How To Become a Millionaire on a 9-5 Salary

If you think your 9 to 5 is stopping you from getting rich, I'm going to completely flip that idea on its head. Because the truth is your salary might be the most powerful wealth building tool you'll ever have if you use it the right way. I'm Nisha and if it wasn't for my 9 to 5 in banking, I might not be where I am today. With a six-figure stock portfolio and a financial education business. But it wasn't an overnight thing, there were a specific set of steps that I took and that's what I'm going to share with you in this video. Starting with a step one, getting the absolute most out of your current job. Here's what most people don't realize. Let's say you live in the UK and you started your job in 2020 on a salary of £40,000. You've been doing well, maybe even taking on more responsibility, but you haven't had a pay rise since then. So I just checked the Bank of England's inflation calculator and your £40,000 from 2020 would need to be around £51,109 today just to have the same spending power. And this isn't just a UK thing, it's a similar story all over the world. This US inflation calculator shows that a £20,000 salary in January 2020 would need to have risen to nearly £25,000 to have the same buying power today. So if your salary hasn't budged in the last five years, you've effectively taken a pay cut. Which means if you're trying to build wealth from your 9 to 5, you can't just earn a set amount of money year on year. You have to protect it from inflation too. There are a few ways you can do just that and I'll explore them in this video. But one of the most consistent and effective ways, probably the easiest way as well, is by negotiating a pay rise. Now one of the mistakes a lot of people make here is that they use rising house prices and the cost of living as a reason that they deserve a raise. While I do think in a perfect world employers would increase workers' pay automatically, at least to keep up with inflation, at least when all of our living costs are going to go up, it's just the right thing to do, the reality is very different. Your boss probably doesn't care because their priority is protecting their business and making a profit. And so if you want to get a pay rise, you need to emphasize the benefits that you bring to the company. Start with keeping a running list of your wins, projects that you've completed, revenue that you've generated, problems that you've solved. When I worked in banking, I had a specific folder in my emails where I also saved any positive feedback from other teams. Sounds simple but makes a huge difference because six months later when review time came around, I wasn't sitting there trying to remember what I'd done. That way you've got actual data to back up your requests, not just, oh I've been working really hard. Next, find out how much people are earning in similar roles at other companies with tools like Glassdoor, Indeed, LinkedIn. If you find that you're underpaid, that gives you even more leverage in a negotiation. But whatever you do, don't give your boss an ultimatum unless you're genuinely ready to see it through and to leave. Threatening to quit if they don't give you a raise rarely ends well. And if you say it but don't follow through, you've just torpedoed any credibility you had. So if you're going to play that card, you need to be prepared to actually walk out the door. Asking for a raise is scary, I know, but it's worth it and you can do it. Even a 5% to 10% increase can dramatically speed up your wealth building because as I'll explain later, every pound, dollar, euro you get out of your 95 today makes it so much easier to get rich in the future. It's more to invest, more to compound, more to buy back your freedom later. But before you negotiate your pay and get comfortable with your current job, there's something else you need to know. And it's something that could cost you thousands over the course of your career. And that leads me to step two, switch for a better salary. Not many people like to hear this, but you might think that loyalty pays, but in reality, people who switch jobs tend to have a much higher wage growth than people who stay in the same position. And this is something that researchers have confirmed again and again. The Atlantis Federal Reserve's wage growth tracker compares the percentage wage growth of job switchers versus job stayers and shows that in almost all months since 1998, people who switch jobs have a higher wage growth than people who stay in the same position. As this Nasdaq article explains, the only significant exceptions have been in the wake of recessions, which tend to create a short-term preference for stability. And what's really interesting is that job switchers or wage growth can compound over time. Nasdaq explains a worker who changes jobs and receives a 5% raise has increased their earning power. By changing jobs later on, they might receive another 5% raise and another after that, ending up 15.7% ahead of where they started. Each raise compounds the value of the last one. In this way, changing jobs can increase a worker's lifetime income considerably. And if you still don't believe this, I have a specific video where I share exactly what I made year by year across my nine years in banking. I talk about where the biggest pay jumps were and how switching jobs was one of the best decisions I could have made over my career. All of that is in this video here. So let's imagine you switch jobs for a better salary. Straight away, that'll make it a little bit easier to get rich from your 95. But you can make even more progress and get rich faster by thinking about more than just your salary. There are so many other things that you can negotiate. Take your pension, for example. Many employers will match your own pension contributions up to a certain point. Some will go even further and contribute 7, 8, 10% of your salary or even more, even if your own contributions are lower than this. This can make a huge difference to your ability to build wealth for the future. So if you're going for a job interview, it's a really good idea to ask about the workplace pension and take this into account before accepting the job. You might also want to ask about health care. This is particularly important in the US, but even in the UK and other parts of the world, there are plenty of employers who offer private health care packages that can not only improve your health, but also save you money over the course of your career. Another wealth building tool to ask about during the interview process is stock options, which is when your employer gives you the chance to buy shares in the company, often at a discounted price. If the business performs well, those shares can grow significantly in value over time, turning part of your compensation into a pretty big investment. Some companies even offer profit sharing schemes, where a percentage of the company's profits are distributed among employees each year as well. So just don't underestimate how valuable all of these can be. These perks can quietly add tens of thousands to your long-term benefits and your long-term wealth. But before you take the leap and accept an exciting new job with an amazing salary, there is something else you need to think about. And I know what I'm about to say might sound like a massive contradiction, but in some cases, these benefits can be more of a curse than a blessing. And that leads me to step three, escape the golden handcuffs. We all know how easy it is to become trapped in a low-paying job and feel like it's just difficult to get out. But not many people realize until it's too late that it's also possible to become trapped in a high-paying job as well. There's even a name for it, it's called the golden handcuffs. It's when a job pays you so well or gives you so many perks that it becomes really hard to leave, even if you hate it. Maybe you've got a six-figure salary, a generous annual bonus, private healthcare, or a final salary pension. At first, taking this kind job feels amazing. You've made it, it's everything you wanted. But over time, the comfort you get from the higher income can turn into immense pressure. What often happens is that as your income rises, the expectations rise too. You start working longer hours, taking on more responsibility, telling yourself it's worth it because of the money. But before you know it, you can end up stuck in a job that you absolutely hate and you're scared to leave because of the potential knock on your financial security or the lifestyle that you've built. It's a trap that so many high achievers fall into. And it's not just because of the money itself, it's the lifestyle that comes with it. You upgrade everything around you from your home, your car, your holidays, your social circle, everything changes and soon your whole identity is built around maintaining that level of success. So even if you're miserable, the idea of quitting just feels impossible. And in fact, an interview with the BBC, one Canary Wharf banker said, I got sucked into the prestige and that it made me sound impressive to others. And I'd become so used to the type of numbers people made in banking being normal that I assumed that was just how much you needed to be financially okay. It sounds familiar. That's the bad news. The good news is that there are ways to loosen the golden handcuffs grip because unlike the trap of low paid work, high paid work gives you everything you need to build financial independence. So here are three steps to protect yourself if you find yourself in this position. First, pay yourself first. Don't make the mistake of saving what's left after spending. Instead, spend what's left after saving. Automate your savings and investments so that a set percentage of every paycheck is sensibly tucked away before you even think about touching it. Second, avoid lifestyle inflation. It can be tempting to upgrade almost everything you have from your car to your holidays with every single pay rise. And this is exactly what keeps you trapped when your income goes up. Instead, try to keep your spending roughly the same and then just save and invest most of the difference. You don't have to do this forever. It's just until you've bought enough of a buffer to be able to leave your job if you are seriously unhappy. Third, build an exit plan. Even if you love your job right now, set aside a safety net that could be an emergency fund investments that generate passive income or a small side project that can grow into something bigger later. Because true wealth isn't about having the biggest paycheck, it is about having options. And that's exactly what the next section is about. Section four, starting your own business on the side. Millions of people around the world are desperate to quit their jobs and do their own thing. And according to one US survey, nearly eight in 10 employees said they wanted to start their own business. 13% of Gen Z and 11% of millennials plan to leave their jobs within 12 months. A UK-based survey found similar results with more than 70% of 18 to 24-year-olds and 56% of 35 to 44-year-olds wanting to become entrepreneurs. If this sounds familiar, but you can't afford to go all in on your business idea, why not treat your nine to five as a help, not as a hindrance? And this is exactly what I did, because starting your own business is risky. You might need to put in a lot of money into it to get things off the ground, but by keeping your day job and then building your business on the side, you can fund it without the stress and massively also reduce the risk. The biggest obstacle usually isn't money, it's actually time. Because it's hard to make progress on your business if you're constantly coming home from work, burnt out from your day job. So how do you get around this? In some cases, it can make sense to work in a reasonably well-paid, but low effort nine to five. That doesn't leave you exhausted at the end of the day to do your own thing. You might want to look at, for instance, something that you're already really good at, for example, or maybe it's a work from home role that won't require a lot of meetings or travel, giving you more time to work on something in the mornings, in your lunchtimes, in the evenings, or between meetings. And so the goal here isn't to escape your nine to five overnight, it's to give yourself the time and breathing space to focus on yourself. After years of helping your employer or clients get rich, it's time to take that same energy and do it for yourself, without all the risk that comes from quitting stable employment. To actually build wealth, there's one more step that you need to take. And to be completely honest, it is absolutely essential if you want to reach financial freedom, because otherwise you'll constantly be on the hamster wheel working harder and harder to make an income and pay your bills. But before I get into that, every entrepreneur knows the holidays are make or break season. Product drops, gift bundles, last minute launches, it's exciting, and it's a bit chaotic. That's why so many people, myself included, turn to Shopify, today's sponsor, to keep things running smoothly. Shopify powers 10% of all US e-commerce and millions of businesses worldwide. And it's the best place to start and grow your business, whether you're selling locally or globally. Instead of juggling multiple platforms for payment, shipping, design, and marketing, Shopify lets you handle everything in one place. It basically operates as a back office, replacing the need for full staff to oversee your operations so that you can stay focused on the things that matter. I launched my very first online business on Shopify and went from idea to live store in minutes. By day one, I had a very professional shop ready to take payments and run itself, with 24-7 support backing me up. So whether you're just wanting to test an idea out, or you're getting serious about launching your own brand, it's never been easier to get started No matter how much you earn from your job, your side business, or anywhere else, you need to find a way to protect and grow those earnings. Because saving alone won't make you rich. And once again, inflation is to blame. Because not only will it eat away at the spending power of your income, it'll also eat away at your savings too, even if you're getting the top savings rate on the market right now. Let's say you've got 10,000 sitting in a savings account earning 3% interest. If inflation is at 5%, your money is actually shrinking by 2% a year in spending power. It feels safe, but over time, you're slowly getting poorer. Now this is where the stock market comes in. If you've never invested before, the thought of trading your hard-earned cash for stocks might seem terrifying. And it's true that stock market returns can be very, very unpredictable from one year to the next. Short-term investors often lose money, especially if they don't have an emergency fund. They invest more than they can afford, and they panic sell at the first sign of uncertainty. But the truth is that most dips tend to recover quite quickly. For example, in 2008, the S&P 500 index crashed by over 36%, but it bounced back with a 22.6% gain in 2009, just a year later. A decade later, in 2018, it dipped again by 6.02%, only to surge upwards by 28% in 2019, followed by 16% in 2020, and 20% in 2021. Despite these short-term fluctuations, over the last 10 years, the average annual return on the US stock market has been 11%. Over the last 20 years, it's been 8.87%, and over the last 30 years, it's been 9.3%. And so if you want to get rich from your 9 to 5, it really pays to be a part of this. If you invested just 300 a month and earned an average annual return of 10%, you'd have around 623,787 after 30 years. Increase your monthly investment to 500 a month, and you'd have over a million. So now you can see how your 9 to 5 can lead to real wealth over time. Have a play around with the investment calculator like the one that I've got on the screen, and imagine if you increased your monthly investments each time you got a pay rise or a new job. Invest 8.50 a month, and you'll be a millionaire within 25 years despite only contributing $255,000 yourself. If you're not sure where to start, one of the simplest options is an index fund. It's basically a basket of hundreds of even thousands of companies bundled into one investment. It's low-cost, well-diversified, and designed to track the market rather than beat it, which ironically is what helps outperform most active investors. And once you've opened an investment account and made your first investment, automate your monthly investments. Have a portion of your paycheck, go straight to your investment account every month, just like you would your savings. Because the less you think about your investments, the more time you have to focus on your 9 to 5 or business, and the easier it will be to get rich. So now you've learned how to use your 9 to 5 to build real wealth, from negotiating pay rises to starting a business and investing what you earn. But even if you follow all of these tips, you could actually end up losing money if you invest the wrong way. To make sure that doesn't happen, you can watch this video right here, where I explain how to invest as a beginner. It walks you through exactly where to start, how to invest, and what you need to do if it all goes wrong. Thank you so much for watching. Don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already, and I'll see you in that video.