Don’t Double Your Income – Double What’s Left.

Most of us think we want a lot more income, but what we really want is more of our earnings (money) left over after paying our expenses.

Aim for that instead, and the goal shrinks from tens of thousands a year to a few hundred dollars a month.

Don’t Double Your Income. Double What’s Left.

The problem with “just earn more”

“Increase your income” is some of the most common money advice out there, and some of the most ignored. People push back for three reasons: they don’t believe they can, they don’t think they should have to, and costs keep climbing anyway.

If you’re on $80,000 and someone tells you to go earn $120,000 or $160,000, the natural reply is “Yeah, good one mate.” So the idea gets shelved.

A listener recently passed on a better question: what if, instead of doubling your income, you tried to double your disposable income?

Step 1: Work out what’s actually left

Start with your take-home pay and subtract the necessities: rent or mortgage, groceries, power, internet and phone, insurance, transport and fuel, and debt repayments, which quietly eat your future income. What’s left is your disposable income, the money you actually get to make decisions with.

Say you bring home $5,000 a month and essentials cost $4,000. Your starting point is $1,000.

$4,000 of essentials leaves $1,000 a month to work with $5,000 take-home pay, $4,000 on essentials, $1,000 left over Take-home pay Take-home pay: $5,000 a month $5,000 Rent or mortgage Rent or mortgage: −$2,000 a month −$2,000 Groceries Groceries: −$800 a month −$800 Transport & fuel Transport & fuel: −$350 a month −$350 Power, internet & phone Power, internet & phone: −$300 a month −$300 Debt repayments Debt repayments: −$300 a month −$300 Insurance Insurance: −$250 a month −$250 Disposable income Disposable income: $1,000 a month $1,000 Red = essential costs each month · grey = what you start with and what is left
Illustrative example: $5,000 a month take-home, with essentials split for illustration.

Haven’t run these numbers yet? That’s your first job.

Step 2: Double that number, not your salary

Forget doubling your whole income. What would it take to turn that $1,000 into $2,000? That’s an extra $1,000 a month, a 20% lift on your take-home pay, but twice the money you get to make choices with.

An extra $1,000 a month is a 20% pay bump, but doubles what’s left Percentage increase for each extra amount, on $5,000 take-home and $1,000 disposable a month Increase in take-home pay Increase in disposable income Doubled (+100%) +$250 a month: take-home up 5% +5% +$250 a month: disposable income up 25% +25% +$250 a month +$500 a month: take-home up 10% +10% +$500 a month: disposable income up 50% +50% +$500 a month +$750 a month: take-home up 15% +15% +$750 a month: disposable income up 75% +75% +$750 a month +$1,000 a month: take-home up 20% +20% +$1,000 a month: disposable income up 100% +100% +$1,000 a month
Illustrative example: $5,000 take-home and $1,000 disposable income a month.

And you may not even need a full double. An extra $500 is still half as much again to play with.

Step 3: Decide what it’s for, then go find it

The extra money has to mean something to you, or you won’t chase it. Invest, save, pay down debt, travel with the kids, or simply enjoy life without dreading the next bill. That’s the gap between survival mode and having choices.

Finding it is the creative bit, and it doesn’t have to come from one place.

Three smaller moves add up to an extra $1,000 a month From $1,000 to $2,000 of disposable income a month Double: $2,000 Disposable income now Disposable income now: $1,000 a month $1,000 Pay rise or extra hours Pay rise or extra hours: +$500 a month +$500 Cut expenses Cut expenses: +$200 a month +$200 Side hustle or boarder Side hustle or boarder: +$300 a month +$300 Disposable income after Disposable income after: $2,000 a month $2,000 Green = extra money each month · grey = disposable income before and after · example amounts, before tax
Illustrative example: one way to find an extra $1,000 a month.

Selling things to clear buy-now-pay-later or interest-free debts works too: every repayment you stop frees up dollars. And a reminder from the accountant in me: if you’re earning more, factor in tax.

It’s not what comes in, it’s what you keep

Someone earning an income of $150,000 a year isn’t automatically better off than someone that is on $90,000 a year.

If lifestyle costs swallow everything, the bigger salary buys nothing extra.

Doubling your disposable income won’t be easy. But the number you’re trying to double is probably much smaller than you thought. When a goal feels achievable, you’re far more likely to act on it.

So skip the impossible salary or income targets!

Work on the money you actually have available, see if you can find a little more and then see how differently you feel about your finances.

If you plan to buy a home soon, then budgeting your income and expenses plus knowing where to start really can help.

manage your income and expenses

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