My heart tells me to continue to phd, but my shopping habits say I need to finish the master ASAP and get a well-paying job.

I stopped mine halfway due to funds, and 12 years later haven't picked it back up again. Finish if you can.

Amen.

I did my PhD on the back of a reasonable stipend (reasonable for stipends that is, it was the equivalent of a terrible salary.) It was certainly livable, but it was a frustrating 4 years when my friends were all earning many times as much.

I enjoyed the research aspect and wouldn't have changed what I did, but lots of my fellow students quit half way and never restarted.

@AlmondSauce Yeah, I'm afraid of the fact that it's an all-or-nothing kind of challenge that lasts 4-5 years...

Try asking some PhDs in the same university for their 'feedback/review' on their PhD.

Also, try listening to what they say objectively.

@Chrupiter I did that, and I get very contradicting answers. The satisfaction from pursuing a phd seems to depend on so many factors that it is hard to conclude from someone else's experience....