In my case, I fall quite neatly into the second category. I do enjoy my work, but the primary reason that of working is to fund my lifestyle. Ultimately, until you reach an income that allows you to be carefree about your finances, working is partly about obtaining money. Despite this reality, there are steps you can take to elevate your financial position.

The first and foremost step is to consider your attitude towards money. Do you see money as the answer to your troubles or do you see it as societies method for control? Ultimately, the way you view money will have an effect on your finances.

If you view money as the key to your happiness you will never be satisfied with your financial situation. It is the same for those who see money as the root of the world's evil. By viewing money as means of achieving your goals and dreams you will develop a healthy attitude towards money.

Setting goals for yourself will help clarify what you want out of life. This may be an intimidating task but it is a vital step. Essentially this will allow you to establish what income is necessary for you to achieve your goals.

It is crucial that you set realistic and attainable targets. Setting unreasonable goals will lead to disappointment when you fail. Taking this into account, it is also important that you set challenging goals. This ensures a feeling of self accomplishment so ensure that you're not selling yourself too short.

Learning is the key to achieving your goals. Learning breeds experience, information and new ways of thinking. By refusing to learn the unknown, you are actively allowing others to step up and take over your position. Your experience and knowledge is becoming less important as each day goes by. In order to earn more you must increase your knowledge bank. Gaining new skills and experience will make you viewed highly as valuable employee. In turn, this will increase your salary potential.

After taking action to become considered a valued employee in your industry, you must look at your current and future employment situation. Are you likely to remain stagnant in your employment position or is there the possibility for a promotion in your company. If there is no possibility of advancement, you may have to seek opportunities elsewhere.

If you decide to stay with your current employer, your next step is to ask for a raise. Although a daunting task, you are only limiting your potential by settling for what you are currently earning. The potential rejection is enough to make even the most confident employee nervous. To combat this fear, make yourself knowledgeable on how your company deals with raises. If yearly salary increases exist, then record your achievements. This gives your employer evidence as to why a raise is deserved. It is important to be fully prepared and to calmly communicate your requests. Discuss your wants and why you deserve them. Researching into what others in your industry or profession are earning will give you something to compare your salary with. It will give you an idea of what you should be getting paid. The negotiation process will be easier once your preparation has increased your confidence levels. It is important not to threaten resignation as this will dampen your chances of a raise and affect your future career.

Remember that raise requests are predicted by most employers. If it is deserved, then most employers will expect for you to request a raise.

It may be time to start looking at positions elsewhere if your deserved raise is rejected. A company's budgeting restraints may have affected your raise request as apposed to your workplace performance. If this is the case, start to job search but make sure that you leave your current position on first-rate terms.