Here's my income progression 2012-2025

Here's my income progression 2012-2025 (37 y/o with a bachelors and masters degrees in business based in Houston, TX working in oil & gas) hi! I'm Morgan I have a net worth of $1.2M at 37 because I am a smart money manager but ALSO have worked incredibly hard to increase my income over the last 15 years. Budgeting only gets you so far. If you want to get ahead with your money, you HAVE to increase your income. 2012: $55,004... this was my first full year working full time. I was doing a demand planning / supply chain job. 2013: $58,235... joined the People/HR team 2014: $66,476 2015: $84,605... I got my first promotion this year so my pay increased substantially! 2016: $89,114 2017: $117,743... I moved to Chicago for grad school and was hired by my current employer. It was my first year making over $100k! I also negotiated a sign-on bonus which is why 2017 was higher than the following year. 2018: $113,937 2019: $141,701... I got my second big promotion in 2019 so my pay and bonus % increased dramatically. 2020: $158,678... weird COVID times but I still managed to increase my pay! 2021: $164,064... I moved back to Houston with my employer and dramatically decreased my cost of living. I did change jobs internally but remained at the same level! 2022: $196,539... I changed jobs again internally. I also got an offer from another company and used that to negotiate a raise and stock grant and stayed at my current employer. 2023: $271,194... the bonus payouts at my current employer skyrocketed in the last few years. I increased my pay by almost $80k! I moved internally (again!) to the strategy team but remained at the same level. 2024: $272,396... bonus payout was another big one this year (still the same job!) 2025: $261,076... my business unit decided to make their ownn bonus scorecard separate from the rest of the company. Unfortunately, this reduced my payout potential. They also reduced our 401k match from 7% to 4%. People are not happy about it... 2026: ????? (laid off at the end of July ) Here's the screen shot from my profile in the Social Security Admin website (where you can see your entire earnings record!) Work Year Taxed Social Security Earnings Taxed Medicare Earnings 2025 $176,100 $261,076 2024 $168,600 $272,396 2023 $160,200 $271,194 2022 $147,000 $196,539 2021 $142,800 $164,064 2020 $137,700 $158,678 2019 $132,900 $141,706 2018 $113,937 $113,937 2017 $117,743 $117,743 2016 $89,114 $89,114 2015 $84,605 $84,605 2014 $66,476 $66,476 2013 $58,235 $58,235 2012 $55,004 $55,004 I have a net worth of $1.2M at 37 in part due to how I've been able to increase my income but I also learned personal finance basics. free personal finance resources are in my bio And follow @morgan.on.money for more content like this!