One of my colleagues (Ex-Colleague) recently left for a different position at another company. Good for him. My manager was chatting with me today and asked me if I was unhappy at my job. Nope, I'm not (I am slightly underpaid, but I trade flexibility in the ability to choose my projects and dictate my own hours for pay). She then said that Ex-Colleague had told her that his reason for leaving was because he "didn't make enough money to cover living expenses". We make money by charging billable hours. The more billable hours you charge, the more money you make. This guy spent the majority of his time gossiping with coworkers, not calling clients or attending networking events. Even so, since I know his rate, I was able to roughly calculate his billable hours. At a minimum, he makes USD$5000 net income per month. And he is single. If he worked harder to build his skills and reputation as a SME, he could easily make three times that.
My family lives very comfortably on $3K per month, and that includes $1K per month for private school. What kind of luxury marble-entombed apartment does he live in and gold-encrusted caviar does he eat to exceed his entire income? IIRC, he lives in an expensive "hip" part of town, likely in a serviced apartment with a doorman, and I think he eats out all the time at the newest, hippest restaurants in town, of which there are many. He also dresses really well -- to my non-expert eyes, all his clothes appear tailored.
Oh well. I'm hopefully out of here in a few years, while he continues slaving away in order to keep wearing, eating, and living in THE BEST.