Overheard at Work

[mustachepungoeshere]

It is not an age thing, so "Old Person" should have been "Oblivious Person" - I have seen "old people" be super conservationist and "young people" be super wasteful.  Please don't assume a behaviour that is due to ignorance is due to age.
Just saying.

Those of us who started learning programming back in the dinosaur era remember feeling very sorry for whoever was running a test program that was advancing the paper after one line of print.  And hoping it wasn't our program. So there may be an age demographic that is super conscious of paper use. (And if you are wondering why we didn't just cancel the print job, I did say dinosaur, and that means main-frame and extremely limited access).

I have seen "Old People" know how to use subscript and superscript when using Word, and "Young People" who didn't have a clue about something so basic (thinking of some Chemistry students I have known).

Observed, rather than overheard at work: waste! Waste everywhere!

We print a lot, but some of us are yet to master the art of selecting a range to print.

This is the scene I observe nearly every goddamn day.

Old Person stands at printer waiting for printing. 48 colour A3 pages dutifully appear. Old Person rifles through stack of murdered trees, finds the three necessary pages, and drops the remaining stack in the bin.

This is the layout of the printing room.
_______________________________________________________________________________
[PRINT ROOM DOOR]   [PAPER RECYCLING BIN]  [PRINTER]  [GENERAL WASTE BIN]             
      ^^^.....<.....<.....<.....<.....<.....<.....<.....<.....*Old Person*   

_______________________________________________________________________________

The paper recycling bin is closest to the door. Old Person has to walk past the paper recyling bin to return to his desk. But no, the needlessly massacred trees go in the general waste bin.

At least once a day I find myself fishing paper out of the bin to re-use or recycle.

There seems to be an attitude of 'it's the company's money, so who cares if we waste it'. Apart from the fact that the company is just doing ok, not great, stop killing trees!

Sorry, I certainly didn't mean to imply that age is the problem here or that all older people are wasteful and incapable of learning something new, just that the main perpetrator in my office is in his 70s.

[RetiredAt63]

But you connected them - this is why "Oblivious Person" (or CW) is the more appropriate label.  Your CW may be operating out of habit, and not thinking about the end result.  We all operate out of habit, it saves wear and tear on the brain for when we actually need to think about something.  Plus habits can be good, if we always put something (the car keys?) in the same place, we know where they are.

And just as a general comment, not aimed at mustachepungoeshere, how we label people/things does often reflect our thinking, or shape it, so it is worth while thinking about labels.  I read it as lumping old people into a category, when the behaviour was not necessarily age-related.

It is not an age thing, so "Old Person" should have been "Oblivious Person" - I have seen "old people" be super conservationist and "young people" be super wasteful.  Please don't assume a behaviour that is due to ignorance is due to age.
Just saying.

Sorry, I certainly didn't mean to imply that age is the problem here or that all older people are wasteful and incapable of learning something new, just that the main perpetrator in my office is in his 70s.

[mustachepungoeshere]

But you connected them - this is why "Oblivious Person" (or CW) is the more appropriate label.  Your CW may be operating out of habit, and not thinking about the end result.  We all operate out of habit, it saves wear and tear on the brain for when we actually need to think about something.  Plus habits can be good, if we always put something (the car keys?) in the same place, we know where they are.

And just as a general comment, not aimed at mustachepungoeshere, how we label people/things does often reflect our thinking, or shape it, so it is worth while thinking about labels.  I read it as lumping old people into a category, when the behaviour was not necessarily age-related.

It is not an age thing, so "Old Person" should have been "Oblivious Person" - I have seen "old people" be super conservationist and "young people" be super wasteful.  Please don't assume a behaviour that is due to ignorance is due to age.
Just saying.

Sorry, I certainly didn't mean to imply that age is the problem here or that all older people are wasteful and incapable of learning something new, just that the main perpetrator in my office is in his 70s.

This is a forum about early retirement. I'm talking about a co-worker in his 70s doing half the work of any of his colleagues, who sits in meetings and looks for any opportunity to interrupt with a long-winded story about the people he knew and the places he went, and who falls asleep at his desk at 3pm every day, but who is here because he can't afford to retire.

His behaviour is age-related. He's old, he's tired, and he doesn't want to be here. When taught new software or new processes, he states he 'won't bother' using it.

I appreciate that this industry that has evolved so quickly around him that it bears precious little resemblance to the one he started out in more than 50 years ago, but sentimentality isn't enough.

For the record, I also work with driven, passionate older colleagues, and slackarse twenty-somethings.

[Megma]

The Prius can tow a light load just fine. I'd imagine up to 1000 pounds. Have the trailer loaded correctly, and you won't have any issues.

The official towing figures for cars seem suspicously low - almost as if they wanted you to buy a truck !

My Subaru forrester 4x4 with a 175hp motor is 1000lbs and so is a Ford Escape 4x4 - I imagine they would both pull more than this.

In this day and age of CAFE and mileage-conscious customers (sometimes, anyways), manufacturers have really gotten great at optimizing the structure of their cars to support exactly what they need to and not much more.  Since most people don't tow things with small cars, there's no need to burden the car with the extra reinforced towing attachment points, the additional cooling capability, the larger brakes, the heavier duty suspension, etc, all of which add weight and decrease mileage.  Do you think the average consumer will chose a Honda Civic with a 1000lb towing capacity and 28/34 mpg ratings over a Toyota Corolla with 0 towing capacity and29/36 mpg ratings? 

Let me answer for you: No.

Also understand that while you might think "Oh, I'm just going to tow a small 200lb trailer with 500lbs in it on flat surface streets a few miles" but a carmaker has to think "If we rate this car at 1000lbs, really we need it to withstand 1500lbs towed up a mountain in 115* heat when it has 49,999 miles on it (out of a warrantied 50k) and never had the transmission fluid changed, etc etc etc."

Good info. Really I don't need/plan to tow with my Prius, it only came up once a couple years ago when my bf and I were moving from state to state. We both have small cars, me a Prius and him Corolla. Mtm, they also said the Corolla could not tow but perhaps this is because neither car could tow anything close to what we needed, I assume a full u-haul trailer would be more than 1000 lbs....

We had to rent a truck but we ended up needing the space anyway!

[Seppia]

A few days ago I had a really disheartening conversation with one of the guys on my team.
He is in his mid 40s and makes an above average salary.
Chatting with HR I discovered he wasn't contributing to his 401k, never had.
Our company matches 3%
I gave him a call and tried to insist he should contribute, at the very minimum to get the company match free money.
He responded he will "start in August" as right now his living expenses do not allow that.
He drives a huge German made suv.
I was almost in tears for him.

[skunkfunk]

I think from now on, I will refer to groups of people as "males" instead. Just to really piss off anyone who gets annoyed by gendered pronouns. "Hey you males, how's it going?"

I was the boss of an all male crew and wonder how they would feel if I called them all ladies - "Alright ladies, this is what we are doing today". Yeah, that's what I should have done. Not insulting at all to them.

OK really not picking a fight but just wanted to post to follow this thread as I finally got around to reading some of it. Took me a couple of years though :-)!

My judo instructor addressed the predominantly male class as 'ladies' each night.  I don't think anyone was offended to be honest.

If a man gets offended by being addressed in a group as "ladies," he can grow a thicker skin or fuck off.
MOD NOTE: This topic has pretty much exhausted itself and i'm tired of getting reports. Time to drop it folks.
The reverse also applies.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought we could say bad words around here?

[Adventine]

It isn't about the bad words. It's about how some posters keep bringing up divisive off-topic debates, even after several warnings.

Stop spoiling the best thread on this forum! Let's get back to making fun of people at the office!

[forummm]

A few days ago I had a really disheartening conversation with one of the guys on my team.
He is in his mid 40s and makes an above average salary.
Chatting with HR I discovered he wasn't contributing to his 401k, never had.
Our company matches 3%
I gave him a call and tried to insist he should contribute, at the very minimum to get the company match free money.
He responded he will "start in August" as right now his living expenses do not allow that.
He drives a huge German made suv.
I was almost in tears for him.

And the 3% would be tax free (non-FICA). It'd only be like a 2% hit to his take home. He wouldn't even notice it.

[Seppia]

I tried trust me.
I even did the rough math for him, like "do you realize that $100 of your gross are $70 in your pocket at most, but would be $200 in the 401k? You'd give up 70$ per paycheck and get 200$ in exchange, it's a magic tool that triples your money"
Didn't work.

[cripzychiken]

So I was talking to a CW who is (or I guess now appears to be) relatively good with money.  So we were talking about how another CW just bought his 3rd rental house and then he let's this barb out.

CW:  Oh, I don't think I could do that, I already have 5 mortgages.
Me: ... 5?!?!?! ... 5?!?!?! How do you have 5 houses?
CW: Well, there's our house, husban'ds 1st house, wife's first house, wife's mother's house and husband's parents.  SO yeah, we pay 5 mortgages a month.  It's not that bad.
Me: Oh, so you have 4 rentals with 2 to family, so that's not so bad, but yeah, I could see how another would be hard to manage
CW: Well only 1 rental.  We aren't actually on the parent's mortgage, we just pay it, same for wife's mom.  Wife's first house is only a 2/1 apartment, so we never felt it was worth the hassle to fill it since husband's 1st house (3/2) is filled, but it's a negative cash flow.
Me: .... why?... what? ... how? ... (weird confused look)
CW: Yeah.
Me: So, since you've been paying the parent's mortgage for 10+ yrs, you at least are going to be willed the parents' house when they pass (they are in their 90's)?
CW: No, it will be split between all 5 kids, and we've never talked with wife's mom, but we assume the same.  It's their house not ours, so we don't have a say in it.
Me: Oh, look there a meeting I have to get to before my mind blows up.

[skunkfunk]

So I was talking to a CW who is (or I guess now appears to be) relatively good with money.  So we were talking about how another CW just bought his 3rd rental house and then he let's this barb out.

CW:  Oh, I don't think I could do that, I already have 5 mortgages.
Me: ... 5?!?!?! ... 5?!?!?! How do you have 5 houses?
CW: Well, there's our house, husban'ds 1st house, wife's first house, wife's mother's house and husband's parents.  SO yeah, we pay 5 mortgages a month.  It's not that bad.
Me: Oh, so you have 4 rentals with 2 to family, so that's not so bad, but yeah, I could see how another would be hard to manage
CW: Well only 1 rental.  We aren't actually on the parent's mortgage, we just pay it, same for wife's mom.  Wife's first house is only a 2/1 apartment, so we never felt it was worth the hassle to fill it since husband's 1st house (3/2) is filled, but it's a negative cash flow.
Me: .... why?... what? ... how? ... (weird confused look)
CW: Yeah.
Me: So, since you've been paying the parent's mortgage for 10+ yrs, you at least are going to be willed the parents' house when they pass (they are in their 90's)?
CW: No, it will be split between all 5 kids, and we've never talked with wife's mom, but we assume the same.  It's their house not ours, so we don't have a say in it.
Me: Oh, look there a meeting I have to get to before my mind blows up.

what in the hell?? I'm speechless. I think you win the thread, I can't remember anything else that made me want to just give up.

Any chance you have the slightest clue why they own the apartment and the rental? It sounds too bad to be real, is he/she/can't-tell-from-story shitting you for sympathy?

[cripzychiken]

So I was talking to a CW who is (or I guess now appears to be) relatively good with money.  So we were talking about how another CW just bought his 3rd rental house and then he let's this barb out.

CW:  Oh, I don't think I could do that, I already have 5 mortgages.
Me: ... 5?!?!?! ... 5?!?!?! How do you have 5 houses?
CW: Well, there's our house, husban'ds 1st house, wife's first house, wife's mother's house and husband's parents.  SO yeah, we pay 5 mortgages a month.  It's not that bad.
Me: Oh, so you have 4 rentals with 2 to family, so that's not so bad, but yeah, I could see how another would be hard to manage
CW: Well only 1 rental.  We aren't actually on the parent's mortgage, we just pay it, same for wife's mom.  Wife's first house is only a 2/1 apartment, so we never felt it was worth the hassle to fill it since husband's 1st house (3/2) is filled, but it's a negative cash flow.
Me: .... why?... what? ... how? ... (weird confused look)
CW: Yeah.
Me: So, since you've been paying the parent's mortgage for 10+ yrs, you at least are going to be willed the parents' house when they pass (they are in their 90's)?
CW: No, it will be split between all 5 kids, and we've never talked with wife's mom, but we assume the same.  It's their house not ours, so we don't have a say in it.
Me: Oh, look there a meeting I have to get to before my mind blows up.

what in the hell?? I'm speechless. I think you win the thread, I can't remember anything else that made me want to just give up.

Any chance you have the slightest clue why they own the apartment and the rental? It sounds too bad to be real, is he/she/can't-tell-from-story shitting you for sympathy?

I've taken the time to calm down and go back and ask more questions.

Both of the 1st houses were bought pre-bubble and they are underwater on them.  I know the plan is to sell, but they are waiting until they won't have to pay to get out of the mortgage.  Also found out the 2/1 apartment is downtown so would rent out super quick and for more than the 3/2 house in the burbs.  But since it's less rooms, it's obviously not worth the effort.  Apparently he never thought of paying a management company to do everything for him - he'd rather pay the mortgage without help, then have someone else manage the property. 

AS for the parent's house, they just feel that it is their responsibility to pay for both of their parent's houses (his and hers) but couldn't answer why the rest of the kids don't/won't help the parents (one is youngest of 4, other is middle of 5, plus 7 of the 9 siblings live in town, most have good jobs)

I'm just lost for words.

[jinga nation]

I tried trust me.
I even did the rough math for him, like "do you realize that $100 of your gross are $70 in your pocket at most, but would be $200 in the 401k? You'd give up 70$ per paycheck and get 200$ in exchange, it's a magic tool that triples your money"
Didn't work.

Non-mustachians don't get non-card, non-Vegas magic. They don't trust magic that increases money in the wallet. But they are happy to fall for consumer magic that makes one buy shit they don't need.

[jinga nation]

GS-13 in my office whining about his pay... he always has some issue. He is retired from the military, did his 20+ years, gets a pension. So he whines about his 2nd paycheck at least once a month. This is a man who is a drama queen, annoys my contractor boss constantly, does absolutely nothing and doesn't contribute to a positive work environment, and drives 150 miles round trip for 4 10-hour work days.

[mtn]

So I was talking to a CW who is (or I guess now appears to be) relatively good with money.  So we were talking about how another CW just bought his 3rd rental house and then he let's this barb out.

CW:  Oh, I don't think I could do that, I already have 5 mortgages.
Me: ... 5?!?!?! ... 5?!?!?! How do you have 5 houses?
CW: Well, there's our house, husban'ds 1st house, wife's first house, wife's mother's house and husband's parents.  SO yeah, we pay 5 mortgages a month.  It's not that bad.
Me: Oh, so you have 4 rentals with 2 to family, so that's not so bad, but yeah, I could see how another would be hard to manage
CW: Well only 1 rental.  We aren't actually on the parent's mortgage, we just pay it, same for wife's mom.  Wife's first house is only a 2/1 apartment, so we never felt it was worth the hassle to fill it since husband's 1st house (3/2) is filled, but it's a negative cash flow.
Me: .... why?... what? ... how? ... (weird confused look)
CW: Yeah.
Me: So, since you've been paying the parent's mortgage for 10+ yrs, you at least are going to be willed the parents' house when they pass (they are in their 90's)?
CW: No, it will be split between all 5 kids, and we've never talked with wife's mom, but we assume the same.  It's their house not ours, so we don't have a say in it.
Me: Oh, look there a meeting I have to get to before my mind blows up.

what in the hell?? I'm speechless. I think you win the thread, I can't remember anything else that made me want to just give up.

Any chance you have the slightest clue why they own the apartment and the rental? It sounds too bad to be real, is he/she/can't-tell-from-story shitting you for sympathy?

I've taken the time to calm down and go back and ask more questions.

Both of the 1st houses were bought pre-bubble and they are underwater on them.  I know the plan is to sell, but they are waiting until they won't have to pay to get out of the mortgage.  Also found out the 2/1 apartment is downtown so would rent out super quick and for more than the 3/2 house in the burbs.  But since it's less rooms, it's obviously not worth the effort.  Apparently he never thought of paying a management company to do everything for him - he'd rather pay the mortgage without help, then have someone else manage the property. 

AS for the parent's house, they just feel that it is their responsibility to pay for both of their parent's houses (his and hers) but couldn't answer why the rest of the kids don't/won't help the parents (one is youngest of 4, other is middle of 5, plus 7 of the 9 siblings live in town, most have good jobs)

I'm just lost for words.

Tell him you'll manage it and pay him $500 a month for the privelage to do so.

[Pooperman]

It isn't about the bad words. It's about how some posters keep bringing up divisive off-topic debates, even after several warnings.

Stop spoiling the best thread on this forum! Let's get back to making fun of people at the office!

Oops sorry. My bad. Didn't see mods warning until much later. Will stay OT and enjoy everyone's trials and tribulations about working life from the comfort of my ER arm chair. It does help to keep me on the straight and narrow MMM path when I hear terrible work stories because I don't want to have to deal with that stuff again.

My boss... Those two words should be enough to scare you straight!

[auntie_betty]

Got an email at work. Aon Hewitt says I'm on track to retire in 32 years! I can pay them for the details on how they figured that out. The 32 years is just when I turn 65.

Was sitting in a meeting this morning working out that I can retire in 3years on $24K pa.
I was so bored that I was doing the multiplication long hand while pretending to take notes.

I started to do that instead of working out how much staff wages were being wasted on yet another pointless meeting with all 5 directors present.
One of the few things I miss now I'm FIRE :)

Not overheard at work as I'm FIRE, but neighbour who's just spent thousands flying family from UK to Mexico (1st class) for a holiday  'because they can afford it'
Same neighbour just spent £30k on their lounge 'because they can afford it'
Same neighbour told me how she'd love to retire early but can't see it happening any time soon.......

[Carolina on My Mind]

Here’s a good one:  happened last year but it’s seared into my memory.

Speaker is a divorced woman who apparently splits custody of the kid with her ex.  She is complaining to her friend that the school district won’t add a bus stop near her house, so when she has the kid she has to drive him over to her ex-husband’s house in the morning so that he can catch the school bus there.  She’s pretty outraged that the school district won’t accommodate a kid who splits his time between two households.  I’m listening to this conversation and thinking, I don’t know how these things work, but that’s gotta be hard on the kid as well as the mom, and maybe the school district ought to be more accommodating?

Then she says, “It doesn’t make any sense that they can’t add another stop.  I mean, we’re only a block apart!”  Yes, you read that right:  she lives a block away from her ex-husband and is driving her son that one block to catch the bus.  And she’s outraged that the school district is inconveniencing her so.  OMG.

[gimp]

Please tell me you live somewhere super rural, where a block is like three miles...

[Travis]

GS-13 in my office whining about his pay... he always has some issue. He is retired from the military, did his 20+ years, gets a pension. So he whines about his 2nd paycheck at least once a month. This is a man who is a drama queen, annoys my contractor boss constantly, does absolutely nothing and doesn't contribute to a positive work environment, and drives 150 miles round trip for 4 10-hour work days.

I've known quite a few like that. What did he retire at?

On the flip side I worked with a prior-enlisted guy who will soon retire as an O-4 (human resources).  His plan after retirement is to get a job as a GS-6 in the same personnel office to stay busy rather than because he needs the money.  I think secretly he's also doing it to make a statement to the type of GS-retiree you referenced.

[sheepstache]

I think from now on, I will refer to groups of people as "males" instead. Just to really piss off anyone who gets annoyed by gendered pronouns. "Hey you males, how's it going?"

I was the boss of an all male crew and wonder how they would feel if I called them all ladies - "Alright ladies, this is what we are doing today". Yeah, that's what I should have done. Not insulting at all to them.

OK really not picking a fight but just wanted to post to follow this thread as I finally got around to reading some of it. Took me a couple of years though :-)!

My judo instructor addressed the predominantly male class as 'ladies' each night.  I don't think anyone was offended to be honest.

If a man gets offended by being addressed in a group as "ladies," he can grow a thicker skin or fuck off.
MOD NOTE: This topic has pretty much exhausted itself and i'm tired of getting reports. Time to drop it folks.
The reverse also applies.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought we could say bad words around here?

You can say bad words but you have to have a discussion, you can't just hurl insults at people. This is the MMM forum, not the youtube comments section fer chrissakes.

[Carolina on My Mind]

Please tell me you live somewhere super rural, where a block is like three miles...

Nope, this was in Washington, DC.  (Of course, given the way some people organize their lives, she might live in West Virginia or Pennsylvania for all I know . . . .) 

[RWD]

Got an email at work. Aon Hewitt says I'm on track to retire in 32 years! I can pay them for the details on how they figured that out. The 32 years is just when I turn 65.

Was sitting in a meeting this morning working out that I can retire in 3years on $24K pa.
I was so bored that I was doing the multiplication long hand while pretending to take notes.

I started to do that instead of working out how much staff wages were being wasted on yet another pointless meeting with all 5 directors present.
One of the few things I miss now I'm FIRE :)

Not overheard at work as I'm FIRE, but neighbour who's just spent thousands flying family from UK to Mexico (1st class) for a holiday  'because they can afford it'
Same neighbour just spent £30k on their lounge 'because they can afford it'
Same neighbour told me how she'd love to retire early but can't see it happening any time soon.......

I guess they can't afford retirement...

[Adventine]

--- Quote from: spartana on Today at 05:19:22 AM ---
--- Quote from: Adventine on Today at 03:55:48 AM ---It isn't about the bad words. It's about how some posters keep bringing up divisive off-topic debates, even after several warnings.

Stop spoiling the best thread on this forum! Let's get back to making fun of people at the office!

--- End quote ---
Oops sorry. My bad. Didn't see mods warning until much later. Will stay OT and enjoy everyone's trials and tribulations about working life from the comfort of my ER arm chair. It does help to keep me on the straight and narrow MMM path when I hear terrible work stories because I don't want to have to deal with that stuff again.

--- End quote ---

No worries, you're one of the more levelheaded posters on the forum :) I just really want to get back on topic!

Overheard at my office building lobby (not my actual office):

Two office workers, both thirtysomething men, were discussing emergency funds. Guy A was giving sensible advice to Guy B ("You should definitely have at least 6 months worth of expenses saved. You need to calculate how much you spend in a month to get to that figure") but B was unimpressed: "If I run out of money, I'll just move in with my parents. I'll have as much as I want to eat." (paraphrased)

I could only shake my head sadly as they walked away.

[ducky19]

I was walking past a coworker's desk who drives a Dodge Ram Crew Cab 55 miles each way five days a week and noticed he's looking at trucks on the local dealer's website.

Me: Are you getting a new truck?
CW: Just looking to see how much the bigger crew cab is. (drives solo, mind you)
Me: What year is your truck?
CW: 2014, but they've got some really good deals and I'm tired of the grandkid's feet kicking my seat.
Me: Have you thought of putting him on the other side?
CW: *silence*

[HydroJim]

I just arrived back at my facility from an intern event at the corporate headquarters. I sat down with my supervisor for lunch.
We started talking about cars. I don't remember the exact dialogue, but here is the gist.

Supervisor: "I have a 2012 corvette"
Me: "Oh that's cool. Do you only drive it on the weekends or something?" (I had never seen it in the parking lot)
Supervisor: "Well I haven't really driven it at all this year. It still only has 600 miles on it"
Me: *smacks head*

No idea why someone would pay that much for a car and not drive it. I really love cars, but if I ever bought an awesome car, I'd be driving that thing as much as possible.

On the plus side, he told me a story about a volkswagen diesel that he used to have. He bought it for something like $750 and put like $300 in parts in it for 90k miles and then junked it out for $75. Considering all ownership costs, he found that he actually made money driving it because the company paid him for his miles to drive to our Indiana facility. I thought that was pretty cool.

[Seppia]

@ducky Are we talking about this tank disguised as a civil vehicle?



Because of course what looks to be a 163 tons, 35ft long monstrosity is not enough because "I have a baby now".
Genius :)

[Hedge_87]

I just arrived back at my facility from an intern event at the corporate headquarters. I sat down with my supervisor for lunch.
We started talking about cars. I don't remember the exact dialogue, but here is the gist.

Supervisor: "I have a 2012 corvette"
Me: "Oh that's cool. Do you only drive it on the weekends or something?" (I had never seen it in the parking lot)
Supervisor: "Well I haven't really driven it at all this year. It still only has 600 miles on it"
Me: *smacks head*

No idea why someone would pay that much for a car and not drive it. I really love cars, but if I ever bought an awesome car, I'd be driving that thing as much as possible.

Lol I have a father in law just like this. He has one car he's poured tons of money into to make a show/drag car. It can't sit and idle in traffic (it's rocking 400+ horsepower) so it doesn't leave the garage. He doesn't even take it to car shows or anything. I've heard it start once lol. He has a 2007 Harley that I've never seen out of its cover in the corner of the garage. He also has several project cars in storage units and is talking about putting a lift in his garage  (which will take major structural renovations to accommodate) so he can park another car in there. And after all this he has a 2013 explorer that sits in the driveway in the middle of a state that has several sever hail storms a year.

[EricL]

GS-13 in my office whining about his pay... he always has some issue. He is retired from the military, did his 20+ years, gets a pension. So he whines about his 2nd paycheck at least once a month. This is a man who is a drama queen, annoys my contractor boss constantly, does absolutely nothing and doesn't contribute to a positive work environment, and drives 150 miles round trip for 4 10-hour work days.

I sympathize.  I got to work with plenty of GS workers who were vets.  They worked for a living and felt the government already gave them their due entitlements.  They weren't looking for anything but an honest wage for honest work. But then there was always that guy...

[whiskerstash]

CW Background:
23 yr old male; hired on six months ago; entry level position.

CW shows up to work last month in a financed 2014 GMC 2500. Everyone procedes to congratulate him with high fives and 'manly compliments'.(someone even ran out to buy a cake to celebrate at lunch)

He's beyond open about his finances. Details :
5 yr term, 0 down, 7+% interest, he financed every option he could so that the truck would 'keep its value', and he calculated that between the note and ins paymts hes paying more than 50% of his NET PAY. He got excited about this as if overextending yourself on a massive tank was somehow something to be proud of. How tf did the lender decide this was a good idea?

Oh and my favorite. Said coworker is late at least 3x/wk. When questioned about it he said it's because he can't drive over 65mph since he's trying to save money on gas. Wtf?

Penny wise, and dollar foolish?
Or just plain foolish?

[solon]

CW Background:
23 yr old male; hired on six months ago; entry level position.

CW shows up to work last month in a financed 2014 GMC 2500. Everyone procedes to congratulate him with high fives and 'manly compliments'.(someone even ran out to buy a cake to celebrate at lunch)

He's beyond open about his finances. Details :
5 yr term, 0 down, 7+% interest, he financed every option he could so that the truck would 'keep its value', and he calculated that between the note and ins paymts hes paying more than 50% of his NET PAY. He got excited about this as if overextending yourself on a massive tank was somehow something to be proud of. How tf did the lender decide this was a good idea?

Oh and my favorite. Said coworker is late at least 3x/wk. When questioned about it he said it's because he can't drive over 65mph since he's trying to save money on gas. Wtf?

Penny wise, and dollar foolish?
Or just plain foolish?

I think his main problem is his age. Hopefully he'll learn from this.

[grantmeaname]

I think his main problem is his age. Hopefully he'll learn from this.

No, his main problem is that he's a dumbass. Age has little to do with it. Not all 23-year-olds finance trucks, and not many older folks are any better.

[Seppia]

But there's still hope. At 23 you can do a lot of stupid things (I did).
Never overextended myself financially though

[HairyUpperLip]

When I was around 20 years old I bought a Toyota Tacoma from the dealership. Even then I still picked a used model, standard cab, 5 speed, 2wd - a pretty practical truck in all honesty. I think I made around $13/hr back then too. I think I paid around $10-11k.

At 31 I'm making 99k and just the thought of a 2014 2500 payment with 0% interest makes me stress out. This whole everyone having the best of everything kills me.

[fb132]

A collegue of mine was broke this month because she bought gifts for her family that were expensive wallets, so I told her why would you go broke on fucking wallets, all wallets do is carry money, why did you NEED to buy your family members (mainly cousins) a couple of expensive wallet. Then she gets angry at me "People with ugly wallets are ugly people, I wouldn't want to be seen with an ugly wallet.". I stopped the conversation right there, because I knew whatever I said would just turn into a verbal dispute and it would go nowhere. I don't understand people, why complain to me that your broke, then tell me that you bought some ridiculous merchandise (which is the reason why you are broke in the first place) and when I point that out, I am the asshole who doesn't understand,lol.

[Squirrel away]

Then she gets angry at me "People with ugly wallets are ugly people, I wouldn't want to be seen with an ugly wallet.".

Lol.:P

[fb132]

I should of asked her how much she paid for those damn wallets, I am curious how wallets can cost you your entire paycheck.

[Sam E]

I should of asked her how much she paid for those damn wallets, I am curious how wallets can cost you your entire paycheck.

It seems really ironic to spend all the money you have on something that does nothing but hold money.

[midweststache]

Then she gets angry at me "People with ugly wallets are ugly people, I wouldn't want to be seen with an ugly wallet.".

::head:desk::

[fb132]

I should of asked her how much she paid for those damn wallets, I am curious how wallets can cost you your entire paycheck.

It seems really ironic to spend all the money you have on something that does nothing but hold money.

Well technically those wallets will go to her family members, so it won't be her money that will be in those wallet. What is ironic is I joke around (well not really) that she puts too much value on "things", she denies it and says that she is far from being materialistic....Oh, I had to contain myself when I heard that. Btw, she owns 2-3 cars including a BMW and she makes less than me and I don't make a high income to begin with. I feel sad that she fell for what the media and society tells her to do. Hopefully when I will be FI in 10 years, maybe that will convince her to change her ways.

[MgoSam]

Then she gets angry at me "People with ugly wallets are ugly people, I wouldn't want to be seen with an ugly wallet.".

Lol.:P

"The things you own end up owning you"
Tyler Durden (Fight Club)

[Iron Mike Sharpe]

A collegue of mine was broke this month because she bought gifts for her family that were expensive wallets, so I told her why would you go broke on fucking wallets, all wallets do is carry money, why did you NEED to buy your family members (mainly cousins) a couple of expensive wallet. Then she gets angry at me "People with ugly wallets are ugly people, I wouldn't want to be seen with an ugly wallet.". I stopped the conversation right there, because I knew whatever I said would just turn into a verbal dispute and it would go nowhere. I don't understand people, why complain to me that your broke, then tell me that you bought some ridiculous merchandise (which is the reason why you are broke in the first place) and when I point that out, I am the asshole who doesn't understand,lol.

Of course she got angry with you.  You attacked her decision unprovoked. 

I'd suggest reading the classic book How to Win Friends and Influence People.

[RWD]

I think his main problem is his age. Hopefully he'll learn from this.

No, his main problem is that he's a dumbass. Age has little to do with it. Not all 23-year-olds finance trucks, and not many older folks are any better.

Agree. When I was 23 (in 2008) our two vehicles had a combined approximate value of maybe $8k tops (1995 Subaru Legacy wagon and 1991 Toyota Supra Turbo).

[MudDuck]

A co-worker told me he was going to trade in his (2008-9) Chrysler 300 after work and get a 2013 Chrysler 300 because the air conditioning fan had broken and, "you know, it's out of warranty and once one thing goes..." I asked if it wouldn't be cheaper to just replace the fan and keep driving the old one and he said he didn't have the money to get it fixed. That made me kind of sad, but ok...

Next morning: He's got a 2015 Chrysler 200... because that's all they could qualify for. I died a little.

[HairyUpperLip]

Next morning: He's got a 2015 Chrysler 200... because that's all they could qualify for. I died a little.

lolol I find humor in that.

[ducky19]

@ducky Are we talking about this tank disguised as a civil vehicle?



Because of course what looks to be a 163 tons, 35ft long monstrosity is not enough because "I have a baby now".
Genius :)

That's the one. Except in red.  ;)

[wkumtrider]

Not overheard, but some situations of a few co-workers:  Three of them are in their late seventies (77+ yrs old) and still work because they say they can not afford to quit.  One of these cw's daughter, boyfriend, and their kids live with her and they do not work.  So here she is, 77 yrs old and working to support her lazy family. It is really sad. I don't get why she puts up with it.  Another cw who is also 77 continues to work because she says she would have nothing to do.  I can think of a million other things to do besides work.

[LeRainDrop]

I should of asked her how much she paid for those damn wallets, I am curious how wallets can cost you your entire paycheck.

It seems really ironic to spend all the money you have on something that does nothing but hold money.

Ha, they also hold credit cards, so there's that! . . .  ;-)

[willikers]

I should of asked her how much she paid for those damn wallets, I am curious how wallets can cost you your entire paycheck.

It seems really ironic to spend all the money you have on something that does nothing but hold money.

Isn't that what pockets and banks are for?

[driftxsequence]

A good friend of mine is a car nut. Die hard chevy guy. This is his current daily driver.

http://s149.photobucket.com/user/32turbo/media/Picture058.jpg.html

He blew up the engine in his 2009 Cobalt SS, ( that he just paid off) and is getting a new motor built out in kentucky. So to save on SHIPPING COSTS. he is driving his trail blazer out there...WITH A TRAILER.....FOR A 4 CYLINDER MOTOR. instead of in the back of his SUV. he got 14.4 MPG...

for perspective. I was able to shove 2 engines, and 2 transmissions and engine stands in the back of my Mazda 3, with 2 people up front.