Three Ways To Give Yourself A Raise

Why frugality isn't the only path to financial success3

If you had a dollar for every time someone told you to follow a budget, you probably wouldn't be scrolling through a financial advice blog right now.

But there's a reason why cost-cutting is usually the first thing people think of when it comes to personal finance. Pinching pennies is simple—in theory, at least. It's a practice we can control, and one that has immediate effects: a $5 coffee here, a $15 sandwich there, maybe even a whole $500 plane ticket home when you choose to skip out on a family celebration. But as the image of spending a holiday alone in a cold apartment over instant ramen and pirated TV suggests, extreme frugality can get old fast.