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03GondorKnight
I got a massive raise two years ago and I still pretend to be broke around my family
Two years ago I landed a senior engineering job that more than doubled my income. I went from barely scraping by on forty-five grand to making over one hundred and forty thousand a year.
i have not told a single soul in my family.
I grew up in a household where money was a constant weapon. Anytime someone had twenty extra dollars in their checking account, three different cousins or my dad would show up with an emergency sob story demanding a loan that never got paid back. If you said no, you were labeled selfish and frozen out of family holidays.
So I made a choice. I still drive my beat-up 2011 Honda with the squeaky fan belt. When my family talks about rising rent or how expensive eggs are at Sunday dinner, I nod along, complain about my budget, and act like I am one bad paycheck away from disaster.
Meanwhile I max out my retirement accounts and put thousands away into index funds every month.
I feel like a fake everyday of my life sitting at their table lying to their faces, but I know that telling the truth would DESTROY my peace forever. I should of been able to share my success with the people who raised me. Why does money have to turn family into parasites?
10.09 PM - Sep 26, 2026