How I increased my salary by $30,000 💃💰

L'Oreal Thompson Payton

Apr 04, 2018

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#WednesdayWisdom

"Pay me what you owe me. Don't act like you forgot." — Rihanna

Morning Musings

If you know me, then you know I like to keep it all the way real. According to my husband, I'm physically incapable of telling a lie.

In fact, my entire blog/brand/business, whatever you want to call it, was founded on three main values: honesty, transparency and vulnerability. I'm a firm believer that when women band together and help other women, we can move mountains.

So when Forth Chicago asked me to participate in their upcoming panel about finances, pricing and transparency, you better believe I jumped at the chance.

Around this time last year, I was offered a promotion at my former job and, although the title was impressive, the salary left a bit to be desired. I knew it was below market rate, so I asked around and sure enough, I was missing out on a LOT of moolah.

So I accepted the promotion (because I'm not going to leave money on the table) and immediately launched a plan to find a job that would compensate me accordingly.

I hired a career coach, honed in on what I really wanted in my next role and revamped my resume. Eight months, five interviews with two different nonprofits and one job simulation activity later, I accepted a job offer that was $30,000 more than my current salary.

And it felt pretty darn great.

But if I hadn't done my research and put in the work, I would still be grossly underpaid. This isn't to say that money is everything, but money does matter, whether we care to admit it. And there's nothing wrong with wanting to make more of it.

I want my career to be meaningful, but that doesn't mean I need to be a martyr in the process. You can do good in the world and still get paid.

Love,
L'Oreal

IRL

In keeping with this week's theme of ladies getting paid, be sure to check out the following event if you're in the Chicagoland area:

April 11: Go Forth Panel: Finances, Pricing & Transparency

Links I Love

My Latest Obsession

Admittedly, I was a bit skeptical of Acorns, a micro-investing app, when my husband first told me about it. An app that magically rounds up my purchases and makes recurring investments? Sounds like a scam to me.

But, since signing up earlier this year, I've invested nearly $400 without even thinking about it (which, for a non-numbers person like me, is a beautiful thing). Every week, Acorns automatically removes $20 from my banking account and invests it into my portfolio.

Twenty dollars is roughly four or five Starbucks drinks a week. It's up to you: $20 now or $20 toward your future. Because if you don't invest in yourself, no one else will.

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