Overheard at Work

[FIT_Goat]

My son calls the other day. He runs several divisions of an oil services and heavy construction company. He tells me he had spent the last week with five smartphones in various pockets, trying to fill in for missing staff.  He was missing a total of four key people due to medical events. Two phones were from the two brothers that own the place, who's elderly parents were dealing with big health issues. One department head was gone getting knees replaced, another left with chest pains. I asked about this guy? Son reports that chest pain guy is 38 YO, smokes a pack and a half+  and drinks a CASE of Mountain Dew A DAY!  I said, "Holy shit, that's not  good, you probably want to keep an eye out for his replacement, sounds like he is working hard on taking a dirt nap". He then tells me that just the soda alone works out to 2.4 pounds of sugar a day.

46 grams of sugar per can x 24 cans = 1104 grams of sugar * 0.00220462 = 2.433903 pounds.... HOLY  CRAP, the math checks out!  For a second, I thought you were joking.  No wonder I gained so much weight in high school.  I was drinking more than a 12 pack a day of Mt. Dew.  So glad I gave it up in college.

Edit: I see I am like the 5th person to personally check those numbers.  LOL.  It just seemed so crazy.  Like how can someone consume half a 5 pound bag of sugar every single day?

[Miss Piggy]

A coworker who just got back from a vacation in Costa Rica is now talking about how expensive new tires are for her SUV. 

CW:  I need new tires, I'm getting scared to drive in the rain.  How am I supposed to afford them on my salary?
Me:  Prioritize
CW:  You're an ass

I assume you took that as a compliment? I would have.

[solon]

A coworker who just got back from a vacation in Costa Rica is now talking about how expensive new tires are for her SUV. 

CW:  I need new tires, I'm getting scared to drive in the rain.  How am I supposed to afford them on my salary?
Me:  Prioritize
CW:  You're an ass

The window motor in my car door broke, so I took it to the shop to get fixed.
My brother said, "It must be nice to have the money to get stuff fixed."
I replied, "It is."
All I got was a dumb look in response.

[gReed Smith]

The window motor in my car door broke, so I took it to the shop to get fixed.
My brother said, "It must be nice to have the money to get stuff fixed."
I replied, "It is."
All I got was a dumb look in response.

I applaud you.  The only response to sulky "it must be nice" comments is, "Yes, it is."

[ysette9]

I spent the last 1.5 days with auditors and during some of the little breaks we chit-chatted about some mundane personal stuff. I learned that one guy lives 1.5-2 hours from work and is thinking about retiring early next year, but is hoping for a buyout offer that would amount to about $40k. I just can't wrap my head around that. This guy has obviously been with the government for a long while so he has a pension coming.

The other guy boasted about his son's new Tesla X that he purchased for $130k and how he made $80 or something betting on some sports game at a casino in Vegas. I asked some question about the bet because I have no idea how this works and he pulled out his ticket. He paid something like $88 for the pleasure of risking losing his money. I just don't get it.

At one point we were talking about managing employees and I made a comment about people who used to report to me who would ask about retirement buyout offers as well. That got me the surprised comment about that since I was "a young woman". Yeah, I've got four years experience managing people under my belt, thanks. I know it was meant kindly but I find it common for people who have spent their whole career in government/aerospace/defense to be surprised when someone makes it into management before age 45.

[kayvent]

My son calls the other day. He runs several divisions of an oil services and heavy construction company. He tells me he had spent the last week with five smartphones in various pockets, trying to fill in for missing staff.  He was missing a total of four key people due to medical events. Two phones were from the two brothers that own the place, who's elderly parents were dealing with big health issues. One department head was gone getting knees replaced, another left with chest pains. I asked about this guy? Son reports that chest pain guy is 38 YO, smokes a pack and a half+  and drinks a CASE of Mountain Dew A DAY!  I said, "Holy shit, that's not  good, you probably want to keep an eye out for his replacement, sounds like he is working hard on taking a dirt nap". He then tells me that just the soda alone works out to 2.4 pounds of sugar a day.

46 grams of sugar per can x 24 cans = 1104 grams of sugar * 0.00220462 = 2.433903 pounds.... HOLY  CRAP, the math checks out!  For a second, I thought you were joking.  No wonder I gained so much weight in high school.  I was drinking more than a 12 pack a day of Mt. Dew.  So glad I gave it up in college.

Edit: I see I am like the 5th person to personally check those numbers.  LOL.  It just seemed so crazy.  Like how can someone consume half a 5 pound bag of sugar every single day?

Yeah....the only thing more surprisingly than those numbers is that we all know someone who consumes that much each day.

There was talk about the Nanny state above. Food nutrition is one of the few aspects of the Canadian nanny state I actively appreciate. Another is CPP.

In Canada it is mandatory to put nutrition labels and ingredient lists on products. For the first two decades of my life, I didn't look at them. Now I consult them with fervour. There are bizarre land mines that are only detectable by consulting those labels. Fairly regularly I'll see two almost identical products (ex. cheese perogies) by different companies have drastically different levels of salt but everything else identical. Or there will be some products not even worth considering buying at the store but perfectly reasonably and fun to make at home (ex. chicken nuggets)

Tying this back in, I always knew that soda wasn't healthy and had lots of sugar. I have a can of it every few months. Because I knew it wasn't healthy, I never bothered looking at the nutrition label until last month. Almost fell off the chair when I saw there was 40 grams of sugars in the can.

[Sydneystache]

A coworker who just got back from a vacation in Costa Rica is now talking about how expensive new tires are for her SUV. 

CW:  I need new tires, I'm getting scared to drive in the rain.  How am I supposed to afford them on my salary?
Me:  Prioritize
CW:  You're an ass

The window motor in my car door broke, so I took it to the shop to get fixed.
My brother said, "It must be nice to have the money to get stuff fixed."
I replied, "It is."
All I got was a dumb look in response.

No brainer I'd have thought. You own a car you have to maintain it. What else have they been spending their car maintenance money on?

[Sibley]

I spent the last 1.5 days with auditors and during some of the little breaks we chit-chatted about some mundane personal stuff. I learned that one guy lives 1.5-2 hours from work and is thinking about retiring early next year, but is hoping for a buyout offer that would amount to about $40k. I just can't wrap my head around that. This guy has obviously been with the government for a long while so he has a pension coming.

...

Re the house location. Depending on the type of auditing and office practice, auditors may not actually be in the office more than a few days a month, and it makes much more sense to locate to accommodate airports, transit, highways, etc.

[BTDretire]

I am not going to argue bike culture, but the point is spending thousands of dollars on a once in a while hobby, and she was guilted into it. I can see it more if it is your main transportation or for work. There has to be a middle ground to get an old bike for cheap and fix it up.

A used quality hybrid or similar bike could probably be had for $100-$200.  A heck of a lot cheaper than a few grand and will outlast a Walmart bike.  Even brand new, those bikes retail for ~ $400 - $500.  I ride something similar on a daily basis.

I want to brag on my $30 yard sale buy, a 1996 Trek model 820. I spent another $35 on a mirror, big seat and spring post to help protect my bad back. Love it.

[gReed Smith]

In Canada it is mandatory to put nutrition labels and ingredient lists on products. For the first two decades of my life, I didn't look at them. Now I consult them with fervour. There are bizarre land mines that are only detectable by consulting those labels. Fairly regularly I'll see two almost identical products (ex. cheese perogies) by different companies have drastically different levels of salt but everything else identical. Or there will be some products not even worth considering buying at the store but perfectly reasonably and fun to make at home (ex. chicken nuggets)

We have nutrition labels and ingredient lists in 'Merica too.  Ain't nobody look at them; and ain't nobody buy perogies 'cept from Mrs. T's or Hunky-church ladies.

[marielle]

In Canada it is mandatory to put nutrition labels and ingredient lists on products. For the first two decades of my life, I didn't look at them. Now I consult them with fervour. There are bizarre land mines that are only detectable by consulting those labels. Fairly regularly I'll see two almost identical products (ex. cheese perogies) by different companies have drastically different levels of salt but everything else identical. Or there will be some products not even worth considering buying at the store but perfectly reasonably and fun to make at home (ex. chicken nuggets)

We have nutrition labels and ingredient lists in 'Merica too.  Ain't nobody look at them; and ain't nobody buy perogies 'cept from Mrs. T's or Hunky-church ladies.

I visited Vancouver a couple weeks ago and I was SO upset at the number of perogies available everywhere. I even found some "Ukrainian Style" ones (where I'm from!) that were $1.49 CAD for an entire box when on sale. THAT'S SO CHEAP!

[ysette9]

Re the house location. Depending on the type of auditing and office practice, auditors may not actually be in the office more than a few days a month, and it makes much more sense to locate to accommodate airports, transit, highways, etc.

That is true, but this location is far from work and far from airports and urban centers. I should have clarified: the second guy wasn't an auditor but a gov employee supporting the audit. He works at the same location as I do.

[paddedhat]

In Canada it is mandatory to put nutrition labels and ingredient lists on products. For the first two decades of my life, I didn't look at them. Now I consult them with fervour. There are bizarre land mines that are only detectable by consulting those labels. Fairly regularly I'll see two almost identical products (ex. cheese perogies) by different companies have drastically different levels of salt but everything else identical. Or there will be some products not even worth considering buying at the store but perfectly reasonably and fun to make at home (ex. chicken nuggets)

We have nutrition labels and ingredient lists in 'Merica too.  Ain't nobody look at them; and ain't nobody buy perogies 'cept from Mrs. T's or Hunky-church ladies.

I smiled at that. I'm sure that many haven't a clue about what you are referring to, but  growing up near a huge steel mill town, I sure do. In the "bad" part of the city, there were many eastern euro churches where the little old ladies cranked out some serious perogies. It got to the point where one of the churches  went out and bought a couple of station wagons just to deliver the things. When it came to Perogie sales, they didn't play around. Memories, yum................

[Alf91]

CW: I can't wait til payday, I'm so broke.
CW (few hours later): Gonna go get take out for lunch!

[TheGrimSqueaker]

We had a soccer team at work, and there were a lot of younger guys on the team.  They were all standing around admiring one of the guys car that he just purchased (or I assumed leased).  The car was an Mercedes AMG convertible (I'll admit it is a beautiful machine)

Me:  Nice car when did you get it.
Him:  Last week, the ladies love it.
Me:  Oh, yeah, they'd probably be more impressed if you weren't still living with your parents.

the rest of the guys thought that was hilarious, but seriously, you are making good money, living at home, why not use that money to build some wealth.  I try talking to the young guys about this, but they don't seem to care.

Where does he expect to be able to bring a lady if he catches one? Does he plan to just fuck her in the back seat of the Mercedes convertible? Because I don't believe there is one.

[Abo345]

my coworkers monthly expenses on stupid shit:
$100 month for a guy to mow the lawn
$300+ month cable bill
$300 month HOA
$315+ month food expenses while at work (eating breakfast and lunch at work, $15 per day at 21 work days per month, could be higher for all I know)
$50-60 month for his and wife new phone installment plans (had to get new phones so they could use FaceTime literally one time when the wife went away for a weekend)

So like $1100 month extra in useless stuff..nbd

And this is only the stuff that has come up in conversation. Im sure there is more.

[TaraB]

We had a soccer team at work, and there were a lot of younger guys on the team.  They were all standing around admiring one of the guys car that he just purchased (or I assumed leased).  The car was an Mercedes AMG convertible (I'll admit it is a beautiful machine)

Me:  Nice car when did you get it.
Him:  Last week, the ladies love it.
Me:  Oh, yeah, they'd probably be more impressed if you weren't still living with your parents.

the rest of the guys thought that was hilarious, but seriously, you are making good money, living at home, why not use that money to build some wealth.  I try talking to the young guys about this, but they don't seem to care.

Where does he expect to be able to bring a lady if he catches one? Does he plan to just fuck her in the back seat of the Mercedes convertible? Because I don't believe there is one.

Gotta trade up to a bigger Mercedes!

[Linea_Norway]

One of my young, female colleagues said in the lunch break that she sometimes finds clothes in her cupboard that are several years old and never worn. Sometimes she buys the same cloth twice, because she forgot she already had it.

The 2 male young colleagues at the same table said they were wearing t-shirts that they had had for years. One said his t-shirt was originally blue. It was now very grey, but still looking OK. I am myself also wearing a 10+ year old t-shirt today.

The female colleague is driving a BMW fancy kind of model. Now she is dreaming of a Tesla.
Dream on, girl!

[Debts_of_Despair]

Not overheard but more of an observation: Our parking lot has a half dozen or so leased BMW 3-series.  All of them bought leased soley for impressing co-workers.  No *ucks given by me as I rolled in past them on my bike.

[Reynold]

my coworkers monthly expenses on stupid shit:
$300 month HOA

To be fair, in some places, buying a condo or townhouse with a $300/month HOA fee can be cheaper than buying a house without a HOA fee because the additional property taxes on the same square footage house will be more than $300/month, even ignoring the higher purchase price of the house.  I would be surprised if the people you mention thought that way though. :)

A couple of years ago, my workplace offered a "higher tier" health insurance plan that cost the employee something like $800/month, versus the "lower tier" one that was more like $100/month for the employee.  The higher tier one had slightly better coverage of out-of-network stuff, but since they had similar caps on total out of pocket coverage before they covered 100%, I couldn't construct any possible scenario under which the higher tier one saved you money.  It got dropped, and the VP of my area, which is highly technical, was complaining that he couldn't get it any more.  I asked if he had ever crunched any numbers on it, and the answer was no, he just "wanted the best coverage".  While he could afford it, it only took me about 15 minutes of playing with hypotheticals to figure out the higher tier insurance was a bad buy, that is pretty good $/hour. . .

[ingrownstudentloans]

It got dropped, and the VP of my area, which is highly technical, was complaining that he couldn't get it any more.  I asked if he had ever crunched any numbers on it, and the answer was no, he just "wanted the best coverage".

I don't see the problem here - if it's more expensive, it has to be better coverage.  Good thing your family didn't get sick.  You must not love your kids if you are willing to risk their health for $700/mo.
/s

[gReed Smith]

my coworkers monthly expenses on stupid shit:
$100 month for a guy to mow the lawn
$300+ month cable bill
$300 month HOA
$315+ month food expenses while at work (eating breakfast and lunch at work, $15 per day at 21 work days per month, could be higher for all I know)
$50-60 month for his and wife new phone installment plans (had to get new phones so they could use FaceTime literally one time when the wife went away for a weekend)

So like $1100 month extra in useless stuff..nbd

And this is only the stuff that has come up in conversation. Im sure there is more.

The HOA fee doesn't impress me much without knowing what services it covers.  But, I guarantee he spends more than $315 on eating out if he buys breakfast and lunch.  Also, I can't even imagine how to get a cable bill over $300!

[Linea_Norway]

Not overheard but more of an observation: Our parking lot has a half dozen or so leased BMW 3-series.  All of them bought leased soley for impressing co-workers.  No *ucks given by me as I rolled in past them on my bike.

At my work there are a LOT of Tesla's in the parking lot most of these are owned by people with a pretty high income.

Even one of the guys who cycles almost every day owns a Tesla.

[Vindicated]

It got dropped, and the VP of my area, which is highly technical, was complaining that he couldn't get it any more.  I asked if he had ever crunched any numbers on it, and the answer was no, he just "wanted the best coverage".

I don't see the problem here - if it's more expensive, it has to be better coverage.  Good thing your family didn't get sick.  You must not love your kids if you are willing to risk their health for $700/mo.
/s

This is a weird argument.

Do you pay for a home security system?  If not, you must not love your kids if you're risking your safety for $50/mo.

Do you have a full-time bodyguard for your kids?  If not, you must not love your kids if you're not hiring professionals to follow them around for $5k/mo

----

The obvious take away is that Reynold has insurance, which DOES protect his family's health.  Should he be critical of a coworker paying for the higher priced stuff?  It depends on the financial details of the person.  If they can afford the $700/mo and it offers benefits that make it a good deal for them, then no problem.  If they're just buying an extra $700/mo of coverage for no benefit, then yes, it's foolish.

[ketchup]

It got dropped, and the VP of my area, which is highly technical, was complaining that he couldn't get it any more.  I asked if he had ever crunched any numbers on it, and the answer was no, he just "wanted the best coverage".

I don't see the problem here - if it's more expensive, it has to be better coverage.  Good thing your family didn't get sick.  You must not love your kids if you are willing to risk their health for $700/mo.
/s

This is a weird argument.

Do you pay for a home security system?  If not, you must not love your kids if you're risking your safety for $50/mo.

Do you have a full-time bodyguard for your kids?  If not, you must not love your kids if you're not hiring professionals to follow them around for $5k/mo

----

The obvious take away is that Reynold has insurance, which DOES protect his family's health.  Should he be critical of a coworker paying for the higher priced stuff?  It depends on the financial details of the person.  If they can afford the $700/mo and it offers benefits that make it a good deal for them, then no problem.  If they're just buying an extra $700/mo of coverage for no benefit, then yes, it's foolish.

I think you missed the /s switch.

[solon]

It got dropped, and the VP of my area, which is highly technical, was complaining that he couldn't get it any more.  I asked if he had ever crunched any numbers on it, and the answer was no, he just "wanted the best coverage".

I don't see the problem here - if it's more expensive, it has to be better coverage.  Good thing your family didn't get sick.  You must not love your kids if you are willing to risk their health for $700/mo.
/s

This is a weird argument.

Do you pay for a home security system?  If not, you must not love your kids if you're risking your safety for $50/mo.

Do you have a full-time bodyguard for your kids?  If not, you must not love your kids if you're not hiring professionals to follow them around for $5k/mo

----

The obvious take away is that Reynold has insurance, which DOES protect his family's health.  Should he be critical of a coworker paying for the higher priced stuff?  It depends on the financial details of the person.  If they can afford the $700/mo and it offers benefits that make it a good deal for them, then no problem.  If they're just buying an extra $700/mo of coverage for no benefit, then yes, it's foolish.

I think you missed the /s switch.

It's always fun when people take sarcasm seriously.

[Vindicated]

Glad it was sarcasm.  I've never seen it shown as "/s".  Alert level lowered to yellow :-P

[LennStar]

One of my young, female colleagues said in the lunch break that she sometimes finds clothes in her cupboard that are several years old and never worn. Sometimes she buys the same cloth twice, because she forgot she already had it.

The 2 male young colleagues at the same table said they were wearing t-shirts that they had had for years. One said his t-shirt was originally blue. It was now very grey, but still looking OK. I am myself also wearing a 10+ year old t-shirt today.

The female colleague is driving a BMW fancy kind of model. Now she is dreaming of a Tesla.
Dream on, girl!

I have a few pullover that may be 20 years old by now. They are really presentable, but as long as I don't need to impress someone they are still doing their job - warm and comfy.
Of course T-Shirts die earlier, they are thinner, and nearly always at the ellbow anyway. 5 years for a cheapo. 

[BDWW]

One of my young, female colleagues said in the lunch break that she sometimes finds clothes in her cupboard that are several years old and never worn. Sometimes she buys the same cloth twice, because she forgot she already had it.

The 2 male young colleagues at the same table said they were wearing t-shirts that they had had for years. One said his t-shirt was originally blue. It was now very grey, but still looking OK. I am myself also wearing a 10+ year old t-shirt today.

The female colleague is driving a BMW fancy kind of model. Now she is dreaming of a Tesla.
Dream on, girl!

I have a few pullover that may be 20 years old by now. They are really presentable, but as long as I don't need to impress someone they are still doing their job - warm and comfy.
Of course T-Shirts die earlier, they are thinner, and nearly always at the ellbow anyway. 5 years for a cheapo.

Your t-shirts have elbows?

[dragoncar]

It's always fun when people take sarcasm seriously.

I think you forgot  the /s switch.

...

Just kidding, I hate that bullshit

[dragoncar]

Not overheard but more of an observation: Our parking lot has a half dozen or so leased BMW 3-series.  All of them bought leased soley for impressing co-workers.  No *ucks given by me as I rolled in past them on my bike.

At my work there are a LOT of Tesla's in the parking lot most of these are owned by people with a pretty high income.

Even one of the guys who cycles almost every day owns a Tesla.

I don't think people buy Teslas solely to impress other people, though.  They look pretty meh from the outside and cost way more than much cooler looking cars

[Debts_of_Despair]

Not overheard but more of an observation: Our parking lot has a half dozen or so leased BMW 3-series.  All of them bought leased soley for impressing co-workers.  No *ucks given by me as I rolled in past them on my bike.

At my work there are a LOT of Tesla's in the parking lot most of these are owned by people with a pretty high income.

Even one of the guys who cycles almost every day owns a Tesla.

I would give a Tesla driver more credit than these people.  They bought these cars for one thing: the BMW badge.  Yes, I get that there are some BMW drivers who actually appreciate the car for what it is but these people are not them.  A 3-series with low end engine and auto tranny is strictly for posers trying to impress others.

[Linea_Norway]

Not overheard but more of an observation: Our parking lot has a half dozen or so leased BMW 3-series.  All of them bought leased soley for impressing co-workers.  No *ucks given by me as I rolled in past them on my bike.

At my work there are a LOT of Tesla's in the parking lot most of these are owned by people with a pretty high income.

Even one of the guys who cycles almost every day owns a Tesla.

I would give a Tesla driver more credit than these people.  They bought these cars for one thing: the BMW badge.  Yes, I get that there are some BMW drivers who actually appreciate the car for what it is but these people are not them.  A 3-series with low end engine and auto tranny is strictly for posers trying to impress others.

I do agree on that Teslas are also smart cars in the sense of being electrical and having the longest distance support for electric cars.

[RyanAtTanagra]

They bought these cars for one thing: the BMW badge.  Yes, I get that there are some BMW drivers who actually appreciate the car for what it is but these people are not them.  A 3-series with low end engine and auto tranny is strictly for posers trying to impress others.

I consider BMWs to be the biggest 'keeping up with the jones'' car there is.  They all look the same, the only difference is the 3-digit number on the back, which signifies how much you spent on the car.  Buy the BMW with the biggest number you can afford, to show how far you've made it.

[MgoSam]

Not overheard but more of an observation: Our parking lot has a half dozen or so leased BMW 3-series.  All of them bought leased soley for impressing co-workers.  No *ucks given by me as I rolled in past them on my bike.

At my work there are a LOT of Tesla's in the parking lot most of these are owned by people with a pretty high income.

Even one of the guys who cycles almost every day owns a Tesla.

I would give a Tesla driver more credit than these people.  They bought these cars for one thing: the BMW badge.  Yes, I get that there are some BMW drivers who actually appreciate the car for what it is but these people are not them.  A 3-series with low end engine and auto tranny is strictly for posers trying to impress others.

You know that's why I don't really care about the car I drive. I drive a Camry and love it because it gets me from A to B without much hassle, good mileage/safety, and it is reliable. I could easily go out and buy a luxury sedan but I don't because

a. Cost
b. Maintenance costs
c. I don't F@#$ing care about what brand something is. Now I might be more popular if I was driving a flashy car, but I hardly know anything about cars or engines. I would only be buying a premium brand off its reputation and name-recognition. I have greater uses for my money.

[BDWW]

Not overheard but more of an observation: Our parking lot has a half dozen or so leased BMW 3-series.  All of them bought leased soley for impressing co-workers.  No *ucks given by me as I rolled in past them on my bike.

At my work there are a LOT of Tesla's in the parking lot most of these are owned by people with a pretty high income.

Even one of the guys who cycles almost every day owns a Tesla.

I would give a Tesla driver more credit than these people.  They bought these cars for one thing: the BMW badge.  Yes, I get that there are some BMW drivers who actually appreciate the car for what it is but these people are not them.  A 3-series with low end engine and auto tranny is strictly for posers trying to impress others.

You know that's why I don't really care about the car I drive. I drive a Camry.

FTFY, the rest was redundant :)

[lemanfan]

I consider BMWs to be the biggest 'keeping up with the jones'' car there is.  They all look the same, the only difference is the 3-digit number on the back, which signifies how much you spent on the car.  Buy the BMW with the biggest number you can afford, to show how far you've made it.

OK, I must admit that I've driven my share of Benzes (not Bimmers), but the first thing I always did was to remove the numbers on the trunk - partly for the clean look, and partly to not try to show off.

And yes, all of these Benzes have been old, cheap and fairly reliable.  :) 

[cheapass]

Buy the BMW with the biggest number you can afford, to show how far you've made it.

Well you don't want your friends and neighbors to think you're poor, do you? Better make yourself poor to make sure they don't think you are!

[Chris22]

Not overheard but more of an observation: Our parking lot has a half dozen or so leased BMW 3-series.  All of them bought leased soley for impressing co-workers.  No *ucks given by me as I rolled in past them on my bike.

At my work there are a LOT of Tesla's in the parking lot most of these are owned by people with a pretty high income.

Even one of the guys who cycles almost every day owns a Tesla.

I would give a Tesla driver more credit than these people.  They bought these cars for one thing: the BMW badge.  Yes, I get that there are some BMW drivers who actually appreciate the car for what it is but these people are not them.  A 3-series with low end engine and auto tranny is strictly for posers trying to impress others.

Tesla owners are showing off image at least as much as BMW owners just in different ways; Tesla owners are either virtue signaling (environment, etc) or are driving the most conspicuous trendy "startup gadget" there is. 

Don't get me wrong, they're cool cars and I'd love to have one, but you're silly if you think a Tesla Model S isn't the BMW 5-series status symbol of the modern day.  It completely is. 

[ysette9]

I live in Tesla central (used to run past the headquarters in the morning when I worked in the other office, the factory is on the other side of the bridge from me). From what I can tell, Teslas are purchased by people who would otherwise be buying Lamborghinis, Porsche sedans, or Mazeratis. That is a different price point than a big BMW. Personally if that is what you are doing anyway, the Tesla makes a heck of a lot more sense. These are also the people in $5-15M homes, so people with different financial considerations than me, to say the least.

[Chris22]

I live in Tesla central (used to run past the headquarters in the morning when I worked in the other office, the factory is on the other side of the bridge from me). From what I can tell, Teslas are purchased by people who would otherwise be buying Lamborghinis, Porsche sedans, or Mazeratis. That is a different price point than a big BMW. Personally if that is what you are doing anyway, the Tesla makes a heck of a lot more sense. These are also the people in $5-15M homes, so people with different financial considerations than me, to say the least.

Here in Chicagoland Teslas are pretty thick on the ground, and these people can't all be multi-millionaires with the resources to buy $200k exotics.  I think there are a number of people who can afford more who buy a Tesla instead, but the core Tesla ownership around here is definitely people coming from $50-75k sedans, BMW 5-series and Mercedes E-class territory. 

[Debts_of_Despair]

Not overheard but more of an observation: Our parking lot has a half dozen or so leased BMW 3-series.  All of them bought leased soley for impressing co-workers.  No *ucks given by me as I rolled in past them on my bike.

At my work there are a LOT of Tesla's in the parking lot most of these are owned by people with a pretty high income.

Even one of the guys who cycles almost every day owns a Tesla.

I would give a Tesla driver more credit than these people.  They bought these cars for one thing: the BMW badge.  Yes, I get that there are some BMW drivers who actually appreciate the car for what it is but these people are not them.  A 3-series with low end engine and auto tranny is strictly for posers trying to impress others.

You know that's why I don't really care about the car I drive. I drive a Camry and love it because it gets me from A to B without much hassle, good mileage/safety, and it is reliable. I could easily go out and buy a luxury sedan but I don't because

a. Cost
b. Maintenance costs
c. I don't F@#$ing care about what brand something is. Now I might be more popular if I was driving a flashy car, but I hardly know anything about cars or engines. I would only be buying a premium brand off its reputation and name-recognition. I have greater uses for my money.

Best part is a modern Camry is a superior car in many respects.

[BTDretire]

Best part is a modern Camry is a superior car in many respects.

I agree, we had a Camry for many years, biggest problem I had were door handles breaking, inside and outside. I never bought a replacement though, the inside ones I drilled, installed a pin and epoxied, the outside I able to install two flathead screws to fix them. Oh and the motorized antenna, I just extended it and disconnected the motor.

[aGracefulStomp]

A new graduate corporate lawyer: "I was aiming to save a bunch with my new income, but the work is so stressful that I'm going to go on a nice overseas holiday instead."

I wanted to respond with "well why not get a less stressful job which is probably lower paying but you'll end up in the exact same financial position and probably be a happier healthier person??"

bit my tongue though...

[Linea_Norway]

Not overheard but more of an observation: Our parking lot has a half dozen or so leased BMW 3-series.  All of them bought leased soley for impressing co-workers.  No *ucks given by me as I rolled in past them on my bike.

At my work there are a LOT of Tesla's in the parking lot most of these are owned by people with a pretty high income.

Even one of the guys who cycles almost every day owns a Tesla.

I would give a Tesla driver more credit than these people.  They bought these cars for one thing: the BMW badge.  Yes, I get that there are some BMW drivers who actually appreciate the car for what it is but these people are not them.  A 3-series with low end engine and auto tranny is strictly for posers trying to impress others.

I do agree on that Teslas are also smart cars in the sense of being electrical and having the longest distance support for electric cars.

I should add that here in Norway electrical cars are heavily sponsored by the government. You don't pay taxes like on other cars. Other cars are taxed for motor size and number of PKs. Therefore sports cars are generally very expensive in this country.
Teslas cost about 50% of what a comparably fast non-electric sports car would cost. Still, the fancy Teslas typically cost a year of my brutto salary. When you want to drive a sports car in Norway, a Tesla is quite a bargain.

[cheapass]

A new graduate corporate lawyer: "I was aiming to save a bunch with my new income, but the work is so stressful that I'm going to go on a nice overseas holiday instead."

I wanted to respond with "well why not get a less stressful job which is probably lower paying but you'll end up in the exact same financial position and probably be a happier healthier person??"

bit my tongue though...

"work is so stressful so I'm going to spend all my money and chain myself to my desk instead of investing it and getting out earlier"

[cheapass]

I should add that here in Norway electrical cars are heavily sponsored by the government.

aka, your neighbors are all subsidizing your decision to own one. Not sure how I'd feel about that..

[remizidae]

Today I mentioned to my coworkers that I'm looking for a new apartment.

Coworker 1 says I should try a certain apartment complex, because it's "the cheapest [he] saw around here;" $1700 or $1800 for a one-bedroom. (Note: that's about $500 more than the cheapest I've seen.]

Another coworker advises me to move to his faraway suburb. There, according to him, I can have more square feet and pay $100 a month less! Sounds good...except I would have to trade my 20-minute walking commute for an hour (one way) of car commuting in "terrible" traffic.

Coworker 3, who chose to live in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in our area, complains that she's worried the landlord is going to double her rent. She already "can't put away anything because the rent is too high." No, she's not planning to move. It's okay, because she's young.

On another topic, coworker 4 mentions she can't afford to shop at Whole Foods all the time, but somebody she wants to. "Then I'll feel like a real grown-up!"

The outing ended with plans to go to a nearby bar. Coworker 5 says the beer is cheap, but it's "definitely not accessible" to transit, so "let's meet at Whole Foods and take an Uber."

I know this place. It's 1.2 miles from our workplace. 0.9 miles from a transit station, oh and the beer is $6.

I kept my mouth shut, feeling I should be grateful for any housing advice, even bad advice. But it seems like all of these people are just living in a different world than I am.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYAuR5bkIlQ

[bombaystinson]

I legit create an account for the urge to share that one from work.

Tangerine (or ING direct if it's still their name in your area) have the promotion that you get 50$ and the person that you refer have 50$ too.

No need to transfer all your assets, no need to do anything else than opening an account. No fees to open one, no fees to maintain one.

Was talking to a coworker about that. Her answer? "Ah jeez, not another one... I don't want to be stuck with another account... 200$ okay it would worth it but not 50$"

...Student who struggles to pay her rent.

[shelivesthedream]

coworker actually said this today "I'm 63 and starting to worry about retirement."  He makes around $130k/yr, it's not a stretch to believe that his inflation adjusted salary has been in that range for decades.

One of my key drivers to force me to look into financial independence/personal finance was a conversation I had with my mom. She was slightly younger than 63, but said the same thing about being worried about retirement. It amazes me...

One of the perhaps understressed boons of mustachian/frugality. I'm not all that close to FI, but by my math, I could stop contributing entirely and still retire comfortably at 65.
Maybe there should be a slogan: Just try it for a few years, and then you can give up go back to your spendypants ways, and you'll still retire well. (Assuming they can keep their hands out of the cookie jar.)

A great point, one I've been thinking about a lot regarding saving now and then maybe going part time in the future.

Some basic examples:

Save $100,000 by 30, stop saving altogether, by 65 it's worth $1,150,615.
Even save $100,000 by 40, stop saving, by 65 it's worth $572,541.

Both amounts would ease a lot of minds regarding retirement I'd bet!

Numbers like this were a huge sell on Mustachianism for me. Even if the SHTF, as long as I can keep my hands off it I've basically got standard retirement covered already. Nothing luxurious, but I could never save another penny between now (26) and 65 and live a perfectly fine life forever (assuming the state kicked in for any major health issues which, being in the UK, odds on it will). I figured I'd try Mustachianism for a few years on the basis that I could always spend money I had already saved but couldn't save money I had already spent.