I dropped out of college and now earn $159,000 as a software engineer. Lifestyle creep left me $30,000 in debt.

Devonte Duncan, 27, is a software engineer based in Brooklyn, NYC.

Business Insider A Brooklyn-based software engineer shares his journey from college dropout to earning six figures.

Living in NYC, he faces rising costs, managing rent with his fiancée, and budgeting carefully.

He faced lifestyle creep and debt, but now saves strategically for financial stability and growth.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation for our Cost of Living video series with Devonte Duncan, 27, a software engineer living in Brooklyn, New York City.

It has been edited for length and clarity.

Watch the full Cost of Living video here.

When I started making six figures , I remember my friends and I would go out to eat, and the first thing I would do was say, "guys, I got it." I would put my card down and pay for like 10 people.

That can't be an all-the-time thing anymore.

Dropping $300 on a bill every couple of weeks — it starts to add up.

I work as a software engineer, with an annual base salary of $159,000, and I live in Brooklyn, New York City, where I was born and raised.

Brooklyn feels like home to me.

It has been a little disheartening to see the cost of living rise over the years.

My family's first apartment was rented for $900.