Making the most of a pay rise

Arbeitab 5 J.

The golden rule: put 50% of the rise straight into your savings plan, use 50% for quality of life. That way both your standard of living AND your wealth grow – without lifestyle inflation.

What most people do with a pay rise:

❌ €300 more net → €300 more spending (bigger car, pricier food, more shopping)
❌ Result after 1 year: €0 saved. Higher standard of living. Same savings rate

What you should do INSTEAD:

✅ €300 more net → €150 straight into your ETF savings plan (increase the standing order!) + €150 for quality of life
✅ Result: your life gets BETTER (€150 more for nice things) AND your wealth grows

Sample calculation:

3 pay rises in 10 years, each €300 more net. 50% saved:

• After the 1st rise: an extra €150/month in the ETF
• After the 2nd rise: €300/month in the ETF
• After the 3rd rise: €450/month in the ETF
• After 10 years at 7%: approx. €55,000 in additional wealth

The trick: increase your savings plan BEFORE you get used to the higher salary. Ideally on the same day the raise takes effect.

Did you know? The “Save More Tomorrow” concept (Thaler & Benartzi, 2004) shows: if people commit IN ADVANCE to saving part of every future pay rise, their savings rate rises from 3% to 14% in 4 years. The trick: it never feels like giving something up, because take-home pay still rises.

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