How I got 5 raises this year

tl:dr. I received raises from both my jobs. And got another 3 raises from various passive investments. On average each raise was $1,000/year.

Multiple Income Streams Update 2019

One way to potentially earn more money is to further our commitment towards our careers. But another way is to look for alternative income opportunities to supplement what we already have! There’s no limit to how much we can make if we plan ahead and build up a portfolio of multiple incomes. I began implementing this strategy in my early 20s. In my last update in 2016, I had expanded my total income sources to 6. 🙂 Here is a new update for 2019.

Over the last decade my spending almost doubled due to improved living conditions, inflation, and higher debt payments. However, my income has roughly tripled in that same time. 😀 Overall my income to expense ratio has improved. I am now able to save over 50% of my take home income.

Breaking down my 5 raises

The Canadian economy stayed pretty flat, advancing only 0.1% in the first quarter of 2019. But even in a slow growth environment there are opportunities to make more money. Since I have multiple sources of personal income, each stream acts like a recurring revenue tool which I can try to extract value from. Some of this year’s raises required a bit of work on my part, while others just happened automatically.

• Full time job (+2%)

I work for a large entertainment company. I’ve only been at this new studio for 8 months, but still managed to get a small salary adjustment along with everyone else. So, yay! The annual raises are based on personal as well as company performance for the fiscal year. There’s not much I can do to affect my salary, except of course to become more productive. But since I’m already satisfied with a 2% raise I will continue to perform my tasks simply adequately, and not try to win any employee of the month awards. I prefer a healthy work/life balance, and choose to focus more on making money outside of the office. 😀

• Part time job (+9%)

I teach part time at a local college. I noticed I haven’t gotten a raise in years so I asked my boss, the department head, to give me more money. I convinced him that since my last raise I have developed new teaching skills, and helped students even after classroom hours. He discussed my situation with the finance department, and offered me a 9% income adjustment. I was more than happy with this news so I accepted it. 🙂

• Rental income from farmland (+9%)

I have 2 pieces of farmland that I rent out each year. In 2018 I only had 1 renter. But this year another farmer became interested to use my land as well. So I rented 1 piece of farm to each farmer, and charged them both $43/acre. That’s about $11K + GST on a total of 255 acres of prime real estate for growing crops. 🙂 I reasoned with the renters that my farm loan has gotten more expensive since interest rates have increased. Therefore I have to push up the rent. Thank goodness there are no rent control laws for farmland. I wouldn’t be able to get away with a 9% rent increase in Vancouver, lol.

• Dividend portfolio income (+4%)

I didn’t buy many new dividend stocks in recent months. But since I already own a lot of dividend growth stocks, many of them have raised their distributions to shareholders. Here are some examples, but I have dozens more as outlined in my published stock holdings.

1. Great West Lifeco (GWO.TO) dividend increase of 6% in February
2. Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP.UN.TO) dividend increase of 5% in February
3. Enbridge Inc (ENB.TO) dividend increase of 10% February
4. Premium Brand Holdings (PBH.TO) dividend increase of 11% in March
5. Dollarama (DOL.TO) dividend increase of 10% in April
6. Apple Inc (AAPL) dividend increase of 5% in May

And we’re only half way through 2019. Some major dividend growth names in my portfolio such as Intel, McDonalds, and Hershey have yet to raise their dividends.

• Fixed income portfolio (+12%)

My recent of purchase of some BMO bonds ETF units, along with compounding interest returns from P2P and other assets, have boosted my interest income by about $1,000 this year. 🙂 Yay! This is more stable than getting a $1,000 bonus or raise from work. I may not always have a job, but my fixed income portfolio will continue to provide me with passive income for decades to come. 🙂

The financial impact

The official inflation rate in Canada is 1.6% on average over the last 10 years, and 1.8% for the United States. This means we should try to aim for at least a 2% raise each year. Otherwise we risk losing purchasing power over time.

Overall I feel very lucky this year with my income situation. Altogether, the combined dollar amount of the 5 raises adds up to about $5,000 of pre-tax income. 🙂 Not too shabby, considering how I’m not really working any harder than last year. This new found income will be 100% invested in the financial markets to generate more passive income, meaning I’ll be even closer to financial independence. 🙂 It’s hard to believe that I’m only 3 years away from turning 35. I’ve been talking about money on this blog for almost 10 years now. It’s amazing that we haven’t seen a bear market in all this time.

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Random Useless Fact:

The average snail can travel up to 0.047 km/h (0.03 miles/hr)