<p>I have a cousin graduating from college this year with a 150k all in first year gig at a large tech company on the west coast. He's under the impression that he's making good income and should be able to afford better things. I can't help but to burst his bubble and bring him back to reality. It would serve our recent graduates well to read the following thread: </p>
<p>Um ok.</p>
<p>We have time to worry about that later but thanks. Gotta live up these 4 years man</p>
<p>Edit: my bad this was directed to those who just graduated college haha but still</p>
<p>Just ignore Bearcats, he likes to passively brag about the money he makes (or sometimes not so passively). Leave it to him to post that 150k a year is nothing. You know, cuz he’s such a big shot. Really he’s just has an ego and it is more and more apparent the more posts of his you read. Just ignore most of his posts. He is just likes to brag at the expense of some college kids.</p>
<p>But yes, I would imagine a lot of salaries in higher cost of living areas are higher… because… well… it costs more to live in those places.</p>
<p>That article just sounds like a rich guy complaining about being rich… poor baby</p>
<p>Truth is, FACTUALLY, 150k a year is a lot of money. You are doing very great if you start out with that, even if it really is a lot less when adjusted for your cost of living. </p>
<p>$150K is great income for fresh graduates, but how much is signing bonus and how much is regular salary?</p>
<p>Remember, you are totally in control of how you choose to spend your income, and the more you have, the more in control you are. There is no requirement to spend a $1000 on a holiday dinner or take Disney vacations (or any vacations at all) in order to have a very fulfilling life.</p>
<p>“Life in general” only costs as much as you want to spend. Too many people are unable to distinguish between wants and needs and feel that their high incomes somehow require them to live in a fashion that victimizes them. You are only a victim of your income if you allow yourself to be. Many years ago, someone gave me this quote that gets to the heart of the matter:</p>
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<p>If you define “the better things” in life as things bought with money, and if you think you somehow need or deserve those things based on your ability to produce income, you may well find yourself later in life confused about what your “tens of millions” have or have not bought you.</p>
<p>Spend or save your money anyway you want, but don’t be deceived into thinking you have no control over the outcome.</p>
<p>I spend 17 years on Wall Street after I graduated and was compensated very well. Some of my friends with similar incomes spent every dime and others saved a lot. NYC is expensive for rent, but you don’t need a car and other things are not that much more expensive. Some people ate at fairly expensive restaurants most nights, and they are the ones who saved nothing. Your living space in NYC is expensive and not nearly as nice as it would be in other cities. But walking out the door into Manhattan is worth a lot (if you like it).</p>
<p>After my father became permanently and totally disabled my last day of 7th grade, my family and I lived on less than 30k/year (probably made ~70k before that for a few years). I never wanted for much and my family is extremely close and we’re very happy. Much happier than most of my relatives that make 500k+ per year. </p>
<p>Life is what you make it. I am poor but very happy. 150k IS a lot of money to the vast majority of the population. If you NEED more than that to make you happy, I don’t think ANY amount of money is truly going to bring you happiness. The issue is much deeper than that. </p>
<p>@romanigypsyeyes
+1 for that comment</p>
<p>Money does not necessarily need to define happiness. 150k will seem like a small sum of money if one is profligate, but the same amount may seem plenty if one is frugal.</p>
<p>I don’t think money motivates my peers like many adults seem to think it does. Lifestyle is very important to us, especially those of us who grew up with a comfortable lifestyle. It’s not like we’re going to college so we can buy a Mercedes like our dad. Meaningful work and some limited time to do some traveling is what most of my friends desire.</p>
<p>With that said, I’m curious what college your cousin attended and which area of study s/he pursued.</p>
<p>From Dickens, and the basis for the Micawber Principle, based upon his observation:
“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery.” </p>
<p>Most studies of this stuff look at the receding referent, which is, roughly, the carrot in front of the donkey. </p>
<p>Cervantes said that the road is better than the Inn.</p>
<p>Utility theory attempts to align indifference curves and marginal utility.</p>
<p>Behaviorists (including both Tversky and Shiller…both Michigan grads) have yet to settle the argument as to whether or not money can buy happiness (is there declining marginal utility? is there a stopping point)?</p>
<p>The fact of the matter is that you sleep 1/3 of the day, so you better enjoy the other 2/3rds. If work is one of those other thirds, you better love it. You had also better decide early in the game whether you want to possess the carrot or want to chase it (bearcats may believe that pulping the carrot and selling off the crush as fertilizer and juice as healing oxidant is the way to go…but that is just another hedonic illusion among the many available). If you treat happiness as a destination rather than a process, you may be disappointed as the referent recedes.</p>
<p>Be here now (<== Dick Costolo…another UM guy at a recent graduation) and now…and now…</p>
<p>I actually thought the article in question was a good and germane read for grads pursuing such fields in those markets. It’s completely true in terms of what it costs to live that way.</p>
<p>I live in a very low cost area so mercifully, I can afford a great place with nice land and exceptionally reasonable taxes. While I can’t command quite the kind of billable our company would in those markets, happily I can command enough to enjoy a handful of dinners, parties and trips that do in fact cost what the author claims. Many of his comments resonated with me.</p>
<p>The reason I think the article is a good read for grads is because they should consider what kind of location and lifestyle they want and seriously consider that you get very different mileage out of a given salary depending on where…and how…you live. So above all else, wherever and whatever you’re doing, be sure to LOVE it…or find a way to do something different :)</p>