Smart Couples Finish Rich: Step 9 Review
Each Friday for ten weeks I am reviewing a chapter of David Bach’s Smart Couples Finish Rich. The introduction can be found here, the review of step 1 here, step 2 here, step 3 here, step 4 here, step 5 here, step 6 here, step 7 here, and step 8 here.
So here we are at the final step, step 9. I’ve been thinking all week about if I feel more like a smart couple who will finish rich. I mean – I’ve always felt smart in general, and my spouse is a pretty smart cookie too. But are we smarter about money now than we were when we started and do we believe we too can finish rich? I’m going to have to give that more thought as I learn Step 9: Increase Your Income By 10% in 9 Weeks. If this involves my spouse asking for a raise it just isn’t going to happen – he’s not assertive like that and his company has a strict schedule of salary reviews (once a year, that’s it).
And, of course, I was correct and the income increase results from a raise of your current salary. You deserve a raise! And, honestly, in reading the chapter, I feel swayed by the argument. It is not going to get my spouse to ask for a raise, but it might if it were me (easy for me to say that though because I’m not the one who has to do it heh). But let’s look at what the chapter offers before getting into a huge discussion about it. The ProActive Income (what Bach calls it) Nine Week Plan begins!
Basically, the beginning of the chapter is all about why you deserve a raise (as long as you’re good at your job). It costs less to keep good employees than hire new ones, but even so, loyalty is not generally rewarded because it doesn’t have to be (the employee stays complacent at the lower salary and never tries to leverage more). This chapter is all about being paid what you’re worth, and that involves asking for (and receiving) a 10% raise. If you are self-employed, you raise your rates by 10%.
Week One is taking stock of the reality of your situation, which is determining your true hourly wage, determining if the company you are working for is growing or declining, and making sure you are in action mode and not complaint mode. In week two, determine exactly what you want and put it in writing, and then in week three, clean up your mess! The office, home, everywhere. Make it all neat and sparkly. 
Week Four begins the big action phase – being clear on how YOU add value. This involves talking to your boss. Then in weeks five through eight, you work up to asking for the raise – by focusing on what part of your effort at work brings the most results, looking for a new job, practicing asking for the raise, and then in week eight – do it. Ask for that raise! Week Nine is for the celebration.
In reading the chapter, honestly, it sounds completely reasonable. It sounds like a recipe for success! Which is why, in a few words, debt stinks. My spouse won’t do this, and frankly, I don’t really want him to. With any reward comes a bit of risk, and if this backfired and he lost his job, well… we’d be in a whole heap of trouble. If we were $30,000 less in debt, then there would be a LOT more room for risk-taking. That both motivates me to try and be even more proactive about finding ways to reduce our debtload and also depresses me about the situation we are in.
On the other hand, I’ve tried to implement some of the strategies in the book in my own income generation. I’ve bumped prices where appropriate in my alternative income ventures, and that is actually working out fine. I also am working on adding another source of income (tutoring) to my arsenal, which is not increasing my income in the way the book suggests, but is increasing my flexibility and income streams. So… we’ll see.
The book has been a good read for me, and I have a lot of final thoughts, which I’ll share next week in my final installment of my review of Smart Couples Finish Rich, with a note about the epilogue and resources in the back of the book, as well as my overall feelings about where I was when we started reading the book and where we are now. And I’ll have to find a new book to read… hmm.
November 16th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
His advice about asking for a raise probably doesn’t apply to everyone. In fact, as a commissioned advisor – how did he ask for a raise?
I thought his suggestions about finding out what your “market value” is was excellent. There are people out there who are underpaid and can give themselves that 10% raise (or more) by getting a new job.
Mike
November 16th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
Well, wouldn’t he ask for a raise by raising his rates? Although I doubt he needs a raise now
. He wrote a book! lol
I liked the determining market value section too, I didn’t go into each of the weeks in detail because I started to and realized i was just rewriting the book. I got sidetracked though by thinking to myself “What if spouse’s employer found out he was looking around and fired him?”
I’m a wee bit paranoid. For no good reason, spouse’s employer loves him and he gets glowing reviews etc etc but just…. paranoid. With self awareness comes a better concept of the reality of our situation and reality ain’t always pretty.
November 16th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Good point, the more dependent you are on a particular job and salary, the harder it is to take a chance on leaving. Like you said, you have to deal with reality.
Mike