Overheard at Work

[horsepoor]

I called them and asked why on earth they would do such and thing and to put it back. Also, never touch my credit limit without asking me ever again :)

Good luck with that.  I kept having to do that when I was starting to get out of debt.  I tried lowering my CC limits as I paid them down, but 3 months later they would do some automatic increase again.  I gave up after a couple tries.  Plus the reps I talked to never seemed to understand what I was asking 'you want to increase your limit?'  'no, decrease'  'yes, i will put in a request to have in increased' 'no, damnit'  Wasn't worth it.

I can only remember having my credit line increased once.  Like Kris, I called and had it lowered.  I was in grad school and they raised it to something around the amount of my annual stipend!  I have excellent credit and have not gotten any automatic increases on any of my several cards, so maybe they just aren't doing them without specific requests much anymore?  I also thought it was insane when I was making like $40K and had just bought my first house as a single person, then got pre-approved to buy a $32K vehicle with no down payment (and if I wanted a more expensive car, well just call).  That was circa 2004, but still.

[caliq]

I called them and asked why on earth they would do such and thing and to put it back. Also, never touch my credit limit without asking me ever again :)

Good luck with that.  I kept having to do that when I was starting to get out of debt.  I tried lowering my CC limits as I paid them down, but 3 months later they would do some automatic increase again.  I gave up after a couple tries.  Plus the reps I talked to never seemed to understand what I was asking 'you want to increase your limit?'  'no, decrease'  'yes, i will put in a request to have in increased' 'no, damnit'  Wasn't worth it.

I can only remember having my credit line increased once.  Like Kris, I called and had it lowered.  I was in grad school and they raised it to something around the amount of my annual stipend!  I have excellent credit and have not gotten any automatic increases on any of my several cards, so maybe they just aren't doing them without specific requests much anymore?  I also thought it was insane when I was making like $40K and had just bought my first house as a single person, then got pre-approved to buy a $32K vehicle with no down payment (and if I wanted a more expensive car, well just call).  That was circa 2004, but still.

They still do it randomly -- DH and I just had a joint card raised from 6K to 8K less than two months after we opened the card...it's still on the 0% interest/18 months promo for goodness sake, I *know* we're not making them any money!!

[johnny847]

I called them and asked why on earth they would do such and thing and to put it back. Also, never touch my credit limit without asking me ever again :)

Good luck with that.  I kept having to do that when I was starting to get out of debt.  I tried lowering my CC limits as I paid them down, but 3 months later they would do some automatic increase again.  I gave up after a couple tries.  Plus the reps I talked to never seemed to understand what I was asking 'you want to increase your limit?'  'no, decrease'  'yes, i will put in a request to have in increased' 'no, damnit'  Wasn't worth it.

I can only remember having my credit line increased once.  Like Kris, I called and had it lowered.  I was in grad school and they raised it to something around the amount of my annual stipend!  I have excellent credit and have not gotten any automatic increases on any of my several cards, so maybe they just aren't doing them without specific requests much anymore?  I also thought it was insane when I was making like $40K and had just bought my first house as a single person, then got pre-approved to buy a $32K vehicle with no down payment (and if I wanted a more expensive car, well just call).  That was circa 2004, but still.

They still do it randomly -- DH and I just had a joint card raised from 6K to 8K less than two months after we opened the card...it's still on the 0% interest/18 months promo for goodness sake, I *know* we're not making them any money!!

People seriously need to understand - every time you make a transaction, you are making the credit card company money. They collect a fee from the merchant for the transaction.
Yes, obviously, credit cards make a lot of money from interest payments. But anybody who consistently pays in full is still a profit maker for the company (well okay, maybe there's an exception for credit card churners. But I don't think that's the case, because if credit card churners were seriously costing CC companies money, they would all just allow only one bonus per lifetime to eliminate churning. Which Amex admittedly does. But that's even funnier because Amex charges the highest transaction fees of all payment networks).

[benjenn]

It wouldn't bother me to have my credit limit increased on my card (I've got one card now with a $35,000 limit).  I pay them off every month and never even think about reaching the limit.  Having a higher limit isn't going to entice me to add more to them.  It's a non-issue.

[solon]

They still do it randomly -- DH and I just had a joint card raised from 6K to 8K less than two months after we opened the card...it's still on the 0% interest/18 months promo for goodness sake, I *know* we're not making them any money!!

If you're using the card, you *are* making them money. They get a cut of every transaction, so the more they can talk you into using the card, the more they make. Even if you pay in full every month and don't pay any interest or fees.

[caliq]

They still do it randomly -- DH and I just had a joint card raised from 6K to 8K less than two months after we opened the card...it's still on the 0% interest/18 months promo for goodness sake, I *know* we're not making them any money!!

If you're using the card, you *are* making them money. They get a cut of every transaction, so the more they can talk you into using the card, the more they make. Even if you pay in full every month and don't pay any interest or fees.

That is true -- I forgot about the transaction fees they charge merchants.  I stand corrected :)

[Paul der Krake]

They still do it randomly -- DH and I just had a joint card raised from 6K to 8K less than two months after we opened the card...it's still on the 0% interest/18 months promo for goodness sake, I *know* we're not making them any money!!

If you're using the card, you *are* making them money. They get a cut of every transaction, so the more they can talk you into using the card, the more they make. Even if you pay in full every month and don't pay any interest or fees.

That is true -- I forgot about the transaction fees they charge merchants.  I stand corrected :)

This is why I call them at least once a week to chat about the weather and waste their reps' time. Fight the system!

[frugalnacho]

I've had my credit limit raised randomly tons of times.  Doesn't bother me since i'm not a consumer sucka and only buy what I have cash for, so my "limit" is meaningless to me.  I've never had a situation where I was even close to my limit, and it gets paid off the following month so it's no big deal.

[Raste]

I've had my cc limit raised only one time. I was going to make a large purchase on my cc to get the points so I had my limit raised. I had the cash in the bank for an immediate pay off. I've never had a company just raise mine without asking. I haven't called to have it lowered back. Heck, I use my cc so infrequently now I don't even know what the limit is.

[mydogismyheart]

I just heard one from my sales partner at work:

"I think I'm just going to start eating out to lunch every day, so much easier than trying to make a lunch all the time"

OMG... I am super lazy too, but at least I can grab a can of soup for less than $1 or maybe a lean cuisine if they're on sale (today I had a healthy choice on sale for $1.88)!!!  She just paid $10 for lunch for 1 day and now she thinks she should do that every day because it's "easier"...

I don't get it...

[FrugalNerd]

I have never understood those who get upset by the automatic credit limit increases. As others have said, my credit limit has no bearing on how much I spend. I am curious to hear the reasons of those who called to get their limits lowered again. Is it because of the impact to your credit score? Or maybe just the principle of a change being made to your account without you consent?

[Zikoris]

I'm always surprised how much my coworkers struggle to figure out "lunch". As in, they would like to bring lunch from home, but have no idea what to make, how to grocery shop with meals in mind, or how to plan even a few days ahead. Or they make things they dislike, then complain about it - why would you even cook things you hate? Argh.

I'm even more surprised when the people are in their 40s and 50s. Uh, you've been working for 20-30 years - why have you not figured this shit out by now? It's so simple. Ghaa.

[Shivan]

From my company's "bulletin board": Redesign your dining area for a fraction of the cost!



Big surprise, he's worked at the company for over 30 years.

[Kris]

I have never understood those who get upset by the automatic credit limit increases. As others have said, my credit limit has no bearing on how much I spend. I am curious to hear the reasons of those who called to get their limits lowered again. Is it because of the impact to your credit score? Or maybe just the principle of a change being made to your account without you consent?

For my early-twenties self, it was a combo of 1) knowing that the company was hoping I was a consumer sucka and that raising my credit limit was not done out of the goodness of their hearts, but to get me to spend more; and 2) yes, the principle of having this done without my consent.  It was the reflex of someone who has always had a healthy distrust of consumerism and the structures that have been created to take advantage of people's lack of self-control.  At that point in my life, I was still feeling my way, and wanted no extra opportunities to fall into a debt trap.

These days, many years later, I know myself well enough that my credit card limit doesn't affect my behavior, so I don't care if it's raised.  But back then, the horror that anyone could ever possibly put THAT much on a credit card made me have them lower it out of shock and indignation.

[Kris]

From my company's "bulletin board": Redesign your dining area for a fraction of the cost!



Big surprise, he's worked at the company for over 30 years.

Are you shitting me? 

Wow. That is an insane amount to pay new, and the used price is a joke.  Not to mention that the set looks like some hideous plastic patio furniture you could get from Wal-Mart for $99.

Mind. Blown.

[mydogismyheart]

I'm always surprised how much my coworkers struggle to figure out "lunch". As in, they would like to bring lunch from home, but have no idea what to make, how to grocery shop with meals in mind, or how to plan even a few days ahead. Or they make things they dislike, then complain about it - why would you even cook things you hate? Argh.

I'm even more surprised when the people are in their 40s and 50s. Uh, you've been working for 20-30 years - why have you not figured this shit out by now? It's so simple. Ghaa.

The best part is, we have a FULL kitchen to share for just 2 of us.  An entire fridge, microwave, pantry, cabinets, gas range, oven, etc... everything you would have in your kitchen.  For just 2 of us.  So it's not like it's hard to just throw some ingredients in a bag and make stuff at work. Yes you might have to provide some of your own cooking pots/pans but that's pretty easy to get. The last gal I worked with here used to bring all the fixings for salads and just leave it in the fridge and then make it when she was hungry.  So it's not like they make it difficult for us to bring lunch.

[kpd905]

Funny, that reminds me of when I was in my twenties, with my first credit card of my very own.  After a while, the company decided to raise my credit limit.  I actually called them and made them put it back where it was.

High five to my twenty-five (or so) year-old self!  (Not that it makes a real difference one way or another -- I would never even come close to spending the limit on my card.)

If you are interested in raising your credit score, I'd just keep the higher limit, so you'll have a lower % of utilization.  We open cards for rewards, so we have a total credit limit about 1.5x our annual salary.  I don't think we've ever had over 2% utilization.

[Kris]

Funny, that reminds me of when I was in my twenties, with my first credit card of my very own.  After a while, the company decided to raise my credit limit.  I actually called them and made them put it back where it was.

High five to my twenty-five (or so) year-old self!  (Not that it makes a real difference one way or another -- I would never even come close to spending the limit on my card.)

If you are interested in raising your credit score, I'd just keep the higher limit, so you'll have a lower % of utilization.  We open cards for rewards, so we have a total credit limit about 1.5x our annual salary.  I don't think we've ever had over 2% utilization.

This was over twenty years ago, so it's fine.  My credit score is easily in the high 700s.  But thanks!

[nawhite]

I have never understood those who get upset by the automatic credit limit increases. As others have said, my credit limit has no bearing on how much I spend. I am curious to hear the reasons of those who called to get their limits lowered again. Is it because of the impact to your credit score? Or maybe just the principle of a change being made to your account without you consent?

For my early-twenties self, it was a combo of 1) knowing that the company was hoping I was a consumer sucka and that raising my credit limit was not done out of the goodness of their hearts, but to get me to spend more; and 2) yes, the principle of having this done without my consent.  It was the reflex of someone who has always had a healthy distrust of consumerism and the structures that have been created to take advantage of people's lack of self-control.  At that point in my life, I was still feeling my way, and wanted no extra opportunities to fall into a debt trap.

These days, many years later, I know myself well enough that my credit card limit doesn't affect my behavior, so I don't care if it's raised.  But back then, the horror that anyone could ever possibly put THAT much on a credit card made me have them lower it out of shock and indignation.

Your reason number 1 was what it used to be for me. Nowadays though, I churn cards so much that I need to have them keep the limits low so I'll be approved for the next card. Each of them likes to come back and say "We'll make your credit limit 1/4 - 1/3 of your income!" but when I had 5+ cards open with limits that high, the new applications started to think twice. So now I have to ask to start with "small" limits and not increase them. Even if I'm good about cancelling cards, with automatic increases, I was easily having a combined credit limit of 1.5x my annual income. Nowadays I try to keep the combined total to no more than .75x annual income so I know I can always get approved for whatever great deal comes along.

[RWD]

I'm always surprised how much my coworkers struggle to figure out "lunch". As in, they would like to bring lunch from home, but have no idea what to make, how to grocery shop with meals in mind, or how to plan even a few days ahead. Or they make things they dislike, then complain about it - why would you even cook things you hate? Argh.

I'm even more surprised when the people are in their 40s and 50s. Uh, you've been working for 20-30 years - why have you not figured this shit out by now? It's so simple. Ghaa.

A good number of my coworkers come to work most days having no idea what they will do for lunch. Once it's within about a half hour of noon they start asking each other where they should go out to eat...

[Pooperman]

I'm always surprised how much my coworkers struggle to figure out "lunch". As in, they would like to bring lunch from home, but have no idea what to make, how to grocery shop with meals in mind, or how to plan even a few days ahead. Or they make things they dislike, then complain about it - why would you even cook things you hate? Argh.

I'm even more surprised when the people are in their 40s and 50s. Uh, you've been working for 20-30 years - why have you not figured this shit out by now? It's so simple. Ghaa.

A good number of my coworkers come to work most days having no idea what they will do for lunch. Once it's within about a half hour of noon they start asking each other where they should go out to eat...

Yeah, the whole 'Anyone want to go to ___?' thing. I'm trying to get enough people to bring their own lunches that it becomes a cascading thing and forces everyone else to do it since the social aspect is moved to sitting at the large conference table and chatting from walking to the restaurant and spending god knows what. So far, 2 people (including me) bring lunch every day with a couple others occasionally brown-bagging.

[willow]

I have never understood those who get upset by the automatic credit limit increases. As others have said, my credit limit has no bearing on how much I spend. I am curious to hear the reasons of those who called to get their limits lowered again. Is it because of the impact to your credit score? Or maybe just the principle of a change being made to your account without you consent?

For my early-twenties self, it was a combo of 1) knowing that the company was hoping I was a consumer sucka and that raising my credit limit was not done out of the goodness of their hearts, but to get me to spend more; and 2) yes, the principle of having this done without my consent.  It was the reflex of someone who has always had a healthy distrust of consumerism and the structures that have been created to take advantage of people's lack of self-control.  At that point in my life, I was still feeling my way, and wanted no extra opportunities to fall into a debt trap.

These days, many years later, I know myself well enough that my credit card limit doesn't affect my behavior, so I don't care if it's raised.  But back then, the horror that anyone could ever possibly put THAT much on a credit card made me have them lower it out of shock and indignation.

Yeah a few things
1) They did it without my consent. Just not a fan of that.
2) Lower credit limits, in the extreme case that I become a victim of identify theft(which has happened to me), just gives a thief less to steal. For the record, my bank did make amends for the criminal purchases.
3) Perhaps some of you are more financially disciplined but my best self discipline has always been to keep credit limits low and money out of sight out of mind. In general I think avoidance of temptation is the best way to avoid making a mistake, and that doesn't just apply to my money habits. I'm much more disciplined with my cash than I am with say, cookies :)

[Wings5]

I can only remember having my credit line increased once.  Like Kris, I called and had it lowered.  I was in grad school and they raised it to something around the amount of my annual stipend!  I have excellent credit and have not gotten any automatic increases on any of my several cards, so maybe they just aren't doing them without specific requests much anymore?  I also thought it was insane when I was making like $40K and had just bought my first house as a single person, then got pre-approved to buy a $32K vehicle with no down payment (and if I wanted a more expensive car, well just call).  That was circa 2004, but still.

When I was making $3,000 per year in college I was approved for a $29,000 limit on a Chase card.

Also, regarding bringing lunch from home, I have a friend who is 31 who went grocery shopping for the first time this year. 13+ years of eating out every single meal when he wasn't at home with the rents during school breaks.

[johnny847]

Yeah a few things
1) They did it without my consent. Just not a fan of that.
2) Lower credit limits, in the extreme case that I become a victim of identify theft(which has happened to me), just gives a thief less to steal. For the record, my bank did make amends for the criminal purchases.
3) Perhaps some of you are more financially disciplined but my best self discipline has always been to keep credit limits low and money out of sight out of mind. In general I think avoidance of temptation is the best way to avoid making a mistake, and that doesn't just apply to my money habits. I'm much more disciplined with my cash than I am with say, cookies :)

With regard to #2, that is meaningless. See http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0213-lost-or-stolen-credit-atm-and-debit-cards.
By law, for credit cards:

• Your liability is capped at $50 for fraudulent transactions, but can be further capped by the two following conditions
• If you report a lost credit card before fraudulent use, you're not liable for anything
• If your number is stolen but not your card, you're not liable for anything

[Cinder]

... I am glad I wasn't born in 1986 and graduating into that mess. ...

I was born in 1985, and that seemed like the perfect time.  Graduated college in 2007, found a job, and then everything tanked.  I was contributing to meet the match for my 401k at my job, but I know other people who put more in and we happened to luck out there buying all our stocks on sale!  You are right though, being born in 86 or 87 would have been a LOT rougher out of college. 

[pancakes]

Yeah, the whole 'Anyone want to go to ___?' thing. I'm trying to get enough people to bring their own lunches that it becomes a cascading thing and forces everyone else to do it since the social aspect is moved to sitting at the large conference table and chatting from walking to the restaurant and spending god knows what. So far, 2 people (including me) bring lunch every day with a couple others occasionally brown-bagging.

This DH's workplace. They use every excuse to go out for lunch. Someone is going away on holidays? Office lunch (at employee's expense)! Someone has come back from holidays? Office lunch (at employee's expense)! Someone is engaged/married/divorced/bought a house/got a promotion/cutting back their hours/started working/finished working/having a baby? Office lunch (at employee's expense)!

[firelight]

I politely decline any employee paid office lunches for any occasion unless I know the person really well and am ready to spend $10 on bad food for him/her. That list is very small thankfully.

[zephyr911]

Going carry on free is so wonderful.

Oh, I agree.
I've done it a few times. I felt like I must be hot shit... someone somewhere was carrying all my stuff for me. LOL

[zephyr911]

I stand corrected.  I think that is a major flaw in the turbo tax software then, because it didn't add the credit for me until I put in my IRA contributions.

Might want to double-check that your W-2 entries include your (correction:) 401(k) deductions with the correct coding. I would be surprised if TurboTax missed that, considering the resources at their disposal.
TaxAct pulled both my IRA and TSP (a different type of elective deferral with a different code, but reported in the same box) into the RSCC calculation.
http://www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/Common-Errors-on-Form-W2-Codes-for-Retirement-Plans

[johnny847]

I stand corrected.  I think that is a major flaw in the turbo tax software then, because it didn't add the credit for me until I put in my IRA contributions.

Might want to double-check that your W-2 entries include your IRA deductions with the correct coding. I would be surprised if TurboTax missed that, considering the resources at their disposal.
TaxAct pulled both my IRA and TSP (a different type of elective deferral with a different code, but reported in the same box) into the RSCC calculation.
http://www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/Common-Errors-on-Form-W2-Codes-for-Retirement-Plans

Huh? Your W-2 says nothing about your IRA deduction. It does say stuff about workplace retirement plans (401k, 403b, 457b, TSP, etc).

[horsepoor]

Yeah a few things
1) They did it without my consent. Just not a fan of that.
2) Lower credit limits, in the extreme case that I become a victim of identify theft(which has happened to me), just gives a thief less to steal. For the record, my bank did make amends for the criminal purchases.
3) Perhaps some of you are more financially disciplined but my best self discipline has always been to keep credit limits low and money out of sight out of mind. In general I think avoidance of temptation is the best way to avoid making a mistake, and that doesn't just apply to my money habits. I'm much more disciplined with my cash than I am with say, cookies :)

With regard to #2, that is meaningless. See http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0213-lost-or-stolen-credit-atm-and-debit-cards.
By law, for credit cards:

• Your liability is capped at $50 for fraudulent transactions, but can be further capped by the two following conditions
• If you report a lost credit card before fraudulent use, you're not liable for anything
• If your number is stolen but not your card, you're not liable for anything

Yes, well at the time I was worried about the liability.  And those caps assume that the credit card company won't string you along and try to pin the charges on you.

Now I don't worry because I can monitor all my accounts easily through Mint.  15 years ago I'd never know if someone had racked up $10K on an unused card until the statement came in the mail.

[johnny847]

Yeah a few things
1) They did it without my consent. Just not a fan of that.
2) Lower credit limits, in the extreme case that I become a victim of identify theft(which has happened to me), just gives a thief less to steal. For the record, my bank did make amends for the criminal purchases.
3) Perhaps some of you are more financially disciplined but my best self discipline has always been to keep credit limits low and money out of sight out of mind. In general I think avoidance of temptation is the best way to avoid making a mistake, and that doesn't just apply to my money habits. I'm much more disciplined with my cash than I am with say, cookies :)

With regard to #2, that is meaningless. See http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0213-lost-or-stolen-credit-atm-and-debit-cards.
By law, for credit cards:

• Your liability is capped at $50 for fraudulent transactions, but can be further capped by the two following conditions
• If you report a lost credit card before fraudulent use, you're not liable for anything
• If your number is stolen but not your card, you're not liable for anything

Yes, well at the time I was worried about the liability.  And those caps assume that the credit card company won't string you along and try to pin the charges on you.

Now I don't worry because I can monitor all my accounts easily through Mint.  15 years ago I'd never know if someone had racked up $10K on an unused card until the statement came in the mail.

Um no, by law your liability is capped at $50, period, regardless of when you report the transaction as fraudulent. And the FCBA which established those caps was passed in 1974. So unless you were talking about credit card use before 1974, keeping your credit limit low for the sake of reducing damages from identity theft was pointless unless your credit limit was less than $50, which would make your credit card pretty close to useless.

[zephyr911]

Huh? Your W-2 says nothing about your IRA deduction. It does say stuff about workplace retirement plans (401k, 403b, 457b, TSP, etc).

Oops, I meant the 401(k) deduction.

[willow]

Yeah a few things
1) They did it without my consent. Just not a fan of that.
2) Lower credit limits, in the extreme case that I become a victim of identify theft(which has happened to me), just gives a thief less to steal. For the record, my bank did make amends for the criminal purchases.
3) Perhaps some of you are more financially disciplined but my best self discipline has always been to keep credit limits low and money out of sight out of mind. In general I think avoidance of temptation is the best way to avoid making a mistake, and that doesn't just apply to my money habits. I'm much more disciplined with my cash than I am with say, cookies :)

With regard to #2, that is meaningless. See http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0213-lost-or-stolen-credit-atm-and-debit-cards.
By law, for credit cards:

• Your liability is capped at $50 for fraudulent transactions, but can be further capped by the two following conditions
• If you report a lost credit card before fraudulent use, you're not liable for anything
• If your number is stolen but not your card, you're not liable for anything

Thank you for that. I completely understand I'm not liable. I just don't see why I should give them more to steal. I don't actually use or need the credit, so might as well keep it low.

[shelivesthedream]

CW1: So I sold my BMW at last!
CW2: Great! Who did you sell it to?
CW1: Some guy from [city] who's buying it for his 19-year-old son.
CW2: You checked the money went through before you gave him the car, right?
CW1: I didn't need to! He just transferred his bit to the dealership then I sent in enough to pay the rest of the loan off - but the loan's for the car not me, so even if it didn't, now he's got the car, he's got the loan too!

So many WTFs. I work in admin - we are not paid that much. She should not have bought a BMW, let alone PAID SOMEONE to take it away!

[thd7t]

CW1: So I sold my BMW at last!
CW2: Great! Who did you sell it to?
CW1: Some guy from [city] who's buying it for his 19-year-old son.
CW2: You checked the money went through before you gave him the car, right?
CW1: I didn't need to! He just transferred his bit to the dealership then I sent in enough to pay the rest of the loan off - but the loan's for the car not me, so even if it didn't, now he's got the car, he's got the loan too!

So many WTFs. I work in admin - we are not paid that much. She should not have bought a BMW, let alone PAID SOMEONE to take it away!

I guess that paying someone to take it away could be seen as cutting losses and not buying into the sunk cost fallacy...but then again, they bought the BMW that they couldn't afford in the first place!

[Apples]

Apples wins the thread!

I drove by a pet store once with a big sign saying "$0 down puppies!" and it made me want to scream.
[/quote]

Thanks 2ndtimer!  And I can't believe some people buy pets with loans. Argh!!!!  Now a few days later it seems I've talked him out of the expensive dog purchase; instead he is perusing local shelters for a dog he likes.  Though he still won't be able to cover any vet bills. Call me old fashioned, but I really can't fathom getting a loan for a dog.  And I can't believe pet stores have their own financing systems in place, ketchup!  I would scream with you over that.

[shelivesthedream]

CW1: So I sold my BMW at last!
CW2: Great! Who did you sell it to?
CW1: Some guy from [city] who's buying it for his 19-year-old son.
CW2: You checked the money went through before you gave him the car, right?
CW1: I didn't need to! He just transferred his bit to the dealership then I sent in enough to pay the rest of the loan off - but the loan's for the car not me, so even if it didn't, now he's got the car, he's got the loan too!

So many WTFs. I work in admin - we are not paid that much. She should not have bought a BMW, let alone PAID SOMEONE to take it away!

I guess that paying someone to take it away could be seen as cutting losses and not buying into the sunk cost fallacy...but then again, they bought the BMW that they couldn't afford in the first place!

As much as I would love to charitably think that, I'm pretty sure she has just bought another car to replace it because she lives in a village. If £A=total loan, £B = how much the buyer paid, £C = how much she had to pay to make up the difference, and £D = the cost of the new car, then I'm pretty sure C + D = A.

Just maybe-possibly-perhaps she had thought about that but bought a super-efficient car so her capital put into the car stays the same but her petrol costs go down. But this is a woman who went shopping as a birthday present to herself even though she complains about not having enough money to buy (yes, buy) lunch. (Rant: How hard is it to bring lunch?? We only get half an hour and the nearest place is a supermarket ten minutes walk away. So she spends twenty minutes of her lunch break walking to then spend ten eating some shitty sandwich at double speed. It's not even like we're surrounded by delicious, tempting cafes. It's an EFFORT to NOT bring lunch!)

I do feel a little bit sorry for her, because she has just completed an awkward divorce with 50/50 childcare arrangements, so when her son is not around she self-soothes by spending money (mostly on clothes and beauty products). But only a little bit.

[mm1970]

I'm always surprised how much my coworkers struggle to figure out "lunch". As in, they would like to bring lunch from home, but have no idea what to make, how to grocery shop with meals in mind, or how to plan even a few days ahead. Or they make things they dislike, then complain about it - why would you even cook things you hate? Argh.

I'm even more surprised when the people are in their 40s and 50s. Uh, you've been working for 20-30 years - why have you not figured this shit out by now? It's so simple. Ghaa.

A good number of my coworkers come to work most days having no idea what they will do for lunch. Once it's within about a half hour of noon they start asking each other where they should go out to eat...

Yeah, the whole 'Anyone want to go to ___?' thing. I'm trying to get enough people to bring their own lunches that it becomes a cascading thing and forces everyone else to do it since the social aspect is moved to sitting at the large conference table and chatting from walking to the restaurant and spending god knows what. So far, 2 people (including me) bring lunch every day with a couple others occasionally brown-bagging.

I successfully did this at two companies. It started with just me, for a few weeks, at both places. 

Eventually it was standing room only.  Our lunch room you'd have to take a number (ok,  not really) at the old place.  At the current place, we have a tiny 4 seater table that we squeeze 6 people around, and once you are done you have to give someone else your spot.

[solon]

I'm always surprised how much my coworkers struggle to figure out "lunch". As in, they would like to bring lunch from home, but have no idea what to make, how to grocery shop with meals in mind, or how to plan even a few days ahead. Or they make things they dislike, then complain about it - why would you even cook things you hate? Argh.

I'm even more surprised when the people are in their 40s and 50s. Uh, you've been working for 20-30 years - why have you not figured this shit out by now? It's so simple. Ghaa.

A good number of my coworkers come to work most days having no idea what they will do for lunch. Once it's within about a half hour of noon they start asking each other where they should go out to eat...

Yeah, the whole 'Anyone want to go to ___?' thing. I'm trying to get enough people to bring their own lunches that it becomes a cascading thing and forces everyone else to do it since the social aspect is moved to sitting at the large conference table and chatting from walking to the restaurant and spending god knows what. So far, 2 people (including me) bring lunch every day with a couple others occasionally brown-bagging.

I successfully did this at two companies. It started with just me, for a few weeks, at both places. 

Eventually it was standing room only.  Our lunch room you'd have to take a number (ok,  not really) at the old place.  At the current place, we have a tiny 4 seater table that we squeeze 6 people around, and once you are done you have to give someone else your spot.

I think a lot of people understand that eating out every day is bad. They want to change but don't know how. So when they see someone actually doing, it gives them the impetus to try it themselves.

Good on you!

[Adventine]

Heh. I've had three jobs to date. At the first one, I just didn't eat lunch because I was too lazy to bring anything from home. At the second one, I worked from home. At the third one, the employer provides three meals per day. I don't think I want to go back to the model of having to prepare my own meals for work.

Company-sponsored meals are an incredible perk. My boyfriend's employer provides free catered meals to everyone in the office. Three different dishes and an afternoon snack, available 24/7. The menu changes daily. Free bottled water, juice and soda, too. And still, he tells me some people go out to buy lunch! It isn't even as if they were buying better-tasting food. Some people are just hooked on the ritual of getting out of the office.

[pancakes]

I work in the new home construction industry. One of our staff members who helps people pick out their kitchens made this comment: "I don't know why people make such a big deal about an extra $5k for a stone bench top, they are paying for it with a mortgage anyway so won't even notice it over the 20-30 years".

I tried to explain that the extra $5k would actually work out closer to $10k with interest depending on the rate over the loan if the owner only made the minimum repayments. There was no point.

[boarder42]

Heh. I've had three jobs to date. At the first one, I just didn't eat lunch because I was too lazy to bring anything from home. At the second one, I worked from home. At the third one, the employer provides three meals per day. I don't think I want to go back to the model of having to prepare my own meals for work.

Company-sponsored meals are an incredible perk. My boyfriend's employer provides free catered meals to everyone in the office. Three different dishes and an afternoon snack, available 24/7. The menu changes daily. Free bottled water, juice and soda, too. And still, he tells me some people go out to buy lunch! It isn't even as if they were buying better-tasting food. Some people are just hooked on the ritual of getting out of the office.

i would most likely still bring my lunch and eat it at work if my employer gave food.  more often than not the food floating around my office isnt the best food to be eating.  I'd rather know what i'm putting in my body.  Even stuff prepared so called healthy may be loaded with preservatives and other bad things for you.

[CaliToCayman]

This isnt really a story any one particular person did that was worth a face punch per se, but pretty interesting:

I'm on a conference call discussing a company we've taken into receivership and as they were discussing one of the employees at the company they were very careful not to "overwhelm" him with extra work because they considered him a flight risk. Why? Because they are under the impression he is financially independent (their words).

It took me back a bit to see just how employers view your financial independence as a bad thing. Then of course I was reminded of the fact that the lady sitting next to me didn't actually NEED her job because her husband makes $500k+ and so when hiring her they gave her the Manager title even though her background didn't warrant it at all, its just that in order to get her on board at the price she wanted, they had to give her the title. I, on the other hand, WAS a manager within the company (but different department) back in the US and they brought me in at a lower level. I partially blame myself for just grabbing the job, but I still believe what they did to me was slimy since if I had transferred departments within the US I would have still been at the manager level (while I agreed to take a step down for a short period of time, a couple weeks after I signed they informed me that it would take a year longer before I could be a manager again).

Moral of the story is that its amazing how when you DON'T need their money, they pay you more and work you less. I'm currently working on my resume for when my contract is up as I don't intend to re-sign haha.   

[Adventine]

Heh. I've had three jobs to date. At the first one, I just didn't eat lunch because I was too lazy to bring anything from home. At the second one, I worked from home. At the third one, the employer provides three meals per day. I don't think I want to go back to the model of having to prepare my own meals for work.

Company-sponsored meals are an incredible perk. My boyfriend's employer provides free catered meals to everyone in the office. Three different dishes and an afternoon snack, available 24/7. The menu changes daily. Free bottled water, juice and soda, too. And still, he tells me some people go out to buy lunch! It isn't even as if they were buying better-tasting food. Some people are just hooked on the ritual of getting out of the office.

i would most likely still bring my lunch and eat it at work if my employer gave food.  more often than not the food floating around my office isnt the best food to be eating.  I'd rather know what i'm putting in my body.  Even stuff prepared so called healthy may be loaded with preservatives and other bad things for you.

Agreed, but as a transition for somebody who buys lunch out every day, company-sponsored food is a better alternative. The ideal situation would be to bring your own meals (and control everything that goes into your food), but, as we've seen in this thread, a lot of people think of it as too much work.

[Nubs]

This isnt really a story any one particular person did that was worth a face punch per se, but pretty interesting:

I'm on a conference call discussing a company we've taken into receivership and as they were discussing one of the employees at the company they were very careful not to "overwhelm" him with extra work because they considered him a flight risk. Why? Because they are under the impression he is financially independent (their words).

It took me back a bit to see just how employers view your financial independence as a bad thing. Then of course I was reminded of the fact that the lady sitting next to me didn't actually NEED her job because her husband makes $500k+ and so when hiring her they gave her the Manager title even though her background didn't warrant it at all, its just that in order to get her on board at the price she wanted, they had to give her the title. I, on the other hand, WAS a manager within the company (but different department) back in the US and they brought me in at a lower level. I partially blame myself for just grabbing the job, but I still believe what they did to me was slimy since if I had transferred departments within the US I would have still been at the manager level (while I agreed to take a step down for a short period of time, a couple weeks after I signed they informed me that it would take a year longer before I could be a manager again).

Moral of the story is that its amazing how when you DON'T need their money, they pay you more and work you less. I'm currently working on my resume for when my contract is up as I don't intend to re-sign haha.

This is pretty awesome. 

[RL12]

Today while talking with two coworkers the topic of cars and car payments came up...

CW1: I absolutely hate car payments, but I've just accepted the fact that I will always have at least one.
CW2: Well yeah, but having only one is way better than having multiples.

CW2 was talking about how her son is about to turn 16 and they were going to buy him a new car but instead she thinks she's going to take the new car and give her son her older one. Then to make it even better, when her youngest son turns 16 she plans to just keep passing the cars down the line and she'll get a newer one then too.

Her youngest is only a few years away from turning 16 now so she'll still be paying for that car when she gives it to her son. And that is assuming she won't still be paying for her current car. She could possibly be paying four car loans in just a few years if you include her husbands car! I removed myself from the conversation at this point.

[CaliToCayman]

This isnt really a story any one particular person did that was worth a face punch per se, but pretty interesting:

I'm on a conference call discussing a company we've taken into receivership and as they were discussing one of the employees at the company they were very careful not to "overwhelm" him with extra work because they considered him a flight risk. Why? Because they are under the impression he is financially independent (their words).

It took me back a bit to see just how employers view your financial independence as a bad thing. Then of course I was reminded of the fact that the lady sitting next to me didn't actually NEED her job because her husband makes $500k+ and so when hiring her they gave her the Manager title even though her background didn't warrant it at all, its just that in order to get her on board at the price she wanted, they had to give her the title. I, on the other hand, WAS a manager within the company (but different department) back in the US and they brought me in at a lower level. I partially blame myself for just grabbing the job, but I still believe what they did to me was slimy since if I had transferred departments within the US I would have still been at the manager level (while I agreed to take a step down for a short period of time, a couple weeks after I signed they informed me that it would take a year longer before I could be a manager again).

Moral of the story is that its amazing how when you DON'T need their money, they pay you more and work you less. I'm currently working on my resume for when my contract is up as I don't intend to re-sign haha.

This is pretty awesome.

As long as you're not me!

[Kris]

Today while talking with two coworkers the topic of cars and car payments came up...

CW1: I absolutely hate car payments, but I've just accepted the fact that I will always have at least one.
CW2: Well yeah, but having only one is way better than having multiples.

CW2 was talking about how her son is about to turn 16 and they were going to buy him a new car but instead she thinks she's going to take the new car and give her son her older one. Then to make it even better, when her youngest son turns 16 she plans to just keep passing the cars down the line and she'll get a newer one then too.

Her youngest is only a few years away from turning 16 now so she'll still be paying for that car when she gives it to her son. And that is assuming she won't still be paying for her current car. She could possibly be paying four car loans in just a few years if you include her husbands car! I removed myself from the conversation at this point.

Yup.  My husband's ex-wife decided when my stepdaughter graduated college that she would give SD the car that ex-wife was currently driving -- a three-year old car with two years left on her car loan.  So, instead of simply buying a used car for the kid, she gives her a three-year old car with a loan on it, and buys herself a completely new car.  So now, ex-wife, who is single, has two car payments, instead of one or none.

And she wonders why she feels so broke all the time. 

[eyePod]

People seriously need to understand - every time you make a transaction, you are making the credit card company money. They collect a fee from the merchant for the transaction.
Yes, obviously, credit cards make a lot of money from interest payments. But anybody who consistently pays in full is still a profit maker for the company (well okay, maybe there's an exception for credit card churners. But I don't think that's the case, because if credit card churners were seriously costing CC companies money, they would all just allow only one bonus per lifetime to eliminate churning. Which Amex admittedly does. But that's even funnier because Amex charges the highest transaction fees of all payment networks).

They'd much rather have you consistently pay their bill. There's 0 risk and effort from their end. No collections agencies or anything like that.