Tax brackets. People think that if they make more, they'll be taxed more on everything they make, so they'll actively try to make (or report making) less money to avoid "paying more".

But those taxes only apply to new money that you make above each threshold. I'll give an example because it can be a bit hard to explain.

Let's say the tax bracket is 20% for above $60,000 and 30% for above $100,000, and that you make $105,000. You will only pay 30% taxes on that last $5,000. You will pay 20% taxes on the $40,000 between the 60k and 100k. You will not pay any taxes on the first 60k.

People often think that all 105k will be taxed at 30%. That's simply not the case.

I thought my stuffed animals had feelings and would get jealous if I didn’t sleep with them so I slept with all 30+ in my bed to keep them all happy