My Salary Went From $90K to $250K in 5 Years, but Everything Got So Expensive That I Don't Feel Any Further Ahead

My Salary Went From $90K to $250K in 5 Years, but Everything Got So Expensive That I Don't Feel Any Further Ahead

Adrian Volenik

Mon, August 24, 2026 at 6:45 PM GMT+3 5 min read

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Going from a $90,000 salary to $250,000 in five years sounds like the kind of career leap that should dramatically change someone's financial life. But one American tech worker living in Europe says the experience has been surprisingly underwhelming because so many of the things he spends money on have become much more expensive.

In a recent Reddit post, they said they earned a master's degree and moved from a mid- to senior-level role at a startup to a staff-level position at big tech. Their income nearly tripled, yet they wrote, "I don't feel like I've gotten any farther ahead even though I'm earning nearly 3x more."

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A Bigger Salary Doesn't Always Feel Bigger

Travel was one of their clearest examples. A premium economy ticket to visit their parents that once cost around $1,300 now approaches $3,000, they said, while regular economy can cost about $1,200.

They also complained about rising consumer technology prices and said that when they and their wife considered moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, they struggled to find apartments in neighborhoods they considered safe for less than $5,000 a month.

They later clarified that they weren't claiming to be struggling. "I'm not disputing that $250k isn't comfortable," they wrote. "It is." Their frustration was that they didn't feel they were "moving ahead any faster" than when they earned about one-third as much.

Plenty of commenters understood the feeling.

"Anytime I walk out the door I'm spending $50-100," one said. Another described spending $180 on sushi with two children at a restaurant that wasn't particularly upscale. A family of five reported paying more than $100 for burgers and fries.

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Others said higher salaries can feel surprisingly ordinary when large chunks of income are automatically going toward retirement accounts and investments. One commenter who had more than doubled their salary said they still felt paycheck to paycheck while maxing out a 401(k) and Roth IRA and sending several thousand dollars a month into a taxable investment account.

Housing Changes the Equation

Housing was repeatedly singled out as the expense that can make even a $250,000 income feel less powerful.

"It's hard to feel like you've really 'made it' if you can't even buy a house," one person added. "And in [high-cost-of-living] areas, $250K is not enough to buy a house."

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Still, several people challenged the idea that inflation alone could erase a jump from $90,000 to $250,000. Some suggested lifestyle creep or changing expectations were playing a role.

One person described looking at increasingly expensive homes after their own income and expectations grew. Their conclusion captured much of the debate: "Housing didn't triple. My expectations did."

"I'm sure your savings account can feel the difference," another commenter was even more concise.

That may be the contradiction at the heart of the thread. Someone can be objectively building wealth much faster while still feeling that the lifestyle attached to a high salary has become much harder to reach.

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This article My Salary Went From $90K to $250K in 5 Years, but Everything Got So Expensive That I Don't Feel Any Further Ahead originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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