feel comfortable asking for a raise even though we may deserve one.  So what can you do to put more money in your pocket every week?

Tax time is in the air and people all across the country are looking forward to their big return from Uncle Sam.  They are already creating mental lists of all of the things they are going to do with that “extra” money.  Maybe pay off some credit card debt or apply it directly to student loans.  Others are going to stick that money into a savings account and boost their emergency fund while others will find a way to spend their entire refund on frivolous things such as an iPhone or a Coach bag.

I have news for you.  You aren’t getting that money because the government wants to be your friend.  You are getting that money because it is your money.  It is the money that you overpaid to the government from your income taxes, and “good ole you” just gave the government an interest free loan.  How nice of you!  Would you mind loaning me that money so that I can earn interest from it?  I didn’t think so, so why are you letting the government have it?

If you are broke and are scraping to get by, wouldn’t you rather have this money during the year so that you can afford to pay the bills and put food on the table?  If you are rich and don’t need to worry about money, wouldn’t you like to have this money sitting in an investment account earning you some more money?  Of course you would!  So how do you get your hands on your money?  Adjust your W-4 form! 

Some of you might be asking yourself at this point, “What the heck is a W-4 form?”  When you began your employment you might remember having to fill out a bunch of paperwork.  It is very likely that your W-4 form was somewhere in this paperwork.  What a W-4 form does is it determines the correct amount of tax withholdings to deduct from your paycheck.  Many times there is a significant discrepency between what ends up being withheld from what your tax liability actually is. 

I recommend spending some time with an online calculator like the one found on the IRS Website.  There are numerous calculators online, so it may be wise for you to use a few to double check your numbers and cross-reference each other. 

A word of advice, don’t be foolish and claim 9 exemptions.  Claiming more exemptions than you should will result in having to pay into the IRS next year, and no one wants that.

Many people look forward to getting their refund checks and I don’t blame them.  Everyone loves to see their name on a check with lots of numbers, however, more times than not, these same people who anticipate this check every year are the same people who are really struggling to get by.  That’s why they need it, because they are broke!  Why should you be broke all year while you wait for money that is your’s anyways?

The answer is, you shouldn’t!  Adjust your W-4 and give yourself the raise you need.  Check with you Human Resources Department to find out how!