I got a sizeable raise and am now officially making low six figures and have no one to share my good news with

Hi all. Apologies if this is not allowed here. I know people out there are struggling, but I just want to share my good news with someone.

It’s a big milestone of accomplishment in my life, but I feel weird just telling family members or my online friends about it. The only other people who know are my coworkers because we all got the same raise. Money doesn’t go as far nowadays due to crazy inflation post COVID and my area has higher cost of living than where I grew up, but I’m still very happy about this. I remember back when I used to only make minimum wage. All those years of schooling eventually made their way back to me. I’ll never make as much money as someone like a doctor, but it’s definitely enough for me to live comfortably as a single person.

Anyway, I’ll delete this in a bit (or sooner if it gets removed by a mod), but I hope you guys out there have a good weekend.

Edit: Thank you guys very much :)

Edit 2: Jeez there are so many more comments than I expected. You guys are so nice!!

dohpaz42,
@dohpaz42@lemmy.world avatar

Congrats! The trick is to not increase your spending, and take the excess and either save it or invest it. Remember: just because you can afford it, does not mean you need it. :)

blanketswithsmallpox,

The trick is to increase everything proportionally. Not increasing your living standards is just poor people logic.

Absolutely make your life better in the moment. There’s no telling whether you’ll keel over in two days from an aneurysm and all that saving did absolutely nothing.

But yes, 401k > Mortgage as long as you’ll be saving for 30 years or more. You’ll need about a million or more to retire comfortably these days.

blady_blah,

This only matters if you’re making more than your peers. Most of my friends had engineering degrees coming out of college so we weren’t massively different in compensation. I’m pretty open amongst them, but I wouldn’t tell anyone how much I make it i thought it was more than 10-20% different than them.

blanketswithsmallpox,

This only matters if you’re making more than your peers.

Ehhhhhh. Eating better costs money. Home improvements or not living in a shit hole costs money. Clothes that aren’t 10 years old costs money. Children. Health. Teeth. Eyes. Safe vehicles. Green living.

It all costs money and is prohibitively gated by cash.

Improve your life now. Quit buying shitty cheap products and buy better ones. Vimes Boots. Take a vacation to somewhere that isn’t your couch.

There’s so much that isn’t some Lemming’s idea of trying to reconcile being poor so they aren’t out murdering billionaires.

dohpaz42,
@dohpaz42@lemmy.world avatar

Ok, I’ll give that if a person is living in less than ideal standards, getting a raise is a great way to enhance their quality of life and could be argued is necessary.

I didn’t outright say this, and I should have, but I was referring to spending for the sake of spending; I.e., I got a raise so I’m going to go out and buy a PS5, new super computer, a BMW, etc. there’s nothing inherently wrong with buying those things. It’s simply a matter of doing so responsibly.

As for poor people logic, so what? It’s sound logic. Of course it works for me personally. YMMV. But I have gone through a chapter 7 bankruptcy in my 20s, and now my FICO is around 800. For me, it was the mentality that I had money so I should spend it that got me in financial trouble. Treating my money as an asset that should be cared for got me out of trouble.

ef9357,

Congratulations!

chaorace,
@chaorace@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

Dude, I feel a lot of what you’re saying. I spent years making awful wages at terrible jobs, then fell ass-backwards into a six-figure career. The whiplash is really hard going from thinking you’ll die young and poor into having more than you know what to do with.

With that being said, I have advice to share if you’re interested in such things:

  • Six figures isn’t rich, but it certainly is more than enough. After this point, finding even more money isn’t really going to make you much happier, so start prioritizing other important gains you can make in your career (hours, day-to-day job satisfaction)
  • Focus on improving emotional intelligence. You can afford stuff now, so you can no longer hide behind notions like “this stuff isn’t for poor people like me” – you need to find actual reasons to say no to things and that requires the skill of knowing why you want something.
  • Lots of problems can be solved with money, but you have to be super careful about it or you’ll just end up wrecking yourself! Feeling mixed up? Don’t buy self-help books – get therapy. Feeling lonely? Don’t buy friends – take some classes at the local community center. Feeling self-conscious? Don’t get a face-lift – hire a personal trainer and maybe a stylist.
  • Money guilt is real and it’s OK. Use that feeling to keep yourself down on Earth. Obviously look out for #1 first – pay off bad debt, max out your 401k, set aside enough cash to max out your insurance deductibles and still live a few months without income – once you’ve done that, dial back on the money hoarding. Be better than the assholes who kept you down: tip well, give back to the people who make the things you love, be charitable. Sharing is caring.
flatpandisk,

Yes you do have someone to share the news, the IRS :). (Assuming you are in the USA)

Seriously though congrats!

slingstone,

Six figure incomes may not be as impressive as they once were, sure, but many of us may never make that much. Don’t downplay it. This is still a great accomplishment, and you are rightfully proud. I hope you are able to enjoy it. Remember, you work to live, not live to work. Vacation days and other benefits are part of your total compensation, and none of it matters a whit unless you use all of your salary and benefits on things that make you and the people you care about happy and healthy.

Keep up the good work!

OhmsLawn, (edited )

Congratulations!

I went from earning $12 under the table to 6 figures in 5 years. It’s a really major change. Once you have a year or two of that, and enough saved to survive basically any adversity, you realize how stressful your life was before.

Some unsolicited advice:

Budget. I’ve never been good at it, so this is my strategy:

  1. I Keep two months’ basic expenses in checking account. Food, gas, rent, phone, internet, insurance, loans.
  2. At the end of the month I transfer the remaining money to 3 accounts: 1/4 to long-term savings (this was initially my 3-month emergency fund, but turned into something more blended with a 3-month reserve). 1/4 to short-term savings (travel, gifts, clothes, fun). 1/2 to investments (stocks, ETFs, etc).To start out, all the money went into the long-term account. Having 3-month’s savings is the true key to both feeling safe and avoiding credit card debt.

That’s it. Literally. If I transfer less money at the end of the month, I either overspent or had some annual “surprise,” like auto registration, Prime bill, etc. If I transfer more, it was a successful month.

Abird1620,

Good job dude! I’m happy to hear a success story from anyone these days. I wish you the best in reaching your next milestone as well.

pinkdrunkenelephants,

Congratulations my guy

fossilesque,
@fossilesque@mander.xyz avatar

Get that cheddar.

https://mander.xyz/pictrs/image/cd2a62ec-dfe2-435c-afbc-6a97430371f8.jpeg

AeonFelis,

Congratz!

pan0wski,
@pan0wski@infosec.pub avatar

🎉🎉🎉 Congratulations! 🎉🎉🎉

TeaHands,
@TeaHands@lemmy.world avatar

As one of those people who is struggling a bit: Never let the state of the rest of the world stop you from celebrating your own wins!

Congrats on the raise, that is really awesome. Remember to put a decent chunk into savings :D

sandwichfiend,

NICE MATE

thecookingsenpai,
@thecookingsenpai@lemmy.world avatar

Congrats King, live your best life and bring a smile everywhere you go

ook_the_librarian,
@ook_the_librarian@lemmy.world avatar

It’s weird to feel like you’re earning too much. It sounds like you are earning what Homer Simpson, Red Foreman, and Hank Hill all make. That is, enough to feed a family of four. They only had high school diplomas. Sure, they’re fictional, but that story was real.

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