I’m staring at my offer letter and I honestly don’t know whether to laugh or cry. The base salary is exactly what I wanted, but the performance bonus is entirely discretionary and not a single person at the firm could explain how it's calculated. I have a mortgage and a kid on the way, so this level of ambiguity is keeping me up at night. What should I do next?

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Get used to it. Discretionary bonuses are always that. You should live off your salary only and hope for a bonus but don’t count on it. This is how the business works.

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Some people like milking companies. There is such thing as “too much”

"The base salary is exactly what I wanted." You should be happy with this part and stop worrying about the bonus. This is the way it goes.

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This part. OP either doesn’t know how to budget or wants to live beyond their means

All bonuses are discretionary… that’s why they’re called “bonuses”

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Your salary should be what you live in (main bills) commission and bonuses should never be relied on. I feel that you might be greedy

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Review the definition of the word bonus. If you're getting the salary you want, you need to live within that. If your mortgage and expected kid depend on the bonus, keep looking and don't accept the offer.

Just budget bills and everything else based on your salary. Try to rely on your salary instead of on the bonuses.

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