With the rate of inflation not getting any better anytime soon, one of the only ways to get ahead is to earn more. While there may be many different ways to do this, there is one way that works so much better than everything else. At least, in my opinion. In order to increase your income at a faster rate than inflation, it’s important to learn how to diversify your skill set.
WHY Should you DIVERSIFY?
First and foremost, when you learn a new skill you’re already diversifying. You do this by going outside of your comfort zone, and by doing so you become much more effective at problem-solving.
Therefore, diversifying is what can help increase your income fairly fast. And at the same time it also helps increase your problem-solving skills. These two happen to have a direct correlation to each other, coincidentally.
When you learn a new skill you are increasing the thickness of the myelin sheathing in your brain. This white matter protects the large system of nerves that run through your brain, which is what sends all communications to every part of your body. By increasing the thickness, you’re increasing how fast, and accurate, messages travel in your brain. This increases your overall cognitive ability and, therefore, your problem-solving skills become that much stronger. By doing this, you increase your potential value as an employee, which then directly correlates to increasing your income.
INCREASE YOUR INCOME
If you’re already happy with your job, learning new skills is the next step forward. By doing just this one thing, you set yourself up to earn more money.
You can do this by now being able to potentially perform another possible job function. Or can perform your job at a higher level, and both of these increase your overall worth. This increases your value and therefore your worth.
Some of the best skills to look at incorporating to gain the highest rate of return are:
- Accounting
- Bookkeeping
- Currency Exchange Trading
- Customer Relations
- Data Analysis
- Digital Marketing
- Excel
- Graphic Design
- HTML/CSS Coding
- JavaScript
- Mobile App Development
- Networking
- PowerPoint
- Public Speaking
- Python
- Real Estate Investing
- Social Media Management
- Video Creation
- Website Development
- Writing
THE ALTERNATIVE
If you aren’t as happy in your current job, then another way to diversify your skill set is to take on side hustles. Whether you work a primary job or multiple side hustle types of jobs, adding in another can only help increase your income. By incorporating side hustles, you’re not only increasing your skill set but also diversifying your income stream.
By doing both of these you end up creating more overall financial security for yourself. I have found this to be extremely helpful because things change all the time. So by not putting all of our eggs in one basket, there’s a much better chance that major changes at a primary job, or the market, won’t affect our financial bottom line as much.
Some of my favorite side hustles are:
- Accounting/Bookkeeping – Quickbooks is what I have been using since the 1990s, but Freshbooks is another great option.
- Airbnb & Airbnb Experiences – these are great options if you have extra space or a specific talent to share.
- Buying and selling electronics – some of my kids have been doing this for years and made some pretty good money.
- Real Estate Investing – buy and holds, land, lending trusts, fix and flips, etc.
- Rover – this can include boarding dogs, doggy daycare, dog walking, drop-in’s for dogs and/or cats.
- Selling at Consignment Sales – while you might not make a ton of money doing it, it’s still a pretty great side hustle.
- Surveys – such as America Consumer Opinion, Pinecone Surveys, Survey Junkie, and Swagbucks.
- Uber and Uber Eats – these can be done on your own schedule, which is great for those of us with a hectic lifestyle.
- Writing a book or Freelance Writing – this can even create passive income, which is a huge bonus.
Increase your income summary
By learning new skills you increase your diversity, which in turn increases your problem-solving skills. And when you increase your problem-solving skills, you have a much better chance of increasing your income because you’ve become a more valuable player at your job. Or you can use these increased problem-solving skills to embark upon some side hustles instead.
Either way, you’re only setting yourself up to be a better version of you in the future and also increase your income at the same time. This sounds like a major win-win to me!
What are some of the best ways you have found to ultimately increase your income?
