I'd be up front... Just say that you were contacted by recruiter about an opportunity that sounded interesting so you went in for an interview. Explain that you're happy at your current job and would prefer to stay, but obviously you can only do that if it makes sense for you financially.
I'd ask if they'd consider raising your salary to $70k. Explain that you're okay not getting the full $75k they're offering because you would like to stay, but you also don't want to feel like you're making a stupid financial decision - I assume that's the reason for the conflict here?
If you ask for $70k you're at least meeting them half way and showing you're willing to sacrifice a decent amount of money to stay with them. I think that's as reasonable as you can be honestly, but I guess it depends on how much you like the job - you could always ask for the full $75k then try to negotiate lower if they say no, but that would be probably be a higher risk approach.
I think the important thing here is that you're just honest about the situation and understand it's not impolite to ask your employer for a pay rise. At the end of the day you're offering them a service and if they can't pay you a fair price for your labour then they can't expect you to stay with them. You're not being difficult or greedy, that's just how the world works.
I knew a guy who was a great dev. He was working for a company for 15 years and in that time they never gave him a pay rise or a promotion. He was a "junior dev" for 15 years... A couple of years ago the company got into some financial difficulties and they decided to let him go. While I was with the company I told him constantly to demand a pay rise but he always felt greedy doing so and just hoped that if he worked hard enough they'd offer it to him eventually. I know that's not you, but my point is you need to have your own back. If you're worth $75k then there's absolutely nothing wrong with just being honest about the situation with your employer and asking for a raise.
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I'd be up front... Just say that you were contacted by recruiter about an opportunity that sounded interesting so you went in for an interview. Explain that you're happy at your current job and would prefer to stay, but obviously you can only do that if it makes sense for you financially.
I'd ask if they'd consider raising your salary to $70k. Explain that you're okay not getting the full $75k they're offering because you would like to stay, but you also don't want to feel like you're making a stupid financial decision - I assume that's the reason for the conflict here?
If you ask for $70k you're at least meeting them half way and showing you're willing to sacrifice a decent amount of money to stay with them. I think that's as reasonable as you can be honestly, but I guess it depends on how much you like the job - you could always ask for the full $75k then try to negotiate lower if they say no, but that would be probably be a higher risk approach.
I think the important thing here is that you're just honest about the situation and understand it's not impolite to ask your employer for a pay rise. At the end of the day you're offering them a service and if they can't pay you a fair price for your labour then they can't expect you to stay with them. You're not being difficult or greedy, that's just how the world works.
I knew a guy who was a great dev. He was working for a company for 15 years and in that time they never gave him a pay rise or a promotion. He was a "junior dev" for 15 years... A couple of years ago the company got into some financial difficulties and they decided to let him go. While I was with the company I told him constantly to demand a pay rise but he always felt greedy doing so and just hoped that if he worked hard enough they'd offer it to him eventually. I know that's not you, but my point is you need to have your own back. If you're worth $75k then there's absolutely nothing wrong with just being honest about the situation with your employer and asking for a raise.