Author Topic: Overheard at Work  (Read 13253324 times)

Imma

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18150 on: August 02, 2017, 03:11:59 AM »
I paid for my 17 year old to have driving lessons and he's passed his test, but reckons it's a redundant skill because by the time he needs a car, they will all be self-driving. We'll see, I guess.

In the long run I think your son is right, but I think his timeline is off by 15-30 years before it gets affordable.
If you look at the history of EVs/Hybrids, it took them about 30 years to get to consumers.  There were military vehicles with these capabilities in the 80's.  DARPA has been doing it's self driving vehicle challenges for 10 years or so now?  So it's probably 20 years away to get to consumers and another 5-10 before they're widespread.  Who knows though, but it's the best comparison I could come up with.

And yes, there were EVs and Hybrid, and even self driving vehicles before the 80s, just more experimental than successful.

Well, the self driving cars are already here--check out Tesla's autopilot. I'm thinking that in about 2-5 years, we'll see them in more cars--I'd expect BMW and Ford to have them out very soon. And in another 5-10 years after that, it will become mainstream for a new car. So that is 7-15 years before it is mainstream for a new car. Add in to that that the average age of a car on the road in the US is about 12 years, you can make the assumption that in 19-27 years, the self driving vehicles will become the majority.

Just a guess obviously. From an enthusiast standpoint, I'm not so crazy about it, but from "other" standpoints, I'm a huge fan--commuting, the elderly, the sick/disabled, etc.

I'm not buying another car until I can get a self driving one in the UK. 

I've got a Skoda Octavia Diesel with 74k miles, should easily do 200k with maintenance. 

UK gov is banning new sales of petrol and diesel cars from 2040 but don't think it will last until then.

I think that's going to happen in a few years. If you're buying a new petrol / diesel car right now, you should be prepared to drive it until it breaks down beyond repair and not rely on the car keeping its value in the future.

With the growing amount of affordable electric cars available, the growing amount of people that have solar panels their roof (especially in new developments it's basiscally standard nowadays) and the growing availability of public charging stations, electric cars are going to be so common in a few years that the value of used petrol and diesel cars is going to plummet. At that point, banks and lease companies will probably stop funding loans and lease contracts for petrol and diesel cars which means the sales of new petrol and diesel cars are going to plummet too, which in turn will probably scare the cash buyer into buying electric too. I see this happening within 5-10 years from now. I think by 2030 new petrol and diesel cars will be a thing of the past, there'll simply not be any market for them anymore.

marty998

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18151 on: August 02, 2017, 05:59:39 AM »
Speaking of co-workers and cars, my coworker mentioned to me he is looking for a new car, as his current car has almost 20000km on it "cause that's about the time where you can trade and break even, almost like renting a car for two years, give it back with what you've paid off "

I ask him the type of car and it turns out its the exact same make/model as current car he just wants this one in a different colour. This new car will be the third car of this model but he wants this one in this colour as its limited edition and the last of its kind to be made in Australia before they start getting made off shore. He has had his current car for 16 months and the one before that was owned for about a year.

But the crazier thing is that because this is a limited edition special car he wont be able to drive it that much as he wants it kept in great condition, so he will need to buy another every day car. Bringing his total to three cars, plus the car his wife has.

And then he started talking about how he will need to build/buy a house with a bigger garage to fit the four cars.

Hope he enjoys the new Commodore.

I am sure he will, he has liked his last 4 commodores

Oh my god 4x Green slips, 4x regos, 4x insurances...

I'm in pain just thinking about that.

MidwestnRich

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18152 on: August 02, 2017, 06:30:37 AM »
Overheard at Work:

"They say you should be saving at least 15% for retirement, but I want to have fun now when I'm young! Not when I'm old and can't do anything."

RWD

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18153 on: August 02, 2017, 06:55:53 AM »
Overheard at Work:

"They say you should be saving at least 15% for retirement, but I want to have fun now when I'm young! Not when I'm old and can't do anything."

Wow... I hear this mentality a lot. But at only 15% savings you're not really saving to have "fun" when you're old. You're saving just enough so that you can buy food and keep a roof over your head. You'd think that would take priority over fun now...

cheapass

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18154 on: August 02, 2017, 07:52:29 AM »
Overheard at Work:

"They say you should be saving at least 15% for retirement, but I want to have fun now when I'm young! Not when I'm old and can't do anything."

Wow... I hear this mentality a lot. But at only 15% savings you're not really saving to have "fun" when you're old. You're saving just enough so that you can buy food and keep a roof over your head. You'd think that would take priority over fun now...

Well everyone knows that it's impossible to have any fun on only 85% of your salary, whether you make $30K or $100K. You have to spend at least 100%, maybe more, for fun to occur.
« Last Edit: August 02, 2017, 09:43:43 AM by cheapass »

LennStar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18155 on: August 02, 2017, 10:39:00 AM »
Overheard at Work:

"They say you should be saving at least 15% for retirement, but I want to have fun now when I'm young! Not when I'm old and can't do anything."

Wow... I hear this mentality a lot. But at only 15% savings you're not really saving to have "fun" when you're old. You're saving just enough so that you can buy food and keep a roof over your head. You'd think that would take priority over fun now...

Well everyone knows that it's impossible to have any fun on only 85% of your salary, whether you make $30K or $100K. You have to spend at least 100%, maybe more, for fun to occur.
To have fun, you need to take a credit. It is impossible to have fun without the nerve tingling of the worries of never being able to pay it back!

BDWW

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18156 on: August 02, 2017, 11:01:50 AM »
Overheard at Work:

"They say you should be saving at least 15% for retirement, but I want to have fun now when I'm young! Not when I'm old and can't do anything."

Wow... I hear this mentality a lot. But at only 15% savings you're not really saving to have "fun" when you're old. You're saving just enough so that you can buy food and keep a roof over your head. You'd think that would take priority over fun now...

If you actually save 15% from say 25 or even 30 until traditional retirement age 65, that should provide you with much more than a bare bones* retirement. The trouble is most people don't even save 15% or even 10%.

*Some basic numbers
$50000 salary at 15% for 40 years at 6%** return ~ 1.1 million. Add in social security and that should definitely replace your pre-retirement income. 
**Conservative, but discounts inflation, and likely your income probably increases at a least a portion of inflation.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18157 on: August 02, 2017, 12:15:47 PM »
Overheard at Work:

"They say you should be saving at least 15% for retirement, but I want to have fun now when I'm young! Not when I'm old and can't do anything."

Wow... I hear this mentality a lot. But at only 15% savings you're not really saving to have "fun" when you're old. You're saving just enough so that you can buy food and keep a roof over your head. You'd think that would take priority over fun now...

If you actually save 15% from say 25 or even 30 until traditional retirement age 65, that should provide you with much more than a bare bones* retirement. The trouble is most people don't even save 15% or even 10%.

*Some basic numbers
$50000 salary at 15% for 40 years at 6%** return ~ 1.1 million. Add in social security and that should definitely replace your pre-retirement income. 
**Conservative, but discounts inflation, and likely your income probably increases at a least a portion of inflation.

I mean, how did people think 15% became a rule of thumb in the first place?  It's not pulled out of thin air

gooki

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18158 on: August 03, 2017, 02:57:10 AM »
10% is the rule of thumb because Monica on Friends said so.

nnls

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18159 on: August 03, 2017, 03:05:27 AM »
Speaking of co-workers and cars, my coworker mentioned to me he is looking for a new car, as his current car has almost 20000km on it "cause that's about the time where you can trade and break even, almost like renting a car for two years, give it back with what you've paid off "

I ask him the type of car and it turns out its the exact same make/model as current car he just wants this one in a different colour. This new car will be the third car of this model but he wants this one in this colour as its limited edition and the last of its kind to be made in Australia before they start getting made off shore. He has had his current car for 16 months and the one before that was owned for about a year.

But the crazier thing is that because this is a limited edition special car he wont be able to drive it that much as he wants it kept in great condition, so he will need to buy another every day car. Bringing his total to three cars, plus the car his wife has.

And then he started talking about how he will need to build/buy a house with a bigger garage to fit the four cars.

Hope he enjoys the new Commodore.

I am sure he will, he has liked his last 4 commodores

Oh my god 4x Green slips, 4x regos, 4x insurances...

I'm in pain just thinking about that.

he only has a maximum of three cars at any one time, plus his missus car. so I suppose that is 4, but i feel like maybe one of them isnt street legal anyway, its for the drags, or maybe that's an additional car?

hudsoncat

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18160 on: August 03, 2017, 10:45:02 AM »
This story is kind of an eye roll followed by a positive end... a now former co-worker just took a sweet new gig where he gets a company vehicle that he is allowed to use as a personal vehicle. As in, it's considered part of the compensation package. He can take it on vacation if he'd like. I mentioned to him that my husband has something similar (can't take it on vacation, but does get to drive it home and is allowed to use it for local errands) and it works out great for us as it allows us to only have one car. Former co-worker looks at me like I'm crazy and says, "but I like my truck! I have to keep it...." and so on. Note that work vehicle is also a truck. That is brand new and nicer then his personal truck. And will be replaced every 5 years. All maintenance & fuel covered by the company. I shrugged and moved on thinking, "hell, we might figure out how to be a no car family if Mr. Hudsoncat had that kind of work vehicle!"

The fun part of the story is this: Current co-worker was part of the conversation. Turns out the convo made wheels start turning for her. Her husband has a similar situation as mine, but it never occurred to them to look at how much they actually use the second vehicle. They did the math and figured out his car was worth more than they owe on it (At worst should break even, might even come out a little ahead with the right buyer!) and they hardly ever drive it. So they are now looking to sell it, be a one car (+ work vehicle family) and have plans on how to invest the money from the former car payment + insurance.

Uturn

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18161 on: August 03, 2017, 12:46:14 PM »
I'm amazed that I have been able to out earn my stupidity.   Many years ago I had a job that came with a company car with unlimited personal use, even gas was company paid.  It was a nice looking, comfortable Buick sedan.  But, being young and dumb, I wanted a shiny new 4x4.  You know, for those harsh Dallas winters and non-paved roads.  Part of the criteria that I used to justify the purchase (actually a lease) was just think of the resale value of a low mileage truck!  All the miles are going on the company car!

icbatbh

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18162 on: August 04, 2017, 05:17:20 AM »

The payments are easier to budget for than the emergency fund for big issues. The idea of "just keep putting the car payment into a maintenance fund" doesn't happen for most people. Good in theory. Doesn't happen in practice for most.

Ironically, that is how I justify 3 cars though. If one goes down, I can take my time to fix it on my own.

Before I found MMM I used to lease my car. I stopped doing this just under 18 months ago, bought a used car outright, and as per the advice of Dave Ramsey I put the same amount of money aside each month. This sinking fund has paid for the servicing, maintenance, insurance and road fund licence on both of our cars. I am now getting to the stage where there is more money in there than I will need for the year, so will transfer a chunk of it to my investment account soon. Oh, and I have an emergency fund that could cover the cost of a used car as well :)

It's good advice if people are willing to use it!

Rowellen

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18163 on: August 04, 2017, 06:43:46 AM »
Coworker purchased a new skirt for work. It's a corporate style so unlikely to be worn elsewhere. She paid for it using afterpay.  But then she is anything but mustachian so not surprising.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18164 on: August 04, 2017, 09:42:18 AM »
Coworker purchased a new skirt for work. It's a corporate style so unlikely to be worn elsewhere. She paid for it using afterpay.  But then she is anything but mustachian so not surprising.
What is Afterpay? I'm not familiar with the term.

What is a corporate skirt?

Paul der Krake

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18165 on: August 04, 2017, 10:28:11 AM »
Coworker purchased a new skirt for work. It's a corporate style so unlikely to be worn elsewhere. She paid for it using afterpay.  But then she is anything but mustachian so not surprising.
What is Afterpay? I'm not familiar with the term.

What is a corporate skirt?
Depends on the corporation.

ketchup

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18166 on: August 04, 2017, 10:33:58 AM »
Coworker purchased a new skirt for work. It's a corporate style so unlikely to be worn elsewhere. She paid for it using afterpay.  But then she is anything but mustachian so not surprising.
What is Afterpay? I'm not familiar with the term.

What is a corporate skirt?
Sounds like a white-collar crime.

shelivesthedream

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18167 on: August 04, 2017, 10:37:31 AM »
Coworker purchased a new skirt for work. It's a corporate style so unlikely to be worn elsewhere. She paid for it using afterpay.  But then she is anything but mustachian so not surprising.
What is Afterpay? I'm not familiar with the term.

I googled it. You buy something and pay later in four equal instalments. It seems heavily geared towards women buying clothes. Their front page has a link to their commitment to supporting responsible spending. LOLOLOLOLOL.

Roe

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18168 on: August 04, 2017, 12:05:13 PM »
Coworker purchased a new skirt for work. It's a corporate style so unlikely to be worn elsewhere. She paid for it using afterpay.  But then she is anything but mustachian so not surprising.
What is Afterpay? I'm not familiar with the term.

I googled it. You buy something and pay later in four equal instalments. It seems heavily geared towards women buying clothes. Their front page has a link to their commitment to supporting responsible spending. LOLOLOLOLOL.

I had to google it aswell, sadly the swedish version of the site was much more responsible. Instead of paying in four instalments, the headline pushed how much safer it is to not give your cc details to unknown websites, and instead give it to the completely reliable Afterpay.

Rowellen

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18169 on: August 04, 2017, 04:05:39 PM »
Coworker purchased a new skirt for work. It's a corporate style so unlikely to be worn elsewhere. She paid for it using afterpay.  But then she is anything but mustachian so not surprising.
What is Afterpay? I'm not familiar with the term.

I googled it. You buy something and pay later in four equal instalments. It seems heavily geared towards women buying clothes. Their front page has a link to their commitment to supporting responsible spending. LOLOLOLOLOL.

Yep that's right. It's kind of like laybuy but you get your stuff straight away. So it's too expensive for her to pay cash upfront even with her full time salary. I'm not sure exactly what she earns but I'd be surprised if it's less than me.

What is a corporate skirt?

I just meant the style/look that's designed for female office workers. Usually part of a suit. Technically you could wear it elsewhere but no-one does because it looks like work clothes.

Sounds like a white-collar crime.

It should be lol.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18170 on: August 04, 2017, 07:57:25 PM »
Coworker purchased a new skirt for work. It's a corporate style so unlikely to be worn elsewhere. She paid for it using afterpay.  But then she is anything but mustachian so not surprising.
What is Afterpay? I'm not familiar with the term.

I googled it. You buy something and pay later in four equal instalments. It seems heavily geared towards women buying clothes. Their front page has a link to their commitment to supporting responsible spending. LOLOLOLOLOL.

My former colleague was really into this. She would make a big deal out of paying something off because "now I can buy something else"!

"It's great when you want to buy something expensive but can't afford it all in one go."

(I didn't tell her that if she can't afford it all in one go, she just can't afford it.)

She ran into a few complications, of course.

Bought a bra through Afterpay. It didn't fit so they told her to return it to a store. The store only issues credits, not refunds, so she ended with no bra and still had to pay Afterpay.

JLee

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18171 on: August 05, 2017, 01:52:07 AM »
You guys have me doing the math now for if I worked til 65 doing absolutely nothing other than maxing tax-advantaged accounts.

...

Over $4mil inflation-adjusted by the time I turn 65.

Damn.

Roe

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18172 on: August 05, 2017, 05:25:01 AM »
Coworker purchased a new skirt for work. It's a corporate style so unlikely to be worn elsewhere. She paid for it using afterpay.  But then she is anything but mustachian so not surprising.
What is Afterpay? I'm not familiar with the term.

I googled it. You buy something and pay later in four equal instalments. It seems heavily geared towards women buying clothes. Their front page has a link to their commitment to supporting responsible spending. LOLOLOLOLOL.

My former colleague was really into this. She would make a big deal out of paying something off because "now I can buy something else"!

"It's great when you want to buy something expensive but can't afford it all in one go."

(I didn't tell her that if she can't afford it all in one go, she just can't afford it.)

She ran into a few complications, of course.

Bought a bra through Afterpay. It didn't fit so they told her to return it to a store. The store only issues credits, not refunds, so she ended with no bra and still had to pay Afterpay.

She couldn't afford a BRA? Someone holding down a job didn't have enough money to buy a bra?

My poor mind. That bra better be one of VS bejeweled ones.

kayvent

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18173 on: August 05, 2017, 07:59:39 AM »
Coworker purchased a new skirt for work. It's a corporate style so unlikely to be worn elsewhere. She paid for it using afterpay.  But then she is anything but mustachian so not surprising.
What is Afterpay? I'm not familiar with the term.

I googled it. You buy something and pay later in four equal instalments. It seems heavily geared towards women buying clothes. Their front page has a link to their commitment to supporting responsible spending. LOLOLOLOLOL.

My former colleague was really into this. She would make a big deal out of paying something off because "now I can buy something else"!

"It's great when you want to buy something expensive but can't afford it all in one go."

(I didn't tell her that if she can't afford it all in one go, she just can't afford it.)

She ran into a few complications, of course.

Bought a bra through Afterpay. It didn't fit so they told her to return it to a store. The store only issues credits, not refunds, so she ended with no bra and still had to pay Afterpay.

She couldn't afford a BRA? Someone holding down a job didn't have enough money to buy a bra?

My poor mind. That bra better be one of VS bejeweled ones.

Generally there's roughly a linear correlation between bra durability and bra price. So one can get 10$-20$ bras often or get 40$-80$ bras less often. My opinion is that either a woman shouldn't wear a bra or should wear a comfortable bra appropriate for their day's activities. The middle ground, which many American women put themselves, where they buy bras that are cheap and too small and don't support their racks, is sadly horrible in every aspect.

I digress. I am going to guess their co-worker brought a variety of cloths on after pay and the bra was one of them. Or perhaps they are so on the trend of doing this that they don't think second of it. After pay isn't much different than buying something on your credit card because the debit account is empty.

nnls

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18174 on: August 05, 2017, 05:04:11 PM »
Coworker purchased a new skirt for work. It's a corporate style so unlikely to be worn elsewhere. She paid for it using afterpay.  But then she is anything but mustachian so not surprising.
What is Afterpay? I'm not familiar with the term.

I googled it. You buy something and pay later in four equal instalments. It seems heavily geared towards women buying clothes. Their front page has a link to their commitment to supporting responsible spending. LOLOLOLOLOL.

My former colleague was really into this. She would make a big deal out of paying something off because "now I can buy something else"!

"It's great when you want to buy something expensive but can't afford it all in one go."

(I didn't tell her that if she can't afford it all in one go, she just can't afford it.)

She ran into a few complications, of course.

Bought a bra through Afterpay. It didn't fit so they told her to return it to a store. The store only issues credits, not refunds, so she ended with no bra and still had to pay Afterpay.

She couldn't afford a BRA? Someone holding down a job didn't have enough money to buy a bra?

My poor mind. That bra better be one of VS bejeweled ones.

Generally there's roughly a linear correlation between bra durability and bra price. So one can get 10$-20$ bras often or get 40$-80$ bras less often. My opinion is that either a woman shouldn't wear a bra or should wear a comfortable bra appropriate for their day's activities. The middle ground, which many American women put themselves, where they buy bras that are cheap and too small and don't support their racks, is sadly horrible in every aspect.

I digress. I am going to guess their co-worker brought a variety of cloths on after pay and the bra was one of them. Or perhaps they are so on the trend of doing this that they don't think second of it. After pay isn't much different than buying something on your credit card because the debit account is empty.
It could also have been a honey birdette (I  may be spelling that wrong) bra, I know they do afterpay as my friends use it, and those bras can cost upwards of $300 just cause they look pretty

aceyou

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18175 on: August 05, 2017, 08:10:46 PM »
Not overheard at work, but sad story overheard at Car Repair Shop.

Background... I went in for a small issue with my wife's Prius.  Woman next to to me, about 30, had small child sleeping on her.  I asked if she wanted water or anything, since she was obviously there a while and couldn't move.  She said she was getting a couple brakes replaced. 

Things get bad for her... Mechanic comes over (runs the shop, super honest and knowledgeable guy) to her with a very worried look on her face and gives her a list of about 10 things that absolutely must be replaced, because it's super dangerous to drive otherwise. Says $1500 to fix the ABSOLUTE must do's. 

Her: But I JUST had so-and-so fix almost all those things for me, I spent $500 on the fixes. 

Him: Let's take a look at the car, I want to show you the things that you said were replaced.  None of them are replaced...they go into the shop together. 

A bit later, they come out and she's super bummed, obviously does not have $1500 to her name.

Then she says to me, "man, and I just bought the car because when I went to a dealership, I thought to myself, yeah, I can afford those monthly payments".

The whole situation made me feel bad.  She seemed like a good person who cared a ton for her child, probably works very hard.  Just has no money sense. Saving would probably be difficult for her anyway, as her income probably isn't anything near the norm on these boards, but it's so much harder when you don't know how money works in the first place. 

She had no idea how to buy a car.  She had no idea she was getting ripped off from her previous "mechanic".  The best I could do was empathize with her and confirm to her that this mechanic is an honest, fair person, and that I'd trust him.  And to wish her the very best. 

I bet each day brings on stress-inducing money based decisions that are complete afterthoughts for me.  It made me appreciate how lucky I am that something like going to a mechanic is in no way a stressful endeavor.

LennStar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18176 on: August 06, 2017, 03:17:34 AM »
I bet each day brings on stress-inducing money based decisions that are complete afterthoughts for me.  It made me appreciate how lucky I am that something like going to a mechanic is in no way a stressful endeavor.
Science has shown that poor people make so many bad decisions - including money - because they have to make to make so many money decisions.
Decision fatigue - you only have a certain amount of "willpower" and if that is used up because you have to think "do I have the money for that" even when just buying toilet paper, then you make bad decisions.

Feivel2000

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18177 on: August 06, 2017, 03:40:53 AM »
I bet each day brings on stress-inducing money based decisions that are complete afterthoughts for me.  It made me appreciate how lucky I am that something like going to a mechanic is in no way a stressful endeavor.
Science has shown that poor people make so many bad decisions - including money - because they have to make to make so many money decisions.
Decision fatigue - you only have a certain amount of "willpower" and if that is used up because you have to think "do I have the money for that" even when just buying toilet paper, then you make bad decisions.
I was always wondering if that decision fatigued was real science or self help guru science. Do you know any sources?

Imma

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18178 on: August 06, 2017, 03:53:22 AM »
I bet each day brings on stress-inducing money based decisions that are complete afterthoughts for me.  It made me appreciate how lucky I am that something like going to a mechanic is in no way a stressful endeavor.
Science has shown that poor people make so many bad decisions - including money - because they have to make to make so many money decisions.
Decision fatigue - you only have a certain amount of "willpower" and if that is used up because you have to think "do I have the money for that" even when just buying toilet paper, then you make bad decisions.

If you've never been poor, it's a feeling you can't relate to. My partner and I both grew up poor and struggled in young adulthood. We are both intelligent and frugal by nature and I had my whole "financial life plan" set out when I was 16 (basically: save up money, buy house, pay off house, retire young) and still we struggled making the right decisions. They were mostly small-scale bad decisions, but bad decisions nonetheless.

I remember being about 20 and working a lot of hours in an awful office job. For lunch, I would almost always eat out because I wanted to get out of that horrible building for a while. Because I only had half an hour, fast food restaurants were the only option. Now, if you buy a large menu, you eat the burger or chicken wings and the fries rightaway, but you can save the 'healthy' sides like salad or corn on the cob for dinner. Your drink is so large you can take it back to work and you don't have to buy something to drink in the afternoon. It almost seems efficient. When you finally get home you eat the leftovers and maybe a sandwich or some instant mac and cheese and you can go to bed.

Of course it would be so much better to prepare lunch and dinner ahead. It really doesn't cost that much time and it's so much healthier and cheaper. I knew that, and sometimes I would try to cook ahead for a few days during the weekend, but I would relapse after a few days. It was so hard to get my eating regime on track. It took years. When you work so hard for so little money and you hate it that much, it just consumes the will to do anything else. I was actually good with coupons and didn't buy anything that I could get for free in the office, so I felt my fast food habit wasn't that bad.

Now we're "rich" - in a situation where we don't have to stress about paying bills and we don't have to work until we cry from exhaustion - it's so much easier. We still make decisions about money (do we put this money in our savings account, in our investment account or do we overpay on the mortgage?) but it's so much easier because the basics are taken care of. The mortgage is paid, the landlord won't kick us out, there's food on the table and money for unexpected bills. When I look back at my young adulthood, the two most defining words are exhaustion and stress.

Roe

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18179 on: August 06, 2017, 04:48:36 AM »
I bet each day brings on stress-inducing money based decisions that are complete afterthoughts for me.  It made me appreciate how lucky I am that something like going to a mechanic is in no way a stressful endeavor.
Science has shown that poor people make so many bad decisions - including money - because they have to make to make so many money decisions.
Decision fatigue - you only have a certain amount of "willpower" and if that is used up because you have to think "do I have the money for that" even when just buying toilet paper, then you make bad decisions.
I was always wondering if that decision fatigued was real science or self help guru science. Do you know any sources?

I saw a talk about that on youtube a while back, I think this might be the study:

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/341/6149/976

In the talk they mentioned being in non-temporary poverty is equal to loosing X amount of IQ points. I don't remember how many, but it was significant. It's not due to bad nutrition etc, but due to the amounts of decision that Lennstar refers to.

Don't remember if it was the same talk, but I also listened to someone describing a test with base pay in the 70s. When people knew they would get enough money to get buy, on average they started making more sensible decisions. Taking time with their kids home work, doctor visits went down etc. It sounded so amazing i decided against checking up if it was true or not. I really want it to be true.


Linea_Norway

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18180 on: August 07, 2017, 05:25:17 AM »
Today I heard a well paid colleague say that another well paid colleague used to own a boat. But when he calculated how much the boat was used, compared to what it costs to have it, he got rid of the boat. He just wasn't able to justify the cost with the relative little use. So even people who earn a shitload of money can get sensible.

marielle

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18181 on: August 07, 2017, 06:15:29 AM »
I guess this counts as overheard at a friend's work.

Friend is a car salesman at a pretty large dealership. The stuff he told me is crazy.

One woman came in with a 2011 Nissan Rogue (I think) with 97k miles that has transmission problems. She wanted to trade it in because of the problems.

She owed $22k on it. On a car worth like $4k. The dealership couldn't get her another car.

People coming in wanting a truck with a large bed and all the works. He asks what they tow and how often. Nothing, never. They just want a big truck. Sticker shock makes them consider a smaller truck...

People coming in with literally 300 credit scores.

Someone putting down $8500 to LEASE a car. She wanted her payments under $160. Wtf?

jinga nation

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18182 on: August 07, 2017, 07:43:47 AM »
I work in a DoD IT environment. 75%+ of my co-workers are prior military (4-22 years service). Everyone on my team makes over $85k, some even have retirement pay plus fully paid healthcare. All of them hated their time in the military, every single one, hear this every happy hour or team lunch. Yet none, zero, want to invest in 529 plans or Florida Prepaid tuition. They say their kids will join the military if they don't get academic/athletic college scholarships. Come raise time, it's time for a fully-loaded truck, RV, timeshare condo, larger house, etc.

WTF would you send your kids down a path that you hated? I can see people joining the military as their parents never had the money, and the service and GI Bill was a viable option. But no one wants to break the cycle. Yes, keep on Bitching, Moaning, Whining about it.

It's not an earning problem, dimwits. It's a spending problem.
I'm keeping calm and stashing away.

Roe

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18183 on: August 07, 2017, 11:15:24 AM »
I work in a DoD IT environment. 75%+ of my co-workers are prior military (4-22 years service). Everyone on my team makes over $85k, some even have retirement pay plus fully paid healthcare. All of them hated their time in the military, every single one, hear this every happy hour or team lunch. Yet none, zero, want to invest in 529 plans or Florida Prepaid tuition. They say their kids will join the military if they don't get academic/athletic college scholarships. Come raise time, it's time for a fully-loaded truck, RV, timeshare condo, larger house, etc.

WTF would you send your kids down a path that you hated? I can see people joining the military as their parents never had the money, and the service and GI Bill was a viable option. But no one wants to break the cycle. Yes, keep on Bitching, Moaning, Whining about it.

It's not an earning problem, dimwits. It's a spending problem.
I'm keeping calm and stashing away.

I see what you did there.

jinga nation

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18184 on: August 07, 2017, 12:09:28 PM »
I work in a DoD IT environment. 75%+ of my co-workers are prior military (4-22 years service). Everyone on my team makes over $85k, some even have retirement pay plus fully paid healthcare. All of them hated their time in the military, every single one, hear this every happy hour or team lunch. Yet none, zero, want to invest in 529 plans or Florida Prepaid tuition. They say their kids will join the military if they don't get academic/athletic college scholarships. Come raise time, it's time for a fully-loaded truck, RV, timeshare condo, larger house, etc.

WTF would you send your kids down a path that you hated? I can see people joining the military as their parents never had the money, and the service and GI Bill was a viable option. But no one wants to break the cycle. Yes, keep on Bitching, Moaning, Whining about it.

It's not an earning problem, dimwits. It's a spending problem.
I'm keeping calm and stashing away.

I see what you did there.
Then there's More Boondoggles by inept management to tech conferences.
Always Uttering Drivel Incessantly.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18185 on: August 07, 2017, 03:59:44 PM »
Today I heard a well paid colleague say that another well paid colleague used to own a boat. But when he calculated how much the boat was used, compared to what it costs to have it, he got rid of the boat. He just wasn't able to justify the cost with the relative little use. So even people who earn a shitload of money can get sensible.
You seem to have lost your way.  Such success stories belong in the anti-antimustachian "overheard at work" thread. :)

Kansaslover5

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18186 on: August 07, 2017, 07:59:36 PM »
I work in a DoD IT environment. 75%+ of my co-workers are prior military (4-22 years service). Everyone on my team makes over $85k, some even have retirement pay plus fully paid healthcare. All of them hated their time in the military, every single one, hear this every happy hour or team lunch. Yet none, zero, want to invest in 529 plans or Florida Prepaid tuition. They say their kids will join the military if they don't get academic/athletic college scholarships. Come raise time, it's time for a fully-loaded truck, RV, timeshare condo, larger house, etc.

WTF would you send your kids down a path that you hated? I can see people joining the military as their parents never had the money, and the service and GI Bill was a viable option. But no one wants to break the cycle. Yes, keep on Bitching, Moaning, Whining about it.

It's not an earning problem, dimwits. It's a spending problem.
I'm keeping calm and stashing away.

Served 21 years and did 6 combat deployments. Completed my degree while on active duty, working full-time and raising a family. Loved every minute of it and you'll never hear me bitch. I have many good friends of whom I can say the same. Please don't let those coworkers color your impression of all vets. Two of my children are in college on academic scholarships already.

theadvicist

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18187 on: August 08, 2017, 05:48:46 AM »

I once asked a family member why they only lease instead of buy. Their answer was that if they planned to purchase a new car every 3 years (or whatever the term of the lease is), leasing is clearly the better option.

Why anyone would buy a new car that often is beyond me.

Actual conversation with a family member:

Me: "How's the new car?" [leased BMW 5 series]
Relative: "Great! And really, when you think about it, leasing is the cheapest way to have a car"
Me: "Well, no, not really"
Relative: "Well, I mean, it depends how you work it out"
Me: "I use maths. How do you work it out?"
Relative: "......."

jinga nation

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18188 on: August 08, 2017, 06:28:37 AM »
I work in a DoD IT environment. 75%+ of my co-workers are prior military (4-22 years service). Everyone on my team makes over $85k, some even have retirement pay plus fully paid healthcare. All of them hated their time in the military, every single one, hear this every happy hour or team lunch. Yet none, zero, want to invest in 529 plans or Florida Prepaid tuition. They say their kids will join the military if they don't get academic/athletic college scholarships. Come raise time, it's time for a fully-loaded truck, RV, timeshare condo, larger house, etc.

WTF would you send your kids down a path that you hated? I can see people joining the military as their parents never had the money, and the service and GI Bill was a viable option. But no one wants to break the cycle. Yes, keep on Bitching, Moaning, Whining about it.

It's not an earning problem, dimwits. It's a spending problem.
I'm keeping calm and stashing away.

Served 21 years and did 6 combat deployments. Completed my degree while on active duty, working full-time and raising a family. Loved every minute of it and you'll never hear me bitch. I have many good friends of whom I can say the same. Please don't let those coworkers color your impression of all vets. Two of my children are in college on academic scholarships already.

I would say you are the exception, not the norm. But I'll go a step further with the compliment and call you a statistical outlier. That's what most of us are, when compared to the general population, that's why we're on this forum. I only know one other like you, one of my previous bosses, a retired AF vet, engineer, budding businessman.

boyerbt

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18189 on: August 08, 2017, 06:36:29 AM »

I once asked a family member why they only lease instead of buy. Their answer was that if they planned to purchase a new car every 3 years (or whatever the term of the lease is), leasing is clearly the better option.

Why anyone would buy a new car that often is beyond me.

Actual conversation with a family member:

Me: "How's the new car?" [leased BMW 5 series]
Relative: "Great! And really, when you think about it, leasing is the cheapest way to have a car"
Me: "Well, no, not really"
Relative: "Well, I mean, it depends how you work it out"
Me: "I use maths. How do you work it out?"
Relative: "......."


That is great! Using: math? logic? common sense? Don't be ridiculous!

MsSnowBlack

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18190 on: August 08, 2017, 07:28:33 AM »
This just happened today. I need to rant.

I'm currently working and living at an offshore financial centre where individual tax is extremely low but cost of living is somewhat high. We had a lunch and learn today where I met 3 people from a different department. We started chatting about island life, travel, vacation and etc. One guy mentioned a former colleague called Bob who quitted the job last year and has been travelling the world since then. He currently stays in India since March become it costs close to nothing to live in that country. Another guy quickly jumped in and added that Bob was able to save $50k during his 2-year contract here. All 3 guys were saying what a miserable life he must be living in and it was impossible to save that much!  I just said sure he can, $50k is definitely doable. They all stared at me as if I'm an alien. One guy said no way, you need to live a life here. Another guy said that life is short, why would you want to save that much after all. And no matter how much you save, you still can't buy a property here or a place in London (where he comes from). The 3rd guy added that sure you can save a lot of money and may get hit by a bus as soon as you move back to London, so why save.

I was speechless. I know saving $50k in 2 years is doable and I can even show them the math but I just kept my mouth shut. According to them, Bob earned $74k per year. Based on my calc, he gets around $66k net, which is $5500 per month. 1bd rent+utility would cost him around $2000 per month. If he had a roommate, it would be even less. Another $500 for home cooked food, $200 for internet and cell. That leaves him $2800. Fun money and etc for another $300. He can save $2500 a month easily which is $60k for 2 years. Bob only saved $50k so the math certainly works out. By the way, I spent less in every category myself.

I earn a bit more than Bob did and my goal is to save $50k a year. I'm on my way to my goal as I was sitting at the lunch table with those guys. Like I said, I kept my mouth shut.
Your co-workers are idiots. Bob was definitely the smarter one. Are you on one of the British channel islands? Perhaps I should have a look at the jo postings for Guernsey or Jersey, two years in a job like that and I would be done in stead of the 5 years left in Belgium ...

Offshore islands are definitely places to go if you want to accelerate FI. I've spent $0 on entertainment and shopping so far cuz there is just nothing to buy. You would feel trapped and that's why lots of people fly out every once a while to breath.  Since I've already had a taste of this life, I want to try something different. Belgium sounds great. Maybe we can swap jobs? LOL

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18191 on: August 08, 2017, 09:10:29 AM »
This just happened today. I need to rant.

I'm currently working and living at an offshore financial centre where individual tax is extremely low but cost of living is somewhat high. We had a lunch and learn today where I met 3 people from a different department. We started chatting about island life, travel, vacation and etc. One guy mentioned a former colleague called Bob who quitted the job last year and has been travelling the world since then. He currently stays in India since March become it costs close to nothing to live in that country. Another guy quickly jumped in and added that Bob was able to save $50k during his 2-year contract here. All 3 guys were saying what a miserable life he must be living in and it was impossible to save that much!  I just said sure he can, $50k is definitely doable. They all stared at me as if I'm an alien. One guy said no way, you need to live a life here. Another guy said that life is short, why would you want to save that much after all. And no matter how much you save, you still can't buy a property here or a place in London (where he comes from). The 3rd guy added that sure you can save a lot of money and may get hit by a bus as soon as you move back to London, so why save.

I was speechless. I know saving $50k in 2 years is doable and I can even show them the math but I just kept my mouth shut. According to them, Bob earned $74k per year. Based on my calc, he gets around $66k net, which is $5500 per month. 1bd rent+utility would cost him around $2000 per month. If he had a roommate, it would be even less. Another $500 for home cooked food, $200 for internet and cell. That leaves him $2800. Fun money and etc for another $300. He can save $2500 a month easily which is $60k for 2 years. Bob only saved $50k so the math certainly works out. By the way, I spent less in every category myself.

I earn a bit more than Bob did and my goal is to save $50k a year. I'm on my way to my goal as I was sitting at the lunch table with those guys. Like I said, I kept my mouth shut.
Your co-workers are idiots. Bob was definitely the smarter one. Are you on one of the British channel islands? Perhaps I should have a look at the jo postings for Guernsey or Jersey, two years in a job like that and I would be done in stead of the 5 years left in Belgium ...

Offshore islands are definitely places to go if you want to accelerate FI. I've spent $0 on entertainment and shopping so far cuz there is just nothing to buy. You would feel trapped and that's why lots of people fly out every once a while to breath.  Since I've already had a taste of this life, I want to try something different. Belgium sounds great. Maybe we can swap jobs? LOL
At a previous job, some foreign assignments could be particularly lucrative--up to a 65% uplift in salary for the duration, plus tax assistance (employer pays the tax on the uplift), plus the company provides housing, transportation, etc for the duration.  IOW, you could be banking >100% of your (normal) salary without too much trouble.  I wanted one of those assignments, but sadly the scheduling didn't work out.

RyanAtTanagra

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18192 on: August 08, 2017, 09:15:55 AM »
IOW, you could be banking >100% of your (normal) salary without too much trouble.

That's a negative time to retirement according to the shockingly simple math!

mtn

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18193 on: August 08, 2017, 09:51:11 AM »
IOW, you could be banking >100% of your (normal) salary without too much trouble.

That's a negative time to retirement according to the shockingly simple math!
(I know what you meant, I’m being pedantic)

Except that you’re not counting the other perks as part of the salary—which is why he said “normal” salary. Meaning you can’t have negative retirement time because it is literally impossible to save 100% of the total income (although not salary) since part of it comes in other perks, such as housing—that cannot be “saved”.

RWD

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18194 on: August 08, 2017, 09:59:57 AM »
IOW, you could be banking >100% of your (normal) salary without too much trouble.

That's a negative time to retirement according to the shockingly simple math!

True, though for that math to be accurate in this scenario you should probably estimate what your expenses would be without employer subsidizing and assign a monetary value as additional income to employer-paid benefits. (I see mtn also already commented on this)

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18195 on: August 08, 2017, 10:01:37 AM »
Not overheard at work, but sad story overheard at Car Repair Shop.

Background... I went in for a small issue with my wife's Prius.  Woman next to to me, about 30, had small child sleeping on her.  I asked if she wanted water or anything, since she was obviously there a while and couldn't move.  She said she was getting a couple brakes replaced. 

Things get bad for her... Mechanic comes over (runs the shop, super honest and knowledgeable guy) to her with a very worried look on her face and gives her a list of about 10 things that absolutely must be replaced, because it's super dangerous to drive otherwise. Says $1500 to fix the ABSOLUTE must do's. 

Her: But I JUST had so-and-so fix almost all those things for me, I spent $500 on the fixes. 

Him: Let's take a look at the car, I want to show you the things that you said were replaced.  None of them are replaced...they go into the shop together. 

A bit later, they come out and she's super bummed, obviously does not have $1500 to her name.

Then she says to me, "man, and I just bought the car because when I went to a dealership, I thought to myself, yeah, I can afford those monthly payments".

The whole situation made me feel bad.  She seemed like a good person who cared a ton for her child, probably works very hard.  Just has no money sense. Saving would probably be difficult for her anyway, as her income probably isn't anything near the norm on these boards, but it's so much harder when you don't know how money works in the first place. 

She had no idea how to buy a car.  She had no idea she was getting ripped off from her previous "mechanic".  The best I could do was empathize with her and confirm to her that this mechanic is an honest, fair person, and that I'd trust him.  And to wish her the very best. 

I bet each day brings on stress-inducing money based decisions that are complete afterthoughts for me.  It made me appreciate how lucky I am that something like going to a mechanic is in no way a stressful endeavor.

This sucks, and reminds me of when I was a teen and my parents were divorcing.  My mom took the car in for service.  Then the mechanic came out and said "I also had to replace your brake pads, they were worn out.  That's an extra $96."  (or whatever).

My  mom, no dummy (and my dad was an auto mechanic) says "I want to see the old brake pads."  They couldn't find them!  Yeah, she didn't pay for the brake pads.

Feivel2000

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18196 on: August 08, 2017, 10:40:06 AM »
IOW, you could be banking >100% of your (normal) salary without too much trouble.

That's a negative time to retirement according to the shockingly simple math!
(I know what you meant, I’m being pedantic)

Except that you’re not counting the other perks as part of the salary—which is why he said “normal” salary. Meaning you can’t have negative retirement time because it is literally impossible to save 100% of the total income (although not salary) since part of it comes in other perks, such as housing—that cannot be “saved”.
(I know what you meant, I’m being pedantic)

The shockingly easy math does not work out here, because it simplifies
Income: I
Savings Rate: s
Retirement Budget: RB=(1-s) * I

So s>1 would lead to a negative retirement budget, and that's obviously a wrong conclusion...

Pedant out.
« Last Edit: August 08, 2017, 02:26:56 PM by Feivel2000 »

RyanAtTanagra

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18197 on: August 08, 2017, 12:00:30 PM »
Haha god I'm never inviting you guys to a party ;-P

mustachemug

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18198 on: August 08, 2017, 01:24:59 PM »
Had a former coworker get fired because she would regularly call into work saying she didn't have money for bus fare to get to work...it's £2 to get the bus. And, she only lived about 2 miles away so she could have easily walked. This happened about once a week. Meanwhile, she booked several international holidays, smokes (both tobacco and weed) every night, lives at the pub, and gave over £2,000 to a political candidate she liked. She told one of our clients in a meeting that someone owed her £5 and if they didn't pay her back she wouldn't be able to eat this week.

Roe

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #18199 on: August 08, 2017, 02:21:29 PM »
Had a former coworker get fired because she would regularly call into work saying she didn't have money for bus fare to get to work...it's £2 to get the bus. And, she only lived about 2 miles away so she could have easily walked. This happened about once a week. Meanwhile, she booked several international holidays, smokes (both tobacco and weed) every night, lives at the pub, and gave over £2,000 to a political candidate she liked. She told one of our clients in a meeting that someone owed her £5 and if they didn't pay her back she wouldn't be able to eat this week.

Bwahaha, thats awesome!


I mean, it saddens me to hear about a young womans financial struggles.