Do you know what your worth? Do you think that what you’re earning at your current job is equal or more than your worth? If you don’t know, here are some tips to figure it out.

• Go to a website, such as salary.com (there are other choices, too). Use one of the calculators to determine what the “going rate” is for your job in your city. Compare this to your salary.
• If you’re below the mean for your position, consider going to your boss with this information and ask for a raise. You determine your worth, not your boss! Check out this article on Forbes on tips for asking for a pay raise if you need some help.
• If you fall near or above the mean, than so far so good! The next step is to examine other aspects of your job. Things to consider include:
  • Distance from home… i.e. how much time to you spend driving to and from work? How much gas and wear and tear on your car does it cost you? Write this down in two columns; one for cost related stuff, and another for hours.
  • Job related expenses. We’re talking about things like expensive clothes, shoes, briefcases, etc. that you have to have to conform to work policies. Add them up (both hours spent and money) and add this info to your worksheet.
  • Food. If you bring your lunch you’re probable doing better than most. But you also need to factor in business lunches if they’re not paid for by the company, coffee trips, etc.
  • Decompression. If your job is stressful, how many hours each day are required to decompress when you come home? Write these hours in your spreadsheet.
  • Overtime. How many hours per week do you work that you don’t get paid for? Write it down.
  • Fitness/health. If you work a desk job, chances are you incur expenses for a gym membership to keep in shape. Yeah, this might not seem like a cost related to your job… however, many of us would not choose to sit our asses all day, but we do because we have to. If you fit this description, factor in the time used to go the gym and your weekly cost associated with a gym membership.
• Depending on your job, there might be other things to consider as well, but I’ll leave that up to you to sort out.
• Now, add up your 40 normal hours plus the drive time, overtime, shopping for clothes, decompression time, etc. and figure out on average how many hours you spend each week on work. You will likely be shocked at the number of hours… they’ll be way above 40.
• Next, take your monthly salary (use your take home… after taxes have been taken out), divide by four to get your average weekly salary. Divide that number by the number of hours you just computed above. This is your real hourly wage. It can be a shocking discovery. I learned that while I make over $20/hour, my actual wage is around $8/hour.

So, the next step if for you to decide if you think you’re worth this wage. Consider how much money you spend just to keep your job (obviously this was already factored into your real wage). Is it worth it? If you really like your job, look for ways to cut costs. Move closer to work if you can. Ask to work from home one day a week. Start bringing coffee and food for lunches from home. If you’re not that attached to your current job, now’s your chance to make a change. Find a job that has a good salary, is close to wear you live and has other perks… (like no dress-code or no required overtime, for instance). Regardless of whether this changes anything for you, looking at your job in this light will make you more aware of everything you do. Like I said before, no one but ourselves can determine our worth; if you’re not making what you believe you’re worth, than it is within your power to change that for the better.

This method came from a book called Your Money or Your Life, by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. It’s a great book, and goes into far more detail than I have presented here. I would recommend the book to anyone looking to improve their life and their finances.

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