Why Working Overtime Might Be Making You Poorer

👋 Hey guys - Noah here,

My old colleague Sarah just texted me: "Finally getting that promotion! Been doing 15 hours overtime every week to prove myself."

I didn't have the heart to tell her she's probably lost money.

Not making less. Actually LOST money.

Today I'm showing you the maths on why overtime might be making you worse off.

The £8,000 Lie

Sarah earns £30K. Her overtime rate is "time and a half" - £21.60 per hour.

15 hours overtime per week = £324 extra weekly.

Sounds brilliant, right?

Here's what actually happens:

Gross extra income: £16,848 yearly

Tax on that (20% bracket): £3,369

National Insurance (8%): £1,347

Student loan (9%): £1,516

Take home: £10,614

But it gets worse.

The Hidden Costs Nobody Mentions

Working 60-hour weeks for a year, here's what Sarah actually spent:

Extra commuting: £1,200 (petrol, parking, wear on car)

Convenience food: £2,400 (too knackered to cook)

Coffee/energy drinks: £780 (3 per day to stay awake)

Missed opportunities: £??? (we'll get to this)

Real take home after costs: £2,191

That's £1.41 per hour for those extra 15 hours.

The Opportunity Cost That Changes Everything

While Sarah was doing overtime, here's what her colleague Tom did with those same 15 hours per week:

• Learned Excel properly (2 hours/week)

• Did an online marketing course (3 hours/week)

• Started a side hustle (10 hours/week)

Six months later, Tom got headhunted for a £45K role.

Sarah's still on £30K. Still doing overtime. Still exhausted.

Tom's increase: £15,000 per year (permanent)

Sarah's increase: £2,191 per year (if she keeps working OT)

The 40% Tax Trap

Once you earn over £50,270, you're paying 40% tax.

If your normal salary is £45K and overtime pushes you to £55K:

• First £45K: taxed at 20%

• Next £5,270: taxed at 20%

• Last £4,730: taxed at 40%

You're working harder to give the government more money.

Why Companies LOVE Your Overtime

It costs them £21.60 per hour for your overtime.

Hiring someone new costs:

• Recruitment: £3,000

• Training: £5,000

• Benefits: £8,000 per year

• Pension contributions: £1,500 per year

They're saving £17,500 by burning you out instead.

And when you inevitably quit from exhaustion? They'll just find another Sarah.

The Moves That Actually Make You Richer

Instead of 15 hours overtime, do this:

1. Skill Stack (5 hours/week): Learn something that adds £5-10K to your salary. Excel, coding, copywriting - pick one.

2. Network Building (3 hours/week): Coffee with one person in your industry weekly. 80% of jobs come from networking, not applications.

3. Side Income (7 hours/week): Freelancing, consulting, reselling. Build income that doesn't depend on trading hours for money.

4. Interview Prep (2 hours/month): Always be ready to jump. The average pay rise from switching jobs is 15%. From overtime? 0%.

Speaking of making money without burning out - I've helped over 300 people start earning £500-1000 per month with my eBay Partnership Method. Zero overtime required.

You partner with people who have stuff to sell, list it for them, split the profits 50/50. My 13-year-old brother made enough to buy a MacBook doing this.

Check out my complete eBay guide here - it includes video tutorials, templates, and my exact scripts for finding partners.

Let me know - how many hours of overtime are you doing right now?

All the best, Noah