# 16 Work Late. Renegotiate.
I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it. Thomas Jefferson
Source: aprettypennyblog.com via Angie on Pinterest
This is a two for one section. Also, the title rhymes and as adults we don‘t get enough opportunities to rhyme. During our Debt Slaying Journey (DSJ), I began to work late at my day job. As it turns out, the amount of pay I receive is directly related to the amount of hours that I work. Go figure. Here’s what we did and how it might apply to you:
1. Work more. Because my job requires me to have meetings with people on a regular basis I began to schedule appointments between the 5 and 7 o’clock evening hours on Monday and Tuesday. That made for a late day, hence make sure your spouse is on the same page.
2. Serve. Not only did the extended hours eventually translate into income, it had at least two additional benefits. First, it was great customer service. My clients mostly had jobs where they worked until 5 p.m. so taking off of work to meet with me oftentimes proved difficult. Extending my hours remedied that issue and many clients expressed their sincere gratitude. If you are truly serving other people, the money will follow.
3. Productivity. The second unexpected benefit was that those additional hours were some of the most productive hours of my workday. While originally my plan was to meet with clients during those later hours, sometimes those appointment times didn’t fill. With no phone ringing and no interruptions, those later hours were pivotal in successfully taking on a larger workload. Some folks like to go in early, some folks have opportunities for overtime or extra shifts, if so – take those opportunities and be productive.
4. Renegotiate. This took approximately the first eight months of the DSJ. Not easy. Awkward. Recognizing the awkwardness helped. Please Note: I did not demand more money. In fact, I took more risk and bet on my industriousness. Please be mindful that this was 2008. The economy went south in 2008. My profession was not immune from the downturn. Basically, I had to outwork and outthink the economic forces and the Dragon. Sometimes, I wonder if the Dragon and the economy are cousins. Not like Bo and Luke Duke cousins, but like some kind of demented pro wrestler cousin tag team.
READ THIS: Thou Shall Prosper by Daniel Lapin
