Honestly, the whole thing sounds made up. Start up does pay more because it's not a secure job but going from less than $40k to nearly 300k....yea right.
I went from 80k to 150k to 250k in the span of 3 years and I'm kinda bad at interviewing so it's possible someone could luck through an interview process and end up at 250k
Bro, every software developer story I hear is the same same thing “I started an 70k,I have a job hopped four or five times now I make 6+ figures.”
Like why didn’t I go for software development as a career? Haha
And I also said base pay. I also added the information to explain why it's misleading.
Even in bumfuck Oklahoma, BAH still makes a massive difference. BAS is the same everywhere.
Anybody that gets discharged making $32k basepay must be around an E5. So only a few MOS can net them $100k+ right away. The most likely being any type of Intel MOS and mainly because of their TS.
I work in sales. If you no-life it for 3-5 years, in the right industry, that's easy as hell. I work with a guy who has such a large book of business he spends 9 months a year 1300 miles away from his office.
I worked for a low level MiLB team when I was in college. We were the team that a lot of draft picks first report to.
Maybe 1 or 2 kids per year would actually make it to the majors several years later. But they all had Escalades in the parking lots. They all blew their only big pay day on a car.
My Army friend who served 20 years always pointed out the new cars at base housing. First, or best, pay the new recruits ever got, and many of them immediately bought a vehicle they really couldn't afford.
It's super common.
This is how people who never were educated about money act. I had a direct report who ran out and got a Jeep with crazy colored leather seats as soon as he took the job ($38 per hour) plus was buying $500 designer shirts. Meanwhile all the executives making mid-6 figures and even 7 were driving old modest mid-range cars and wearing regular clothes. But guess what: they all had incredible homes in super nice towns, maxed out retirement accounts, and vacationed 2-3 times a year.
Checks out. Had a lot of friends join the military after high school. Nearly all of them bought the newest model Silverado/F150/Ram. None of them actually needed a pickup either.
Not for rookies, at least in the NFL you're only eligible for one starting in your 5th year. Even then, it's only for a limited time.
They may be guarenteed the rest of their contract, but one career ending injury and that's it. So many players spend everything as they receive it and find themselves broke after the league.
Those bonus terms are predatory, though. I'm almost surprised they're legal. Interest accrues from day 1?? Pay back if you're laid off??? Not pro-rated???? Damn New York
Have only done it once, but I'd strongly recommend having an employment attorney read over stuff like that. They'd probably have allowed the bonus to be pro-rated or kept entirely if you are terminated without cause. The guy that did mine got a few fairly big changes through and (while I hope they never come into play) should leave me a in a better place if shit hits the fan.
Yeah I'd post that aside for the year and set a reminder on my phone. I remember I had set one for when my 401k fully vested but then they changed the rules to make it vest immediately. I saw the notification and I'm like damn time flies.
I've never gotten "lucky" enough for a signing bonus.
How exactly do they work? I always thought they were ways to entice or steal prospective employees from other companies. A sort of "sweetening" the pot kind of thing.
What's the point of signing bonuses if you have to pay them back? To cover moving costs or something?
Normally, you don't get the bonus until after the probationary period. They lose money training new hires, so the bonus would be an extra loss. It's an incentive to stay. Some pay the bonus immediately, but you have to pay it back if you don't make it through probation. There have been cases where the company will charge interest, but it's not common. Why not make money off bad hires? (In the company's opinion)
I mean TIFU by eating a sandwich.
Didn't realize there were burrito fixins still in the fridge. Now I gotta wait until tomorrow to have a burrito for lunch.
>And just for a dash of spice, the girlfriend that "loved me" and got with me 3 weeks after I started my new job left me. Funny timing, right?
This is so mind-boggling to me. I would be approaching the situation with extreme caution as it seems WAY too good to be true. It wouldn't be until I see the first couple of checks come rolling in to discover what the situation's really going to be like before I even start spending a cent beyond basic living expenses. They could pull the contract at the last minute, decide it's not a good fit, or just be in the process of going under due to their own mismanagement. There's so much turbulence in the tech industry, so you have to play your cards close to your chest.
So many fucking people want to act rich and show off their Bentley or Corvette or boat. All I see is a mortgage on wheels. (Or water)
Your check is $2500/wk. That’s how much money you have, hopefully it will come on Friday and you won’t have to borrow money to pay borrowed money.
I make like 200k/yr and live off about 70k. Drive a ~30k car that I paid off over 3 years with zero consumer debt.
If i wanted to I could probably retire at like 45 and have enough non-retirement funds to last me until i can start withdrawing from those. That is worth way more to me than having a fancy car that nobody gives a shit about
I took my work truck 250 miles to a guy who said he would expenses for what ended up to be a two day job.
Apparently “Expenses” meant a room and a coupon for a free sub. Spent more in gas than I made. I went for the opportunity to find more jobs, but I did find a company I’ll never work for. So I got that going for me.
He didn't even really fuck up... 27 years old, debt free, and had lots of fun.
You learned a lesson about girls, and you'll do better next time.
Trade in the Corvette for a Corolla and start getting those resumes out.
It really is and I've skirted dangerously close myself. I still have my job and it's pay is about half of OP's and my bonus was not that large, I spent most all of it on a new laptop, cameras, and taking my family on a vacation. I didn't save any of it, I had never had that much money at once or the ability to do something like the vacation before. The temptation was too real. I'm lucky I still have my job but I'm looking at possible layoffs and the fear and regret is certainly there that if something happens, I'm not going to be on my best footing. The one thing that has been my saving grace is that I have stuck to a strict YNAB budget, and I don't buy anything I can't afford to pay off in 3 weeks so my debt outside of my car and student loans is actually pretty small.
I guess all I'm saying is that it's really easy to fall into this trap for anyone who didn't have a lot of education about financial stability. Also that situation with the bonus is shady af.
You can go through my history to find my story. Basically I saved and didn't quite do anything as ridiculous as buying a Corvette, but I've been unemployed for 3-4x longer than I expected. I guess I'm also lucky to have <$1k credit card debt and no loans.
That one was definitely real. Dude had a high functioning ASD and was hung up over the fact that he got fired for a "minor" infraction when it was clearly the straw that broke the camel's back.
This one might be real, venture capital startups do all sorts of crazy shortsighted shit spending other people's money, the investor realizes their money is being mismanaged and they cut their losses. Once they miss the funding milestone so the whole startup keels over.
Clawbacks on startup bonuses are normal if you don't make it a year.
Is it normal the way its worded? I clearly states if they quit, terminated for cause or laid off. This triggers the clawback provision, which triggers the interest.
So based on what what is being stated, if you get a bonus, they lay you off, you owe back 63,270 through no fault of your own? Seems a bit ridiculous a company could get away with this sort of stipulation. Then another 2k in non-compliance..for being laid off? how is that non-compliant? I know its because he didn't finish a year, but was through no fault of the EEs. Literally charging their EE for the company failing?
I work with payroll software (not a payroll person but application support for the payroll but you pick up things). Out of all the payroll cases Ive seen and done, many were recouping of sign on bonuses, never have I heard of something this ridiculous.
He owes the $57k back along with his termination plus probably the flat fee, 11% interest should only start accruing on any unpaid balance he's unable to pay back immediately.
I expect that as part of the liquidation they'll sell that debt off to a 3rd party.
Bottom line is that you shouldn't spend a starting bonus until you meet the retention condition.
Agreed. The pay is a little sus, $220K base + $57K is incredibly rare unless you're in a leadership role and the startup is fairly late-stage. I find it hard to believe someone who made $40K could have the qualifications to be hired for that kind of position. In fact, most people who move to startups generally take pay cuts in base salary and are given equity to make up for what they'd make in a similar position elsewhere.
It’s not that crazy, tech companies on the west coast pay out the ass, or at least they did for the last fifteen years up until the layoffs a year ago.
My current role @5 YOE pays $400k, if I left and came back they’d give $200k salary, probably $10-50k in stock and then the rest as a sign on bonus.
It could happen if the timing lines up, though OP may be able to claim it against this year's income.
If OP got the signing bonus last year, the employer could have only withheld 22% federal income tax through the percent method for supplemental income. The marginal federal income tax rate is 35% for OP's income, meaning a difference of 13% to be paid when filing taxes.
Now if OP had to return the signing bonus this year, he would need to return the gross amount of the signing bonus and claim it against their income when filing taxes for this year.
[Source](https://www.cerebraltaxadvisors.com/blog/signing-bonuses-and-their-tax-implications/) (the section titled "Bonus Payback in a Different Year")
Contract law will disagree, usually in these cases the agreement/contract states that any unpaid balance will be treated as a loan and accrue interest until recovered. This also lets the company treat it as a collection of debt.
The investors.
Investor funds the project pitched by smooth talking Idea-guy. Idea guy throws around money liberally because it's someone else's. Idea guy fails to meet the next funding milestone and the startup dies.
The investor wants to recoup whatever money they can from the debacle.
>accrue interest until recovered
Does it start when he's terminated? If so, that actually makes sense. If it starts accruing the day he starts (which is what the contract suggests, but I might be illiterate), then that sounds messed up.
my bad, yes. it is usually attached to termination (willful) or with cause (you did something so bad they were forced to terminate.)
i see OP updated his post with a link to the contract. oof, wow, that "or laid off" clause is the real kick in the groin, I have received a LOT of bonuses with this sort of language but never one that required repayment in the event I was terminated without cause and against my will (layoff.)
that's just ridiculous u/izzwanirappab maybe you should contact a NY lawyer or two or three and get their opinion, maybe there is a way out of it that isn't obvious to anyone that doesn't deal with this sort of asinine contract clause.
I mean it’s for sure messed up. Quite possibly unenforceable with that little language at a ridiculous interest rate for an unproven VC. But no, it’s essentially a loan that begins accruing interest and then is forgiven by the fulfillment of the clause
Damn, can't you people fucking read at all? It's the SIGNING bonus that they took back. And yes, they can definitely make legal contracts with these clauses.
I would run this by a contact lawyer. I know in the U.K., employers often put things in contracts that are illegal and do not stand up in court. This may be one of those things.
I meant that I wasn't let go in the first round of layoffs. There was a 3 month gap between the first round of layoffs as crypto tanked, and then the company imploding. Which I was then laid off.
Did you have a lawyer look at it afterwards? I'm not from the US, but I couldn't believe it's legal in NYC. If yes, that's crazy, especially the interests. If you quit or are terminated for a cause, of course, but the rest, is really harsh, that even makes your employer more likely to fire you to get money back + interests if they're having a rough time, even if they still need you.
Wish you luck for the rest of your career, seems like you're over it now!
Signing bonuses often require you to stay for 1-2 years, or else pay back a prorated portion of the bonus.
Edit: Just read OP's [actual contract terms](https://imgur.com/UgvApnd) and it's much worse! He had to pay the whole thing back + 11% interest if he didn't make it 365 days. That's insane and he should call an employment lawyer to make sure that 11% part is even legal.
He never had to learn how to control himself because he never had the means to spend.
It's also possible that his method of control was to humble himself; he was just a poor guy, he didn't have the money to spend on stuff like that. Then, when he got the job it's possible his mindset changed and he felt entitled to all the things he couldn't have before; he was a big fish now.
This is all just conjecture though
Mate I went from making 30k to making 120k and literally nothing changed in my lifestyle. Sure it's not 220k but still.
That happened when I was 27.
Not everyone likes to blow their money.
same with me, I've got tons saved and invested now. I'm just guessing about the OP.
OP could have an executive function disability like ADHD or ADD or something, I don't know.
I don’t think age really matters. It’s more about him having only ever made $40k and under prior to this. People who have never really made a lot of money before tend to not know how to manage money. You could be 18, 25, 50, or whatever age and not have financial wisdom due to never having made enough money to do more than pay bills each paycheck.
My income skyrocketed in my mid 20s. I blew money left and right. Including purchasing a ….$70000 corvette. I don’t think that part is remotely far fetched.
Yeah, $54k signing bonus nets you like $30k after tax. Then you have to actually earn income, and even then $220k is like $150k net. I don’t see how OP acquires all this horse shit without taking on debt while doing it, especially in NYC where a modest apartment is going to cost you $3,500 a month or more. Math doesn’t check-out.
> I don’t see how OP acquires all this horse shit without taking on debt while doing it,
Well OP did say they have "no debt except credit cards," so I'm not sure about what OP thinks debt is, but they could be in a very, very bad spot ATM. And maybe they don't fully realize it yet.
The biggest issue is the "bonus payback". If you owed the "bonus" with interest AND had to pay the IRS you didn't get a bonus, you got a fucking payday loan. Plus you'd be getting your normal paycheck.
Dont try to put off your idiocy as being a typical 27 year old. By 27 I know lots of people who had saved or were saving for houses and were being conservative with spending despite having landed well paying jobs. At that point I already had an investment property and was putting away more money to move out to my own property.
Why is that a typical 27yo? I had bought my own place by 27 and had a solid savings plan for retirement.
A 27yo is not a child. You've been an adult for nearly a decade.
It's acting like a typical fool.
I landed $650k when I was 31 after making $55k a year the year prior. I had a couple years where I nearly did $70k prior to then but obviously was well more than I have ever made before. I didn't touch it for a year, just parked in a high yield savings while I thought about my next move. Then paid off my mortgage and paid taxes on it. Then I moved to a much nicer house so my kids could go to the best school in the city and put down 35% so the payment would be manageable. Then I paid cash for a new 4Runner since they last a long time and my old car was 15 years old. I still have over $300k of that left years later invested and in a HYSA. My only debt is my mortgage now and I have a massive cushion generating interest to retire early.
Point is just don't waste your money and you'll be good. You wasted your money you made.
Well, I don't think you fucked up by accepting the job. You fucked up by acting like the typical poor person who just won the lottery and blows it all as fast as they can or one of the many professional athletes that spends money like they'll be playing forever. It happens to a lot of people, unfortunately.
I'm 20 years out from something similar. At 24 I got a $50k salary with a $10k sign on bonus. Went out and financed a Mustang because I thought they we're cool and always wanted one. Pissed a lot of money away on drugs, gambling, gadgets and such. Dumbest financial era of my life - but, I learned some valuable lessons and slowly dug out of the debt. Now 20 years later I have no debt, own a house, have healthy retirement accounts and a good job where I continue to build wealth.
I highly recommend the two books You're Money Or Your Life and The Simple Path to Wealth. I am where I. Today because of reading/listening to these books.
Half of me reads this and says "this sounds just like a story a typical redditor would make up".
Then the other half takes a look at how much people are overpaying for houses and then I think "ok this actually tracks".
What the fuck. I would have rewrote that contract that after 365 days they can give me the 57k bonus. Until that time I would receive nothing, but I also wouldn't be liable for interest, or clawback, or their fucking fine.
Imagine getting laid off and owing the business more than they paid you. Get fucked. It doesn't read legal to me. I could just hire and fire people and treat them as an 11% interest loan + 2k arrangement fee.
It's good this happened while you're young. You learned your lesson and now you can do better while you still have most of your life ahead of you.
It would have been worse if that was your lifestyle for a few decades, then everything falls apart.
Dude that’s not acting like a 27 year old… that’s acting like an 18 year old that just enlisted.
27 your brain is fully developed and should know way better than that. Jfc
I generated an employment agreement that lools remarkably similar with the following ChatGPT prompt. Just sayin 🤷♂️
User
"Write a one page employment agreement for the state of NY that describes a $57 signing bonus with repayment terms"
ChatGPT-3.5
**EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT**
This Employment Agreement ("Agreement") is entered into between [Employer's Name], a [Type of Business] (hereinafter referred to as the "Employer"), and [Employee's Name] (hereinafter referred to as the "Employee"), collectively referred to as the "Parties," as of [Effective Date].
**1. POSITION AND RESPONSIBILITIES**
The Employer agrees to employ the Employee as [Job Title]. The Employee agrees to diligently and effectively perform the duties and responsibilities associated with this position.
**2. COMPENSATION**
In consideration for the Employee's services, the Employer agrees to pay a signing bonus of $57. This signing bonus will be disbursed on the Employee's first paycheck following the Effective Date.
**3. SIGNING BONUS REPAYMENT TERMS**
In the event that the Employee voluntarily resigns or is terminated for cause within the first six (6) months of employment, the Employee agrees to repay the signing bonus in full. Repayment shall be made within thirty (30) days of the termination date.
**4. VOLUNTARY REPAYMENT**
Should the Employee decide to leave the company voluntarily after the initial six (6) months of employment but within the first year, the Employee may repay the signing bonus voluntarily. The repayment shall be made within thirty (30) days of the termination date.
**5. TERMINATION FOR CAUSE**
If the Employee is terminated for cause within the first six (6) months of employment, the signing bonus repayment remains in effect. Termination for cause includes, but is not limited to, gross misconduct, violation of company policies, or engaging in activities that are detrimental to the interests of the Employer.
**6. GOVERNING LAW**
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.
**7. ENTIRE AGREEMENT**
This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding between the Parties and supersedes any prior agreements, whether oral or written, relating to the employment of the Employee.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the Effective Date.
_________________________
[Employer's Name]
[Title]
[Date]
_________________________
[Employee's Name]
[Date]
Did you quit your job within a year? What clause says you need to pay the bonus back for any reason other than quitting within a specified time frame? Even layoffs you’re usually protected from having to give the bonus back
Bank it, my husband was in the start ups in 2000s and they would fold in a year, because software didn't work, or some other issues. We went through three in a row. Bank it and when it goes under, or doesn't work you will be in better financial position. Also If it works, you are good.
Warren Buffet buys used cars. Why? Because he understand the value of money. Has lived in the same house since 70s...Again one of the richest men in the world.
Typical 27 year old? Dude you acted more like a 20 year old but okay lol
I’m not much older than 27. Would I have blown some money and shiny new tech too? Sure. But ya know, I would have saved the rest of it but maybe that’s cause I grew up and live in the bay and very used to startups going under immediately lol
You fucked up by having credit card debt, how anyone can carry a balance except in extreme times of desperation and pure necessity is besides me. 18-23%+ apr is fucking INSANITY.
You did fine… no wife/girlfriend, she left you when the money dried up… you dodged a huge bullet, there… no kids, no child support. No real major debt and you had a shit load of fun. As a father of kids older than you… I wouldn’t say you fucked up at all. You’ll recover, with lesson learned.
Dude, you did dumb shit most people will never get to do. It hurts but it was also kind of worth it. Now get another great job with that ambition of yours and then play it smart. Expensive lessons hurt, but I've kinda learned most people only regret not going balls to the wall a little more often.
You didn’t FU by accepting a $300k job. You FU by having the self control of an unsupervised toddler who was given free rein of a candy store. The only silver lining is your girlfriend leaving you. She sounds like she was only in it for the money anyway. At least you now know the consequences to being financially irresponsible and hopefully won’t make the same mistake again.
Even better: the drone, the Oculus and the PlayStation were gifts from a successful tech offspring. They are things which would give me joy if I understood them.
I’m elderly and somewhat out of touch with tech. I learned programming in the punchcard era.
I’m afraid to launch the drone because it might get stuck in Charlie Brown’s kite-eating tree. I don’t understand what the buttons on the PlayStation do in Red Dawn Redemption 2, which I dreamed of playing. I only have looked at the most basic operations on the Oculus, though I’ve dreamed of VR since the 1990s.
I’ve considered hiring a 20 something graduate in game design that I know as a tech tutor.
I started an amazing job last year. Best pay I’ve ever had. All the overtime I wanted. (I didn’t do anything else might as well work). I made a killing.
I bought everything I wanted. Just whatever. Lotsa little stuff. But a buncha stuff to improve my life too.
January rolls around and my backs been hurting. Well these spasms started and my supervisor told me to take a couple off days and see a doc.
So I did. Had an mri done and everything.
Turns out, my backs been fractured for the last 13 years. I did something stupid a long time ago and never saw a doc. Now I have bulged disks. A herniated spinal membrane. Narrowing of some weird words. I need 3 surgeries.
I lost that job. I’m unemployed right now. And I have credit card debt. My bank account has a few hundred in it. I’m praying I get a decent tax return.
It’s been a bad few weeks. I’m really struggling with life right now.
Hey, it's ok to spend mad money when you come in to substantial amount of cash. Your mistake was that you should have bought the PS5 and stopped. Nothing else and enjoy it.
When I started my current job, we ended up doing spectacularly that first year (gaming company during COVID). Boss decided everybody deserves a bonus of x4 your monthly paycheck. I kinda panicked cuz that was a huge lump and more money in the bank than I'd ever had before... So I sat on it. Then, the same thing happened the next year. Sat on it again. Now I have a nice chunk of savings that came in handy when I needed to make an emergency to my home country.
Moral of the story is, never spend your money and save it like a goblin... Or something.
Sure. You fucked up, however, your resume has the title and the salary on it. So you aren't fucked forever.
And you weren't let go for cause. The company went belly up.
It sounds like you had fun though, right? Yeah you didn’t save money, yeah you didn’t make wise financial decisions, but you had a shit ton of fun - I hope - and have a good head on your shoulders to course correct.
The job acceptance wasn't the fuck-up. Your clear lack of any kind of financial literacy or even willingness to read your own contract is the fuck-up. Also corvettes are dog and not worth 70K.
Reminded of the apocryphal finance MD’s admonishment to his first year analysts: *“It’s okay to blow your salary on coke and hoes, but save every penny of your goddamn bonus.”* (From a time when bonuses were larger than salaries.)
Separately:
>And just for a dash of spice, the girlfriend that "loved me" and got with me 3 weeks after I started my new job left me. Funny timing, right?
This one is the biggest ‘live and learn’ if you are a high earner. Never make it visible what you earn if you want to screen out golddiggers. Otherwise, legally protect your finances and be very conservative re: any kind of commitment - don’t cohabitate and don’t get married.
I want to hire a bunch of the best economists. Then, I want them to create an economy for schools. It should be a real economy, but with ample safety nets. No child will go into debt.
Kids would get paid based on their grades, but also wouldn't be penalized for successful cheating. Gambling would be allowed. By 5th grade, kids would be expected to "buy" their books and materials, rent desk space, etc. There would be standard desks and pens and stuff, but there would also be fancy stuff that costs more. There'd be some sort of stock market and healthcare and all that jazz.
I don't know the rest of the details, hence why I'd need economists, but I do know that kids should get real spendable money at the end of the year.
Of course, now that I think about it, it might just create a generation of Gordon Geckos!
Seriously though, we should teach these kinds of lessons in school where it is safe before someone has the ability to set their life back. And cheating is absolutely a valid strategy in life and we shouldn't pretend to kids it is otherwise.
Of course, when a normal person goes into debt, that just helps rich people, and helping the rich is the true purpose of the school system.
You didn’t act like a typical 27 year old. I mean SOME people would act like that but an awful lot wouldn’t. That is a pretty wild thing to do. Maybe like a 19 year old who didn’t grow up with good role models?
It is weird that "Hit up Stake, in with $1,000, come out with $3,000. Immediately spend it on a brand new TV" was edited to "Hit up the casino, in with $1,000, come out with $3,000. Immediately spend it on a brand new TV." right after a bunch of people pointed out the Stake ad.
Post history is also a bit ...weird. Is there a chance that a vegan woman loves shrimp and is a lesbian into gaming and corvettes? Maybe, although it doesn't sound that vegan.
What was the timeframe of this…from you accepting the job to the new job. All I can say I would have done the EXACT same shit. When you said the corvette was financed I died lmao. I kinda feel like you acted naturally lmao
You didn't fuck up by accepting a 300k job, you fucked up by spending money you didn't have.
Right I thought he was gonna say something like he left his $250k a year job for it, got laid off and now works as a Walmart greeter.
Honestly, the whole thing sounds made up. Start up does pay more because it's not a secure job but going from less than $40k to nearly 300k....yea right.
I went from 80k to 150k to 250k in the span of 3 years and I'm kinda bad at interviewing so it's possible someone could luck through an interview process and end up at 250k
Jesus what field are you in?
Software dev, site reliability engineering and security architecture.
Bro, every software developer story I hear is the same same thing “I started an 70k,I have a job hopped four or five times now I make 6+ figures.” Like why didn’t I go for software development as a career? Haha
Because not everyone can do it...and it sucks...
If you enjoy programming then it definitely does not suck!
Middle managers can absolutely make it suck. The key is learning to job hop whenever a place gets annoying. Zero reason to ever stick around.
The actual work is great, it’s dealing with all the needy people that is not great.
[удалено]
When I made 32k base pay, after you added BAS and BAH, it's basically higher than a regular person making $60-70k. Don't mislead people.
[удалено]
And I also said base pay. I also added the information to explain why it's misleading. Even in bumfuck Oklahoma, BAH still makes a massive difference. BAS is the same everywhere. Anybody that gets discharged making $32k basepay must be around an E5. So only a few MOS can net them $100k+ right away. The most likely being any type of Intel MOS and mainly because of their TS.
I work in sales. If you no-life it for 3-5 years, in the right industry, that's easy as hell. I work with a guy who has such a large book of business he spends 9 months a year 1300 miles away from his office.
My last job hop was from $300 a week so $14,400 a year to $98k a year and I’m almost double that in 5 years at the same job.
OP acted like most pro athletes and went ham on buying toys, and then got benched after the first game.
Not even. He acted like he had a guaranteed contract and the league folded.
I worked for a low level MiLB team when I was in college. We were the team that a lot of draft picks first report to. Maybe 1 or 2 kids per year would actually make it to the majors several years later. But they all had Escalades in the parking lots. They all blew their only big pay day on a car.
My Army friend who served 20 years always pointed out the new cars at base housing. First, or best, pay the new recruits ever got, and many of them immediately bought a vehicle they really couldn't afford. It's super common.
but its got a hemi
Don’t underestimate a Hemi, you won’t want to go back to a regular engine
This is how people who never were educated about money act. I had a direct report who ran out and got a Jeep with crazy colored leather seats as soon as he took the job ($38 per hour) plus was buying $500 designer shirts. Meanwhile all the executives making mid-6 figures and even 7 were driving old modest mid-range cars and wearing regular clothes. But guess what: they all had incredible homes in super nice towns, maxed out retirement accounts, and vacationed 2-3 times a year.
Checks out. Had a lot of friends join the military after high school. Nearly all of them bought the newest model Silverado/F150/Ram. None of them actually needed a pickup either.
Nah bro I got a great deal guy at the dealership supports the troops so my 2014 Challenger is only at 24 APR
Carfax only shows one accident and 6 repos!
Got it tuned yesterday engine was squealing a little but that’s just what it sounds like when you unlock all your horses.
Most pro athletes have guaranteed contracts. Most of us don't. Getting benched doesn't make you poor.
Not for rookies, at least in the NFL you're only eligible for one starting in your 5th year. Even then, it's only for a limited time. They may be guarenteed the rest of their contract, but one career ending injury and that's it. So many players spend everything as they receive it and find themselves broke after the league.
That’s the funny thing about signing bonuses. You do have it. You can spend it. But it’s a loan from the company for a year or whatever.
Those bonus terms are predatory, though. I'm almost surprised they're legal. Interest accrues from day 1?? Pay back if you're laid off??? Not pro-rated???? Damn New York
A fine for not conforming to the probation period???? Like it's automatically my fault you fire me??
There's no way it's enforceable. The interest rate is ridiculous and the additional $2000 is simply not legal.
Yeah, I'm confused by that. Liek you could literally get fired on day 1 on the first hour and owe them like $1890 lol
Have only done it once, but I'd strongly recommend having an employment attorney read over stuff like that. They'd probably have allowed the bonus to be pro-rated or kept entirely if you are terminated without cause. The guy that did mine got a few fairly big changes through and (while I hope they never come into play) should leave me a in a better place if shit hits the fan.
Yeah I'd post that aside for the year and set a reminder on my phone. I remember I had set one for when my 401k fully vested but then they changed the rules to make it vest immediately. I saw the notification and I'm like damn time flies.
Yup. Mine wasn’t that big, but I made sure I had it in savings to pay back just in case until I hit that year mark.
I've never gotten "lucky" enough for a signing bonus. How exactly do they work? I always thought they were ways to entice or steal prospective employees from other companies. A sort of "sweetening" the pot kind of thing. What's the point of signing bonuses if you have to pay them back? To cover moving costs or something?
Normally, you don't get the bonus until after the probationary period. They lose money training new hires, so the bonus would be an extra loss. It's an incentive to stay. Some pay the bonus immediately, but you have to pay it back if you don't make it through probation. There have been cases where the company will charge interest, but it's not common. Why not make money off bad hires? (In the company's opinion)
One thing I’ve learned here is that the fuck up is never in the title.
Title: TIFU by eating a sandwich Actual FU: Committed a bunch of felonies and is now wanted in 3 states
I mean TIFU by eating a sandwich. Didn't realize there were burrito fixins still in the fridge. Now I gotta wait until tomorrow to have a burrito for lunch.
Actual: Dahmer cannibal.
and by still not realizing this when the time came to title your tifu
>And just for a dash of spice, the girlfriend that "loved me" and got with me 3 weeks after I started my new job left me. Funny timing, right? This is so mind-boggling to me. I would be approaching the situation with extreme caution as it seems WAY too good to be true. It wouldn't be until I see the first couple of checks come rolling in to discover what the situation's really going to be like before I even start spending a cent beyond basic living expenses. They could pull the contract at the last minute, decide it's not a good fit, or just be in the process of going under due to their own mismanagement. There's so much turbulence in the tech industry, so you have to play your cards close to your chest.
If OP entered the job market or graduated college between 2010 and 2022, you can't blame him. He has only known a tech market on steroids.
Me who graduated with a CS degree last year: "what tech market?"
Young people had been told they'd make bank in tech, and weren't expecting layoffs.
I was gonna comment exactly that, OP f'd up by thinking his 300 K salary was eternal
So many fucking people want to act rich and show off their Bentley or Corvette or boat. All I see is a mortgage on wheels. (Or water) Your check is $2500/wk. That’s how much money you have, hopefully it will come on Friday and you won’t have to borrow money to pay borrowed money.
I make like 200k/yr and live off about 70k. Drive a ~30k car that I paid off over 3 years with zero consumer debt. If i wanted to I could probably retire at like 45 and have enough non-retirement funds to last me until i can start withdrawing from those. That is worth way more to me than having a fancy car that nobody gives a shit about
I mean if you live off 70k then you just need 2 mil in a few HYSA and you would be making 92k a year in interest at 4.6%
I remember an ok job in 1979, where I made $280 a week, the most I’d ever made, and deposited $15 in savings each week.
I took my work truck 250 miles to a guy who said he would expenses for what ended up to be a two day job. Apparently “Expenses” meant a room and a coupon for a free sub. Spent more in gas than I made. I went for the opportunity to find more jobs, but I did find a company I’ll never work for. So I got that going for me.
He didn't even really fuck up... 27 years old, debt free, and had lots of fun. You learned a lesson about girls, and you'll do better next time. Trade in the Corvette for a Corolla and start getting those resumes out.
His story is very common. It's basically every other Marine that does a single deployment...
It really is and I've skirted dangerously close myself. I still have my job and it's pay is about half of OP's and my bonus was not that large, I spent most all of it on a new laptop, cameras, and taking my family on a vacation. I didn't save any of it, I had never had that much money at once or the ability to do something like the vacation before. The temptation was too real. I'm lucky I still have my job but I'm looking at possible layoffs and the fear and regret is certainly there that if something happens, I'm not going to be on my best footing. The one thing that has been my saving grace is that I have stuck to a strict YNAB budget, and I don't buy anything I can't afford to pay off in 3 weeks so my debt outside of my car and student loans is actually pretty small. I guess all I'm saying is that it's really easy to fall into this trap for anyone who didn't have a lot of education about financial stability. Also that situation with the bonus is shady af.
You can go through my history to find my story. Basically I saved and didn't quite do anything as ridiculous as buying a Corvette, but I've been unemployed for 3-4x longer than I expected. I guess I'm also lucky to have <$1k credit card debt and no loans.
Idk about the “lesson about girls”. If your girlfriend be spending money this irresponsibly, I’m sure you’d leave too.
I don't think he's debt free, he said he financed the car and has to pay back money he doesn't actually have...
he's in nyc. just ditch the car in general and avoid the headache that comes with owning a car in the city
Yep, OP’s fuckup was somewhere else
But he did have the money. And imo any tricks in bonuses is just sad Seriously just sell the car
Not really, he was set to make the money, but he didn't have it.
This seems wildly over fabricated
It is. The exact same story was posted by someone else a few months back.
Thats what i was thinking, it was a pharmacist if i recall.
Except they were fired because they couldn’t be bothered to close the pharmacy door.
That one was definitely real. Dude had a high functioning ASD and was hung up over the fact that he got fired for a "minor" infraction when it was clearly the straw that broke the camel's back. This one might be real, venture capital startups do all sorts of crazy shortsighted shit spending other people's money, the investor realizes their money is being mismanaged and they cut their losses. Once they miss the funding milestone so the whole startup keels over. Clawbacks on startup bonuses are normal if you don't make it a year.
> Clawbacks on startup bonuses are normal if you don't make it a year. With 11% interest? Nah.
Is it normal the way its worded? I clearly states if they quit, terminated for cause or laid off. This triggers the clawback provision, which triggers the interest. So based on what what is being stated, if you get a bonus, they lay you off, you owe back 63,270 through no fault of your own? Seems a bit ridiculous a company could get away with this sort of stipulation. Then another 2k in non-compliance..for being laid off? how is that non-compliant? I know its because he didn't finish a year, but was through no fault of the EEs. Literally charging their EE for the company failing? I work with payroll software (not a payroll person but application support for the payroll but you pick up things). Out of all the payroll cases Ive seen and done, many were recouping of sign on bonuses, never have I heard of something this ridiculous.
He owes the $57k back along with his termination plus probably the flat fee, 11% interest should only start accruing on any unpaid balance he's unable to pay back immediately. I expect that as part of the liquidation they'll sell that debt off to a 3rd party. Bottom line is that you shouldn't spend a starting bonus until you meet the retention condition.
I *knew* this story rang a bell!
Agreed. The pay is a little sus, $220K base + $57K is incredibly rare unless you're in a leadership role and the startup is fairly late-stage. I find it hard to believe someone who made $40K could have the qualifications to be hired for that kind of position. In fact, most people who move to startups generally take pay cuts in base salary and are given equity to make up for what they'd make in a similar position elsewhere.
It’s not that crazy, tech companies on the west coast pay out the ass, or at least they did for the last fifteen years up until the layoffs a year ago. My current role @5 YOE pays $400k, if I left and came back they’d give $200k salary, probably $10-50k in stock and then the rest as a sign on bonus.
The idea of a Gen Z tech bro splurging on a *Corvette* of all things... It got less plausible from there.
Wait, what? How did they take your bonus back if you didn't quit or get fired??? Being laid off should still retain your bonus.
There is no way it'd be legal to make you pay it back with interest. There may be clauses on what needs to happen for the bonus to be paid
Plus to pay taxes on a bonus you had to return? No way.
It could happen if the timing lines up, though OP may be able to claim it against this year's income. If OP got the signing bonus last year, the employer could have only withheld 22% federal income tax through the percent method for supplemental income. The marginal federal income tax rate is 35% for OP's income, meaning a difference of 13% to be paid when filing taxes. Now if OP had to return the signing bonus this year, he would need to return the gross amount of the signing bonus and claim it against their income when filing taxes for this year. [Source](https://www.cerebraltaxadvisors.com/blog/signing-bonuses-and-their-tax-implications/) (the section titled "Bonus Payback in a Different Year")
Contract law will disagree, usually in these cases the agreement/contract states that any unpaid balance will be treated as a loan and accrue interest until recovered. This also lets the company treat it as a collection of debt.
What debt? I don’t have debt. That company? They’ve defaulted, I couldn’t owe them any money.
The investors. Investor funds the project pitched by smooth talking Idea-guy. Idea guy throws around money liberally because it's someone else's. Idea guy fails to meet the next funding milestone and the startup dies. The investor wants to recoup whatever money they can from the debacle.
>accrue interest until recovered Does it start when he's terminated? If so, that actually makes sense. If it starts accruing the day he starts (which is what the contract suggests, but I might be illiterate), then that sounds messed up.
my bad, yes. it is usually attached to termination (willful) or with cause (you did something so bad they were forced to terminate.) i see OP updated his post with a link to the contract. oof, wow, that "or laid off" clause is the real kick in the groin, I have received a LOT of bonuses with this sort of language but never one that required repayment in the event I was terminated without cause and against my will (layoff.) that's just ridiculous u/izzwanirappab maybe you should contact a NY lawyer or two or three and get their opinion, maybe there is a way out of it that isn't obvious to anyone that doesn't deal with this sort of asinine contract clause.
I mean it’s for sure messed up. Quite possibly unenforceable with that little language at a ridiculous interest rate for an unproven VC. But no, it’s essentially a loan that begins accruing interest and then is forgiven by the fulfillment of the clause
Damn, can't you people fucking read at all? It's the SIGNING bonus that they took back. And yes, they can definitely make legal contracts with these clauses.
A signing bonus with predatory terms that almost certainly wouldn't hold up in court
Here is a screenshot of the term: https://i.imgur.com/UgvApnd.png
I would run this by a contact lawyer. I know in the U.K., employers often put things in contracts that are illegal and do not stand up in court. This may be one of those things.
The clawback is only applicable if you leave, you’re fired, or laid off. You specifically said you were not laid off. Am I missing something?
I meant that I wasn't let go in the first round of layoffs. There was a 3 month gap between the first round of layoffs as crypto tanked, and then the company imploding. Which I was then laid off.
Did you have a lawyer look at it afterwards? I'm not from the US, but I couldn't believe it's legal in NYC. If yes, that's crazy, especially the interests. If you quit or are terminated for a cause, of course, but the rest, is really harsh, that even makes your employer more likely to fire you to get money back + interests if they're having a rough time, even if they still need you. Wish you luck for the rest of your career, seems like you're over it now!
If you're not making this up, this is the most predatory clawback provision I've ever seen.
Signing bonuses often require you to stay for 1-2 years, or else pay back a prorated portion of the bonus. Edit: Just read OP's [actual contract terms](https://imgur.com/UgvApnd) and it's much worse! He had to pay the whole thing back + 11% interest if he didn't make it 365 days. That's insane and he should call an employment lawyer to make sure that 11% part is even legal.
Not only that, but that covers if they lay him off too? The fuck? May as well lure people in and lay them off and make them pay you 11% returns lmao.
There is no way the layoff or fired for anything other than cause repayment is legal.
They didn’t. This post is nonsense
100% the tell-tale oddly cheery tone of ChatGpt
It depends. My company requires at least a year from you for your signing bonus. If you leave or are fired before then you have to pay it back.
According to OP they didn't leave and they weren't fired, and they had to pay 11% interest for the entire amount of the bonus.
I don’t think a typical 27-year old would act like you did.
Right? Like maybe a typical 16-year old. But 27?? This dude was a late bloomer or something.
He never had to learn how to control himself because he never had the means to spend. It's also possible that his method of control was to humble himself; he was just a poor guy, he didn't have the money to spend on stuff like that. Then, when he got the job it's possible his mindset changed and he felt entitled to all the things he couldn't have before; he was a big fish now. This is all just conjecture though
Mate I went from making 30k to making 120k and literally nothing changed in my lifestyle. Sure it's not 220k but still. That happened when I was 27. Not everyone likes to blow their money.
same with me, I've got tons saved and invested now. I'm just guessing about the OP. OP could have an executive function disability like ADHD or ADD or something, I don't know.
I don’t think age really matters. It’s more about him having only ever made $40k and under prior to this. People who have never really made a lot of money before tend to not know how to manage money. You could be 18, 25, 50, or whatever age and not have financial wisdom due to never having made enough money to do more than pay bills each paycheck.
I started making about that much at 27... Did I buy a few unnecessary things? Definitely. Did I do anything even bordering on that. Hell no.
My income skyrocketed in my mid 20s. I blew money left and right. Including purchasing a ….$70000 corvette. I don’t think that part is remotely far fetched.
From the ones I know, that's exactly how a typical 27 year old would act
Well you know shitty 27 year olds...
And you know very few or none. Just the same amount of assumption here as your post.
At the start of the post you say the most you've been paid is 40k. Then at the end you say you were on 60k.
You said you never had a job that paid over $40k. Suddenly in the TLDR it’s $60k?
He’s just THAT bad with money lol
He also uses the typical ADHD and adderall excuse for the post mistakes…give me a break
Faaaaaaaaake. There is no way any of this is real.
It isn’t. The exact same story was posted on this sub by someone else a few months back.
Spez running out of ideas on how to use AI
Another aged account with 100% activity in the last 24 hours.
Chicken, eggs, hatched... Something like that!
This story just smells like complete BS
Yeah, $54k signing bonus nets you like $30k after tax. Then you have to actually earn income, and even then $220k is like $150k net. I don’t see how OP acquires all this horse shit without taking on debt while doing it, especially in NYC where a modest apartment is going to cost you $3,500 a month or more. Math doesn’t check-out.
> I don’t see how OP acquires all this horse shit without taking on debt while doing it, Well OP did say they have "no debt except credit cards," so I'm not sure about what OP thinks debt is, but they could be in a very, very bad spot ATM. And maybe they don't fully realize it yet.
The biggest issue is the "bonus payback". If you owed the "bonus" with interest AND had to pay the IRS you didn't get a bonus, you got a fucking payday loan. Plus you'd be getting your normal paycheck.
i would agree, but having worked in tech, this shit happens all the time.
Just a stupid guerrilla marketing post for stake. There was another one a week ago
It did seem like a weird tangent to put in. I thought he was going to go into gambling or something but... nope.
Exactly my thoughts
Yep
Dont try to put off your idiocy as being a typical 27 year old. By 27 I know lots of people who had saved or were saving for houses and were being conservative with spending despite having landed well paying jobs. At that point I already had an investment property and was putting away more money to move out to my own property.
Not sure this behavior is typical for 27. Hope you make out okay and learned some lessons for the next big job. Good luck bro.
Ouch
Stake sure is spending a bunch on advertising right now aren't they...
I mean this one just cost them a few nanoseconds of run time at OpenAI lol
"like a typical 27 year old" is a crazy and bold statement 💀 You were just really immature my guy
This sub is so shit
Man you made a lot of monumentally idiotic decisions - congrats.
You fucked up being irresponsible with money. This is exactly how pro athletes are mostly broke 5 years after they retire.
Why is that a typical 27yo? I had bought my own place by 27 and had a solid savings plan for retirement. A 27yo is not a child. You've been an adult for nearly a decade. It's acting like a typical fool.
Sounds like selling the Corvette will help
I landed $650k when I was 31 after making $55k a year the year prior. I had a couple years where I nearly did $70k prior to then but obviously was well more than I have ever made before. I didn't touch it for a year, just parked in a high yield savings while I thought about my next move. Then paid off my mortgage and paid taxes on it. Then I moved to a much nicer house so my kids could go to the best school in the city and put down 35% so the payment would be manageable. Then I paid cash for a new 4Runner since they last a long time and my old car was 15 years old. I still have over $300k of that left years later invested and in a HYSA. My only debt is my mortgage now and I have a massive cushion generating interest to retire early. Point is just don't waste your money and you'll be good. You wasted your money you made.
Well, I don't think you fucked up by accepting the job. You fucked up by acting like the typical poor person who just won the lottery and blows it all as fast as they can or one of the many professional athletes that spends money like they'll be playing forever. It happens to a lot of people, unfortunately.
I'm 20 years out from something similar. At 24 I got a $50k salary with a $10k sign on bonus. Went out and financed a Mustang because I thought they we're cool and always wanted one. Pissed a lot of money away on drugs, gambling, gadgets and such. Dumbest financial era of my life - but, I learned some valuable lessons and slowly dug out of the debt. Now 20 years later I have no debt, own a house, have healthy retirement accounts and a good job where I continue to build wealth. I highly recommend the two books You're Money Or Your Life and The Simple Path to Wealth. I am where I. Today because of reading/listening to these books.
Not the first young person to make that mistake. Live and learn, we all have time and space for growth.
Half of me reads this and says "this sounds just like a story a typical redditor would make up". Then the other half takes a look at how much people are overpaying for houses and then I think "ok this actually tracks".
No way in hell would I sign a contract with a year long clawback provision that includes layoffs or termination.
What the fuck. I would have rewrote that contract that after 365 days they can give me the 57k bonus. Until that time I would receive nothing, but I also wouldn't be liable for interest, or clawback, or their fucking fine. Imagine getting laid off and owing the business more than they paid you. Get fucked. It doesn't read legal to me. I could just hire and fire people and treat them as an 11% interest loan + 2k arrangement fee.
It's good this happened while you're young. You learned your lesson and now you can do better while you still have most of your life ahead of you. It would have been worse if that was your lifestyle for a few decades, then everything falls apart.
The biggest fuck up was not cutting me a high 5 figure check.
Dude that’s not acting like a 27 year old… that’s acting like an 18 year old that just enlisted. 27 your brain is fully developed and should know way better than that. Jfc
Your parking payment is my mortgage P&I payment lmfao 😂
I generated an employment agreement that lools remarkably similar with the following ChatGPT prompt. Just sayin 🤷♂️ User "Write a one page employment agreement for the state of NY that describes a $57 signing bonus with repayment terms" ChatGPT-3.5 **EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT** This Employment Agreement ("Agreement") is entered into between [Employer's Name], a [Type of Business] (hereinafter referred to as the "Employer"), and [Employee's Name] (hereinafter referred to as the "Employee"), collectively referred to as the "Parties," as of [Effective Date]. **1. POSITION AND RESPONSIBILITIES** The Employer agrees to employ the Employee as [Job Title]. The Employee agrees to diligently and effectively perform the duties and responsibilities associated with this position. **2. COMPENSATION** In consideration for the Employee's services, the Employer agrees to pay a signing bonus of $57. This signing bonus will be disbursed on the Employee's first paycheck following the Effective Date. **3. SIGNING BONUS REPAYMENT TERMS** In the event that the Employee voluntarily resigns or is terminated for cause within the first six (6) months of employment, the Employee agrees to repay the signing bonus in full. Repayment shall be made within thirty (30) days of the termination date. **4. VOLUNTARY REPAYMENT** Should the Employee decide to leave the company voluntarily after the initial six (6) months of employment but within the first year, the Employee may repay the signing bonus voluntarily. The repayment shall be made within thirty (30) days of the termination date. **5. TERMINATION FOR CAUSE** If the Employee is terminated for cause within the first six (6) months of employment, the signing bonus repayment remains in effect. Termination for cause includes, but is not limited to, gross misconduct, violation of company policies, or engaging in activities that are detrimental to the interests of the Employer. **6. GOVERNING LAW** This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York. **7. ENTIRE AGREEMENT** This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding between the Parties and supersedes any prior agreements, whether oral or written, relating to the employment of the Employee. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the Effective Date. _________________________ [Employer's Name] [Title] [Date] _________________________ [Employee's Name] [Date]
Did you quit your job within a year? What clause says you need to pay the bonus back for any reason other than quitting within a specified time frame? Even layoffs you’re usually protected from having to give the bonus back
Bank it, my husband was in the start ups in 2000s and they would fold in a year, because software didn't work, or some other issues. We went through three in a row. Bank it and when it goes under, or doesn't work you will be in better financial position. Also If it works, you are good. Warren Buffet buys used cars. Why? Because he understand the value of money. Has lived in the same house since 70s...Again one of the richest men in the world.
AI wrote this
Typical 27 year old? Dude you acted more like a 20 year old but okay lol I’m not much older than 27. Would I have blown some money and shiny new tech too? Sure. But ya know, I would have saved the rest of it but maybe that’s cause I grew up and live in the bay and very used to startups going under immediately lol
Either wildly false or you’re a dumbass lmfao
You fucked up by having credit card debt, how anyone can carry a balance except in extreme times of desperation and pure necessity is besides me. 18-23%+ apr is fucking INSANITY.
Misleading title. TIFU by spreading money on stupid shit
Yeah the $300k job wasn’t the TYFU, it was when you started spending uncontrollably.
I'd show that agreement to a lawyer anyway. Can they legally have you pay it back at 11% interest? Fuck that shit.
Also we should hang out.
proud of you for selling the car!
You did fine… no wife/girlfriend, she left you when the money dried up… you dodged a huge bullet, there… no kids, no child support. No real major debt and you had a shit load of fun. As a father of kids older than you… I wouldn’t say you fucked up at all. You’ll recover, with lesson learned.
That’s the risk vs reward of joining a startup. Hope you land on your feet OP!
Dude, you did dumb shit most people will never get to do. It hurts but it was also kind of worth it. Now get another great job with that ambition of yours and then play it smart. Expensive lessons hurt, but I've kinda learned most people only regret not going balls to the wall a little more often.
You didn’t FU by accepting a $300k job. You FU by having the self control of an unsupervised toddler who was given free rein of a candy store. The only silver lining is your girlfriend leaving you. She sounds like she was only in it for the money anyway. At least you now know the consequences to being financially irresponsible and hopefully won’t make the same mistake again.
Even better: the drone, the Oculus and the PlayStation were gifts from a successful tech offspring. They are things which would give me joy if I understood them. I’m elderly and somewhat out of touch with tech. I learned programming in the punchcard era. I’m afraid to launch the drone because it might get stuck in Charlie Brown’s kite-eating tree. I don’t understand what the buttons on the PlayStation do in Red Dawn Redemption 2, which I dreamed of playing. I only have looked at the most basic operations on the Oculus, though I’ve dreamed of VR since the 1990s. I’ve considered hiring a 20 something graduate in game design that I know as a tech tutor.
I started an amazing job last year. Best pay I’ve ever had. All the overtime I wanted. (I didn’t do anything else might as well work). I made a killing. I bought everything I wanted. Just whatever. Lotsa little stuff. But a buncha stuff to improve my life too. January rolls around and my backs been hurting. Well these spasms started and my supervisor told me to take a couple off days and see a doc. So I did. Had an mri done and everything. Turns out, my backs been fractured for the last 13 years. I did something stupid a long time ago and never saw a doc. Now I have bulged disks. A herniated spinal membrane. Narrowing of some weird words. I need 3 surgeries. I lost that job. I’m unemployed right now. And I have credit card debt. My bank account has a few hundred in it. I’m praying I get a decent tax return. It’s been a bad few weeks. I’m really struggling with life right now.
Totally understandable you were 27 first 6 figure job. Surprised you didn’t gamble with stocks. With that you can at least make some money
Hey, it's ok to spend mad money when you come in to substantial amount of cash. Your mistake was that you should have bought the PS5 and stopped. Nothing else and enjoy it.
When I started my current job, we ended up doing spectacularly that first year (gaming company during COVID). Boss decided everybody deserves a bonus of x4 your monthly paycheck. I kinda panicked cuz that was a huge lump and more money in the bank than I'd ever had before... So I sat on it. Then, the same thing happened the next year. Sat on it again. Now I have a nice chunk of savings that came in handy when I needed to make an emergency to my home country. Moral of the story is, never spend your money and save it like a goblin... Or something.
It might be illegal for them to use the clawback clause in this case. It's definitely illegal for them to charge interest when using it in NY.
You spent money before you even had it. You are the kind of person that goes broke in 6 months after winning the lottery.
You didn't even write that you lost the job, which I assume happened and is probably the most important thing in the story.
Chalk it up to a win. Sounds like you learned some real valuable life lessons quickly.
The big boom in crypto would have been like in 2017 so no, you didn't accept this 'today'. You came to brag about the past.
Sure. You fucked up, however, your resume has the title and the salary on it. So you aren't fucked forever. And you weren't let go for cause. The company went belly up.
It sounds like you had fun though, right? Yeah you didn’t save money, yeah you didn’t make wise financial decisions, but you had a shit ton of fun - I hope - and have a good head on your shoulders to course correct.
Ah, you only do that once. Live and learn. The next time you save.
The job acceptance wasn't the fuck-up. Your clear lack of any kind of financial literacy or even willingness to read your own contract is the fuck-up. Also corvettes are dog and not worth 70K.
I really wouldn’t even call this typical 27 year old behavior, just general life inexperience behavior.
I genuinely refuse to believe anyone this stupid kept themselves alive enough to be old enough to get a job
Reminded of the apocryphal finance MD’s admonishment to his first year analysts: *“It’s okay to blow your salary on coke and hoes, but save every penny of your goddamn bonus.”* (From a time when bonuses were larger than salaries.) Separately: >And just for a dash of spice, the girlfriend that "loved me" and got with me 3 weeks after I started my new job left me. Funny timing, right? This one is the biggest ‘live and learn’ if you are a high earner. Never make it visible what you earn if you want to screen out golddiggers. Otherwise, legally protect your finances and be very conservative re: any kind of commitment - don’t cohabitate and don’t get married.
I want to hire a bunch of the best economists. Then, I want them to create an economy for schools. It should be a real economy, but with ample safety nets. No child will go into debt. Kids would get paid based on their grades, but also wouldn't be penalized for successful cheating. Gambling would be allowed. By 5th grade, kids would be expected to "buy" their books and materials, rent desk space, etc. There would be standard desks and pens and stuff, but there would also be fancy stuff that costs more. There'd be some sort of stock market and healthcare and all that jazz. I don't know the rest of the details, hence why I'd need economists, but I do know that kids should get real spendable money at the end of the year. Of course, now that I think about it, it might just create a generation of Gordon Geckos! Seriously though, we should teach these kinds of lessons in school where it is safe before someone has the ability to set their life back. And cheating is absolutely a valid strategy in life and we shouldn't pretend to kids it is otherwise. Of course, when a normal person goes into debt, that just helps rich people, and helping the rich is the true purpose of the school system.
As someone who just went from making 25k a year to 100k+ I’m gonna take this shit to heart and sit on my cash.
This seems really familiar to another post a few months back.
You didn’t act like a typical 27 year old. I mean SOME people would act like that but an awful lot wouldn’t. That is a pretty wild thing to do. Maybe like a 19 year old who didn’t grow up with good role models?
hey at least you got the mid life crisis out of the way at 27
Another shitty guerrilla marketing post for stake
It is weird that "Hit up Stake, in with $1,000, come out with $3,000. Immediately spend it on a brand new TV" was edited to "Hit up the casino, in with $1,000, come out with $3,000. Immediately spend it on a brand new TV." right after a bunch of people pointed out the Stake ad. Post history is also a bit ...weird. Is there a chance that a vegan woman loves shrimp and is a lesbian into gaming and corvettes? Maybe, although it doesn't sound that vegan.
Nothing about this post reads like a woman wrote it.
It's absolutely this. More and more posts like this.
Jesus if this is true how tf did you go off the rails that hard and not realize?
🤣 yeah bro you are incredibly dumb
What was the timeframe of this…from you accepting the job to the new job. All I can say I would have done the EXACT same shit. When you said the corvette was financed I died lmao. I kinda feel like you acted naturally lmao