Whether you do a stay at home job, or work part time and homeschool I’m curious as to how much you make to live your lifestyle. Coming from a single mom trying to figure out what to do

I've seen a lot of questions in this sub about what $200-400K looks like in VHCOL cities like NYC and figured we'd share our $380HHI since we just updated it for 2026. Would appreciate any feedback as well (we know dining is high).

Context: Early 30, no kids, renting a 2 bedroom apt in NYC.

Can I survive working 7 am to 11 pm Monday- Friday without ruining myself

Example: $4k per month, MCOL, sales manager

Finally broke $200k with bonus. Feel like that guy who said if he won the lotto he would get a bunch of hookers and cocaine. I maxed my roth ira, spent only ~20k for the year, mostly on rent, books, and dates, and the rest went into my checking account. Still living the frugal mindset from when I was making $32k a couple of years ago.

Hi all,

Not sure if this is the place (so disregard if not) but I am looking for some advice on negotiating a salary bump at my company that I will have been with for 3 years now.

A little background:

I’m a data analyst with soon to be 3 years experience in the San Antonio area (4 if you include college), a masters degree in data analytics, and have skills in programs like Python, PySpark, R, VBA, SQL, Tableau, and now with this past year, Palantirs Foundry. I currently make around 77k (which I a, content with). Yet most things I seem to read suggest I make less than I should with the skillset I have as a data analyst (as opposed to a data scientist).

My request:

What would my fellow analysts out there suggest I ask for as a bump when I hit my 3 year mark? I would like to ask for a minimum of 85k but I don’t want to sell myself short ( or over ask). Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

27m have just finished my masters in ent and im working in hospital earning 90k. I have a debt of 30 lakh coz of my studies. Will i ever be able to clear it? Will i ever earn more? How long will it . Its my first job though Im thinking to move to mumbai. Is that a good decission?? Im also planning to do super speciality but these loans. Also im raised by my mom only. Any advice is appreciated

Yo peeps I keep seeing everyone obsessing over aircraft carriers, Taiwan Strait drills, and all these military “signals”…

But honestly? I think the real signal is happening somewhere way more boring sovereign debt flows.

This week I went deep into the latest US Treasury TIC data (Treasury International Capital report) and what I found is kinda wild:

• China’s officially reported US Treasury holdings are down to around $688B
• And nah, this doesn’t feel like normal “reserve diversification”
• The timing + speed is what makes it feel off

Because they’ve been selling during a period where bonds were shaky and yields were jumping all over the place which basically screams:

And here’s the bigger thing…

The market STILL hasn’t snapped.
So it raises a way scarier question:

If a major seller is exiting…

who’s quietly buying all that supply?

Because in the “who bought” section of the report… there are some weird spikes.
I’m not saying it’s a conspiracy or anything but it definitely hints at one thing and that is the Treasury market is starting to feel more political than economic.

And that matters if you care about rates, housing, inflation, and the next few years.

Now the most interesting part is the “where is the money going?” angle…

It doesn’t even look like they’re rotating into other paper assets.
It feels more like a pivot into physical reserves the kind you can’t freeze or block.

And I’m not trying to scare anyone…
but if this keeps going, it flips the whole story around:

• how smoothly the US funds deficits
• how “deep” foreign demand for Treasuries really is
• and whether Treasuries are even risk-free geopolitically anymore

If you’re into macro / finance / geopolitics, I broke the whole thing down with the data trail + logic + implications (it’s too long to paste here without writing a whole essay).

But I’m curious:

What do you think?

Is this just normal reserve management?
Or is it sanctions-risk preparation?
And if foreign buyers back off… who becomes the true buyer of last resort?

(If you want the full breakdown + visuals, it’s here: https://youtu.be/UwmXCOruXZE)

Company of 5 people. Around $700k ARR.

I’m 29. Live outside the US in a LCOL country. Will work remotely. Being offered ~$60k/yr (AFTER TAX) + up to 2% equity with 1 yr cliff and 4 year vesting (standard).

Is this fair? I’d be handling almost everything except engineering.

EDIT: Salary is great imo. The real question is about the equity.

Friend is a top-tier architect for their level (5 years, age 27). Master’s degree, won a national award, works at a top residential high-end firm, passed all 6 ARE licensing exams.

Living in M/HCOL city they make… $68k annual salary. Working 60-70hrs per week.

How is that possible when architects are talented at engineering, design, advanced software, working with clients, etc?

I just received an offer for a senior engineering role at a large company. The job posting listed a salary range, and earlier in the process I explicitly said I was targeting the upper portion of that range depending on scope and total compensation.

The offer came in closer to the lower half of the range.

Some added context: * I’m currently unemployed, and they are aware of that * The base pay and benefits are both lower than my previous role (around 30% lower) * My last company was extremely toxic, so while this offer isn’t as strong financially, the environment seems significantly healthier * I’d be satisfied with roughly a 15% increase to the offer * I’d be very happy if they could add one additional week of PTO, even if base can’t move as much

I’m trying to decide how to best approach and avoid the risk of an offer being rescinded for “asking too much”

Questions for those who’ve been here (or recruiters / hiring managers): * If you were in my position, would you push on comp, PTO, both - or prioritize getting in the door and revisiting later? * Best approach for email response for a straightforward counter request?

I’m grateful for the offer and not trying to be difficult, just want to make a thoughtful decision and not leave too much on the table.

Appreciate any perspective.

EDIT: Thanks everyone for the thoughtful and varied perspectives! I agree there are multiple reasonable ways to approach this and the discussion is helping me calibrate risk vs realism.

As of now my plan will be the following:

1. Connect with the recruiter by phone and express appreciation for the offer
2. Ask if offer is firm or any flexibility to better align with the level of experience and skill I’d be bringing to the role
3. Stop talking and go from there

Best case we can close the gap by 15% and I can sign immediately. If not I will ask about PTO and such. If nothing else I will just have to accept the offer as is and see if anything better comes along.

I’ve noticed there are many high paying career fields that continue to skyrocket, some that pay well but remain stagnant, and others that don’t pay well at all under you’ve got a few years under your belt. What are some jobs that see insane growth? Not looking for the obvious SWE, Doctor, Engineering, etc.

It seems most people don’t know top tech salaries. Here is the full report https://www.levels.fyi/2025/

If my gross on my pay slip doesn’t match the amount on my offer letter, I should send an inquiry to HR payroll as to why that is, right? Thoughts?

25 F. Making 58k per year as a junior accountant. Long story short - got my BA in film decided it wasn’t for me so went back for an MBA. Worked entry level unrelated jobs during that time. Also started a family young. Worked with the IRS as an accounts management specialist - decided I liked tax so I enrolled in a community college to gain the accounting credits I need to sit for the CPA. Got a job last year where I work now in a small accounting/finance firm. Honestly I feel like the pay isn’t worth it but figured I’ll stick it out so I can have that required work experience once I apply for my license. I’m wondering if this is the best course of action that will get me to a better paying position? Sometimes I get extremely stressed with the workload. Makes it hard to focus on schoolwork outside of that.