In my initial thought about the work wages - that's something I haven't thought much about yet - was that at the master expertise a PC would only make something like 20 resources, and I don't think that one season should, even as a master, allow for too much advancement in material wealth.
I'm thinking "wages" might even be smaller amounts even than that. My current thought is that everyone gets a seasonal "stipend" (for every season they are active in present-time) in accordance with their lifestyle; no extra threads required. Item values are also pegged to lifestyles, so the value of a "fine quality" item corresponds to the wealth level that would be expected to own such things (e.g. Wealthy). So most items will only have values in the 2-5 range (Impoverished to Wealthy).
Also, it only takes something like 20-40 resources to jump a wealth level (see table above). It takes a very long time to jump levels just by passive accrual (e.g. going from Ordinary to Well-off requires 16 points, which at 3/season take 6 seasons to accrue), so as a matter of course players will have to work — be it actual job-type work or more creative methods — to raise their standard of living. But if someone got 20 points from a single season's work, that would make for a lot of rapid advancement. And job threads will not be a requirement under this system. Doing a job thread gets you bonus resource points for the season…
…which, I think most bonuses should be pretty small given this scale, say 1-3 points per thread depending on story and detail. I would like to promote opportunities for players to do many small things — steal, quest, trade, rescue, extort, etc. — to gain resources. Incentivize engagement and story and activity over just skill-building. I am also thinking to emphasize Prestige over Skill, although they go somewhat hand in hand; I think renown might give more of a routine bonus to resources than skill alone would, reflecting connections and the willingness of others to supply aid or goods. So if you ingratiate yourself with a merchant guild, for example, you might get Local Repute and an extra point per season in your stipend.
One thing I've realized is that I have no story for Khida now partly because all I have been doing with her is skill work. Train this, train that, train some more. There's a lot of factors that have come together to produce that result, but the skill system is part of it. So while skill is important, I want to incentivize engagement somewhat more than skill-building.
Now, we could expand the scale on which wealth is measured. For example, make Ordinary 4 and Well-off 6 or 8, and continue to expand from there. That would give finer resolution for valuations, and dilute the purchasing power of a single resource point. This would allow larger rewards from threads, because each point buys less. Definitely the exact values need further consideration.
It seems unrealistic to have one paycheck produce land and a home, or fancy, exotic weapons, these are things that take budgeting and saving, investing if we have such things. A paycheck typically supports the current lifestyle, plus a 'fun' purchase. So, going back to my hunter from the previous example, you get paid for the season and have some resource to spend.
Yep, that's something I've been thinking about with the upkeep costs. There's a reason the housing section specifies there's no associated land. I considered originally giving all housing an upkeep cost, and making rentals cost twice as much per season, but then I realized that would eat resource points fast. If a Small residence had upkeep cost 1/season, then that would eat one-third of an Ordinary lifestyle's points every season — and a rental would eat two-thirds. Which doesn't leave them much recourse for saving or investing, or even spending on equipment. That's why I decided to fold housing into the lifestyle and only charge someone who's living above their means, in the same way that clothing and food are handled.
Everybody has to have housing, after all (if they aren't Destitute). Even if that housing is a tent or wagon (which circumstances will be incorporated somehow in the end). I'd rather not penalize someone for a necessity.
I've been toying with giving land upkeep costs to reflect taxes and perhaps other routine matters. It's going to be an expensive purchase in any case.