NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast - How to Weigh Career Moves for Financial and Lifestyle Gains

Episode Date: August 19, 2024

Learn how you could save money by caring less about what other people think and how to weigh the pros and cons of a job offer. How can you save money by not caring about others' opinions? How does commute time factor into whether you should take an in-person job? Hosts Sean Pyles and Sara Rathner discuss freeing yourself from the pressures of social validation and adopting smart spending habits to help you understand how these approaches can boost your financial well-being. They begin with a discussion of saving money by “not caring,” with tips and tricks on avoiding unnecessary spending influenced by social media influencers, focusing on purchases that genuinely make you happy, and recognizing the fleeting dopamine rush from new buys. They also delve into strategies such as choosing unique vintage clothing, the benefits of a capsule wardrobe, and making thoughtful car-buying decisions.  Then, hosts Elizabeth Ayoola and Sara Rathner talk to Andrew, a listener in Miami, about his decision to start a new job that would increase both his salary and his commute time. They discuss the trade-offs of job changes, the impact on work-life balance, and questions you can ask yourself to help align your career progression with core values. To see how much car you can really afford, check out NerdWallet’s auto loan calculator: https://www.nerdwallet.com/calculator/auto-loan-calculator  In their conversation, the Nerds discuss: financial freedom, mindful spending, frugal living, social validation, smart spending, career decisions, financial well-being, fashion trends, financial fulfillment, savings boosts, self-esteem, social media influencers, vintage clothing, capsule wardrobe, car buying decisions, reliability over status, environmental impact, job change, lengthy commute, work-life balance, company culture, strategic financial decisions, emergency funds, automating savings, daycare expenses, salary increase, family time, freelance work, retirement savings, job switching, higher salary, outsourcing home tasks, remote work, hybrid roles, practical tips, dopamine hits, fashion creativity, and consumer purchases. To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [e-mail]. Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend.

Teddy Roosevelt once said, comparison is the thief of joy. But if you're not careful, it can also be the thief of your hard-earned money. In this episode, we'll help you find ways to save money by simply not giving up about what people think. Welcome to NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast. I'm Sean Files.

And I'm Sarah Rathner. Later in this episode, I am joined by our co-host, Elizabeth I Iola to talk with a listener about how they should weigh the pros and cons of accepting a job offer that requires a big lifestyle change. Is a bump in salary necessarily worth it? steam by not caring what people think or comparing yourself to others. If you are a millennial who was bullied into purchasing crew socks because the TikTok youths made you feel bad about your ankle socks, this segment is for you. So Sarah, I know this idea of not caring what other people think, not basing your self-worth and how you stack up to others and using it as a way to save money is something that's been top of mind for you lately, right? It actually came up in a Slack conversation with a coworker where we joked about having to Google certain Gen Z phrases to find out what they mean. And I remember being 22 in my first full-time job

and coworkers at the time would ask me to define millennial slang and now I'm the old. It's kind of freeing not understanding what people are talking about sometimes. That's true. I mean, part of it is the lived experience. You just let time pass and you become more comfortable just being you. You've just been you for a longer period of time and you accept your flaws. Also, part of it is just buying stuff over the years and then coming to an understanding as to what purchases will bring me greater happiness long term and then which won't. So if something doesn't matter to me, I don't follow the trend. A friend of mine who's a couple years older than me once told me that the decade of life

I've just entered is the FU40s, where you reach this level of peace, you focus on what's important to you and the rest just kind of fades away. And you know what? She was right. The second I turned 40, my ability to care just really went down. It might be because I have a toddler and my ability to care is just pretty low. Yeah. Your priorities have shifted. Yeah. Mostly it's just about preventing him from falling off of stuff at this point. That's a good thing to focus on. I don't have time to care about anything else. So anyway, my point is this. I am going to continue to use the ankle socks I already own and love. Thank you. And that is your right. Okay. Let's talk about how people can vanquish the allure of comparison or caring what people think about you and using consumer purchases to prop up the image that you

project to the world. And I have a few quick tips here. First, please remember this simple, humbling fact. No one thinks about you as much as you think about you. People are not thinking days later about the new outfit that you wore into the office or the vacation pics that you posted on Instagram because they are too busy thinking about their outfits and their photos that they posted on Instagram. Next, realize that the dopamine bump that you get from a purchase just doesn't last. It won't be long before you are hunting for something else to spend money on that makes you feel good. And put those two facts together and you can begin to see why spending money on something with the hopes of impressing people just isn't the best investment.

And again, if something you love is, say, fashion, you're spending money on something that brings you a lot of joy. You enjoy the creativity of putting outfits together. You enjoy hunting for something that you love in stores. Then do it. Just put more of your budget into that and maybe avoid purchases that don't matter as much. So you have more money to fund the things that you love and then also fund your savings because that's important. But you're not really spending money to impress people in other areas. I'm not knocking people who like buying clothes. I like it too. Just understand that if there's one thing you love, you can't have everything. Yeah, you're doing it because you want to do it to make yourself happy, not because you're trying to impress this

vague idea of someone else who might think that you look cool. Right. And if you're spending a lot of time scrolling on your phone, you kind of develop these parasocial relationships with social media influencers. They're not your friends. They're trying to sell you stuff. They get paid when they sell you stuff. This is a very one-sided relationship, and they're the only one that benefits. We've talked about fashion and your wardrobe. And the thing is, compared to years ago, clothing quality is total crap, even for more expensive items. But on the lower cost side, like you buy a t-shirt or a sweater, wear it once, wash it once, and then it becomes a tissue. Chasing trends, you know, this shape of clothing is in style this season, and this detail is in style that season, and then this color, and constantly buying new and going on these

clothing hauls, you are going to have a closet full of garbage after a while. One of my personal and financial goals for this year was to rethink the way that I consume clothes because I am one of those people that likes to have clothes that make me feel good and that are kind of unique and different. So I set out to not buy any new articles of clothing, as in brand new pieces of clothing from a store. Since I do like getting unique vintage pieces, I allowed myself to shop on eBay where I find a lot of cool stuff or at local thrift stores. And I did let myself purchase things from there. So far this year, I found that I'm spending less on clothing.

My environmental impact is lower. And I'm also just much less likely to buy something for the sake of updating my wardrobe to get the latest style or cut of jeans or whatever. And you know, one thing if you're trying to minimize how much clothing you buy, as some sort of personal challenge, you know, you could try the capsule wardrobe thing, wear the same 20 pieces of clothing in different ways for a month and force yourself to be creative. And in a way that can make you fall in love with some of your old clothing again. Yeah, God, I have so many pieces of clothing that I've not worn in over a year, but I will not get rid of them because maybe one day I will wear them again. All right, well,

let's talk about another area where you can stop trying to impress people, your car. A lot of people buy or lease a flashy car as a status symbol, but that can be one of the riskiest financial decisions that you can make, especially since the average price of a new car as a status symbol, but that can be one of the riskiest financial decisions that you can make, especially since the average price of a new car was north of $48,000 in July of 2024, according to Cox Automotive. And new vehicles, which often come with loads of computers and sensors, are also more expensive to repair. So you have an expensive car payment, insurance is not going to be cheap, and repairs will also be pricey. There's nothing wrong with getting an affordable,

reliable used car and just driving it until the wheels fall off. So Sarah, I know that your household recently bought a car, right? So how did you approach that? Yeah, we bought a used 2022 Honda CR-V hybrid a year ago when prices on used cars finally started to come down somewhat. We traded in like a 14-year-old compact car that was worth maybe $1,200 at that point because we needed a car that fit the car seat and the stroller and all that stuff. And the compact car didn't. We had to push the front passenger seat up all the way to fit the car seat. So not ideal. It wasn't great for longer-term family use. And we share one car, my husband and I. So we needed something that worked for all of us, both adults, the baby, and the giant dog. So

I have to say, honestly, this is one of the nicest cars I've ever driven. It has all of those fancy safety sensors that are standard now. I have a backup camera for the first time in my life. The thing is, this is not a sexy car. It's a mom mobile. The trunk always has reusable grocery bags in it. I'm just in that phase of life. And I hope that we drive this thing long enough that the backseat is eventually filled with my future preteen son and his sweaty friends after soccer practice. Well, that sounds really well thought out. It's like the kind of car that fits your needs for where you are in life right now. Yeah, I was saying, you know, maybe one day we'll hand it to him and

it'll be his car and it'll be like this car is older than you. And it'll still drive well, that would be ideal. All right. So Sean, you bought a car a couple years ago. How did you think about that purchase? Well, here's the part where I say that buying a car for the right reasons doesn't mean that you have to buy a total clunker or something that's completely utilitarian. I drive a lovely 2016 BMW X1, which I named Bet Midnight after the character Bet Porter from the show The L Word. Maybe TMI, but I do really love my car. And having a BMW might sound fancy and obnoxious, but I got an amazing deal on my car back in May 2020, and my payment is a little under $350 monthly. I justify it however I want to, basically. But here's why I bought this car. In high school and in college, I drove a severely busted Honda Civic where the muffler was rusted

out and literally dragged on the road behind me. When it came time to get my first big boy car, I wanted something just a little nicer than that. I will came time to get my first big boy car, I wanted something just a little nicer than that. I will admit that as much as I love my car, I do live with a certain amount of cognitive dissonance where whenever I see a BMW driver on the road, I think, wow, that guy's such a jerk. And then I realized that that's me, that I'm the jerk now. Yeah, I think if every one of us took a moment to really think about it, we're all the jerks sometimes. So true. Yeah. So when you see your own face reflected in the window of a BMW that you don't actually drive, you can just live with that emotion. Yeah. Give yourself some grace

for being a jerk every so often, but within reason. Yeah. And then just try to be better. Yeah. Anyway, back to cars. How should people think about their car costs and car ownership? Well, I would say go back to what we talked about in the beginning. Get the car that you want for the right reasons because it'll make you happy and not because you're trying to look cool. Also, do a lot of research on the kind of car that you want. When I bought my car back in 2020, I had a spreadsheet, of course, and I listed the models that I was considering, their average annual repair costs, their miles per gallon, among other factors. And then also know your personal numbers as in how much car you can afford. NerdWallet recommends spending no more than 10% of your monthly take

home pay on your auto payment alone. That's not including insurance, gas, etc. And if you want to see how much car you can really afford, check out NerdWallet's auto loan calculator. You can find a link in this episode's show notes post or by just searching NerdWallet auto loan calculator. Yeah, and once you figure out what you could comfortably afford, then you can just stroll into a car dealership with a bit more confidence. And you should do that because car salespeople can smell uncertainty from several miles away, and they will pounce on you. And then you'll end up buying the car that is not right for you because of pressure. So you don't want to deal with that situation. So switching gears. Pun intended. Hard joke, right? Pun intended. Let's talk about one more area where you could save money by not trying to impress people. And that is when you go out of your way to do really expensive stuff

just for the goal of bragging about it online. I'm talking meals out where you photograph every dish or taking vacations just so you can post photos of the Eiffel Tower or whatever on social media. And the thing is, if expensive vacations or nice dinners bring you joy, that's great. I love vacations. I take them as often as I can. That can be a priority in your budget, but just doing it to show off and then going into debt to do those sorts of things isn't a great idea. Yeah, I was recently having dinner with a group of people and one of the folks at the table was talking about their recent travels and how they went to XYZ locale just to check the box and say they've been there, not because they particularly cared about the place's historical or cultural significance.

And that struck me as a little bit odd. When you're traveling, you want to see the important destinations, of course, but that should be because you want to do it for yourself, not because you're impressing people in your social media feed who, again, don't really care that much about whatever you've seen. Yeah. If you want to go to Venice, Venice is beautiful. You should see it. It's a lovely city and I recommend it, but not just for the gram. Yes. It should be because you actually want to go and immerse yourself and get to know people there and just really

have a wonderful time and not just hop in for a day, check the box and run out. Cities deserve our attention. They always do. So this gets to a good question that people should ask themselves whenever they're making any sort of discretionary purchase, which is simply, why? Why are you spending money on this thing or this experience? And what do you expect it to do for you? Sometimes the answer is just, it'll make me happy. And that's actually one of the best answers that you can give. And so far as saving money, there are some really easy ways to have great experiences and not break the bank. Travel-wise, we nerds often recommend traveling in the off

season. If your schedule is flexible, you're likely to find cheaper airfare. Plus, you won't have to elbow your way through hordes of strangers to see the sights. I think that's enough on how to save money by not giving an... You can fill in that throat clearing section with any word you'd like. Before we move on to this episode's money question segment, a reminder, listener, that we are running another book giveaway sweepstakes ahead of our next Nerdy Book Club episode. Our next guest is Denise Torres, author of Financially Lit, The Modern Latina's Guide to Level Up Your Dinero

and Become Financially Poderosa. That means powerful, by the way, which offers tips to young people on how to get started with managing their money. To enter for a chance to win our book giveaway, send an email to podcast at nerdwallet.com with the subject book sweepstakes during the sweepstakes period. Entries must be received by 1159 PM Pacific time on August 22. Include the following information, your first and last name, email address, zip code and phone number. For more information, please visit and last name, email address, zip code, and phone number. For

more information, please visit our official Sweepstakes Rules page. All right, now let's get into my conversation with our co-host, Elizabeth Iola, and a listener about a big job change that listener is considering. Welcome to NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast, where you send us your money questions and we answer them with the help of our genius nerds. I'm Sarah Raffner. And I'm Elizabeth Ayola. Now, if you have a money question for the nerds, call or text us on the Nerd Hotline at 901-730-6373. Again, that's 901-730-NERD. You can also email us at podcast at nerdwallet.com. Follow us wherever you get your podcasts. And if you like what you hear, leave us a review and tell a friend. We're back and we're joined by a listener, Andrew, who has some questions about trade-offs of leaving a work-from-home job for one that might pay more. Andrew is 37 years old and lives in South Florida. Welcome to Smart Money, Andrew.

Thanks. Thanks for having me. Big fan. So before we get into the conversation, a quick reminder that we're not here to give you individualized financial advice. Our goal is to provide the information you need to make the most informed financial decision for your situation. Does that make sense? Yes, ma'am. All right. Awesome. So let's get into it, Andrew. Now, I know you have some really good questions for us about the trade-offs of leaving your work from home gig for one that is in the office, but pays more. However, before we get into that, can you talk to us about your financial situation generally right now? Tell us what are your financial goals and what are some of your pain points?

Currently, I am building up my emergency fund, which I know you guys are well-versed with that, three to six months of expenses, airing more towards the six. After that, just looking to automate everything, 529, Roth contributions, saving for vacations, saving for a new car. Real estate-wise, we're all set. We own one, our landlord on two others, not looking to rent, not looking to move anytime soon. So I'd say we're stable. We only have the mortgages, no other debt. And tell us a little bit about your home and family situation. Who else lives with you? Who are you supporting? What are you working for, basically? any tuition or scholarship until she's four. So we have at least a year or two of these monthly

payments. That'd be the biggest pain point right now. And you mentioned having a spouse. Are they also working? She's a props master, which is a super cool job. Get to make things and get to see them on stage on theater productions. But that doesn't pay what I would call a living wage. And that's also part-time. She's the primary transporter of the children and making sure they're clothed and shuttled around to all their activities. So you got a call from a recruiter about a new job that might pay a decent amount more, might be enough of an incentive to leave the job that you have now, but it's in an office and you live in a really high traffic city. So you

want to tell us a little bit about that and what questions that potential opportunity has brought up for you? Definitely. As we know, a couple years ago, we experienced quite the phenomenon worldwide, which shifted everyone to working from home. Honestly, it was kind of a dream for me, even pre-pandemic 2016, 2017, I thought to myself, all I need is a laptop and I can do almost everything from home at the job that I was at. And I did do that sometimes even back then. I'd come home and work more. I'd still have to go to work in the morning. So post-pandemic, it's been a blessing for a lot of people, I feel, at least me personally. I've gotten to get in shape and hang out in a very pivotal time in the kids' lives from zero to six.

But Miami in particular poses its challenges. One, it's a high cost of living city. The switching costs of moving closer to our central business districts is not easy. The traffic is pretty bad, but what's worse is likely the road rage as Miami is the first and third place road rage capital of the country. So that's where the stress versus money payoff kind of comes into play. And I will say this, that I loved your question because Elizabeth and I are both intimately acquainted with South Florida traffic. I'm from Miami originally. Elizabeth is living in South Florida. I learned to drive in Miami, so I know that road rage too well. How long would your commute be and how much more money are we talking?

So commute minimum would be an hour and this is 20 miles, maybe less. And this is each way? Each way. It's likely closer to 80 minutes, 90 minutes. And if there's an accident or, you know, something, it might even be two hours each way. And I believe the position when I first emailed you guys was four days a week in office, maybe five days a week in office for where that one was located geographically. It just didn't make sense to basically give up 10, 12, 14 hours a week just in the car. I'd get to listen to a lot of your

guys' podcasts for sure, but I'd run out of that pretty quick. The money, anywhere from $60,000 or $70,000 increase. I tried running an analysis, extra gas, extra wear and tear, oil, increased tax. Given where that one was, I think the resounding response and what all the Redditors told me was absolutely not. What comes to mind for me, I always find these scenarios a great way to revisit your core values. But I think a good way, especially for listeners who may be in this kind of dilemma to weigh it out is to think about what your values are and think about what your ideal life looks like. I know for me personally, in my career, that has been a guiding light for me. I know before this job,

I was working at a job that was pretty comfortable, but I had to go to the office every day. And one of my highest values is flexibility and freedom. So being able to have the freedom to work from home and choose my lunchtime or maybe do a quick workout in between meetings is really important to me. So did you find that you weighed your values when you were kind of making this decision as well? I know you just

mentioned things like taxes and other kind of quantifiable things, but did you think about your values as well? I did. And I don't know if it's a faux pas to mention another money expert on this show, but I listened to and read Ramit Sethi, which I'm sure you guys are familiar with him. And he talks about the concept of your rich life. And for the majority of the people he talked to, fixed income is way too high. Their income to housing cost is way too high. We're in an okay position there to where I don't need necessarily to earn 50 more thousand dollars. But part of my rich life, as silly as it may sound, is now Brazilian jujitsu. And the gym is 12 minutes away. And I can go every night or as much as my wife would allow. If I'm working a downtown job, getting home at 6.45, hungry,

have to go to the bathroom, then I don't know that I'm going to have the energy to then go out and fight. And that's my primary way of keeping in shape. So I just know that if I take a downtown job where I'm there every day, you know, getting my Chipotle every day for lunch, it's likely going to cause some health implications to that. It's funny because when you sent us this question, it seemed like you hadn't yet made the decision. And in that time you have, and in this case, you decided not to pursue this opportunity. But in the future, if you were faced with a similar potential opportunity, a similar decision, is there a number or a type of role that would make you say yes? What in your value system might make you make a different decision in the future? Interesting you should mention that,

because a mere 90 minutes ago, I was talking to a recruiter who messaged me on LinkedIn, but she presented a pretty interesting opportunity. The increase in base pay would be about $42,000, which is less than the other job, but it's also closer. And this one's hybrid, three in, two home. So despite less money, I do get two days back and it's about an hour total, less commuting per day. The role itself is non-managerial, which at this stage, that interests me a little more just with the little ones that I'm already managing at home. I don't necessarily want a team of five or six analysts under me that I need to manage as well. The talk went fine with the recruiter and she's going to pass along my info to the in-house recruiter. So that one's a little bit more compelling, even though it's less money, which I guess reveals to me that I really do value the time and the travel more than the dollars. And I asked some questions about your family life,

because I think when you have a two partner households, and maybe one person brings in more money, it's very easy to continue chasing even more money, because that's your role, you're the one that that is largely the financial breadwinner. And I like to hear that you're also thinking about the effect it might have on everybody that's at home, not just your children, but also your wife, because your greater absence would put more on her plate with no additional income on her part and might even interrupt her ability to continue earning an income because there's just more at home to do while you are not physically there. It's not just about the money, it's also about the time and getting to use your own bathroom is the best. So yeah, it is.

And I will just add, I personally think there are some scenarios where you may sacrifice convenience a little bit if you have a financial goal. So I definitely know last year that was the situation for me. I was behind on my retirement savings and I basically picked up a whole bunch of freelance work to try to boost my retirement savings. So it did mean that I had less free time, but it's nice to have a timeframe if someone else, again, another listener is in this scenario and decides, hey, I really need that extra 60 or $70,000

to maybe have a timeframe to it and say, maybe I can do this for two or three years, just so I can accomplish my goal. And then I can circle back to whatever lifestyle I was living before, if that is a possibility. Yeah, and I think from a long term goal, my experience has been that whenever I've switched jobs, I've gotten more, and as a base, getting paid what I'm getting paid now. Whereas this most recent opportunity would put me in striking distance, a base and bonus of the $200,000. So there's also the long-term five, 10-year consideration. But what if we had more children? What if we want private school? What if we do want to buy a single family in the city? That's at least a million dollars to buy a single family in the city. Those are some other considerations I'm going through.

Yeah, braces and summer camp don't pay for themselves, unfortunately. So as your kids get older, your family's needs get more complicated. Just when you think daycare tuition is off your plate. I know. Income for travel sports. Soccer. So Andrew, you mentioned that obviously a really great way to boost your salary over I know. Your current job in your current industry, your current employer, do you see opportunities to bloom where you're currently planted and perhaps pursue higher salary positions, promotions, or even just make the case for a major salary bump and not have to switch jobs and start going into an office? I would say yes.

I work for a very, very large bank, which means we have a lot of departments. Fortunately, the powers that be are very pro horizontal mobility, get experience in this department, this specialty area, and then not necessarily could always come back. Every department has their staffing need, but you still have those relationships, which is a very cool culture. And one of the reasons I like where I'm at, I've also been promoted once, asked for decent raise, nothing out of this world, a couple of percentage points, but they've been granted. There is some wiggle room within my position. And then if I'm willing to make sort of a not horizontal, not vertical move, sort of a lateral move, diagonal, that could be 10 to 15,000. And lastly, my boss has expressed interest in me taking their job and then them

getting promoted. Honestly, that's not something I'm looking to do right now. Again, don't want to add stress. But again, I might hit a ceiling in my rank and that's the next logical step. So I've been thinking about that, but not something I'm really wanting to do within the next six months, I would say. So there is some opportunity where I'm at, but I can't just come out and say, hey, I want a 40% raise. Look what they're trying to pay me. And another thing to think about too is as you move up the ranks in your career and you're approaching your 40s, for a lot of people, it means management or at least a senior level position that's not management, but also recognizing what extra hours are you potentially

going to have to work in this new role? Are you still going to be able to cut it at 40, maybe 50 hour a week position, or suddenly they're going to be increased demands on your time? Yeah, I think company culture is huge. At my former couple employers ago, they had what I would call a Wall Street culture, which personally, it just wasn't for me. The seven to seven minimum, and then the ambitious people working Saturday and Sunday. Kudos. I hope you have a yacht by now, but that just wasn't for me. Fortunately, where I'm at has more of a

Main Street culture. Obviously, as a manager, I would be subject to more deadlines and responsibilities to those above me and managing the people below me to make sure that we can fulfill all our deadlines. But I wouldn't see myself working till 6.30 or 7. They're very big on PTO. And when you're on PTO, they're very good on work-life balance, which is another reason I like where I'm at. So one thing else to think about

if you were to take an opportunity in the future that even is a hybrid role, and this is something that people might realize as they if they transition from work from home to hybrid or fully in person position. Are there any home tasks that you will need to pay to outsource to make up for the fact that you're not physically present to help and with those tasks? And is that something that you would need to work into your budget to make work away from home possible for you? For the first one, even though it was even more money than the second one, I thought, well, I'm just going to have to hire a maid and a chauffeur.

So what's even the point when I could do those things? And it'd be a wash. I'd be working more. And then I guess I'd stimulate the economy by hiring two people. But I'm not really looking to be an economic stimulant other than through spending. As we free up cash flow from what was former debt payments, we could bring someone in to tidy the home. I think that's the first thing people usually look to do, at least us upwardly mobile Miamians. If I'm meeting all my investment quotas, then why not?

That's definitely the first thing I outsourced in the home. Using your money to free up your time is, to me, such a tremendous use of money. It can be used to add convenience, not just stuff, but also the absence of something that you have to do is incredibly powerful. So yes, definitely if you increase your salary and want to increase your quality of life in some ways by outsourcing some tasks, then that is a great use of money allows you to be around for your family more often, too. I think a lot of it is how you frame it as well. Like my friend who he's in construction does quite well. He's willing to take a pay decrease if he can work a third less hours because he always calculates on a per hour basis, which if someone

tells me their hourly salary now, I couldn't tell you if that's a lot or a little because I haven't been hourly in years. So him being salaried, he always does that exercise. And he's like, oh, I'm getting paid $6 more per hour, but I have to work 30% more. Absolutely not worth it. What does $6 get you? But I just did the exercise for roll two and I did it on a monthly after-tax, what it would come out to. And it's enough to cover mortgage and daycare, just the raise after-tax.

So when it's framed like that, that tells a pretty compelling story. Like, oh, would you switch jobs and have to drive eight more hours if just the increase would pay for your mortgage and your daycare, which is most people's biggest expensive? That sounds pretty good. But when you frame it, do you want to spend eight to 10 hours a week in Miami traffic and possibly getting rear-ended and

people cutting you off? There's almost no amount of money that you'd want to get paid to do that. So I think the framing is just a very, very interesting concept as well. So Andrew, tell us now, we've had this conversation. After this conversation, what are you thinking? Do you feel like you have more tools to consider if or when another tantalizing offer comes along for a new job? I think I do. And shout out to the NerdWallet website.

There's a tax estimator calculator on there where you can put your filing status, your age, your household income. From a strictly math standpoint, I think it's easy. From a value standpoint, it's definitely more nuanced. So thank you guys for your time and your input as well. Yeah, no, we're happy to be part of your decision-making journey because this is something that I think a lot of people go through as they progress in their careers and as their lives get more full and potentially more complicated in hopefully good ways, but sometimes hard ways too. So if you're out there listening and you're weighing a potential job change or you're itching to change jobs, it's absolutely

not just a financial exercise, but it is also a values exercise. It absolutely is. And for me, values usually takes the cake. But I say that knowing that I have certain privileges and I'm able to choose. I know not everyone has that option. So on that note, that's all we have for this episode. Now, remember, we're here for you and your money decisions. So turn to the nerds and call or text us your questions at 901-730-6373. That's 901-730-N-E-R-D. You can also email us at podcast at nerdwallet.com. Visit nerdwallet.com slash podcast for more information on this episode. And remember, you can follow the show

on your favorite podcast app, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeart Radio. And what happens there is you're able to automatically download new episodes. And here's our brief disclaimer. We're not financial or investment advisors. This nerdy info is provided for general educational and entertainment purposes and may not apply to your specific circumstances. And with that said, until next time, turn to the nerds.