You may have learned how to calculate the percentage increase between two numbers in a math class, but have you ever wondered how this could be used in the real world? Read on to find out different ways a percentage increase can be applied outside of the classroom!
1. Salary Negotiations
Did you know you can use a percent increase to your advantage during salary negotiations? For example, let’s say you are currently making $50,000 per year and would like a raise to $55,000 per year. In order to find out if this is a reasonable request, you can calculate the percentage increase between your current and desired salary.
Here’s how you would do that:
First, subtract your current salary from your desired salary. This will give you the difference between the two numbers. In our example, $55,000 – $50,000 = $5,000.
Second, divide the difference by your current salary. In our example, $5,000/$50,000 = 0.1.
Third, multiply your answer by 100. This will give you a percentage increase. In our example, 0.1 x 100 = 10%.
Based on this calculation, we can see that the person in our example requests a 10% raise.
2. Investment Growth
Whether you’re saving for retirement or trying to grow your rainy day fund, paying attention to how much your investments are increasing each year is essential. While minor changes may not seem like a big deal at first glance, they can have a significant impact over time!
3. Cost of Living Adjustments
If you receive benefits from the government, such as Social Security or disability payments, you may have noticed that they go up a little each year. This is because these benefit amounts are adjusted for inflation, which is calculated using the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The government looks at the prices of a fixed basket of goods and services consumers commonly purchase to find the CPI. They then compare these prices from one year to the next to see how they have changed. As a result, the CPI is usually expressed as a percentage, which represents the amount that prices have increased or decreased over time.
4. Calculating Tips
The next time you’re out to eat, try using a percent increase to calculate your tip! For example, let’s say your bill comes to $50, and you want to leave a 20% tip. To calculate this, you would first multiply your bill by 0.2. This will give you the tip amount, which in this case would be $10. You would then add this to your bill to get your total of $60.
5. Comparing Prices
When you’re out shopping, it can be helpful to know how much the prices of items have increased or decreased over time. This can help you decide whether something is worth purchasing.
To do this, you can find the percentage change between the current price of an item and its original price.
In conclusion, there are many different ways that you can use percentage increase in the real world! So next time you’re faced with a math problem, see if you can apply what you’ve learned to find a solution.