Hey Everyone. I've read this subreddit everyday for the past 5 years and have always learned so much and valued the perspectives shared on here greatly. I've been dealing with a crossroad I've arrived at financially several months ago that I'm having trouble conquering.
I landed a major promotion back in August that put me at $135,000 base salary with annual bonus potential capped at 20% of my base ($27,000).
I began my career back in mid-2013 at $60,000 per year and $37,000 in student debt. I was working in as a tech consultant and learned that $60,000 wasn't much when the student loan payments started 6 months after graduating on top of monthly living expenses. It was at that time I began reading this subreddit and I made my goal to pay down my student debt ASAP to free up my cashflow and begin living a financial tactical lifestyle that secured my financial stability throughout the rest of my life.
For background, my parents are both high school drop outs and I grew up in a $35,000 dollar household in Philly. Seeing the financial struggles of my family and burden it placed on my family while growing up has made me extremely oriented on money and I often daydream and come up with hypothetical financial scenarios because it has consumed my ambition so much.
While making $60,000 I did what I could with the money left over and steadily chipped away at my student debt, while saving money on the side to buy a house in Philly. I got a raise to $65,000 a year and half into my career and purchased a home in a gentrifying neighborhood using a 3% down, no PMI mortgage program in mid-2015 with my monthly payments being less than what the average rent was in my city. In 2016 I was bumped up to $75,000 with a management role and negotiated a bonus structure paid quarterly since I was delivering lots of revenue for my company - this resulted in a salary range of $85,000 - $96,000 depending on bonus payout.
While my salary grew, I felt happier and happier because I had so much more money to toss at my student debt and my dreams of being debt free grew nearer each month.
Throughout 2017 my name began to come up in industry discussions and a competitor attempted to poach me with a generous offer which I used to leverage and negotiate with my company and successfully landed the salary I'm at currently along with equity in the company and a promotion to VP.
I get paid bi-weekly and it's more than I thought I would ever earn. I have everything budgeted out on an Excel and am set to be completely debt free in a matter of months. I have a fiance who has $70,000 of student debt which I am also able to clear out in less than a year along with a 0% interest auto loan. My fiance makes $51,000 and combined with my salary we're pulling in more than more people make in their entire life, yet I still feel like it's not enough.
When I was only making $60,000-$75,000 everything was slow and steady and I kept telling myself I was moving responsibly and because all my dreams we're so far away it was easy to fill ambitious and live within the values of personal fiance that lead to success... but now that I've arrived at a point where I can achieve my dreams in at a ridiculous pace I can't help but feel like it isn't enough.
I want more and I feel like I need more, yet I don't even know what I need the money for. I still feel insecure financially despite every piece of evidence indicating that I'm way ahead of anyone my age and what most people ever achieve.
This feeling is causing me to lose sleep and obsess over money. I feel like I should be able to just follow the ideas of personal fiance fundamentals, yet I keep trying to come up with new ways to make even more money - I'm already maxing out my 401(k) and maxing roth contributions. I'm now moving into cyrpto-currency. I'm about to dedicate 3% of my salary into private business ventures (eCommerce mainly) and I have picked up several clients that I do consulting for on the side. I just turned my property into a rental property and secured tenants who are covering my mortgage payments and I'm making a slight profit of it with every sign of the Philly real estate market pointing increased demand and rental prices as time goes on.
I don't enjoy this obsession with money. I wish I could be content, yet I can't shake the feeling of fulfillment and insecurity towards stability. I am trying to change my perspective on money, but it's not been 3 months and I'm still struggling. So many people get on fine and dandy with less, so why can't I? Did my childhood experiences traumatize me?
I wanted to see if readers here could share their perspectives on money, my situation, and tips on how I can get into a better mind state to overcome these feelings I'm experiencing.
Anyone have any thoughts based on what I described above?
Submitted October 24, 2017 at 01:29PM by newmoney28 http://ift.tt/2i1XcS2
