There's something conveyor-belt-like about some high salaries in some areas that isn't appreciated. A Wall Street salary (comparable to the Silicon Valley) comes with it no remote-first, a questionable commute unless one is paying top dollar, and the very likelihood of continuing to rent versus buy. And who can resist the 7 dollar coffees and the expensive outings with friends or colleagues at a restaurant.
In a sense you can try to save money, but it is hard in HCOL like NY and the Bay Area.
When on paper we see the person with the 300, 400K salary we sometimes assume they have a lot of money saved up or they live very well. And indeed probably they live with many many conveniences that few people on Earth have.
Most of them (us?), though, aren't smart enough to make that much money and figure out a way to retire early on it.
If there's a trick to do so without roommates, I'm all ears.
In a sense you can try to save money, but it is hard in HCOL like NY and the Bay Area.
When on paper we see the person with the 300, 400K salary we sometimes assume they have a lot of money saved up or they live very well. And indeed probably they live with many many conveniences that few people on Earth have.
Most of them (us?), though, aren't smart enough to make that much money and figure out a way to retire early on it.
If there's a trick to do so without roommates, I'm all ears.