In the end, nothing. I had a good solid 9 months of a job I loved, with decent enough pay. But then tanks to corporate execs laid off the entire IT team and outsourced it to a staffing company and reduced the size of the team from 100+ to about 8.
I’m still there because I still need the pay, but now it’s just like every other garbage corporate job out there. Miserable and soul sucking.
Also my commute is now longer, less constant rage because I’m not driving, but higher stress when it does happen because the metro is unreliable as shit.
I got to work from home, got to improve my home office setup, and I have been able to buy a house. I love being able to live with my wife and partner and being able to not freakout about a surprise bill.
I moved from the place where the roof previously fell on me and I nearly died of cholera. That was very cool! I also haven’t been hospitalized for exhaustion from overwork since.
I bought a safer motorbike, and invested in tools to let me get even better jobs. I even saved up and eventually bought some land!
…I’m still a cheapskate though. Old habits die hard, haha.