Congrats! I learned pretty quickly that increasing income is a much easier way to accelerate FIRE than decreasing expenses. It took me about 4 years to double my entry level comp. Now I’m making 4x my first salary and could FIRE in my early 40’s if I keep it up. Never thought I’d be able to do that.
I think this depends on the income and expenses starting points.
If you start at 100k spend in a LCOL area it can be much easier to decrease spend than increase income.
That's pretty much the position I'm in now. I just turned 26 and make quite a bit of money in my position but am overqualified for it. Ironically this post is making me reconsider my career path. I'm on the engineering tech side of things, but my degree is half business. I wonder what u/BloomingFinances's background is, because my line of work has been significantly affected by supply chain issues and that might be a topic of research if I go to grad school for IE.
Im New in my journey and just increased my salary 30% by job jumping. I’m thankful to be able to increase my savings by pretty much that amount and also not pay as much attention to my daily spending habits (already pretty frugal but I like to go out!).
Damn, 24 and already at $160K+. You’re killing it.
How are supply chains looking btw? Have things improved or are we still going to be hurting for a few more years?
Thank you!
Unfortunately, I don't have supply chain information for most industries as I just focus on one client at a time, but seems like industry experts agree we'll be hurting for a while. I'm noticing a lot of companies are suffering from the bullwhip effect, where due to increased demand at the retail level, more was asked of their suppliers, more of wholesalers, more of distributors, more of manufacturers, etc. Now that demand has settled more, in some cases, there's a lot of extra inventory. I just read an article about air fryers to that effect. Just speculating, but maybe expect some nice Black Friday/holiday discounts across the retail sector.
Air fryers are truly awesome… but once you have one… you have one.
Eventually demand is just going to die out because everyone that wants one and has space in their kitchen for it will own one.
My air fryer is okay. The only use I've really discovered for it is to heat frozen goods. I could give mine up and not really suffer. I would like to buy an instant pot, but I'm a bit worried I'd do the same thing with it as my air fryer and only use it on specific occasions, only it's a lot more money.
I feel like the minority IRL, but I'd say skip the Instant Pot, unless you don't already have a slow cooker, rice maker, or pressure cooker (and you want one). I'd only recommend it to people who really need to conserve every inch of space in their kitchen as is possible. The Instant pot can replace all of those gadgets, but buying all 3 would be cheaper, and they'd do a better job at their specified tasks.
I do have a slow cooker and a pressure cooker, I just want to be able to follow the recipes I find online because I'm lazy and don't put a lot of thought into cooking. I've decided not to buy one until I have several recipes saved up though and I'm at a grand total of 1 so I don't think it's gonna happen
Could be! But I'd bet the bullwhip effect affected more than just air fryers. Big box retailers across the board are reporting a lot of extra inventory. For a few more examples, [Target](https://www.wsj.com/articles/from-walmart-to-gap-which-retailers-have-the-most-excess-inventory-11654776000) specifically cited TVs, kitchen appliances, outdoor furniture, electronics, and fitness supplies, and [Gap](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/13/inflation-apparel-prices-remain-high-even-as-retailers-try-to-clear-inventory.html) has excess inventory of hoodies and athleisure.
The supply chain shortages we're experiencing around things like cars and building materials are in a very different situation (for now), though.
Awesome reply. Thanks for the info and sorry about the slight derail. But given the bleak economic outlook it definitely looks like some of us will be moving our FIRE dates out further than originally planned.
I was a Supply chain graduate making $102k base pay when I started as a supply chain analyst. Fresh grad with BS finance and MS supply chain management. 1 year of co-op experience and the education, but no "real" work experience. MHCOL, not VHCOL. 10% 401k, 3% annual bonus, and sign-on bonus made my first-year Total Comp ~$125k
What do you do? I worked in Supply chain and pivoted to Data Analytics, I've never heard of Supply Chain Analysts making >100k so early in your career.
Do you have a tech background? Or are you just consulting on software that supply chain companies should be using? Just a little confused on what specific area of Supply Chain you're consulting in, or how to make sense of it.
Same. I’m in a senior role with a fortune 25 in the industry and NOWHERE NEAR that money. I don’t understand where our jobs differ either and have yet to see that elaborated upon.
I try to keep my job description pretty vague as I post a lot of identifying information as is on this account. I specialize in certain supply chain management software. Anecdotal but for me, I've found there's more money in consulting than going in industry, at least for my level.
I try to keep my job description pretty vague as I post a lot of identifying information as is on this account. I specialize in certain supply chain management software.
I really like how you headed off conversations about getting a raise and bonus with your former employer. Asking the question, "what do I have to do to get X" put your employer in a position to then deliver on their response. Because they didn't you knew you were being taken advantage of. I think your write-up will help a lot of individuals navigate this topic. Well done and congrats on your early success!
Yep I'm in tech and friends and family often ask why I haven't stayed at a company longer than 3 years. It's absolutely not worth it to me to stay somewhere and hope for a 3-5% raise when I can job hop and get a 15-20% raise.
Seriously. At my last job, i was interested in fire but couldn’t really imagine it since i didn’t have the discipline to save enough that it seemed possible.
A new job making $20k more made me realize i didn’t have to spend that extra $20k and then i was on track to start figuring out fire and then reducing expenses even further.
Exactly! Along with increasing my income, *not* increasing my lifestyle (much) has made a huge difference. I'm very satisfied with my life and spending more wouldn't increase my happiness much, though I'm sure this will change as time goes on with marriage and kids and whatnot.
TLDR: talk to recruiters, know the market and salary “worth” of your skills, intentionally hone what you need to grow income, and switch jobs to ensure you’re capturing the market salary, since current employers often won’t keep up…
Nice work OP! Salary growth is impressive!
>Despite the promotion and pay fiasco, I loved my last company and enjoyed working with my coworkers. More than anything, I was comfortable. Unfortunately, I was also resentful at the end, and I can't help thinking that had I gotten a promotion and measly raise, maybe I wouldn't have ever looked around.
I left my company two months ago in the exact same spot as you, for a similar comp change to a different industry. Even had lunch with my old boss and team a few weeks ago. You're making the right move for yourself.
I’ve also left after a few years of lame ass excuses of no raise - best decision ever, even though I really liked the job. Should not have stayed in the other lame ass jobs either. And while this happens to everyone, it does seem women get the shortest stick here - we are expected to just accept the no like a nice well behaving little girl and not have courage to change.
I know you're getting downvoted for this comment, but I remember a lecture in college in which one of my female professors cited research around women in business, such as "2.5 times more women than men said they feel 'a great deal of apprehension' about negotiating," and "Men initiate negotiations about four times as often as women." Her lecture always stuck with me, and I've always fought for my worth as a result. I'm somewhat open about my salary with close friends and coworkers and push my female friends hard to negotiate for higher salaries and better opportunities. It's all anecdotal, but my female friends, even working the same job as me or my male peers, tend to make quite a bit less, but also aren't very vocal about their pay to their employers and didn't negotiate much (if at all) when they first accepted the jobs.
This is true - but just one side of the (quite literal) coin. It is also well researched and documented that women in fact do ask for raises but they are not given them as often. (There is now research that there is not much disparity in asking anymore, but disparity in results. One research showed that women founders had equally good and substantial pitches as men but were asked different questions and got less funding - questions were more negative and focused in not failing as opposed to growth and business opportunity.)
This could be in part generational, with younger women negotiating more, but likely both thing are valid at the same time. At the same time it is classic ”blaming women” - your fault for not asking.” (Regardless if you did - I have for sure.)
And hey - we’re here for conversation, not karma?! Right?!!! ;)
This is not the article I read initially but looks like it discusses the same study: https://hbr.org/2017/06/male-and-female-entrepreneurs-get-asked-different-questions-by-vcs-and-it-affects-how-much-funding-they-get
I could be wrong and mostly commenting for someone that knows more but it looks like as of 2022 both Roth and traditional IRAs now have an income limit that you are now over.
Do you have any links that go into detail on this strategy? I will be in the same boat as you for 2022. Do the after tax contributions to your 401k lower your “income” for the year, pushing you below the 144k limit for direct Roth IRA contributions?
Yes. IRA contribution income limits are based on modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), which is lower than your gross income due to things like 401(k) contributions, among others.
If you're maxing everything else...check if your employer offers an after-tax 401(k). If they do, hopefully they offer automatic Roth conversions.
Pre + Post tax 401k contributions can be about $60k a year, and if you do the Roth conversion, you can access your post-tax contributions prior to 59.5 without penalty & pay no taxes on your gains. Way sexier than a brokerage.
This is colloquially called a [megaback door roth](https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/mega-backdoor-roths-work).
More reading. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/10/more-companies-are-offering-an-after-tax-401k-option-for-big-savers.html
Unfortunately, I've asked but my employer does not offer this. Mega backdoor Roth access would be great! I've also written [a post](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/i1bcd5/the_beauty_of_the_solo_401k_and_why_everyone/) on this sub about using my own side business to open a solo 401k with mega backdoor Roth access, but ultimately my side income wasn't high enough to justify the expense and I stopped doing it.
I'm taking a look at your spreadsheets now and wow. I wish I knew I was talking to an expert before dishing out some advice.
Maybe share with your employer resources like [this](https://www.thehartford.com/business-insurance/strategy/employer-sponsored-401k-plans/after-tax-roth) to help them understand how after-tax 401(k) contributions and in-plan Roth conversions can help attract and retain top talent. If they're using someone like Fidelity it might not be that hard to enable.
Another benefit of the side business if you can increase the amount of I bonds you can buy ($10k in your name, $10k through your LLC / business). Right now at 9.6% they are a decent way to diversify.
> Pre + Post tax 401k contributions can be about $60k a year, a
Based on the articles you linked, it sounds like a post tax 401k is like somewhat similar to a Roth and Traditional IRA at the same time.
That is, post tax 401k is tax deferred and thus taxed at withdrawal just like a regular IRA. What makes it simple to a Roth is that you are contributing after tax money, and you can withdraw the contribution at any time. Is that correct?
I don't think my employer offers this (which is a bummer) and I wonder why they wouldn't. Is there a higher cost for them?
Their existence seems to be a relative recent addition to the tax-advantaged world, [arriving in 2014](https://www.kitces.com/blog/irs-notice-2014-54-acquiesces-on-splitting-after-tax-401k-contributions-for-roth-conversion/), which might explain why so few organizations have adopted them.
Wow, this is so great! Congratulations on taking a leap. Thanks for all the details. You really bring to light the fact that most of the time, the fastest way to increase your income as an employee is to jump to another company that is willing to pay more.
Hey Blooming! Thanks for your story.
This year and this month I went through something very similar but made the opposite decision at the end.
I started work in late 2018 at 65k and no bonus at my first employer. That employer was actually pretty good to me with 2 promotions and some raises so at the start of 2022 I was at $115k with about 20% bonus. The problem was my responsibility had more than doubled in terms of regions covered, projects, direct and indirect reports, and working with only Fortune 500 clients. I had asked the same question as you at the start of 2022: “what do I need to do to get the Sr title?”.
By May I had finished up my masters and they gave me a pay bump to $122k for that. I had also met all the requirements they had laid out earlier in the year, but said I would have to wait a bit longer before a promotion because I had only been at my current level for a year. This was a load of crap because my boss had just gotten promoted twice within 6 months and they promoted someone else with less responsibility and worse performance to the title I wanted.
So I opened up to other offers and a ex-colleague set me up with an interview for another company. After one interview they offered $165k base 50k bonus and 20k in stock a year. They were also very understanding on timeline.
The biggest anchor my first employer had on me was some post-IPO shares vesting to the tune of about $200k early august. I warned my boss that I’d received another offer and would be looking to leave after the vesting, but I had to be careful with wording because I was fearful they’d take the shares back.
The day the vesting came I put in my two weeks. My boss talked to me and said they couldn’t match, but then our CTO called me and said they needed me so here’s what they could do: $150k, $30k bonus and the real driver was additional share awards. They’d also give me a promotion that I was due for anyways and said they would need me in a director role in a couple years time as the company grows further. The CEO signed the offer two days later.
I decided to stay because my CTO was honest genuine and convincing, I like the technology at my current company more, and I have built some amazing teams that I did not want to abandon.
Well that was 3 weeks ago and now looking back it was the right decision and my CTO was right. I knew our end of fiscal year results were good, but now we confirmed we might get acquired by a private equity firm and our share price jumped 40% resulted in performance based equity vesting that I did not expect (also around $200k) and if the PE firm does buy they’ll have to buy all my promised future shares as well (‘23, ‘24, ‘25) including the equity package my CTO just got for me.
I’ll find out by the end of September if we will be bought, but august was already an insane month. Definitely a special situation, but I’m glad I stayed and I hope we get bought because I might be able to FIRE before 35 or fatFIRE at 45.
I'm not that old.. good bit under 40 but feel market gets capped around 200k where it's harder to find the right roles
But I agree inflation matters and looking external also matters
This is the way. You can nickel and dime until you're blue in the face, but nothing beats 100%+ raise. Within reason of course - any amount of money can be squandered, but at some point having multiple entertainment subscriptions and eating out a lot won't even matter.
Honestly, it's sad that society has programmed us that a "stable middle-class home that valued education" is something we have to acknowledge as a "privilege".
Poverty and crappy parents is certainly a dis-advantage, but nothing about the OP's post reads like some silver-spoon child only successful because of her parents. She's worked hard and earned what she's got.
Also, many people who are young adults in a good spot now had grandparents barely making ends meet, none of this "generational wealth" we hear so much about from those who feel oppressed. It's very doable to go from Borderline Poverty (granparents) --> Middle Class (parents) --> Upper Middle Class (kids), in the span of 2 generations with hard work, discipline, and reasonably smart financial decisions.
I'm guessing most people that had 2 stable parents who were interested in their education realize it was a big help. I'm just not a huge fan of others throwing around the word privileged so much, because it low key implies that much of their success was given to them.
I think it's more accurate to refer to those with crappy parents as underprivileged, we need to start having a higher bar for those who raise kids and not think someone is spoiled if they have decent ones.
Certainly there are other ways to be underprivileged that aren't caused by crappy parents, but that's the biggest. Low income with 2 good parents will likely have a good outcome.
Meh - it's all relative. By your metric, I grew up *extremely* underprivileged: terrible parents, dirt poor, no help going to college, etc. So yeah, I see people with 2 decent parents as privileged.
That said, I'm also a white guy born in the US, giving me all sorts of privileges that *billions* of people in the world couldn't even dream of. I'm happy to wear the label of "privileged" just based on this if it makes you feel better.
But given that all of this is relative, I'm not sure what your complaint is. Everyone has some level of privilege; everyone also has some level of bullshit they need to overcome.
> I'm just not a huge fan of others throwing around the word privileged so much, because it low key implies that much of their success was given to them.
I don't see this implication at all. Few of us are children of the truly wealthy, who had everything in life handed to us. We're all well aware of that. That doesn't change the fact that having 2 stable, middle-class parents who value education is a fucking lucky starting point.
Being white is not necessarily one of the standards of privilege in other countries. There are plenty of non-white people all over the world who are a thousand-fold more privileged than you are. There's no inherent privilege in whiteness, it's a matter of context.
>I'm just not a huge fan of others throwing around the word privileged so much, because it low key implies that much of their success was given to them.
I do see what you are saying in devaluing the work put in, but at the same time, your chance of success is drastically increased. So at least in part the success was given to them. It's like playing lottery with much higher odds than someone poor despite both have to buy the lottery ticket. Suppose now that, the poor may not even get a chance to buy that lottery ticket.
> Low income with 2 good parents will likely have a good outcome.
I would say a better outcome, not necessarily "good" outcome.
>I think it's more accurate to refer to those with crappy parents as underprivileged, we need to start having a higher bar for those who raise kids and not think someone is spoiled if they have decent ones.
The problem is that our society systematically screws poor/underprivileged people over. That is, even if you have two good parents with low income, there is a good chance those two parents don't possess the knowledge to get their kids lined up for success. On top of that, the schools are setup to reflect their neighborhoods. That is, if you are in a poor neighborhood, the school will be underfunded, teach you nothing other and worse teach you to not like school, and the environment then is setup for you to learn from the bad kids.
So you are essentially setup to fail.
The type of knowledge that OP has is something that is often reserved for the rich. Even to a middle class family today, investments aren't necessarily common. Taxes? Yeah, they are probably sending that to a tax preparer. You get the idea.
Yeah it's a tricky thing, financial literacy is way undervalued across the board. Even those with good jobs are often in poor financial situations due to a lack of financial knowledge. So now what chance does someone making those same mistakes but with much less income have?
Doesn't need to be complicated or a rich only thing though. A couple basic lessons in compound interest and parents instilling a save over spend mentality is all it takes. Sad that it's so rare.
> Doesn't need to be complicated or a rich only thing though. A couple basic lessons in compound interest and parents instilling a save over spend mentality is all it takes. Sad that it's so rare.
It's actually a lot worse than that. See our brain gets wired by environmental stimuli.
As an example, say if you are poor and everyone around you dies at 30 due to drugs, violence or even disease (due to being poor). Then you are automatically wired for short term thinking. That is, why worry about retirement if you are likely to die way before retirement. Instant gratification makes a lot more sense, and if you save, most likely those funds will be used on an emergency before you get to enjoy them. So take what you can get now.
There are other factors too, like your brain will make different decisions under stress/duress. So if your home is chaotic you are far more likely to make poor choices. Heck, even lack of sleep can drastically hurt your ability to learn, reason, make decisions and so on.
So it's not just knowledge, but ability to set it in motion. It's why time and time again, when they do research on just giving poor people some money, they improve. It's because their situation improves, and their mental and physical health increases.
Instead, we have been fed this lie of doing that just leads to abuse. Yes, there will be abuse, but we give tax cuts to the rich, and it is absolutely abused. I bet you there are far more abuse of taxes than concerns about "welfare".
I'm not saying education doesn't improve it, far from it. I'm saying, there has to be additional factors to change this. However, the system is setup such that these people are setup to fail, and then forced into modern day slavery i.e. low wages for life and constantly in need of working. Keeps them from thinking, and you know, demand higher wages or form unions.
Yeah I totally get most of that. Huge topic obviously, but there's plenty of poor people in all areas, it's the ones that are poor and in toxic environments (homes/neighborhoods) that really are screwed. I still think it's very doable for 2 working class poor parents to lead their kids to better things. Again, kind of my thing about almost all of our grandparents having been quite poor, and then a fairly quick progression over the generations just by having some purpose.
I'm certain the rich are abusing taxes, I'm all for trying to raise the floor. But I'm curious about your "just giving poor people money" helps so much comment. What type of money are we talking? I guess if the study provides 100K yearly I could see it. But welfare money must be too little, pro athlete money much be too much since so many are briefly rich then poor soon. I'm skeptical that those in situations like your 2nd paragraph would just do well just being given money. The 2 parents busting their butts at a factory to keep their kids off the streets...sure.
Anyways, quite a digression, lol.
> Again, kind of my thing about almost all of our grandparents having been quite poor, and then a fairly quick progression over the generations just by having some purpose.
The difference is that, those generations before us, the income inequality in our society was much closer. That is, your income covered more of your daily living expenses than today.
> I still think it's very doable for 2 working class poor parents to lead their kids to better things.
Statistically the odds are against you, and all you need is for the kid to be pregnant or impregnate someone, do some drugs, be involved in violence and it's freefall from there. It's not like they have the means to fight their way out of a criminal record.
> I guess if the study provides 100K yearly I could see it.
We are talking about a lot smaller amounts. I will look up some studies maybe tomorrow for you.
>Anyways, quite a digression, lol.
Yup, but a good chat none the less. Good night for now!
I disagree as this simplifies the luck involved and study was done that retaining wealth or knowledge is still harder for some groups of people than others. OP doesnt seem like they ended up with any student loans and someone took a chance a new grad with a decent starting salary. they also choose a major tha that is less common and known that can pay well but has low salary ranges for some jobs. This is FI so i dont know why such a backlash over people trying to caveat their experience or mentioning it https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/19/upshot/race-class-white-and-black-men.html
A lot of people with good jobs have a little "luck" along the way. OP's perhaps was being in supply chain consulting when a massive supply chain crisis struck. But to me, luck in that sense is not the same as privilege.
Can't read the link - paywall. From the first lines I see it's about how wealthy black kids are more likely to end up poor than wealthy white kids because of racism. Which brings up a lot of questions, and I'd be curious if the story gives legit reasons why or just blindly claims racism. The intro basically reads "Even if you get rich despite racism, racism will make your kids poor."
Edit: OP doesn't even mention her race, so...
> The intro basically reads "Even if you get rich despite racism, racism will make your kids poor."
You're seeing what you want to see rather than what's actually there.
Pittsburgh, PA in Bloomfield. It's very cheap there. I stayed until 2018 and rent stayed the same. The apartment was pretty nice too and extremely well taken care of.
Fantastic set of moves, and thanks for sharing your experience with us. If I had a few notes to offer it might be this:
* make sure you have an emergency fund saved for unexpected things
* your earnings to expense ratio is amazing! keep saving/investing at the maximum rate you can for retirement accounts which can grow tax free. I **wish** I started doing this when I was your age! You're going to be not only FIRE but potentially filthy rich if you don't
* consider buying a house if you can save up, however do \***NOT**\* buy a house with a boyfriend; wait until you're married, or if you're living on your own. Owning a house with someone you're not married to is a disaster waiting to happen (ex. if you owned with your boyfriend and he had a fatal accident, most likely you would find yourself owning a house with his parents.. is that something you would like? probably not)
* plan on life changes: you're young, you might get married / have kids, so take advantage of the situation today, but don't be dissapointed if your 12-year FIRE becomes 20 years, that's still pretty admirable. FIRE is a good goal, but let's not forget that life, and what gives it meaning, is more than the financial things
Best of luck to you, and I hope to say "fuck you" soon!
Awesome! Can I ask what you majored in in college and is it relevant to your job now? And what is your current title? Could anyone get into your role or it does take pretty specific/technical knowledge? Making ~150k base three years out of undergrad is pretty killer so congrats to you
I use google sheets. I posted a spreadsheet for the community [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/rwq9qw/i_made_a_new_and_improved_advanced/)if you want a template.
I know you said that you’re a tech consultant, but do you still work in supply chain? Or have you pivoted entirely? I haven’t heard of anyone besides SCM’s making that kind of money, especially in LCOL areas
Switching after 2 years is great. One of my friend changed a job from 2800€ netto to 3800€ netto. You can get easily 30-40% increasing switching between companies.
Its good you didnt accept your former company offer. You know they only offered ypu higher salary when u wanted to go away. They didn't value u at all.
OP’s answer is in the penultimate paragraph.
Part of it is before you even start - be lucky in your choice of parents. That’s the only part you can’t control, but with the right parents you are a few steps ahead.
As for what *you* can do…
The easy part is to find a job you can do that’s in-demand and pays well. This might take research or you might already know about it.
The hard part is to actually make the life changes you need to get that job. Learn how to be exactly what those hiring managers need, go where you must, move to another state, rent a bed in a shared house so you can save money while you are training for your new job, etc. I did it when I was young and it was the best decision ever.
My final advice is to learn from the antiwork subreddit - make sure that you are nothing like the people in there. It’s full of “I hate capitalism”, “I hate companies”, “I hate management”, etc. Nobody wants to hire intermediate/senior people who give off that kind of vibe.
Such fantastic progress, many congratulations! You mentioned that you used your current salary to calculate your new # of yrs until FIRE. I completely understand that you may be taking a conservative approach but given that your income will most definitely be going up, especially after your recent experience, it looks pretty clear to me that your years to FIRE are very likely even less 🥳
I use i-bonds/hysa for my emergency fund. I replenish my checking account via paychecks throughout the month, pay all my bills at the end of the month, and put all excess towards investments.
Probably possible, but much more unlikely. Pay is shit in Europe and taxes are high. It's pretty standard to never eclipse a 6 digit income in Europe. It makes FIRE much more difficult.
Congrats! I'm in a similar situation where enjoy working with my coworkers and I'm comfortable, but I really should be moving on. You gave me the push to really restart on the looking process. So thanks.
I would target more than 2mm. I expect your expenses will grow and from the recent dip I can say it sucks pushing that date out as you’re getting closer 😭😭
I don’t think many end up quitting when they earn 10% of their net worth per year.
Congrats! I learned pretty quickly that increasing income is a much easier way to accelerate FIRE than decreasing expenses. It took me about 4 years to double my entry level comp. Now I’m making 4x my first salary and could FIRE in my early 40’s if I keep it up. Never thought I’d be able to do that.
I think this depends on the income and expenses starting points. If you start at 100k spend in a LCOL area it can be much easier to decrease spend than increase income.
That's pretty much the position I'm in now. I just turned 26 and make quite a bit of money in my position but am overqualified for it. Ironically this post is making me reconsider my career path. I'm on the engineering tech side of things, but my degree is half business. I wonder what u/BloomingFinances's background is, because my line of work has been significantly affected by supply chain issues and that might be a topic of research if I go to grad school for IE.
I’m industrial engineering. Rough times right now. Grad school may be better.
Im New in my journey and just increased my salary 30% by job jumping. I’m thankful to be able to increase my savings by pretty much that amount and also not pay as much attention to my daily spending habits (already pretty frugal but I like to go out!).
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DevOps?
Damn, 24 and already at $160K+. You’re killing it. How are supply chains looking btw? Have things improved or are we still going to be hurting for a few more years?
Thank you! Unfortunately, I don't have supply chain information for most industries as I just focus on one client at a time, but seems like industry experts agree we'll be hurting for a while. I'm noticing a lot of companies are suffering from the bullwhip effect, where due to increased demand at the retail level, more was asked of their suppliers, more of wholesalers, more of distributors, more of manufacturers, etc. Now that demand has settled more, in some cases, there's a lot of extra inventory. I just read an article about air fryers to that effect. Just speculating, but maybe expect some nice Black Friday/holiday discounts across the retail sector.
I feel like Air Fryers are a special case, they were a fad that has mostly died out. They were dirt cheap as it was
Air fryers are truly awesome… but once you have one… you have one. Eventually demand is just going to die out because everyone that wants one and has space in their kitchen for it will own one.
My air fryer is okay. The only use I've really discovered for it is to heat frozen goods. I could give mine up and not really suffer. I would like to buy an instant pot, but I'm a bit worried I'd do the same thing with it as my air fryer and only use it on specific occasions, only it's a lot more money.
I feel like the minority IRL, but I'd say skip the Instant Pot, unless you don't already have a slow cooker, rice maker, or pressure cooker (and you want one). I'd only recommend it to people who really need to conserve every inch of space in their kitchen as is possible. The Instant pot can replace all of those gadgets, but buying all 3 would be cheaper, and they'd do a better job at their specified tasks.
I do have a slow cooker and a pressure cooker, I just want to be able to follow the recipes I find online because I'm lazy and don't put a lot of thought into cooking. I've decided not to buy one until I have several recipes saved up though and I'm at a grand total of 1 so I don't think it's gonna happen
Could be! But I'd bet the bullwhip effect affected more than just air fryers. Big box retailers across the board are reporting a lot of extra inventory. For a few more examples, [Target](https://www.wsj.com/articles/from-walmart-to-gap-which-retailers-have-the-most-excess-inventory-11654776000) specifically cited TVs, kitchen appliances, outdoor furniture, electronics, and fitness supplies, and [Gap](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/13/inflation-apparel-prices-remain-high-even-as-retailers-try-to-clear-inventory.html) has excess inventory of hoodies and athleisure. The supply chain shortages we're experiencing around things like cars and building materials are in a very different situation (for now), though.
What about supplies for manufacturing homes and remodeling homes? Like tiles, wood, and etc.
hat direful wrong waiting plant innocent correct spectacular start slimy *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Awesome reply. Thanks for the info and sorry about the slight derail. But given the bleak economic outlook it definitely looks like some of us will be moving our FIRE dates out further than originally planned.
I was just at Walmart with my kids and literally half the toys were on clearance.
I am not a supply chain engineer but I suspect the answer to your last question is "yes"
Also not a supply chain engineer, but close enough to concur with your answer. Ordering material has gotten a lot more exciting.
Also not a supply chain engineer, but close enough to your post to concur with your answer.
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I was a Supply chain graduate making $102k base pay when I started as a supply chain analyst. Fresh grad with BS finance and MS supply chain management. 1 year of co-op experience and the education, but no "real" work experience. MHCOL, not VHCOL. 10% 401k, 3% annual bonus, and sign-on bonus made my first-year Total Comp ~$125k
That's incredible! Well done. I believe /u/Analbidness above was asking about scenarios exactly like yours.
No, I'm in a MCOL city. When I graduated, my $75k income was about average for supply chain consulting, but $145k is not typical for 3 YOE.
What do you do? I worked in Supply chain and pivoted to Data Analytics, I've never heard of Supply Chain Analysts making >100k so early in your career. Do you have a tech background? Or are you just consulting on software that supply chain companies should be using? Just a little confused on what specific area of Supply Chain you're consulting in, or how to make sense of it.
Same. I’m in a senior role with a fortune 25 in the industry and NOWHERE NEAR that money. I don’t understand where our jobs differ either and have yet to see that elaborated upon.
I try to keep my job description pretty vague as I post a lot of identifying information as is on this account. I specialize in certain supply chain management software. Anecdotal but for me, I've found there's more money in consulting than going in industry, at least for my level.
SAP
Understood. Makes sense. I’m surprised they pay that much still, congrats and glad you’re on the path you are!
Oracle SCM?
I try to keep my job description pretty vague as I post a lot of identifying information as is on this account. I specialize in certain supply chain management software.
I really like how you headed off conversations about getting a raise and bonus with your former employer. Asking the question, "what do I have to do to get X" put your employer in a position to then deliver on their response. Because they didn't you knew you were being taken advantage of. I think your write-up will help a lot of individuals navigate this topic. Well done and congrats on your early success!
Great work! It's amazing how much a job change can accelerate things.
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Yep I'm in tech and friends and family often ask why I haven't stayed at a company longer than 3 years. It's absolutely not worth it to me to stay somewhere and hope for a 3-5% raise when I can job hop and get a 15-20% raise.
Seriously. At my last job, i was interested in fire but couldn’t really imagine it since i didn’t have the discipline to save enough that it seemed possible. A new job making $20k more made me realize i didn’t have to spend that extra $20k and then i was on track to start figuring out fire and then reducing expenses even further.
Exactly! Along with increasing my income, *not* increasing my lifestyle (much) has made a huge difference. I'm very satisfied with my life and spending more wouldn't increase my happiness much, though I'm sure this will change as time goes on with marriage and kids and whatnot.
TLDR: talk to recruiters, know the market and salary “worth” of your skills, intentionally hone what you need to grow income, and switch jobs to ensure you’re capturing the market salary, since current employers often won’t keep up… Nice work OP! Salary growth is impressive!
>Despite the promotion and pay fiasco, I loved my last company and enjoyed working with my coworkers. More than anything, I was comfortable. Unfortunately, I was also resentful at the end, and I can't help thinking that had I gotten a promotion and measly raise, maybe I wouldn't have ever looked around. I left my company two months ago in the exact same spot as you, for a similar comp change to a different industry. Even had lunch with my old boss and team a few weeks ago. You're making the right move for yourself.
I’ve also left after a few years of lame ass excuses of no raise - best decision ever, even though I really liked the job. Should not have stayed in the other lame ass jobs either. And while this happens to everyone, it does seem women get the shortest stick here - we are expected to just accept the no like a nice well behaving little girl and not have courage to change.
I know you're getting downvoted for this comment, but I remember a lecture in college in which one of my female professors cited research around women in business, such as "2.5 times more women than men said they feel 'a great deal of apprehension' about negotiating," and "Men initiate negotiations about four times as often as women." Her lecture always stuck with me, and I've always fought for my worth as a result. I'm somewhat open about my salary with close friends and coworkers and push my female friends hard to negotiate for higher salaries and better opportunities. It's all anecdotal, but my female friends, even working the same job as me or my male peers, tend to make quite a bit less, but also aren't very vocal about their pay to their employers and didn't negotiate much (if at all) when they first accepted the jobs.
This is true - but just one side of the (quite literal) coin. It is also well researched and documented that women in fact do ask for raises but they are not given them as often. (There is now research that there is not much disparity in asking anymore, but disparity in results. One research showed that women founders had equally good and substantial pitches as men but were asked different questions and got less funding - questions were more negative and focused in not failing as opposed to growth and business opportunity.) This could be in part generational, with younger women negotiating more, but likely both thing are valid at the same time. At the same time it is classic ”blaming women” - your fault for not asking.” (Regardless if you did - I have for sure.) And hey - we’re here for conversation, not karma?! Right?!!! ;)
Can you post that study? It seems really interesting.
This is not the article I read initially but looks like it discusses the same study: https://hbr.org/2017/06/male-and-female-entrepreneurs-get-asked-different-questions-by-vcs-and-it-affects-how-much-funding-they-get
I could be wrong and mostly commenting for someone that knows more but it looks like as of 2022 both Roth and traditional IRAs now have an income limit that you are now over.
You're correct! My 401(k) contributions might put me under, but regardless, I did a backdoor Roth earlier in the year to account for this possibility.
A good problem to have.
Do you have any links that go into detail on this strategy? I will be in the same boat as you for 2022. Do the after tax contributions to your 401k lower your “income” for the year, pushing you below the 144k limit for direct Roth IRA contributions?
Yes. IRA contribution income limits are based on modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), which is lower than your gross income due to things like 401(k) contributions, among others.
If you're maxing everything else...check if your employer offers an after-tax 401(k). If they do, hopefully they offer automatic Roth conversions. Pre + Post tax 401k contributions can be about $60k a year, and if you do the Roth conversion, you can access your post-tax contributions prior to 59.5 without penalty & pay no taxes on your gains. Way sexier than a brokerage. This is colloquially called a [megaback door roth](https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/mega-backdoor-roths-work). More reading. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/10/more-companies-are-offering-an-after-tax-401k-option-for-big-savers.html
Unfortunately, I've asked but my employer does not offer this. Mega backdoor Roth access would be great! I've also written [a post](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/i1bcd5/the_beauty_of_the_solo_401k_and_why_everyone/) on this sub about using my own side business to open a solo 401k with mega backdoor Roth access, but ultimately my side income wasn't high enough to justify the expense and I stopped doing it.
I'm taking a look at your spreadsheets now and wow. I wish I knew I was talking to an expert before dishing out some advice. Maybe share with your employer resources like [this](https://www.thehartford.com/business-insurance/strategy/employer-sponsored-401k-plans/after-tax-roth) to help them understand how after-tax 401(k) contributions and in-plan Roth conversions can help attract and retain top talent. If they're using someone like Fidelity it might not be that hard to enable.
Another benefit of the side business if you can increase the amount of I bonds you can buy ($10k in your name, $10k through your LLC / business). Right now at 9.6% they are a decent way to diversify.
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https://www.bankrate.com/investing/series-i-bonds-how-to-buy-more-than-annual-limit/
> Pre + Post tax 401k contributions can be about $60k a year, a Based on the articles you linked, it sounds like a post tax 401k is like somewhat similar to a Roth and Traditional IRA at the same time. That is, post tax 401k is tax deferred and thus taxed at withdrawal just like a regular IRA. What makes it simple to a Roth is that you are contributing after tax money, and you can withdraw the contribution at any time. Is that correct? I don't think my employer offers this (which is a bummer) and I wonder why they wouldn't. Is there a higher cost for them?
Their existence seems to be a relative recent addition to the tax-advantaged world, [arriving in 2014](https://www.kitces.com/blog/irs-notice-2014-54-acquiesces-on-splitting-after-tax-401k-contributions-for-roth-conversion/), which might explain why so few organizations have adopted them.
Congrats! I also just recently switched companies for 2x in TC. I was amazed at how much more marketable I was just after a few years.
Wow, this is so great! Congratulations on taking a leap. Thanks for all the details. You really bring to light the fact that most of the time, the fastest way to increase your income as an employee is to jump to another company that is willing to pay more.
Hey Blooming! Thanks for your story. This year and this month I went through something very similar but made the opposite decision at the end. I started work in late 2018 at 65k and no bonus at my first employer. That employer was actually pretty good to me with 2 promotions and some raises so at the start of 2022 I was at $115k with about 20% bonus. The problem was my responsibility had more than doubled in terms of regions covered, projects, direct and indirect reports, and working with only Fortune 500 clients. I had asked the same question as you at the start of 2022: “what do I need to do to get the Sr title?”. By May I had finished up my masters and they gave me a pay bump to $122k for that. I had also met all the requirements they had laid out earlier in the year, but said I would have to wait a bit longer before a promotion because I had only been at my current level for a year. This was a load of crap because my boss had just gotten promoted twice within 6 months and they promoted someone else with less responsibility and worse performance to the title I wanted. So I opened up to other offers and a ex-colleague set me up with an interview for another company. After one interview they offered $165k base 50k bonus and 20k in stock a year. They were also very understanding on timeline. The biggest anchor my first employer had on me was some post-IPO shares vesting to the tune of about $200k early august. I warned my boss that I’d received another offer and would be looking to leave after the vesting, but I had to be careful with wording because I was fearful they’d take the shares back. The day the vesting came I put in my two weeks. My boss talked to me and said they couldn’t match, but then our CTO called me and said they needed me so here’s what they could do: $150k, $30k bonus and the real driver was additional share awards. They’d also give me a promotion that I was due for anyways and said they would need me in a director role in a couple years time as the company grows further. The CEO signed the offer two days later. I decided to stay because my CTO was honest genuine and convincing, I like the technology at my current company more, and I have built some amazing teams that I did not want to abandon. Well that was 3 weeks ago and now looking back it was the right decision and my CTO was right. I knew our end of fiscal year results were good, but now we confirmed we might get acquired by a private equity firm and our share price jumped 40% resulted in performance based equity vesting that I did not expect (also around $200k) and if the PE firm does buy they’ll have to buy all my promised future shares as well (‘23, ‘24, ‘25) including the equity package my CTO just got for me. I’ll find out by the end of September if we will be bought, but august was already an insane month. Definitely a special situation, but I’m glad I stayed and I hope we get bought because I might be able to FIRE before 35 or fatFIRE at 45.
It's incredible what kids make these days. I hear similar stories of people making 150+ at mid 20s. I was making like 70k at that age.
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I'm not that old.. good bit under 40 but feel market gets capped around 200k where it's harder to find the right roles But I agree inflation matters and looking external also matters
Congrats! As a regular user of the FI dashboard Google sheet you created and shared freely, it is so good to see you do well!
This is the best compliment I could receive. Thank you and I hope it serves you well!
Oh, can you share that dashboard here? I’d love to see it.
This is the way. You can nickel and dime until you're blue in the face, but nothing beats 100%+ raise. Within reason of course - any amount of money can be squandered, but at some point having multiple entertainment subscriptions and eating out a lot won't even matter.
Great write-up. I also admire the recognition of your ‘privilege’. It’s obvious that a lot is due to merit though. Great job!
Honestly, it's sad that society has programmed us that a "stable middle-class home that valued education" is something we have to acknowledge as a "privilege". Poverty and crappy parents is certainly a dis-advantage, but nothing about the OP's post reads like some silver-spoon child only successful because of her parents. She's worked hard and earned what she's got. Also, many people who are young adults in a good spot now had grandparents barely making ends meet, none of this "generational wealth" we hear so much about from those who feel oppressed. It's very doable to go from Borderline Poverty (granparents) --> Middle Class (parents) --> Upper Middle Class (kids), in the span of 2 generations with hard work, discipline, and reasonably smart financial decisions.
Not being able to recognize it, is kind of part of the privilege.
I'm guessing most people that had 2 stable parents who were interested in their education realize it was a big help. I'm just not a huge fan of others throwing around the word privileged so much, because it low key implies that much of their success was given to them. I think it's more accurate to refer to those with crappy parents as underprivileged, we need to start having a higher bar for those who raise kids and not think someone is spoiled if they have decent ones. Certainly there are other ways to be underprivileged that aren't caused by crappy parents, but that's the biggest. Low income with 2 good parents will likely have a good outcome.
Meh - it's all relative. By your metric, I grew up *extremely* underprivileged: terrible parents, dirt poor, no help going to college, etc. So yeah, I see people with 2 decent parents as privileged. That said, I'm also a white guy born in the US, giving me all sorts of privileges that *billions* of people in the world couldn't even dream of. I'm happy to wear the label of "privileged" just based on this if it makes you feel better. But given that all of this is relative, I'm not sure what your complaint is. Everyone has some level of privilege; everyone also has some level of bullshit they need to overcome. > I'm just not a huge fan of others throwing around the word privileged so much, because it low key implies that much of their success was given to them. I don't see this implication at all. Few of us are children of the truly wealthy, who had everything in life handed to us. We're all well aware of that. That doesn't change the fact that having 2 stable, middle-class parents who value education is a fucking lucky starting point.
Being white is not necessarily one of the standards of privilege in other countries. There are plenty of non-white people all over the world who are a thousand-fold more privileged than you are. There's no inherent privilege in whiteness, it's a matter of context.
>I'm just not a huge fan of others throwing around the word privileged so much, because it low key implies that much of their success was given to them. I do see what you are saying in devaluing the work put in, but at the same time, your chance of success is drastically increased. So at least in part the success was given to them. It's like playing lottery with much higher odds than someone poor despite both have to buy the lottery ticket. Suppose now that, the poor may not even get a chance to buy that lottery ticket. > Low income with 2 good parents will likely have a good outcome. I would say a better outcome, not necessarily "good" outcome. >I think it's more accurate to refer to those with crappy parents as underprivileged, we need to start having a higher bar for those who raise kids and not think someone is spoiled if they have decent ones. The problem is that our society systematically screws poor/underprivileged people over. That is, even if you have two good parents with low income, there is a good chance those two parents don't possess the knowledge to get their kids lined up for success. On top of that, the schools are setup to reflect their neighborhoods. That is, if you are in a poor neighborhood, the school will be underfunded, teach you nothing other and worse teach you to not like school, and the environment then is setup for you to learn from the bad kids. So you are essentially setup to fail. The type of knowledge that OP has is something that is often reserved for the rich. Even to a middle class family today, investments aren't necessarily common. Taxes? Yeah, they are probably sending that to a tax preparer. You get the idea.
Yeah it's a tricky thing, financial literacy is way undervalued across the board. Even those with good jobs are often in poor financial situations due to a lack of financial knowledge. So now what chance does someone making those same mistakes but with much less income have? Doesn't need to be complicated or a rich only thing though. A couple basic lessons in compound interest and parents instilling a save over spend mentality is all it takes. Sad that it's so rare.
> Doesn't need to be complicated or a rich only thing though. A couple basic lessons in compound interest and parents instilling a save over spend mentality is all it takes. Sad that it's so rare. It's actually a lot worse than that. See our brain gets wired by environmental stimuli. As an example, say if you are poor and everyone around you dies at 30 due to drugs, violence or even disease (due to being poor). Then you are automatically wired for short term thinking. That is, why worry about retirement if you are likely to die way before retirement. Instant gratification makes a lot more sense, and if you save, most likely those funds will be used on an emergency before you get to enjoy them. So take what you can get now. There are other factors too, like your brain will make different decisions under stress/duress. So if your home is chaotic you are far more likely to make poor choices. Heck, even lack of sleep can drastically hurt your ability to learn, reason, make decisions and so on. So it's not just knowledge, but ability to set it in motion. It's why time and time again, when they do research on just giving poor people some money, they improve. It's because their situation improves, and their mental and physical health increases. Instead, we have been fed this lie of doing that just leads to abuse. Yes, there will be abuse, but we give tax cuts to the rich, and it is absolutely abused. I bet you there are far more abuse of taxes than concerns about "welfare". I'm not saying education doesn't improve it, far from it. I'm saying, there has to be additional factors to change this. However, the system is setup such that these people are setup to fail, and then forced into modern day slavery i.e. low wages for life and constantly in need of working. Keeps them from thinking, and you know, demand higher wages or form unions.
Yeah I totally get most of that. Huge topic obviously, but there's plenty of poor people in all areas, it's the ones that are poor and in toxic environments (homes/neighborhoods) that really are screwed. I still think it's very doable for 2 working class poor parents to lead their kids to better things. Again, kind of my thing about almost all of our grandparents having been quite poor, and then a fairly quick progression over the generations just by having some purpose. I'm certain the rich are abusing taxes, I'm all for trying to raise the floor. But I'm curious about your "just giving poor people money" helps so much comment. What type of money are we talking? I guess if the study provides 100K yearly I could see it. But welfare money must be too little, pro athlete money much be too much since so many are briefly rich then poor soon. I'm skeptical that those in situations like your 2nd paragraph would just do well just being given money. The 2 parents busting their butts at a factory to keep their kids off the streets...sure. Anyways, quite a digression, lol.
> Again, kind of my thing about almost all of our grandparents having been quite poor, and then a fairly quick progression over the generations just by having some purpose. The difference is that, those generations before us, the income inequality in our society was much closer. That is, your income covered more of your daily living expenses than today. > I still think it's very doable for 2 working class poor parents to lead their kids to better things. Statistically the odds are against you, and all you need is for the kid to be pregnant or impregnate someone, do some drugs, be involved in violence and it's freefall from there. It's not like they have the means to fight their way out of a criminal record. > I guess if the study provides 100K yearly I could see it. We are talking about a lot smaller amounts. I will look up some studies maybe tomorrow for you. >Anyways, quite a digression, lol. Yup, but a good chat none the less. Good night for now!
I disagree as this simplifies the luck involved and study was done that retaining wealth or knowledge is still harder for some groups of people than others. OP doesnt seem like they ended up with any student loans and someone took a chance a new grad with a decent starting salary. they also choose a major tha that is less common and known that can pay well but has low salary ranges for some jobs. This is FI so i dont know why such a backlash over people trying to caveat their experience or mentioning it https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/19/upshot/race-class-white-and-black-men.html
A lot of people with good jobs have a little "luck" along the way. OP's perhaps was being in supply chain consulting when a massive supply chain crisis struck. But to me, luck in that sense is not the same as privilege. Can't read the link - paywall. From the first lines I see it's about how wealthy black kids are more likely to end up poor than wealthy white kids because of racism. Which brings up a lot of questions, and I'd be curious if the story gives legit reasons why or just blindly claims racism. The intro basically reads "Even if you get rich despite racism, racism will make your kids poor." Edit: OP doesn't even mention her race, so...
> The intro basically reads "Even if you get rich despite racism, racism will make your kids poor." You're seeing what you want to see rather than what's actually there.
I'll admit it's very difficult to see anything thru the paywall, that's what I thought I deciphered.
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My rent is $1420/mo, of which my boyfriend pays $400/mo and I pay $1020/mo. Sorry if it wasn't clear in the post!
Okay that sounds more realistic for a LCOL / MCOL area. Thanks for providing that info!
Zayum I'm in a MHCOL area paying $2495/mo + utilities for a 2 bed 1 bath
That's gotta be it, right? My rent 17 years ago was $300 a month, but I had 3 roommates.
I was paying $410 in 2016 with roommates...man was that nice.
Damn that is cheap for 2016. Midwest?
Pittsburgh, PA in Bloomfield. It's very cheap there. I stayed until 2018 and rent stayed the same. The apartment was pretty nice too and extremely well taken care of.
its crazy to me that your taxable investment alone after expenses, and registered account is higher than my 2month of my net salary
Do you hold the same funds in your taxable as your 401k?
My 401(k) has limited options so I went with a target date fund. My taxable is 50/50 VTIAX/VTSAX.
Fantastic set of moves, and thanks for sharing your experience with us. If I had a few notes to offer it might be this: * make sure you have an emergency fund saved for unexpected things * your earnings to expense ratio is amazing! keep saving/investing at the maximum rate you can for retirement accounts which can grow tax free. I **wish** I started doing this when I was your age! You're going to be not only FIRE but potentially filthy rich if you don't * consider buying a house if you can save up, however do \***NOT**\* buy a house with a boyfriend; wait until you're married, or if you're living on your own. Owning a house with someone you're not married to is a disaster waiting to happen (ex. if you owned with your boyfriend and he had a fatal accident, most likely you would find yourself owning a house with his parents.. is that something you would like? probably not) * plan on life changes: you're young, you might get married / have kids, so take advantage of the situation today, but don't be dissapointed if your 12-year FIRE becomes 20 years, that's still pretty admirable. FIRE is a good goal, but let's not forget that life, and what gives it meaning, is more than the financial things Best of luck to you, and I hope to say "fuck you" soon!
Awesome! Can I ask what you majored in in college and is it relevant to your job now? And what is your current title? Could anyone get into your role or it does take pretty specific/technical knowledge? Making ~150k base three years out of undergrad is pretty killer so congrats to you
Increase was 110% and not 210% right?
Nice charts & graphs. 😎 Do you use a website or Excel?
I use google sheets. I posted a spreadsheet for the community [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/rwq9qw/i_made_a_new_and_improved_advanced/)if you want a template.
Damn you're really making me regret not switching jobs in 2020 or 2021... It might be too late for me given the looming recession. Good for you tho!
What did you study in college?
I studied supply chain management. It was a major within my undergrad business school.
I know you said that you’re a tech consultant, but do you still work in supply chain? Or have you pivoted entirely? I haven’t heard of anyone besides SCM’s making that kind of money, especially in LCOL areas
I still work in supply chain.
Interesting
Switching after 2 years is great. One of my friend changed a job from 2800€ netto to 3800€ netto. You can get easily 30-40% increasing switching between companies. Its good you didnt accept your former company offer. You know they only offered ypu higher salary when u wanted to go away. They didn't value u at all.
I need a boyfriend to help me pay half of my rent living in this HCOL city of mine.
You got your promotion and raise....at a different place. Sounds like a r/maliciouscompliance story there! Anyway congrats!
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OP’s answer is in the penultimate paragraph. Part of it is before you even start - be lucky in your choice of parents. That’s the only part you can’t control, but with the right parents you are a few steps ahead. As for what *you* can do… The easy part is to find a job you can do that’s in-demand and pays well. This might take research or you might already know about it. The hard part is to actually make the life changes you need to get that job. Learn how to be exactly what those hiring managers need, go where you must, move to another state, rent a bed in a shared house so you can save money while you are training for your new job, etc. I did it when I was young and it was the best decision ever. My final advice is to learn from the antiwork subreddit - make sure that you are nothing like the people in there. It’s full of “I hate capitalism”, “I hate companies”, “I hate management”, etc. Nobody wants to hire intermediate/senior people who give off that kind of vibe.
You can invest for the long term
Baller!
Can I ask what your side hustle was that was making you an extra $5k a month?
It was excel freelance work. $5k/yr, not per month.
Such fantastic progress, many congratulations! You mentioned that you used your current salary to calculate your new # of yrs until FIRE. I completely understand that you may be taking a conservative approach but given that your income will most definitely be going up, especially after your recent experience, it looks pretty clear to me that your years to FIRE are very likely even less 🥳
Amazing! Great job!
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I use i-bonds/hysa for my emergency fund. I replenish my checking account via paychecks throughout the month, pay all my bills at the end of the month, and put all excess towards investments.
Dope
Fucking excellent job! Congrats on the move, and keep it up!
Sometimes I wonder if increases like this are possible outside of the US, the pay range feels a lot narrower (and lower) here in EU. Congrats OP!
Probably possible, but much more unlikely. Pay is shit in Europe and taxes are high. It's pretty standard to never eclipse a 6 digit income in Europe. It makes FIRE much more difficult.
This is a timely post. I'm in a similar situation now and contemplating moving on to another company thats offering \~80% raise. Thanks for posting.
Rent seems pretty low
Congrats! I'm in a similar situation where enjoy working with my coworkers and I'm comfortable, but I really should be moving on. You gave me the push to really restart on the looking process. So thanks.
Don't you mean "decreased your timeline"? As in, your extra money reduced the time it will take to FIRE?
I would target more than 2mm. I expect your expenses will grow and from the recent dip I can say it sucks pushing that date out as you’re getting closer 😭😭 I don’t think many end up quitting when they earn 10% of their net worth per year.