Title: As software engineers, on average, we earn a lot more money than a lot of people. Hearing that a fresh college grad is clocking six figures is normal at this point. I&#x27;m only about 5 years into my career, and I make more money than I could ever imagine to. A good portion of the industry might ask me why I&#x27;m not making more, but that subset of professionals probably come from more privileged upbringings.<p>I&#x27;m a Black man, in my late twenties, and I come from one of the poorest areas of New York City. To boot, I don&#x27;t even have a college degree. I&#x27;ve been extremely lucky, and I&#x27;m ridiculously grateful, but I don&#x27;t know how to manage what I&#x27;m making and how I should think about what I earn going forward. My parents and other close relatives can only speculate, and like many others in similar positions, I don&#x27;t know who to trust with guiding my reality. So I&#x27;m curious: what do you do with your money, generally? Buy a lot of video games? Books? Courses? Food? Real estate? Stocks? How do you generally split up your expenses? Are you shocked at all by the money you&#x27;re making? It sounds like a weird problem to have, and it&#x27;s sorta embarrassing to ask, but I&#x27;m starting to feel overwhelmed by my growth.
Upvote: