How I increased my income by 100% in 2 years

As I have discovered, it is possible to dramatically increase your income with the right approach.

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Key points

• A few years ago, I started setting bigger financial goals and working longer hours.
• I also developed my skills and took on other projects.
• These changes helped me double my income in two years.

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My financial situation has been up and down for most of the past decade, but over the past few years it has improved a lot. The reason is as simple as it gets: I started making more money. In fact, I managed to double my income in just two years.

It’s not something I talk about with people in everyday life, but I imagine if I did, the question I’d get would be “how did you do it?” After thinking about what I did differently, I made a few important changes that stood out and could help anyone who wants to make more money.

1. I set myself much more ambitious goals

Stay with me here. I realize that “think bigger” sounds like advice straight out of a Donald Trump self-help book.

As cliché as it sounds, setting myself more ambitious goals was the biggest change I made. It’s easy to be content with how much money you earn, especially if you feel you don’t have many opportunities to earn more. This is almost never true.

In my case, what opened my eyes were a few months where I worked more and earned a lot more money than usual. I realized that if I could earn that much in a month, there was no reason why I couldn’t earn that much each month, or maybe even more. It was the motivation I needed to increase my monthly and yearly income goals, which I have continued to do ever since.

2. I increased my hours

Setting big goals is great, but that’s only half the battle. I knew that if I wanted to reach my ambitious income goals, I had to put in more hours.

To be honest, before making this change, I probably had too much free time during my working days. Since I’m a freelancer and set my own schedule, it’s easy to take a really long break or procrastinate. This is why time management is so important for anyone going freelance. To make sure I stayed on track with my goals, I spent more time each day writing and finding new ideas.

I’m all about having a healthy work-life balance, so I would never recommend overworking yourself. But there are situations where you may need to put in more hours to get where you want to go, like if you’re trying to start a small business or grow in your workplace.

3. I expanded my skills

When I started as a personal finance writer, credit cards were my main focus. I knew all about the best credit cards and rewards programs, so that’s what I wrote about the most.

It’s good to have a specialty, but I’ve found it also helps to have more than one area of ​​expertise. A broader skill set often leads to more money-making opportunities. That’s why I expanded my knowledge by improving my knowledge of other aspects of personal finance, such as investing and banking.

If you want to earn more, I highly recommend researching ways to add relevant skills. How much you earn is tied to the value you provide, and more skills make you more valuable.

4. I took on more projects

One thing I found was that the more I worked, the more opportunities I got. It’s like a snowball effect. As you prove yourself, you are offered more missions and jobs.

I’m generally open to new projects, even if they’re out of my comfort zone, and it’s paid off for me. Some of the projects that I was unsure of at first turned into great sources of income that helped me achieve my financial goals.

Whether you are an employee or self-employed, be open to new tasks. You don’t have to say yes to everything, but it’s always better to seize opportunities than to pass them up.

I will be the first to admit that I was lucky enough to be able to increase my income so much. However, good fortune only goes so far. It also required several changes on my part. These are simple steps, but they can have a huge impact on your annual income.