You have a job, and you’re grateful for the income, but cash is still tight. Many people know the struggle – it can feel impossible to get ahead when you’re barely making ends meet.

Thankfully, learning how to make money in your current situation isn’t hard. In fact, you can start pulling in more cash tomorrow with the choices you make today.

Here are 6 steps for boosting your income without having to find a new job.

Step 1: Get out of debt. Chinking away at debt might not seem like a way to bring in more cash, because you don’t see the deposit hit your bank account. But don’t be fooled: the more debt you get rid of, the more of your paycheck stays where it belongs – with you. And as our founding father Benjamin Franklin (kind of) said, “A monthly payment saved is a monthly payment earned.” You get the idea! 🙂

Not only will eliminating your debt save money, it’ll also likely improve your credit score, something employers could look at it to determine a worker’s general reliability.

Step 2: Earn a trade certification. Who at your job is considered “the expert”? What did they do to become the team’s thought leader? Usually, it’s someone who applied themselves to a higher education training or certification program and earned accreditation. Honestly, there’s nothing that person possesses professionally that you can’t go out and get.

Before signing up for classes, though, self-educate. Check out a handful of the public library’s best books on the subject, and learn everything you can about your trade before enrolling. Then you’ll be familiar with the material even before the first day of class, easing study time.

Becoming an expert in your field boosts your reputation for reliability, which is necessary for earning a raise.

Step 3: Earn seniority at work. Seniority doesn’t just come from tenure, it also comes from your track record of dependability. When you’re tempted to sleep in after a restless night, bite the bullet and get to work on time. Again, this will position you for a pay increase when the time is right.

Step 4: Pick up extra hours. This tip both shows your dedication to the project and puts more money into your paycheck right away. So you’ll earn a few extra dollars while posturing yourself for a good job review with the boss. Can you see where this is going? Not everyone is paid hourly, and if you are a salaried worker you won’t see the financial benefit of extra hours, but you will certainly be more likely to be noticed if you are seen as a hard worker!

Step 5: Ask for a raise. Once you’ve accrued seniority, earned some chops, and achieved a reputation for on-the-job intelligence, then it’s time to ask for the corresponding change in compensation. Don’t apologize for asking – just state your case and let your employer answer. It’s important that you aren’t seen as hesitant or unsure about how deserving you are!

Step 6: Look for little windows of time. Knowing how to make money means knowing how best to use your time. Once you’ve gotten that raise, you might think it’s time to finally kick back and coast on autopilot. While you may celebrate and relax a little, it’s important to continue to repeat the steps above, using small snippets of time that each day affords. Use your lunch break, your commute, and other opportunities to increase your income by taking  the steps above. Or if you’ve hit a professional ceiling, use those small windows of time to maintain a blog, sell your stuff online, or participate in paid focus groups.

Do you want to make more money at your job? If you take these steps and it’s in the boss’s budget, you’ll be earning more take-home pay without having to start over.

If you want to know how to make more money because you’re in debt and struggling to keep up with payments, there might be another way. Call a nonprofit credit counselor at CESI S for a free consultation.

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