Where you are, and where this goes
Start with your First Fix this week. The Rich Routine™ takes you the rest of the way over time.
Where most people start
Let the raise disappear into a nicer lifestyle.
A raise you don't plan for turns into a new normal fast.
This week: your First Fix
Save the raise. Save the extra before your spending catches up.
Saving it before it hits your spending means you never miss money you never got used to.
Where it ends up
Every time you get a raise, automatically bump how much you invest.
Tie your investing to your pay, and every raise grows your future without a new decision.
Try it now
Split your next raise
Decide the split before the bigger paycheck lands, and see what the future share could become.
How much more do you take home?
How much goes to your future?
Or slide to fine-tune
50%
Enter how much more you take home each month to see the split and what the future share could grow to.
Why raises disappear
When income goes up, spending tends to follow within a few months: a nicer apartment, more dinners out, a bigger car payment. None of it feels like a big decision, which is why the raise is so hard to find later.
Save the Raise makes the decision before the first bigger paycheck lands, while the extra still feels new and you haven't adjusted to it yet.
Save your next raise, step by step
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The Retirement Calculator shows what investing the raise could add up to by the time you retire.
An example split
Example: your take-home pay goes up by $400 a month. You raise your 401(k) contribution by enough to send $200 a month there, and the other $200 goes to your life now. Your lifestyle still gets better, and your investing grows every time your pay does.
Because 401(k) contributions usually come out before taxes, sending $200 there typically lowers your take-home pay by less than $200. Check your next pay stub to see the real difference.
When it gets tricky
Tap the one that sounds like you.
The raise came with bigger costs
If a move, a longer commute, or childcare came with the new role, cover those first. Then split what's actually left.
It's a bonus, not a raise
Decide the split the same way, before it lands. A one-time amount is good for finishing something, like topping up your emergency fund or a year's Roth IRA contribution.
You still have high-interest debt
Keep any employer match, then send the saved share to the high-interest debt first. Once it's paid off, that payment becomes money you can invest.
Your income comes from a business
Treat a stronger month like a raise. Set aside what you owe in taxes first, then split the rest between your future and your life.
How you'll know it's working
Come back in a month and tick what's true.
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After Save the Raise
The last step on the ladder above is tying your investing to your pay, so every raise grows your future without a new decision.
From there, a Strategist's next upgrade is usually the bigger picture: how your accounts work together, taxes, and what your income could support next. One Priceless Tay client got promoted and finally started her 401(k), which is exactly the kind of upgrade this fix makes room for. The 401(k) Match Calculator is a good place to check you're not leaving match money on the table.
