Author Topic: Overheard at Work  (Read 13252778 times)

Cookie78

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10250 on: September 02, 2015, 10:37:54 AM »
Comparing a car accident to rape is completely uncalled for. Rape is not an accident. It's an intentional act of violence against a victim. Car crashes that are intentional are similar acts of violence, but that's not what we're talking about. (Which I wrote before reading NoraLenderbee put it better than I could.)

Agreed. Rape is more comparable to using a vehicle to intentionally cause harm. Vehicular manslaughter, for example. I don't think anyone would (or should) blame the victim in those cases.

Agreed.  Except for the part where you imply that blaming the victim is OK based on what the person responsible for the action happens to intend.  Huh?  Could you elaborate on that a bit?

I implied no such thing. Just that your comparison to rape was uncalled for.

I didn't say that rape and car accidents are the same thing, the only comparison made was that blaming the victim isn't OK.  That's the opposite what people who are blaming the faultless person in a car accident are implying.

I think there is a big difference between "blaming the victim" in a car accident and discussing how the accident could have been avoided by the victim. It's been helpful for me personally to assess what I could have done even if I was not at fault.

bsmith

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10251 on: September 02, 2015, 10:38:47 AM »
This thread has turned into a real downer. I come here to mock your ridiculous coworkers. Post more of that for my entertainment!

Cookie78

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10252 on: September 02, 2015, 10:47:23 AM »
This thread has turned into a real downer. I come here to mock your ridiculous coworkers. Post more of that for my entertainment!

Sorry! I'm done.

I have pretty awesome coworkers who are frugal and talk about retirements and pensions, though they do get excited about new shoe stores. However, I was talking with a friend the other day who was complaining that her friend was stingy. Her stingy friend actually saves up money to buy things like furniture instead of using the furniture store payment plans. *gasp* Of course I laughed and told her I agreed with her friend. AND I almost always buy used things and have never actually bought furniture from a furniture store.


cloudsail

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10253 on: September 02, 2015, 11:00:11 AM »
My co-workers are generally smart with their money and pretty frugal.  However we recently had a complete change in our HR system and part of the reason was to provide us with better benefits.  We don't have the option to contribute to a 401(k) plan currently so I was obviously excited.

Well my excitement quickly soured.  No one else seems to care nearly as much about the 401(k) as I do.  Everything else is setup but every time I ask about 401(k) HR just says "next year".  It seems to be the last thing they want to take care of and just an after thought.  And I can't really blame them since almost none of my co-workers are asking about it.  I was so hopeful that I would be able to contribute this year!

They also got rid of the high deductible health plan option, so we can't save to an HSA.  When I asked about this, it seems like the people in HR just don't like them, so they decided that everyone else probably doesn't like them either.  They also had no idea that the money in an HSA can be invested.  Argh!!

Oh, and the PPO plan is also $20 more per month than the old one.  It has a slightly lower deductible and per year max, I think, but that's about it.

How is this better????

Sorry just had to get that off my chest :(

Travis

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10254 on: September 02, 2015, 12:01:47 PM »
[...]
A car 'accident' isn't an accident.  That's quite a misnomer.  It's always brought about by a mistake made by one or both of the drivers involved.  They are all caused intentionally[...]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puK5CwThaq4 An accident implies there is no one to blame. Traffic Collision.

Nitpicking a bit, but I would say the negligent acts contributing to the collision were intentional. The collision itself was not (unless we're talking about some kind of attempted murder charge).  In the military we stopped calling the pulling of the trigger when you weren't supposed to an accidental discharge and instead call them negligent discharges since you have to pull the trigger to do it.  You may not have intended to pull the trigger, but you consciously put your finger on it with the safety off when you weren't supposed to.

Papa Mustache

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10255 on: September 02, 2015, 12:28:03 PM »
A coworker just ordered a $100,000 Porsche Cayenne. The worst part? He already owns an Audi S4. He won't be trading that in.

$160,000 worth of cars on about $100,000 salary.

I jokingly asked him if he was using it to haul around the kids (he has none). His response: we bought an SUV (because his girlfriend wanted him to) so they could haul mulch, furniture, and things like that. When I asked incredulously if he thought he'd ever actually put something so dirty into his Porsche, he shrugged sheepishly and said they make liners for the cargo areas so you don't get your seats dirty. All the delivery fees in the world couldn't cost this much.

A PORSCHE SUV FOR HAULING MULCH AND FURNITURE.

Coworker told me of a story where another coworker/friend bought a $70K l-o-n-g pickup truck a month ago. Asked him how he likes it and the owner made a face and replied "I hate it". Its a pain to drive, a pain to park and a pain to refuel".

When asked why he bought it in the first place - he replied b/c his wife encouraged him to buy it. He replaced a short wheel base pickup of some sort that was paid off.

Now his new truck is worth how many thousand less a month later and he has buyer's remorse. 

Papa Mustache

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10256 on: September 02, 2015, 01:24:42 PM »
Whelp... We packed the trailer yesterday and just hooked it up. Planning on leaving in about 8 hours. Arriving after noon.

I find about 5 hours of dark-driving gets me enough distance that the kids are OK for the remaining drive. We'll stop around 09:00 for breakfast and a stretch, then carry on.
Why aren't you sharing this in Share Your Badassity?
(I did shit like that when I was 20 or so... I probably could now if I didn't stay so tired. Reasons why FIRE matters)

Used to do that on military leave - work all day and drive all night so I was back home at dawn. I stopped doing that eventually.

One night there was the tandem tractor trailer wandering all over the road (me passing him at max mph in a CR-X - a tiny car. i wanted to minimize time beside him).

One night there were the storms and tornados that I had zero awareness of b/c I was listening to tapes and CDs instead of the radio. Liked the empty roads though. Rains were brief and scattered.

Then there was the night I could not recall the last 30-40 miles including climbing a steep mtn road where my family lived...

These days we encourage the kids to stay up all night long if they want  (while we sleep) and we'll set out for the big vacation drive at 5AM to miss some of the summer heat. Hopefully we'll arrive at the destination when the kids get caught up on their sleep. They play, I nap. My wife babysits as necessary.

As for beaches: I love going to the beach. I spent six years living next to the oceans when I was in the Navy and during that time I went to the beach maybe 3-4 times. Yeah I know, I was "doing it all wrong". Now we have to drive most of a day to get to a beach.

Papa Mustache

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10257 on: September 02, 2015, 01:54:42 PM »
This thread has turned into a real downer. I come here to mock your ridiculous coworkers. Post more of that for my entertainment!

Sorry! I'm done.

I have pretty awesome coworkers who are frugal and talk about retirements and pensions, though they do get excited about new shoe stores. However, I was talking with a friend the other day who was complaining that her friend was stingy. Her stingy friend actually saves up money to buy things like furniture instead of using the furniture store payment plans. *gasp* Of course I laughed and told her I agreed with her friend. AND I almost always buy used things and have never actually bought furniture from a furniture store.

Drove past a furniture store here today and saw a sign that said 8 years interest free!!!

I didn't know pressboard furniture would last 8 years... ;) Their furniture is okay - we have some. Just teasing about their sign. Definitely not heirloom quality stuff but it's lasted a decade. Didn't want to spend big money on great furniture while we had small kids in the house. Everybody is past that so we'll buy something nicer next time. Will certainly pay with cash and not necessarily from there. ;)

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10258 on: September 02, 2015, 01:56:22 PM »
An accident is where you didn't intend the result.  I walked into a sliding glass door once.  Yes I fully intended to walk to that spot, I was just mistaken as to whether the door was open.  That's colloquially referred to as an "accident" not something asinine like "negligent walking"

ohyonghao

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10259 on: September 02, 2015, 02:55:26 PM »
An accident is where you didn't intend the result.  I walked into a sliding glass door once.  Yes I fully intended to walk to that spot, I was just mistaken as to whether the door was open.  That's colloquially referred to as an "accident" not something asinine like "negligent walking"

I did a similar thing once.  I went into a Family Mart (similar to 7-11) to withdraw some money.  Was putting the money in my wallet and walking towards the glass door.  I stopped to let the door open and then proceeded forward head first into it.  My friends outside couldn't stop laughing, some of them ended up on the ground.  The cashier came running around and asked if I was okay.  I sort of waved my hand, mumbled something in Chinese, and rushed out the door to leave the embarrassing situation for my friends laughter.

MgoSam

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10260 on: September 02, 2015, 03:01:43 PM »
This thread has turned into a real downer. I come here to mock your ridiculous coworkers. Post more of that for my entertainment!

Sorry! I'm done.

I have pretty awesome coworkers who are frugal and talk about retirements and pensions, though they do get excited about new shoe stores. However, I was talking with a friend the other day who was complaining that her friend was stingy. Her stingy friend actually saves up money to buy things like furniture instead of using the furniture store payment plans. *gasp* Of course I laughed and told her I agreed with her friend. AND I almost always buy used things and have never actually bought furniture from a furniture store.

Drove past a furniture store here today and saw a sign that said 8 years interest free!!!

I didn't know pressboard furniture would last 8 years... ;) Their furniture is okay - we have some. Just teasing about their sign. Definitely not heirloom quality stuff but it's lasted a decade. Didn't want to spend big money on great furniture while we had small kids in the house. Everybody is past that so we'll buy something nicer next time. Will certainly pay with cash and not necessarily from there. ;)

I just bought a house and it is somewhat furnished, but of course there's some more things I want to add to it. I saw another person's house and it looks beautiful and they mentioned that they just got new furniture. I was wondering how they did it and of course I suspect that got it on loan.

lbmustache

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10261 on: September 02, 2015, 05:34:22 PM »
This thread has turned into a real downer. I come here to mock your ridiculous coworkers. Post more of that for my entertainment!

Sorry! I'm done.

I have pretty awesome coworkers who are frugal and talk about retirements and pensions, though they do get excited about new shoe stores. However, I was talking with a friend the other day who was complaining that her friend was stingy. Her stingy friend actually saves up money to buy things like furniture instead of using the furniture store payment plans. *gasp* Of course I laughed and told her I agreed with her friend. AND I almost always buy used things and have never actually bought furniture from a furniture store.

Drove past a furniture store here today and saw a sign that said 8 years interest free!!!

I didn't know pressboard furniture would last 8 years... ;) Their furniture is okay - we have some. Just teasing about their sign. Definitely not heirloom quality stuff but it's lasted a decade. Didn't want to spend big money on great furniture while we had small kids in the house. Everybody is past that so we'll buy something nicer next time. Will certainly pay with cash and not necessarily from there. ;)

Loans on furniture are insane to me! I mean it's one thing to put it on a CC, but to "finance" it through the store? What the... FWIW, I have quite a bit of furniture from IKEA and it's all held up very well.

nanu

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10262 on: September 02, 2015, 07:13:51 PM »
First post on this thread, so now I'll forever be tracking it I guess...

Anyway, I noticed recently a CW of mine sometime goes out of the office after lunch (we get free food at the office) to buy coffee,
even though we have baristas in the office that make free coffee for you on request! (software company with all those nice perks)

But the really horrible discovery came yesterday, when I found out the same CW doesn't contribute anything to the 401K,
despite having a very generous company match (50% match - so up to $9K per year) AND that the default contribution is 10% of salary.
This means he actively went and set his contribution to zero! His reasoning? "I value the present much more than the future". I'm still in shock.
And this CW makes at least $100K/year, not including bonuses and company stock (though he started recently so he won't get those until next year)
« Last Edit: September 02, 2015, 07:15:56 PM by nanu »

LennStar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10263 on: September 03, 2015, 04:06:58 AM »


Anyway, unless every single accident is something where it came out of nowhere with no way for her to prevent it, I really doubt that she's not somehow at fault. I'm an insurance underwriter, and I've looked at thousands of driving records. I've never seen any driver with multiple accidents that didn't also have more tickets than accidents. Good drivers drive defensively and avoid accidents; that is why I don't really buy "not-at-fault" accidents unless there are extenuating circumstances.
As you have to do a lot with statistics, you know that statistics dont say a word about the single person.
For example, after driving more then 10 years without any accident, a person I know got 3 heavy accidents in less then 2 years.
2 times someone crashed in her back while standing at a red light or normal crossing. The 3rd the other driver didn't respect right of way.
That definitely qualifies as multiple accidents, but in no cases it was her fault.

I also had an accident a year back. Someone decided that he didnt want to wait another traffic light roudn and drove out onto the turn-left lane where it was just a bit over 50% wide - with a boat hanger.
So I tried to drove as much right as possible to not get hit in the side by the end of the boat hanger, looking only left and right. And crashed (not very much, because I could brake most of speed) into someone who was standing in front of me. But he should not have stood there, he had right of way. He let another driver in - he stopped after I looked forward because of the boat.
I could have prevented that by hitting the brakes with full power, risking that the car in my back hits me and/or the boat hanger hits the sides of my car. But I drove on, trying not to get hit with the next car in front of me 100m away the time I stopped looking, still driving.
But even if you know all the facts now and - maybe - would have done otherwise, you have to make that decision in half a second.

Technically it was my fault. But the reason was one stupid driver and one friendly in a bad combination.

Suncoast

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10264 on: September 03, 2015, 05:19:18 AM »
Don't worry everyone.  I believe that you're all in the 99th percentile of skilled drivers and that not a single one of you could possibly be better.  No accidents can ever be avoided and all of your anecdotes prove this way better than the thoughts of an actual insurance adjuster.  Excellent use of the Anti-MMM sub-forum by the way!

+1  Looks like it will be a few days before this annoying thread runs it course.

runningthroughFIRE

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10265 on: September 03, 2015, 07:34:11 AM »
Don't worry everyone.  I believe that you're all in the 99th percentile of skilled drivers and that not a single one of you could possibly be better.  No accidents can ever be avoided and all of your anecdotes prove this way better than the thoughts of an actual insurance adjuster.  Excellent use of the Anti-MMM sub-forum by the way!

+1  Looks like it will be a few days before this annoying thread runs it course.

Might be being generous

Squirrel away

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10266 on: September 03, 2015, 08:11:44 AM »
An accident is where you didn't intend the result.  I walked into a sliding glass door once.  Yes I fully intended to walk to that spot, I was just mistaken as to whether the door was open.  That's colloquially referred to as an "accident" not something asinine like "negligent walking"

I did a similar thing once.  I went into a Family Mart (similar to 7-11) to withdraw some money.  Was putting the money in my wallet and walking towards the glass door.  I stopped to let the door open and then proceeded forward head first into it.  My friends outside couldn't stop laughing, some of them ended up on the ground.  The cashier came running around and asked if I was okay.  I sort of waved my hand, mumbled something in Chinese, and rushed out the door to leave the embarrassing situation for my friends laughter.

Oh no, how embarrassing, that is the type of thing that I would do.:P

MgoSam

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10267 on: September 03, 2015, 08:23:50 AM »
An accident is where you didn't intend the result.  I walked into a sliding glass door once.  Yes I fully intended to walk to that spot, I was just mistaken as to whether the door was open.  That's colloquially referred to as an "accident" not something asinine like "negligent walking"

I did a similar thing once.  I went into a Family Mart (similar to 7-11) to withdraw some money.  Was putting the money in my wallet and walking towards the glass door.  I stopped to let the door open and then proceeded forward head first into it.  My friends outside couldn't stop laughing, some of them ended up on the ground.  The cashier came running around and asked if I was okay.  I sort of waved my hand, mumbled something in Chinese, and rushed out the door to leave the embarrassing situation for my friends laughter.

Oh no, how embarrassing, that is the type of thing that I would do.:P

This is the sort of thing that I live to witness. I would be that friend that's on the floor laughing.

AlwaysLearningToSave

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10268 on: September 03, 2015, 08:34:47 AM »
An accident is where you didn't intend the result.  I walked into a sliding glass door once.  Yes I fully intended to walk to that spot, I was just mistaken as to whether the door was open.  That's colloquially referred to as an "accident" not something asinine like "negligent walking"

I did a similar thing once.  I went into a Family Mart (similar to 7-11) to withdraw some money.  Was putting the money in my wallet and walking towards the glass door.  I stopped to let the door open and then proceeded forward head first into it.  My friends outside couldn't stop laughing, some of them ended up on the ground.  The cashier came running around and asked if I was okay.  I sort of waved my hand, mumbled something in Chinese, and rushed out the door to leave the embarrassing situation for my friends laughter.

Oh no, how embarrassing, that is the type of thing that I would do.:P

On a college choir tour, we stayed at a hotel in Austria (don't remember which town) that had a roof-top balcony space.  To get there you went out a second or third-story mostly-glass hinged door, turned right and walked along a narrow path and around the corner where the roof-top space opened up.  A group of us was relaxing on the balcony for a few hours in the evening and people came and went.  By the end of the evening THREE of my friends had walked face first into the glass door trying to go back into the hotel.  The first two people to do it weren't witnessed by anyone because the door was around the corner from the balcony, but the third one was and that is when the first two confessed they had done the same thing.  If you looked closely there were three distinct face prints on the door.  Mind you, no one was drinking to excess... it was apparently just an incredibly clean and forgettable glass door. 

I'm a red panda

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10269 on: September 03, 2015, 10:48:09 AM »
I, completely sober, walked straight into a closed screen door at a friend's house.
The bad part was this was only about 30 minutes after we all laughed at a kid who did the same thing.

The light was just right that the screen disappeared and it looked like an open door.

NYExpat

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10270 on: September 03, 2015, 11:18:54 AM »
I just listened to a lady pick stocks with her broker. "Let's reinvest the dividends to buy Verizon stock. And I like ALCOA, I think they are working with the aluminum car. And what about Hewlett Packard?" On the same conversation she admitted she didn't know a lot about investments. So why are you picking stocks that are mediocre at best? I'm tempted to leave a note on her desk. "Go to mrmoneymustache.com'

cloudsail

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10271 on: September 03, 2015, 11:22:54 AM »
First post on this thread, so now I'll forever be tracking it I guess...

Anyway, I noticed recently a CW of mine sometime goes out of the office after lunch (we get free food at the office) to buy coffee,
even though we have baristas in the office that make free coffee for you on request! (software company with all those nice perks)

But the really horrible discovery came yesterday, when I found out the same CW doesn't contribute anything to the 401K,
despite having a very generous company match (50% match - so up to $9K per year) AND that the default contribution is 10% of salary.
This means he actively went and set his contribution to zero! His reasoning? "I value the present much more than the future". I'm still in shock.
And this CW makes at least $100K/year, not including bonuses and company stock (though he started recently so he won't get those until next year)

This kind of mentality was actually pretty common when I just joined the workforce and I entertained it for a while too (although I did continue to contribute to my 401k).  Most people didn't know there was any way to access the money until you are 60, and when you're in your 20s that seems like a loooooong time away.  It also was partially due to the terrible fund choices that some people were limited to.

nanu

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10272 on: September 03, 2015, 11:41:39 AM »
First post on this thread, so now I'll forever be tracking it I guess...

Anyway, I noticed recently a CW of mine sometime goes out of the office after lunch (we get free food at the office) to buy coffee,
even though we have baristas in the office that make free coffee for you on request! (software company with all those nice perks)

But the really horrible discovery came yesterday, when I found out the same CW doesn't contribute anything to the 401K,
despite having a very generous company match (50% match - so up to $9K per year) AND that the default contribution is 10% of salary.
This means he actively went and set his contribution to zero! His reasoning? "I value the present much more than the future". I'm still in shock.
And this CW makes at least $100K/year, not including bonuses and company stock (though he started recently so he won't get those until next year)

This kind of mentality was actually pretty common when I just joined the workforce and I entertained it for a while too (although I did continue to contribute to my 401k).  Most people didn't know there was any way to access the money until you are 60, and when you're in your 20s that seems like a loooooong time away.  It also was partially due to the terrible fund choices that some people were limited to.
I understand the logic behind his choice, but I still find it ridiculous. And we have a very good selection of low cost funds with Vanguard (who runs our program).
I even pointed out to him that if he contributes the full $18K this year (and gets $9K match from the company) and then withdraws everything next year he will still have more money, despite the 10% penalty, thanks to the generous match we get! He understood and agreed, but said he still won't be doing it... *facepalm*

JLee

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10273 on: September 03, 2015, 11:45:43 AM »
First post on this thread, so now I'll forever be tracking it I guess...

Anyway, I noticed recently a CW of mine sometime goes out of the office after lunch (we get free food at the office) to buy coffee,
even though we have baristas in the office that make free coffee for you on request! (software company with all those nice perks)

But the really horrible discovery came yesterday, when I found out the same CW doesn't contribute anything to the 401K,
despite having a very generous company match (50% match - so up to $9K per year) AND that the default contribution is 10% of salary.
This means he actively went and set his contribution to zero! His reasoning? "I value the present much more than the future". I'm still in shock.
And this CW makes at least $100K/year, not including bonuses and company stock (though he started recently so he won't get those until next year)

This kind of mentality was actually pretty common when I just joined the workforce and I entertained it for a while too (although I did continue to contribute to my 401k).  Most people didn't know there was any way to access the money until you are 60, and when you're in your 20s that seems like a loooooong time away.  It also was partially due to the terrible fund choices that some people were limited to.
I understand the logic behind his choice, but I still find it ridiculous. And we have a very good selection of low cost funds with Vanguard (who runs our program).
I even pointed out to him that if he contributes the full $18K this year (and gets $9K match from the company) and then withdraws everything next year he will still have more money, despite the 10% penalty, thanks to the generous match we get! He understood and agreed, but said he still won't be doing it... *facepalm*
$9k match!?    Shit, I need a new job...

Ghzbani

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10274 on: September 03, 2015, 11:55:50 AM »
First post on this thread, so now I'll forever be tracking it I guess...

Anyway, I noticed recently a CW of mine sometime goes out of the office after lunch (we get free food at the office) to buy coffee,
even though we have baristas in the office that make free coffee for you on request! (software company with all those nice perks)

But the really horrible discovery came yesterday, when I found out the same CW doesn't contribute anything to the 401K,
despite having a very generous company match (50% match - so up to $9K per year) AND that the default contribution is 10% of salary.
This means he actively went and set his contribution to zero! His reasoning? "I value the present much more than the future". I'm still in shock.
And this CW makes at least $100K/year, not including bonuses and company stock (though he started recently so he won't get those until next year)

This kind of mentality was actually pretty common when I just joined the workforce and I entertained it for a while too (although I did continue to contribute to my 401k).  Most people didn't know there was any way to access the money until you are 60, and when you're in your 20s that seems like a loooooong time away.  It also was partially due to the terrible fund choices that some people were limited to.
I understand the logic behind his choice, but I still find it ridiculous. And we have a very good selection of low cost funds with Vanguard (who runs our program).
I even pointed out to him that if he contributes the full $18K this year (and gets $9K match from the company) and then withdraws everything next year he will still have more money, despite the 10% penalty, thanks to the generous match we get! He understood and agreed, but said he still won't be doing it... *facepalm*
$9k match!?    Shit, I need a new job...

lol, I was thinking the same thing.

JLee

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10275 on: September 03, 2015, 11:59:40 AM »
First post on this thread, so now I'll forever be tracking it I guess...

Anyway, I noticed recently a CW of mine sometime goes out of the office after lunch (we get free food at the office) to buy coffee,
even though we have baristas in the office that make free coffee for you on request! (software company with all those nice perks)

But the really horrible discovery came yesterday, when I found out the same CW doesn't contribute anything to the 401K,
despite having a very generous company match (50% match - so up to $9K per year) AND that the default contribution is 10% of salary.
This means he actively went and set his contribution to zero! His reasoning? "I value the present much more than the future". I'm still in shock.
And this CW makes at least $100K/year, not including bonuses and company stock (though he started recently so he won't get those until next year)

This kind of mentality was actually pretty common when I just joined the workforce and I entertained it for a while too (although I did continue to contribute to my 401k).  Most people didn't know there was any way to access the money until you are 60, and when you're in your 20s that seems like a loooooong time away.  It also was partially due to the terrible fund choices that some people were limited to.
I understand the logic behind his choice, but I still find it ridiculous. And we have a very good selection of low cost funds with Vanguard (who runs our program).
I even pointed out to him that if he contributes the full $18K this year (and gets $9K match from the company) and then withdraws everything next year he will still have more money, despite the 10% penalty, thanks to the generous match we get! He understood and agreed, but said he still won't be doing it... *facepalm*
$9k match!?    Shit, I need a new job...

lol, I was thinking the same thing.
Mine caps at $1,832.70. :(

I'm a red panda

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10276 on: September 03, 2015, 12:02:15 PM »

$9k match!?    Shit, I need a new job...

We don't get a match at all, but my company puts in 13%.

So most of the people I work (we don't have many low level staff in this office... in fact, except 1 admin, I think I might be the lowest...) with are getting more than $9k, and I bet almost none of them supplement the required 2% we have to put in.  (I got called to make sure it wasn't a typo when I wanted to put in 15% in addition to the 2% required.)

JLee

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10277 on: September 03, 2015, 12:04:41 PM »

$9k match!?    Shit, I need a new job...

We don't get a match at all, but my company puts in 13%.

So most of the people I work (we don't have many low level staff in this office... in fact, except 1 admin, I think I might be the lowest...) with are getting more than $9k, and I bet almost none of them supplement the required 2% we have to put in.  (I got called to make sure it wasn't a typo when I wanted to put in 15% in addition to the 2% required.)

Wow. That's crazy - I need to find a company like that!  We get 50% of our contribution (up to 6%), so effectively 3% of income.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10278 on: September 03, 2015, 12:11:15 PM »

Wow. That's crazy - I need to find a company like that!  We get 50% of our contribution (up to 6%), so effectively 3% of income.

It seems semi-standard in the educational assessment industry.
The first company I worked for was 11% (though I think they may be down to 7% or 9% now as cuts have happened), the second was 10%, and this one even better.

(Although this company has ridiculous insurance premiums and less coverage... so the other two might actually have worked out better in overall compensation assuming a similar salary. But when they tried to sell me on the assume retirement plan, I pointed that out to negotiate a few thousand more in salary.)

Giro

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10279 on: September 03, 2015, 12:58:55 PM »
Defensive driving certainly helps avoid accidents!!!

Motorcyclists are usually the best defensive drivers.  My husband is a GREAT driver.  I am a HORRIBLE driver.  I've been in many more accidents, even tho most were ruled not my fault.  They weren't no-fault accidents because the other driver was ticketed and ruled to be at-fault.  If I were a better defensive driver, I probably could have avoided most of them.

Things I don't do but should....
Slow the eff down
Give lots of space when stopping behind someone
Don't take routes that are jam-packed and don't drive them during peak hours (my husband is awesome at this)
Don't take off like a bat out of hell when the light turns green.  Sometimes people run red lights.  Look for those people.
Always watch the cars behind you (motorcyclist rule of thumb)

To be no-fault, means no one is at fault.  The accidents being described are not no-fault accidents.  They are just the other driver's fault.

This thread is like when people talk about their children.  Everyone's child is very well behaved with above-average intelligence.  Every driver here is an above-average driver. 

:)



I'm a red panda

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10280 on: September 03, 2015, 01:06:49 PM »
Every driver here is an above-average driver. 

I don't think I'm an above average driver. In fact, I'm rather tenative. I will say I am a SAFE driver. I will take the long way to avoid difficult left turns; I try to avoid driving at night, and I will never  get to the left lane in heavy traffic because I find it difficult to merge to the right to exit. I have also never successfully parallel parked in 17 years despite doing it perfectly on my driving test. But I've also never needed to.

However, despite being tenative, I have never been at-fault in an accident, nor have I ever been issued any sort of moving violation ticket.  I don't speed. I don't run stop signs or red lights. I don't hit pedestrians or bikers. I don't drive in the left lane without passing. I don't speed up to hurry through yellow lights. I certainly don't text while driving! If that makes me above-average, okay, I'll take the title.

Chris22

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10281 on: September 03, 2015, 01:56:42 PM »
Every driver here is an above-average driver. 

I don't think I'm an above average driver. In fact, I'm rather tenative. I will say I am a SAFE driver. I will take the long way to avoid difficult left turns; I try to avoid driving at night, and I will never  get to the left lane in heavy traffic because I find it difficult to merge to the right to exit. I have also never successfully parallel parked in 17 years despite doing it perfectly on my driving test. But I've also never needed to.

However, despite being tenative, I have never been at-fault in an accident, nor have I ever been issued any sort of moving violation ticket.  I don't speed. I don't run stop signs or red lights. I don't hit pedestrians or bikers. I don't drive in the left lane without passing. I don't speed up to hurry through yellow lights. I certainly don't text while driving! If that makes me above-average, okay, I'll take the title.

Not that you necessarily are, but I find overly timid drivers at least as annoying, if not more so, than aggressive ones.  For instance, if you don't speed, around here you're a 55mph rock in a 75mph stream everyone has to get around, and that causes more issues than it solves. 

I'm a red panda

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10282 on: September 03, 2015, 02:12:00 PM »

Not that you necessarily are, but I find overly timid drivers at least as annoying, if not more so, than aggressive ones.  For instance, if you don't speed, around here you're a 55mph rock in a 75mph stream everyone has to get around, and that causes more issues than it solves.

I wouldn't say overly timid (I've driven in Chicago, Houston, and NYC and survived), but I am tenative.

I stay in the right lane. We don't have 55 mph speed limits on highways here unless it is a construction zone. It's 70. I find that to be more than enough. It isn't necessary to go 80, if you want to, get in the left lane.  And you can be annoyed all you want, but I'm following the law.

I also don't think a single snowflake is cause to go 40. Although when the road is completely covered and not plowed, the speed limit signs no longer apply. Those are maximums for NORMAL driving conditions.

« Last Edit: September 03, 2015, 02:32:15 PM by iowajes »

RunHappy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10283 on: September 03, 2015, 02:26:57 PM »
Every driver here is an above-average driver. 

I don't think I'm an above average driver. In fact, I'm rather tenative. I will say I am a SAFE driver. I will take the long way to avoid difficult left turns; I try to avoid driving at night, and I will never  get to the left lane in heavy traffic because I find it difficult to merge to the right to exit. I have also never successfully parallel parked in 17 years despite doing it perfectly on my driving test. But I've also never needed to.

However, despite being tenative, I have never been at-fault in an accident, nor have I ever been issued any sort of moving violation ticket.  I don't speed. I don't run stop signs or red lights. I don't hit pedestrians or bikers. I don't drive in the left lane without passing. I don't speed up to hurry through yellow lights. I certainly don't text while driving! If that makes me above-average, okay, I'll take the title.

Not that you necessarily are, but I find overly timid drivers at least as annoying, if not more so, than aggressive ones.  For instance, if you don't speed, around here you're a 55mph rock in a 75mph stream everyone has to get around, and that causes more issues than it solves.

So because all the other drivers are speeding, us "timid drivers" should too?

I know I go slow, I stick to the speed limit even when everyone is zooming around me.   But I'm not going to get a speeding ticket or burn through gas.


Chris22

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10284 on: September 03, 2015, 02:38:20 PM »
Every driver here is an above-average driver. 

I don't think I'm an above average driver. In fact, I'm rather tenative. I will say I am a SAFE driver. I will take the long way to avoid difficult left turns; I try to avoid driving at night, and I will never  get to the left lane in heavy traffic because I find it difficult to merge to the right to exit. I have also never successfully parallel parked in 17 years despite doing it perfectly on my driving test. But I've also never needed to.

However, despite being tenative, I have never been at-fault in an accident, nor have I ever been issued any sort of moving violation ticket.  I don't speed. I don't run stop signs or red lights. I don't hit pedestrians or bikers. I don't drive in the left lane without passing. I don't speed up to hurry through yellow lights. I certainly don't text while driving! If that makes me above-average, okay, I'll take the title.

Not that you necessarily are, but I find overly timid drivers at least as annoying, if not more so, than aggressive ones.  For instance, if you don't speed, around here you're a 55mph rock in a 75mph stream everyone has to get around, and that causes more issues than it solves.

So because all the other drivers are speeding, us "timid drivers" should too?

I know I go slow, I stick to the speed limit even when everyone is zooming around me.   But I'm not going to get a speeding ticket or burn through gas.

Yes.  It's safer for everyone.

RWD

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10285 on: September 03, 2015, 02:41:54 PM »
Every driver here is an above-average driver. 

I don't think I'm an above average driver. In fact, I'm rather tenative. I will say I am a SAFE driver. I will take the long way to avoid difficult left turns; I try to avoid driving at night, and I will never  get to the left lane in heavy traffic because I find it difficult to merge to the right to exit. I have also never successfully parallel parked in 17 years despite doing it perfectly on my driving test. But I've also never needed to.

However, despite being tenative, I have never been at-fault in an accident, nor have I ever been issued any sort of moving violation ticket.  I don't speed. I don't run stop signs or red lights. I don't hit pedestrians or bikers. I don't drive in the left lane without passing. I don't speed up to hurry through yellow lights. I certainly don't text while driving! If that makes me above-average, okay, I'll take the title.

Not that you necessarily are, but I find overly timid drivers at least as annoying, if not more so, than aggressive ones.  For instance, if you don't speed, around here you're a 55mph rock in a 75mph stream everyone has to get around, and that causes more issues than it solves.

So because all the other drivers are speeding, us "timid drivers" should too?

I know I go slow, I stick to the speed limit even when everyone is zooming around me.   But I'm not going to get a speeding ticket or burn through gas.

Yes.  It's safer for everyone.

I agree, but the real problem here is usually speed limits that are not set to the 85% percentile.

mtn

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10286 on: September 03, 2015, 02:43:44 PM »
I can't find the study right now, but I'm pretty sure it was from Michigan government or one of their university's. Apparently speed limits have nearly 0 impact on the speed people drive. They raised the speed limit on one stretch of road and lowered it on another. Speeds on both didn't really change.

KittyCat

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10287 on: September 03, 2015, 04:52:57 PM »
I can't find the study right now, but I'm pretty sure it was from Michigan government or one of their university's. Apparently speed limits have nearly 0 impact on the speed people drive. They raised the speed limit on one stretch of road and lowered it on another. Speeds on both didn't really change.
I can sort of attest to that for my own driving. I drive sort of slowly on some stretches of road. Rather, I accelerate slowly depending on the conditions/road, but I'll go as fast as I comfortably can on a given road despite the speed limit (I rarely go more than 7mph above the limit though). I drive in a way that maintains a decent fuel economy; my gas Civic is averaging 41.7mpg for this current tank of gas, and 38-39mpg throughout its life.

ducky19

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10288 on: September 03, 2015, 06:50:49 PM »
Holy shit folks, are we still on this!?! This used to be my favorite thread on this site. I stayed away for a couple of days to see if things would hopefully get back on topic - apparently not. Thanks for ruining a perfectly good thread.

swick

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10289 on: September 03, 2015, 07:59:32 PM »
MOD NOTE: Please try and keep to the Original topic of "Overheard at Work" If you feel the need to delve deeply into another topic, create a separate thread. Thanks.

Lyngi

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10290 on: September 03, 2015, 09:09:31 PM »
My coworker's house has been in foreclosure for many, many years--no mortgage payment, no rent payment.   In the last few weeks CW has spoken of buying a truck (well used), but it has broken down and needs to be fixed.  They needed it to pull their camper.  They bought a 4-wheeler (used).  CW's spouse wrecked said 4 wheeler and messed up his shoulder badly.    Today, I heard that the 4 wheeler had bald tires--cause of the wreck.  Spouse is going to be out of work for a while,  he had been working a lot of overtime so they would be able to afford the rent on their new place. 

skunkfunk

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10291 on: September 04, 2015, 08:42:20 AM »
Holy shit folks, are we still on this!?! This used to be my favorite thread on this site. I stayed away for a couple of days to see if things would hopefully get back on topic - apparently not. Thanks for ruining a perfectly good thread.

Calm down, this isn't half as bad as that damned black (or was it orange?) box.

bb11

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10292 on: September 04, 2015, 09:27:39 AM »
At a new job and I just had my first contribution to the 401k plan. I wanted to add the account to Mint to track it so I needed to know which brokerage the account was held at. No one knew! I asked 6 co-workers including my boss, and got various responses from "I only check it once a year" to "No idea". One coworker didn't even know what I was talking about. Finally I just went through all the documentation myself to figure it out. Unbelievable.

lsaurus

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10293 on: September 04, 2015, 09:48:29 AM »
I do group fitness classes during lunch at my on-site work gym.  I was jumping around before class started.

CW: Aw, the energy of youth
Me: I get a little antsy trapped in my cubicle all day; I need to get my wiggles out.
CW: Better get used to it. You have 40 more years in the cubicle

Luckily class started before I could respond with WTF! I am 33 years old, there is no way I’m going to be trapped in cubicle jail until I am 73.

northernlights

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10294 on: September 04, 2015, 10:00:27 AM »
I was telling a notoriously spendypants coworker about a gorgeous lake house that's for sale and how I wished I'd didn't feel the need to be responsible with money so I could buy it. She said I should cut my retirement contributions to afford it.

mtn

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10295 on: September 04, 2015, 10:03:42 AM »
I was telling a notoriously spendypants coworker about a gorgeous lake house that's for sale and how I wished I'd didn't feel the need to be responsible with money so I could buy it. She said I should cut my retirement contributions to afford it.

Well, depending on how you look at it it could be retirement savings....

Probably not a good way to look at it. But enablers, they enable!

MgoSam

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10296 on: September 04, 2015, 10:05:07 AM »
I was telling a notoriously spendypants coworker about a gorgeous lake house that's for sale and how I wished I'd didn't feel the need to be responsible with money so I could buy it. She said I should cut my retirement contributions to afford it.

I will say that living near a lake (not lakeside but has a good view of it) is pretty sweet and though I don't know how much I would be willing to pay for proximity to a lake, it is something I plan to look for if I ever need to buy another house or move.

druth

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10297 on: September 04, 2015, 11:11:33 AM »
I do group fitness classes during lunch at my on-site work gym.  I was jumping around before class started.

CW: Aw, the energy of youth
Me: I get a little antsy trapped in my cubicle all day; I need to get my wiggles out.
CW: Better get used to it. You have 40 more years in the cubicle

Luckily class started before I could respond with WTF! I am 33 years old, there is no way I’m going to be trapped in cubicle jail until I am 73.

You could take it as a compliment that they clearly must think you are in your early 20s?

Sofa King

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10298 on: September 04, 2015, 01:11:38 PM »
MOD NOTE: Please try and keep to the Original topic of "Overheard at Work" If you feel the need to delve deeply into another topic, create a separate thread. Thanks.


Thank you for this. So many great threads are hijacked by other topics that have nothing to do with what the thread is about. 

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #10299 on: September 04, 2015, 01:28:39 PM »
More like overheard while running, but still:

A former coach works with someone who has a disability.  When this former coach couldn't handle this other person's money to help him out, it meant trouble because this guy spends everything that he makes immediately on shoes.  Even though my former coach tries to educate him on saving some money for food, some money for a tatoo that he complains that he can't get, he just doesn't have financial literacy.  At least this guy has no concept of going into debt to fund this habit...  At least he is having fun with each pair of shoes that he purchases...