There's definitely decreasing marginal utility of each additional dollar, but IMO the slope is very gradual (if not flat) for what software engineers are making

There's definitely decreasing marginal utility of each additional dollar, but IMO the slope is very gradual (if not flat) for what software engineers are making in the Bay Area. Housing and college costs are only slowing down a bit in the face of cataclysmic shocks to the economy. If you can get another 30k in annual comp, that roughly translates to an extra 100k in house budget which is a big deal.