Devonte Duncan, a 27-year-old software engineer born and raised in Brooklyn, earns an annual base salary of $159,000, or $13,250 a month, and takes home $7,752 after taxes and other contributions. He shares a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with included parking with his fiancée, who pays $1,000 of the $3,450 rent, while Duncan covers the balance and about $500 in monthly utilities. His other regular costs include a $450 car payment, $208 for insurance, $90 for gas, $50 for MTA (New York's public transit system), $600 for food and $40 for an unused Planet Fitness membership. A YouTube channel, Dose of Devy, provides about $100 a month, down from a peak of $400. After building up debt through discretionary spending, including restaurant bills, travel and an electric skateboard, Duncan took out a roughly $30,000 debt-consolidation loan at about 17%, compared with nearly 25% interest on his credit cards, and pays $947 a month. He automatically saves about 10% of each paycheck, contributes 10% to his 401(k) (an employer-sponsored retirement account) and receives a 4% employer match, saving about $15,900 annually. He says higher income does not require higher spending and plans to invest more in himself and his ideas once the debt is paid off.