Ultimate Guide: Your Next Lane Change on a Budget
We know what you’re thinking because we’ve been there before. You know you want to take more PD courses so you can earn credits for salary advancement but the cost of those courses is getting in the way. You’re not sure how you would be able to pay for these courses and still have enough money for rent, groceries, or drinks after a long week of teaching.
The importance of finishing your lane changes now…
Even though it may not sound easy, the most important thing is to finish your Lane Changes and salary advancement as quickly as possible. It takes just a little planning, but in a couple short years, you will see that the return is completely worth it.
Budget Guide Frequency Table
| If you take PD courses this frequently... | After 1 Year your Salary will increase by… | After 2 Years your Salary will increase by… | After 3 Years your Salary will increase by… |
|---|---|---|---|
1 / Month | $2,400 | $4,800 | $6,000 |
1 / 3 Months | $0 | $1,200 | $2,400 |
1 / 6 Months | $0 | $0 | $1,200 |
This Guide will show you how to:
Complete Lane Changes without going into debt
Create a system – Lane Changes on autopilot
Use the system finish your Lane Changes – in less than 3 years
In this guide, we reference the most common ways that teachers receive pay increases.
Longevity Increases:
In many districts, teachers get a pay raise each additional year that they teach in the district. As a conservative average, we will assume that teachers will earn an extra $100 per month for every year that they teach in the district.
Credit Increases / Lane Changes:
These are the increases in your pay from accumulating enough credits to move up your salary scale. On average, each bump up the salary scale is an additional $100 per month in your take-home salary. (Hint: These are the increases you can control)
Let's Get Started!
Step 1
Open a savings account where you will put money away for just your PD Courses.
Step 2
Next, you should identify a monthly amount that you feel comfortable putting away towards your courses. Our minimum suggestion is $60. You can do more than this but we don’t recommend you do less. Set-up a monthly transfer so that as soon as you are paid, that $60 goes straight into your PD Course account. You’ll never see it, you won’t think about it, and it will be automatic every month so you don’t have to remember. The money in this account shouldn’t be touched for anything other than your PD Courses.
Step 3
At month #6 you’ve accumulated enough in your account to purchase and complete your first course. This will happen again in month #12. In one year, you’ve completed 2 courses (6 credits) and are 9 credits away from your Lane Change.
Step 4
At month 13, your next Longevity Increase will kick-in, which means you will be making an extra $100 per month. Put all of that increase into your PD Savings Account along with the $60/month you started with. You should now be automatically transferring $160 from your paycheck into your PD Savings Account on a monthly basis.
Step 5
Once your longevity increase kicks in, you are able to save up much faster for future courses. Courses 3, 4 & 5 should be completed within the next 9 months. At that time, you should receive a lane change along with a bump in your pay (Credit Increase) of about $100 per month. If you put this increase into your PD Course Savings account, you are now saving $260 per month towards your PD courses.
Congratulations!
We know what you’re thinking because we’ve been there before. You know you want to take more PD courses so you can earn credits for salary advancement but the cost of those courses is getting in the way. You’re not sure how you would be able to pay for these courses and still have enough money for rent, groceries, or drinks after a long week of teaching.
You just put in a ton of work to finish your first lane change but you shouldn’t stop there. By continuing to put your Credit Increases and Longevity Increases into your PD Course Savings, you see extreme returns on how quickly you can finish your lane changes.
By following this system, you can complete 5 lane changes in less than 3 years and furthermore, your Monthly Salary can be $800-$1,000 higher than it was when you began this process.
Lane Change Comparison Chart
| If you save this much per month… | You will complete your first lane change in… | You will complete your second lane change in… | You will max-out your Lane Changes in… |
|---|---|---|---|
$60 + Longevity + Lane Changes* | 1 Year & 7 Months | 2 Years & 1 Month | 2 Years & 11 Months |
$60 | 2 Years & 6 Months | 5 Years | 12 Years & 1 Month |
* Assuming $100/month for Longevity Increases & $100/month for Lane Change Increases