One of the most common complaints I heard from employees while working in HR was regarding compensation. Everyone wants a raise, regardless of whether they make $25,000 or $250,000. And the two most common reasons were: they felt they deserved more or they needed (or wanted) more to pay for something.

This two-part article will explore how to make more money. We will start by looking at how to do it without getting a raise, then we will explore how to get the pay you feel you deserve.

Set your priorities

Almost everyone can take home more money without getting a raise. We simply must prioritize where we want our money to go. Regardless of our salary or our reasons, we can all come up with a list of things we would buy or do with a little more cash.

Think about it, then write them down. (Here is a list to get you started.) Be specific, put dollar amounts next to each item and rank them based on which would have the most positive impact on your stress and happiness levels. (Here are a couple of ideas.)

Change habits

Next, we must figure out where we are spending our money. Starbucks, lunch, clothes, happy hour — lots of things associated with work carry an additional expense we often write off in our minds as necessary because they are work related.

But are they? It is not that spending is bad, but it is important to know what we are spending our money on and why so we can make active, informed decisions.

Look at your budget. Then, list out everything you spent money on since your last paycheck; try to account for the entire amount. Compare that list to your budget and to the list you just made of things you would spend your money on if you had more money. How do they compare?

Rethink autopilot

In addition to typical budget and discretionary spending, our autopilot spending may need to be adjusted depending upon our financial goals. For example, saving for retirement is nice but if you are carrying a debt that outweighs the benefit, it may be time to reprioritize for the short term.

In addition, deductions for taxes, healthcare and charity should be reviewed. For example, does your W2 still look like it did way back when you were hired? Have you shopped all your healthcare options or just kept the same one year after year? Could the charity you donate to benefit just as much from your time as your money?

Take a minute to rethink automatic deductions in light of your current financial goals.

Next steps

A raise will never be enough without knowing what enough is. Before asking for a raise, write down needs, wants and everything that is deducted from or paid for by the current paycheck. Take advantage of experts either your accountant or a financial advisor (something retirement companies and employee assistance programs usually provide for free) and get an outside, expert, objective opinion on all your lists.

Then, take action. Once you have realigned your spending and saving to have a more positive impact on your financial goals and stress/happiness level, it will become even more clear what to do with any extra money you will make after we review pay raises here in the second part of this article.