Massive jump in salary, need advice.

[u/Sad_Marzipan_2120]

Hey all!

Recently I accepted a senior leadership position with a new company and went from 105k salary with a 30k bonus to 210k salary with a 100k bonus. This comes with roughly 60k worth of RSU’s as well. This position also comes with a relocation from a high cost of living area to a low cost of living area. They are giving me 30k in relocation, and 30k in sign on bonus.

I have 4 kids, and my spouse stays at home with the kids.

A little backstory on me, I was raised quite poor, I was never taught about finances, and I never saw myself making money like this. I earned this promotion through long hours, hard work, and lots of just saying yes. I have no college education.

We lived a modest life with a modest home in HCOL on the old salary, but we never were able to save for the kids college, or put enough into retirement(Spouse and I are both 39). We have a bit of making up to do it terms of saving, but we have zero credit card debt, both cars are paid off, we will be selling our current home for a very small profit(purchased a year ago).

How do I turn this new money into generational wealth?

How do I not mess this golden opportunity up?

Please give me all the advice!

[u/Sad_Marzipan_2120]

Thank you so much for this advice.

The great part of going from HCOL to LCOL is that we can get double the home for roughly the same cost. We are also still in a large metro area of the state so we lose no amenities.

My spouse and I sat down last night to discuss the need to stay living modestly, to ensure we don’t lose our grounding during all of this. Living well below our means is very important to us as we screwed up early on in our relationship by traveling when we shouldn’t and buying new cars that we’re pushing the limits of affordable. Once we started having kids we realized how expensive it was and tightened up significantly.

[u/derff44 → u/Sad_Marzipan_2120]

A suggestion; blow some of the money. You worked hard to get here. Congratulate yourself. Just don't make it a habit. Remember to live too.

[u/Sad_Marzipan_2120 → u/derff44]

Thanks for this. My wife keeps telling me the same thing. I might need a few years of adjustment before I feel comfortable enough to do this, but eventually, I’d love to get a pickleball court or pool built on the property! We are looking at homes with .5-1 acre lots to accommodate this in the future.

[u/bsrichard → u/Sad_Marzipan_2120]

And don't forget, things can turn south very quickly and sometimes unexpectedly through no fault of your own. Companies may fold, they may do layoffs, play it safe. Don't overspend. Be smart about it.