@varx @charlag

Part of what makes Americans in particular insecure is the lack of a safety net. Everyone who works for a living in the US is a major accident or a mental health break away from utter destitution and even if you have a large income, you can't really save for that. Any cushion will eventually run out. We all live in the shadow of complete disaster and a lot of people mentally compensate for this by doing no planning at all.

@celesteh @charlag I also now recall reading a piece about how if you grow up in poverty, it can be *really* hard to break the habit of spending money as soon as you get it, because it's going to disappear anyway one way or another.

So my childhood setting of financial comfort and certainty may have paved the way for me to stockpile and be frugal.

@varx I'm probably going to surprise you, but not everyone is making that much. Also prices can vary wildly. But I get the point.

@charlag Fair point, although it's no surprise. No one talks about their salaries, so employers are free to underpay.

I was offered 67k out of college and didn't negotiate because I didn't know better. Next employer asked my previous salary, and I told them because, again, I didn't know better. Given 88k starting salary. A manager later told me, at the same company, that I was underpaid and raised it to 99k. Now I'm at 106k, and probably should be making 115-120k.

@varx @charlag so relevant that we don't know how to talk about this. I don't know your timeframe here, but for me over 15 years a similar arc. Look at your last sentence though, guessing a 10% discrepancy when initially it was 50% (say). Depending on how broad you think of your marketability, my experience is there's a next-door peer or industry that's more likely 100% off. Wild insanity of expectations.

@charlag I remember being in the audience for this one!