How to Ask for a Raise: 3 Scripts That Actually Work

👋 Hey, it's Travis

A few years ago I was offered a promotion at a company I had been with for a while. Same place, new role, more responsibility. The number they put in front of me felt good. It felt like a reward. My instinct was to say thank you and sign it.

Instead I took a few days. I looked up what the role actually paid in the market. I ran the numbers on what the new responsibilities were worth relative to where I was sitting. And I came back with a counter.

They said yes.

The thing I keep coming back to is how close I came to not asking. The offer felt fair. It felt like enough. The research is what told me it wasn't. They had a range. There was room I would never have known existed if I had just been grateful and signed.

Most people never ask because the offer felt reasonable and asking felt risky. This issue is about why that instinct is usually wrong, and what to say instead.

This week's Money Monday is about the salary conversation most people never have and the three sentences that make it easier than you think. With review season underway, the timing is right.

🚫 Why People Don't Ask (And Why the Reason Is Wrong)

Two assumptions stop most people from negotiating. Both are wrong.

Assumption 1: The offer is fixed.

It isn't. Employers budget a salary range for every role and expect negotiation within it. The first number they put on paper is almost never the ceiling. It is a starting point. When you accept without asking, you are leaving money that was already allocated for you - money that has your name on it - sitting in the company's budget instead of your account.

Assumption 2: Asking will damage the relationship or cost you the offer.

This almost never happens. A professional, specific, polite ask is not a red flag - it signals that you know your value and can advocate for yourself, which is exactly what employers want in a hire. An employer who rescinds an offer over a calm salary question was not a place worth working.

The ask doesn't have to be aggressive. It doesn't have to be long. It just has to happen.

💬 Three Situations. The Exact Words for Each One.

Before any of these: do the research. Check Glassdoor, LinkedIn Salary, or industry surveys for your role, your level, and your market. Walk in with a real number - not a hope, not a range. A specific number grounded in actual data.

Situation 1: New job offer

This is the highest-leverage moment in anyone's career. The employer has already chosen you. They have spent time, money, and internal reputation on the selection process. They want you to say yes. That is leverage. Use it.

One sentence. No apology. No lengthy justification. Then stop talking and wait for the response. Do not fill the silence. The silence is doing work.

If they say yes, or come back with a number between theirs and yours: you just made thousands of dollars in thirty seconds. If they say no: you are exactly where you were before you asked.

Situation 2: Annual performance review

Come in with one specific number - not a range. Ranges signal uncertainty and your manager will anchor to the bottom of them. One number, one reason. Either a market rate comparison, a specific achievement from the year, or both. Keep it short.

Ask it as a question. Questions invite a response. Statements invite deflection. "Can we make that happen?" requires an answer - yes, no, or a counter. All three are more useful than a vague "we'll see."

Situation 3: Long tenure, no raise

The most common situation and the one people avoid longest. The longer you wait, the wider the gap between what you are paid and what the market pays. Waiting does not make this conversation easier. It makes the number you need to close bigger.

Frame it as a conversation, not an ultimatum. "Is that something we can work toward?" gives them a path to yes - whether that's an immediate adjustment, a timeline, or a plan. You are not backing them into a corner. You are opening a door.

💸 What to Do With the Raise Before Lifestyle Creep Takes It

Here is the question almost nobody asks in the moment the raise comes through: what actually happens to the difference?

Most people absorb the extra income into spending within 90 days without making a single conscious decision to do so. The groceries get a little nicer. The restaurant budget drifts up. A few subscriptions that seemed reasonable. None of it dramatic - just the life expanding quietly to meet the new number. The move that prevents this is simple and the timing matters: before the first new paycheck lands, decide what percentage of the increase goes directly to savings or investment and automate it. Not after you see the number in your account. Before. The lifestyle adjustment happens with whatever is left, not with the whole raise.

✅ Money Moves to Make This Week

🎯 Action 1: Research your market rate (20 minutes)

Open Glassdoor and LinkedIn Salary. Search your job title, your city, your experience level. Find the range the market is paying and identify where you sit within it. If you are below the midpoint for your role and tenure, you have a number to work with. Write it down.

🎯 Action 2: Identify which situation applies to you right now (5 minutes)

New offer, upcoming review, or long tenure without a raise. Pick the script that fits. Read it out loud once. It will feel less strange than you expect. If a conversation is coming up in the next 30 days, decide now that you are going to have it.

🎯 Action 3: Decide what the raise does before it arrives (10 minutes)

If you already have a raise coming or expect one soon: decide right now what percentage goes to savings or investment before the first new paycheck lands. Set up the automatic transfer before you see the number. The lifestyle adjustment happens with what is left.

💬 Fund(amental) Quote of the Week

Politely: you have the scripts. With data: you have the research. Without apology: that part is on you. The conversation is ready when you are.

Until next Monday,

Travis