Do you colleagues/friends talk about money? Ever surprised by what you hear?

[Anonymous]

I am often baffled by the choices people make.

I have a young cw who declined to contribute to the TSP at all. The cw is single and likes to go out to eat/drink (eats all meals out daily). Just that alone could easily add up to nearly enough a per month to at least get the matching funds.

My husband had a conversation years after starting at his place of employment because he was looking for the form to adjust his 401k contribution and 2 of his cws announced they had never contributed anything and had been forgoing the match for years. Again, single people with no kids, houses, etc.

I have a supervisor who is in serious debt, yet picks up tabs all the time, eats out for lunch daily, etc. The supervisor also makes utterly baffling financial moves with real estate and constantly buys in terrible school districts then seems distraught that he can't send his children to the schools and then finances private school tuition on credit cards and additional HELOCs. I think he will have to work until he dies.

[Anonymous]

Yes and that's when I learned most my older coworkers will have to work until they take their last breath because most didn't contribute a dime to their retirement plan.

It's shocking but at the same time, stop complaining. You made your bed, now lay in it.

[Anonymous]

When we were in our 20s I talked a coworker/friend into seriously contributing to her 401k. In our early 30s when it started to look plump, she raided it for current wants.

Now I don't want to know what stupid things my coworkers are doing.

[Anonymous]

I was really uninformed/ignorant in my 20s and had no idea what maxing a 401k meant. I didn't start saving until 30 and even then I only did 10%.

Reading DCUM was an eye opener and encouraged me to start maxing both 401ks and be more aggressive saving for college.

I wish more people openly chatted about this at work or wherever, because unless you start reading books about finance it's not really covered anywhere.

I also think they should teach a basic personal finance course in high school. At least it gives kids a basic foundation if it's but something their parents discuss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I started my job, a person starting the same day as I did made the point of telling me that we were automatically enrolled in the TSP program at 3%, so if I didn't want to participate, I should call so and so because that's what he was doing to disenroll.

I was like..."why would I not participate and at least get the match?"

he said, "that's a lot of money you could be spending now."

What's scary is that he's about 20 years older than me.

No what's scary is that we'll all be supporting his elderly ass in retirement because he has nothing saved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was really uninformed/ignorant in my 20s and had no idea what maxing a 401k meant. I didn't start saving until 30 and even then I only did 10%.

Reading DCUM was an eye opener and encouraged me to start maxing both 401ks and be more aggressive saving for college.

I wish more people openly chatted about this at work or wherever, because unless you start reading books about finance it's not really covered anywhere.

I also think they should teach a basic personal finance course in high school. At least it gives kids a basic foundation if it's but something their parents discuss.

You are so, so right. They really should. My parents did discuss finances with me, but without that I wouldn't have known what to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was really uninformed/ignorant in my 20s and had no idea what maxing a 401k meant. I didn't start saving until 30 and even then I only did 10%.

Reading DCUM was an eye opener and encouraged me to start maxing both 401ks and be more aggressive saving for college.

I wish more people openly chatted about this at work or wherever, because unless you start reading books about finance it's not really covered anywhere.

I also think they should teach a basic personal finance course in high school. At least it gives kids a basic foundation if it's but something their parents discuss.

You are so, so right. They really should. My parents did discuss finances with me, but without that I wouldn't have known what to do.

I know people say that but if they do it at the high school level you know it'll be watered down to checking vs. savings; how to write a check; credit scores etc. Do you really think they'll cover 401ks vs. IRAs, mortgages, HELOCs etc. with a bunch of 18 yr olds. And do you really think those 18 yr olds will listen and absorb it? Those who will absorb it are the ones who already have some interest and they would be the types who would look into retirement savings post college on their own and/or they have some parental discussion of finances happening at home. Unless 18 yr olds are SO much more mature than they were 15 yrs ago -- I don't see even 50% of kids in my high school having any interest or doing anything besides rolling their eyes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was really uninformed/ignorant in my 20s and had no idea what maxing a 401k meant. I didn't start saving until 30 and even then I only did 10%.

Reading DCUM was an eye opener and encouraged me to start maxing both 401ks and be more aggressive saving for college.

I wish more people openly chatted about this at work or wherever, because unless you start reading books about finance it's not really covered anywhere.

I also think they should teach a basic personal finance course in high school. At least it gives kids a basic foundation if it's but something their parents discuss.

You are so, so right. They really should. My parents did discuss finances with me, but without that I wouldn't have known what to do.

I know people say that but if they do it at the high school level you know it'll be watered down to checking vs. savings; how to write a check; credit scores etc. Do you really think they'll cover 401ks vs. IRAs, mortgages, HELOCs etc. with a bunch of 18 yr olds. And do you really think those 18 yr olds will listen and absorb it? Those who will absorb it are the ones who already have some interest and they would be the types who would look into retirement savings post college on their own and/or they have some parental discussion of finances happening at home. Unless 18 yr olds are SO much more mature than they were 15 yrs ago -- I don't see even 50% of kids in my high school having any interest or doing anything besides rolling their eyes.

When I was in HS (this was in the south in the 90s and actually seems pretty progressive in my opinion), we all had to take a life skills class. One of our assignments was being given a job assignment with designated salary. We then had to go out to leasing offices and pick up an apartment application to find rent within our budget. We also had to learn to budget for groceries, transportation, etc. Part way through the class, we had to draw a card with a life emergency such as being off work because of a medical issue, needing an expensive car repair, job loss, or the like.

I was in all sorts of honors and advanced classes, but this one class really stands out in my memory as helping prepare me for life. We got to learn about the importance of saving, compounded interest, etc.

I also remember taking an economics class in which we had to "invest" in the stock market. I hated it at the time because I thought it seemed boring, but it was interesting to see whose investments did well.

Maybe the lesson won't stick with every kid, but for many it may be the only financial literacy they receive before becoming inundated with credit card offers at 18.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I started my job, a person starting the same day as I did made the point of telling me that we were automatically enrolled in the TSP program at 3%, so if I didn't want to participate, I should call so and so because that's what he was doing to disenroll.

I was like..."why would I not participate and at least get the match?"

he said, "that's a lot of money you could be spending now."

What's scary is that he's about 20 years older than me.

No what's scary is that we'll all be supporting his elderly ass in retirement because he has nothing saved.

What's even more scary is that we are subsidizing his ever-increasing Obamacare costs, while of course having to pay our own ever-increasing Obamacare costs.

[Anonymous]

I started working in the US at 30. Laid off at 47 several years ago and have been freelancing on and off since. I took advantage of all the options (401K, ESPP, stck options, etc) and now together with wife have over $3m with over 30% in cash (waiting for the big crash). So, it's never too late to start. Save first (20-25%). Live within what you have left. If that means sharing an apartment, going out less often, not taking trips as often, etc. so be it.

Use this calculator to check your progress and you are set - http://www.savemillions.com/plan/expectnetworth.htm

Each time we go to someone's house and it is a big house, I make my kids notice how big the house is and what the owner of the house does (doctor, runs his own business etc) and try to do this in a non-jealous way.. Now my boys ask me that question on their own.."what does Dillon's dad do, they have such a big house!" type of questions..

While I understand that money is not everything, you need that in life before you fart around with other higher order Dr. Chopra-type stuff..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Each time we go to someone's house and it is a big house, I make my kids notice how big the house is and what the owner of the house does (doctor, runs his own business etc)

Gross

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Each time we go to someone's house and it is a big house, I make my kids notice how big the house is and what the owner of the house does (doctor, runs his own business etc)

Gross

Does PP realize that he is planting the seed that success is only measured by the size of the house/fancy car etc.?!? Isn't it possible that someone has an average sized home and is still very successful in their professional life? Does that type of success not count? Or it is bc it isn't possible to ask someone to show you their investment accounts, so you assume their net worth based on what you can see - houses and cars?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Each time we go to someone's house and it is a big house, I make my kids notice how big the house is and what the owner of the house does (doctor, runs his own business etc)

Gross

Does PP realize that he is planting the seed that success is only measured by the size of the house/fancy car etc.?!? Isn't it possible that someone has an average sized home and is still very successful in their professional life? Does that type of success not count? Or it is bc it isn't possible to ask someone to show you their investment accounts, so you assume their net worth based on what you can see - houses and cars?

Clearly they should demand W-2s and tax returns at each home they visit.