The Mirage.
Work hard, get raises, buy a house, or "just start a business." Here's what those promises look like with the numbers filled in.
Your raise was a pay cut.
US prices rose roughly 23–25% from 2020 to 2025 (about 4.3% a year). Groceries, rent and insurance rose more.
Starting salary $95,000 — from your Real Wage page.
You'd need $117,259 just to stand still. Staying put cost you $5,775/yr in buying power.
Same house. Twice the hours.
Defaults are rough US median figures. 20% down, 30-year fixed, principal and interest only — before tax, insurance and HOA.
At your real wage of $24.96/hr. Payment up 77%. Your salary didn't do that.
Cold email is dead. Who you know isn't.
Burned-out buyers drowning in AI-written pitches don't reply. 1–3% is common; often lower.
Assumes ~10% of cold replies and ~40% of warm intros close. Illustrative, not data.
- → Many "self-made" founders started with a family loan, a spouse's salary, or no rent to pay.
- → Big contracts go through warm intros: alumni, ex-colleagues, golf partners, a parent's friend.
- → Without that, the real move is small and cheap: sell one skill to people who already know you, keep costs near zero, and protect your runway.
Thank you for firing me 🙏
Visionary | Ex-Everything | Open to Work
Humbled and honored to share some personal news. Leadership made the brave, difficult decision to let me go one week before my vesting cliff. If this resonated, repost ♻️ to help someone in your network who is also being 'freed up'. #NextChapter
Translation: I was laid off by an email so the stock could pop 2% and the CEO could hit his bonus. I am scared and the job market is a meat grinder.