3 in 10 Americans Intend to Ask for a Raise in the Next Year. Here Are 3 Ways to Set Yourself Up for Success

A higher salary could do a lot of great things for your personal finances. A raise might make it easier to meet your savings goals, pay off debt, and make other moves that improve your fiscal outlook. Plus, having access to more money could allow you to add some expenses to your budget that improve your quality of life, like hiring a cleaning service so you don't have to spend half of your weekend scrubbing toilets and vacuuming.

Data from Empower finds that 34% of Americans will seek a raise in the year ahead. If that's something you plan to do, too, then it's important to take the right approach. These tips could set you up for success.

1. Go in armed with data

You may have an easier time landing a raise if you can show your employer that you're not paid as much as your peers. Use sites like Glassdoor and Salary.com to dig up salary data showing what people in your position tend to earn. 

But don't just do a blanket search. Search by geographic region, since it's common for employers to adjust pay based on local living costs.

So let's say you're a junior accountant in Missouri. If the typical junior accountant in your state earns an annual salary of $64,000, and you're only earning $58,000, you can put that data in front of your employer and argue your case for a $6,000 bump.

2. Make a list of your wins

You'll often hear that it's a good thing to be humble -- but not in the context of fighting for a raise. If you're looking to get your salary boosted, talk up your wins. Make a list of them and present it to your manager. And the more specific you can be, the better.

Let's say you're in tech support and the average time to troubleshoot a problem in your department is 15 minutes. If you can show that you've managed to get your personal average time down to seven minutes, that's something that could go a long way to showing your worthiness for a raise. 

3. Get your timing right

When you're seeking out higher pay, it's important to ask for it at the right time. To that end, be mindful of happenings at your company. If large projects were recently scrapped due to financial constraints, then you may want to wait a few months before asking for a raise. 

On the other hand, let's say your company announces a new benefit for employees -- say, a gym membership subsidy. That's an indication that its financial situation may be positive. So you may want to piggyback on that generosity by scheduling your salary talk shortly thereafter. 

Another thing it could pay to do is ask for more money at the start of your company's next fiscal quarter (if you're not sure when that is, someone in the accounting department should be able to tell you). Sometimes, a new quarter could mean a fresh hiring budget. 

A higher paycheck could do you a world of good. Follow these tips to increase your chances of success when you sit down to talk money with your employer.