Author Topic: Overheard at Work  (Read 13268474 times)

MgoSam

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7850 on: April 23, 2015, 08:11:56 AM »
Yeah, spending some time on the road doing sales, I found that most night clerks had wiggle room on rates, especially if there are multiple hotels nearby. My favorite has to be going to a Red Roof Inn and being told that the rates was $65, negotiating it down to $55 and then chatting with the guy as he checked me in. We traded stories and jokes and then right before I signed the rate sheet, he tore it up and lowered my rate to $45 because, "I made him laugh." A year later I was back in the same area and got the rate of $55, but when I asked the lady behind the counter about the guy, she looked at me suspiciously until I told her about him telling me his life story (which was clearly made up) and she burst out laughing and lowered my rate down to around $42.

At that rate, you'll get comp'd nights by 2029!

Love it when people live up to their user names.

LOL! Though you should know that two times does not constitute a pattern.

thd7t

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7851 on: April 23, 2015, 08:28:03 AM »
So here's a bit of a mixed one.A coworker is going on sabbatical for ~3 months because she saved money since college over the last 3 or so years. She's going to places like Bali, St. Thomas, etc and then moving back to her home state (California). The good is that she saved. The bad is her attitude towards the saved money: gotta enjoy life while you're young because you never know what will happen. With that attitude, we all know what will happen. She will work until she's 70 and never be able to retire. I told her that. She disagreed and said now was more important anyway.
She does have a big advantage.  She's already learned how to flex the saving muscles.  I don't know how old she is, or how much she's saved on what wage, but it's definitely not the disaster that you're making it out to be. 

Cookie78

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7852 on: April 23, 2015, 08:36:49 AM »
Yeah, I agree. I used to be that girl. You DO have to enjoy life while you can. At least she saved and wasn't taking three months off using her credit card.
The problem is not in enjoying life while you can, it's doing it in such a reckless way that you can't do it in the future (or can't do it as much as you could otherwise). Or as MMM put it, "giving your future self the shaft". Tomorrow has to be enjoyed too.

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lpep

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7853 on: April 23, 2015, 08:58:01 AM »
So here's a bit of a mixed one.A coworker is going on sabbatical for ~3 months because she saved money since college over the last 3 or so years. She's going to places like Bali, St. Thomas, etc and then moving back to her home state (California). The good is that she saved. The bad is her attitude towards the saved money: gotta enjoy life while you're young because you never know what will happen. With that attitude, we all know what will happen. She will work until she's 70 and never be able to retire. I told her that. She disagreed and said now was more important anyway.

Retiring early might never have occurred to her as an option! Could you have a non-condescending conversation with her about it? It's not really surprising she would shrug you off if you said something like "at this rate, you'll have to work until you're 70!" but I would have LOVED if it someone had told me about FIRE a few years ago, because once I heard about it, boom - that became my new goal. Investing and compound interest and all that seemed too complicated, but with some guidance, you may have a new convert!

Hunny156

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7854 on: April 23, 2015, 09:05:10 AM »
Seen at work last night:

In the parking lot, older female employee walking with difficulty to her vehicle.  Vehicle is an older model Taurus, with a smashed headlight and body damage.  Vehicle damage has evidently been there for a while, not fresh.  Woman stops before getting into the vehicle to take a call on her iPhone, decked out in some blingy case, out of her Michael Kors handbag.  Made me sad.

Pooperman

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7855 on: April 23, 2015, 09:07:15 AM »
So here's a bit of a mixed one.A coworker is going on sabbatical for ~3 months because she saved money since college over the last 3 or so years. She's going to places like Bali, St. Thomas, etc and then moving back to her home state (California). The good is that she saved. The bad is her attitude towards the saved money: gotta enjoy life while you're young because you never know what will happen. With that attitude, we all know what will happen. She will work until she's 70 and never be able to retire. I told her that. She disagreed and said now was more important anyway.

Retiring early might never have occurred to her as an option! Could you have a non-condescending conversation with her about it? It's not really surprising she would shrug you off if you said something like "at this rate, you'll have to work until you're 70!" but I would have LOVED if it someone had told me about FIRE a few years ago, because once I heard about it, boom - that became my new goal. Investing and compound interest and all that seemed too complicated, but with some guidance, you may have a new convert!

She knows I intend to peace out by 40.

NumberCruncher

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7856 on: April 23, 2015, 09:42:35 AM »
Yeah, spending some time on the road doing sales, I found that most night clerks had wiggle room on rates, especially if there are multiple hotels nearby. My favorite has to be going to a Red Roof Inn and being told that the rates was $65, negotiating it down to $55 and then chatting with the guy as he checked me in. We traded stories and jokes and then right before I signed the rate sheet, he tore it up and lowered my rate to $45 because, "I made him laugh." A year later I was back in the same area and got the rate of $55, but when I asked the lady behind the counter about the guy, she looked at me suspiciously until I told her about him telling me his life story (which was clearly made up) and she burst out laughing and lowered my rate down to around $42.

At that rate, you'll get comp'd nights by 2029!

Love it when people live up to their user names.

LOL! Though you should know that two times does not constitute a pattern.

Only takes two points to make a line, though  ;)

MishMash

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7857 on: April 23, 2015, 10:04:47 AM »
We had a fancy pants lunch of On the Border taco bar delivered to our office yesterday for the company meeting.  There were lots of leftovers so I packed it all up and put it in the fridge around 2:30.  I just took it out and reheated myself a plate for lunch today.  So far three people have walked by and the responses have been, OH! we got lunch AGAIN today sweet?!?...oh wait, that's just the leftover crap from yesterday isn't it?", "Ugh, but it's coooooold now" (there is a microwave sitting on the same counter and paper plates) and "Ewww! who eats LEFTOVERS!!"

Screw that, if no one else eats it I"m taking it home, it's almost two full trays of meat, rice, beans, chips and lbs of fixings like cheese and salsa.  I could eat for a week off of the leftovers, with extra at the end, the way they are and a month if I make stretch meals out of them.  The waste in this office kills me.

zephyr911

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7858 on: April 23, 2015, 10:10:19 AM »
We had a fancy pants lunch of On the Border taco bar delivered to our office yesterday for the company meeting.  There were lots of leftovers so I packed it all up and put it in the fridge around 2:30.  I just took it out and reheated myself a plate for lunch today.  So far three people have walked by and the responses have been, OH! we got lunch AGAIN today sweet?!?...oh wait, that's just the leftover crap from yesterday isn't it?", "Ugh, but it's coooooold now" (there is a microwave sitting on the same counter and paper plates) and "Ewww! who eats LEFTOVERS!!"

Screw that, if no one else eats it I"m taking it home, it's almost two full trays of meat, rice, beans, chips and lbs of fixings like cheese and salsa.  I could eat for a week off of the leftovers, with extra at the end, the way they are and a month if I make stretch meals out of them.  The waste in this office kills me.
I don't hear a lot of snobbery about our office leftovers, but I don't see many people eating them either. Usually if we get to Friday and they're not all gone, I'll show up with containers. I've had weeks where I barely cooked.
A couple of months ago one of the officers in my guard unit got promoted and bought huge boxes of fried chicken for the party. You bet your ass I froze about 10 pounds of it on Sunday afternoon and lived off it all week. Great timing too, cause DW was off visiting family.
And actually, we have an office lunch today... I'll have to see what I can snag >.<

MgoSam

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7859 on: April 23, 2015, 10:14:07 AM »
We had a fancy pants lunch of On the Border taco bar delivered to our office yesterday for the company meeting.  There were lots of leftovers so I packed it all up and put it in the fridge around 2:30.  I just took it out and reheated myself a plate for lunch today.  So far three people have walked by and the responses have been, OH! we got lunch AGAIN today sweet?!?...oh wait, that's just the leftover crap from yesterday isn't it?", "Ugh, but it's coooooold now" (there is a microwave sitting on the same counter and paper plates) and "Ewww! who eats LEFTOVERS!!"

Screw that, if no one else eats it I"m taking it home, it's almost two full trays of meat, rice, beans, chips and lbs of fixings like cheese and salsa.  I could eat for a week off of the leftovers, with extra at the end, the way they are and a month if I make stretch meals out of them.  The waste in this office kills me.

That's bizarre. Each time we have a pizza lunch for the office, anything that is leftover will get taken home for dinner or put in the fridge for lunch the next day. Then again, work lunches are once a quarter and only for events such as someone leaving or holidays.

aetherie

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7860 on: April 23, 2015, 10:15:09 AM »
We had a fancy pants lunch of On the Border taco bar delivered to our office yesterday for the company meeting.  There were lots of leftovers so I packed it all up and put it in the fridge around 2:30.  I just took it out and reheated myself a plate for lunch today.  So far three people have walked by and the responses have been, OH! we got lunch AGAIN today sweet?!?...oh wait, that's just the leftover crap from yesterday isn't it?", "Ugh, but it's coooooold now" (there is a microwave sitting on the same counter and paper plates) and "Ewww! who eats LEFTOVERS!!"

Screw that, if no one else eats it I"m taking it home, it's almost two full trays of meat, rice, beans, chips and lbs of fixings like cheese and salsa.  I could eat for a week off of the leftovers, with extra at the end, the way they are and a month if I make stretch meals out of them.  The waste in this office kills me.
I don't hear a lot of snobbery about our office leftovers, but I don't see many people eating them either. Usually if we get to Friday and they're not all gone, I'll show up with containers. I've had weeks where I barely cooked.
A couple of months ago one of the officers in my guard unit got promoted and bought huge boxes of fried chicken for the party. You bet your ass I froze about 10 pounds of it on Sunday afternoon and lived off it all week. Great timing too, cause DW was off visiting family.
And actually, we have an office lunch today... I'll have to see what I can snag >.<

I'm jealous. I work with a bunch of 20-something guys, and whenever we get office lunch it all disappears in like 15 minutes.

zephyr911

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7861 on: April 23, 2015, 10:22:39 AM »
I'm jealous. I work with a bunch of 20-something guys, and whenever we get office lunch it all disappears in like 15 minutes.
Yeah, the few of us in our 30s here are the young/poor ones. Most CWs are retired military over 45.

aetherie

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7862 on: April 23, 2015, 10:41:33 AM »
I'm jealous. I work with a bunch of 20-something guys, and whenever we get office lunch it all disappears in like 15 minutes.
Yeah, the few of us in our 30s here are the young/poor ones. Most CWs are retired military over 45.

I just meant they (and I) eat it all, haha.

Overheard yesterday: new hire doing paperwork and declining to make any contributions to his 401k or HSA. :(
« Last Edit: April 23, 2015, 10:44:03 AM by aetherie »

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7863 on: April 23, 2015, 10:54:24 AM »
We had a fancy pants lunch of On the Border taco bar delivered to our office yesterday for the company meeting.  There were lots of leftovers so I packed it all up and put it in the fridge around 2:30.  I just took it out and reheated myself a plate for lunch today.  So far three people have walked by and the responses have been, OH! we got lunch AGAIN today sweet?!?...oh wait, that's just the leftover crap from yesterday isn't it?", "Ugh, but it's coooooold now" (there is a microwave sitting on the same counter and paper plates) and "Ewww! who eats LEFTOVERS!!"

Screw that, if no one else eats it I"m taking it home, it's almost two full trays of meat, rice, beans, chips and lbs of fixings like cheese and salsa.  I could eat for a week off of the leftovers, with extra at the end, the way they are and a month if I make stretch meals out of them.  The waste in this office kills me.
Oh gosh, this is terrible.  Not here. We've got bigwigs in town, and yesterday I got a free muffin.  And then they ordered sushi lunch with many leftovers sooo...I saved my salad for lunch for today, and had a sushi lunch yesterday.

Who knows if I will eat my salad.  I mean, there might be leftovers today too.

I am well known here as the person happy to take leftovers home.  Then again, most of my coworkers are engineers too.  So when we have guests and there's food, we all lurk and casually walk by the break room, waiting for the leftovers.  And then there are furtive phone calls to the people in the other building who just "happen" to come by when they are out.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7864 on: April 23, 2015, 10:56:52 AM »
Not direct quotes, but I think I'm getting the message across.

"Waaah I'm so poor and I have to live paycheck to paycheck. Oh hey, check out this new smartphone.  The screen is huge!"

"Waaah rich college kids get BMWs and I have to WORK to pay for my luxury SUV."

"Sure not having credit card debt would be nice, but you know what would really make me happy?  A brand new WRX.  I can't legally go 160 anywhere and I'm going to spend most of my time stuck in traffic, but those are minor details."

"I work two jobs busting my ass and you know the worst part? I barely have any quality time to spend with my expensive gadgets."

Travis

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7865 on: April 23, 2015, 11:20:13 AM »
We had a fancy pants lunch of On the Border taco bar delivered to our office yesterday for the company meeting.  There were lots of leftovers so I packed it all up and put it in the fridge around 2:30.  I just took it out and reheated myself a plate for lunch today.  So far three people have walked by and the responses have been, OH! we got lunch AGAIN today sweet?!?...oh wait, that's just the leftover crap from yesterday isn't it?", "Ugh, but it's coooooold now" (there is a microwave sitting on the same counter and paper plates) and "Ewww! who eats LEFTOVERS!!"

Screw that, if no one else eats it I"m taking it home, it's almost two full trays of meat, rice, beans, chips and lbs of fixings like cheese and salsa.  I could eat for a week off of the leftovers, with extra at the end, the way they are and a month if I make stretch meals out of them.  The waste in this office kills me.

That's bizarre. Each time we have a pizza lunch for the office, anything that is leftover will get taken home for dinner or put in the fridge for lunch the next day. Then again, work lunches are once a quarter and only for events such as someone leaving or holidays.

The fridge in the break room currently has two boxes of half-eaten pizza taking up space.  They've been there since Monday.  I know they came from the people on duty over the weekend, but they never leave a sticky note saying "mine, don't touch" or "free pizza."  Since nobody knows for sure why they're there nobody touches them.  They're going to get thrown away tomorrow and someone could have enjoyed some free pizza back on Monday.  This is the second time in a month this has happened.

MishMash

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7866 on: April 23, 2015, 11:28:18 AM »
We had a fancy pants lunch of On the Border taco bar delivered to our office yesterday for the company meeting.  There were lots of leftovers so I packed it all up and put it in the fridge around 2:30.  I just took it out and reheated myself a plate for lunch today.  So far three people have walked by and the responses have been, OH! we got lunch AGAIN today sweet?!?...oh wait, that's just the leftover crap from yesterday isn't it?", "Ugh, but it's coooooold now" (there is a microwave sitting on the same counter and paper plates) and "Ewww! who eats LEFTOVERS!!"

Screw that, if no one else eats it I"m taking it home, it's almost two full trays of meat, rice, beans, chips and lbs of fixings like cheese and salsa.  I could eat for a week off of the leftovers, with extra at the end, the way they are and a month if I make stretch meals out of them.  The waste in this office kills me.

That's bizarre. Each time we have a pizza lunch for the office, anything that is leftover will get taken home for dinner or put in the fridge for lunch the next day. Then again, work lunches are once a quarter and only for events such as someone leaving or holidays.

The fridge in the break room currently has two boxes of half-eaten pizza taking up space.  They've been there since Monday.  I know they came from the people on duty over the weekend, but they never leave a sticky note saying "mine, don't touch" or "free pizza."  Since nobody knows for sure why they're there nobody touches them.  They're going to get thrown away tomorrow and someone could have enjoyed some free pizza back on Monday.  This is the second time in a month this has happened.

It's now been on the counter for two hours, only one other person in the office ate it.  The two BRAND NEW, as in this week they started, pretty much straight out of college, inside sales guys went and bought lunch...one of them to guess what, a local mexican joint!  He came back with that and a bag of some weird protein shake energy things.  No other snide comments but it looks like I'm going home with enough food to feed a small army here soon.  The leftover cans of soda are all gone however...

zephyr911

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7867 on: April 23, 2015, 11:35:55 AM »
I just meant they (and I) eat it all, haha.
Yep. Mine by contrast have low metabolism and lots of money so why would they bother? xD

Quote
Overheard yesterday: new hire doing paperwork and declining to make any contributions to his 401k or HSA. :(
How sad.

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7868 on: April 23, 2015, 11:44:56 AM »
So here's a bit of a mixed one.A coworker is going on sabbatical for ~3 months because she saved money since college over the last 3 or so years. She's going to places like Bali, St. Thomas, etc and then moving back to her home state (California). The good is that she saved. The bad is her attitude towards the saved money: gotta enjoy life while you're young because you never know what will happen. With that attitude, we all know what will happen. She will work until she's 70 and never be able to retire. I told her that. She disagreed and said now was more important anyway.
She does have a big advantage.  She's already learned how to flex the saving muscles.  I don't know how old she is, or how much she's saved on what wage, but it's definitely not the disaster that you're making it out to be.
Yeah, I have to say, it's not necessarily a disaster.  I think enjoying life now is a great idea.  As long as she gets back to the frugalness when she's done with her tour.

I've been working full time for 23 years.  Well, minus 2.5 years of 30-35 hours a week when I had babies/ toddlers.  I wish I'd taken more time when I was younger.

I mean really, the whole travel-round-the-world thing isn't really my thing at all.  But I wish I'd taken a few more 2 week or 3 week summer road trips.  The first time I took 2 weeks off straight was when my oldest was a toddler, and it was to visit family. I couldn't believe how relaxing 2 weeks is.  I mean, you are 3 days into it when you've finally relaxed from the grind, and there are 11 more days!  If only I'd done that pre-kid.

Pooperman

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7869 on: April 23, 2015, 11:50:15 AM »
So here's a bit of a mixed one.A coworker is going on sabbatical for ~3 months because she saved money since college over the last 3 or so years. She's going to places like Bali, St. Thomas, etc and then moving back to her home state (California). The good is that she saved. The bad is her attitude towards the saved money: gotta enjoy life while you're young because you never know what will happen. With that attitude, we all know what will happen. She will work until she's 70 and never be able to retire. I told her that. She disagreed and said now was more important anyway.
She does have a big advantage.  She's already learned how to flex the saving muscles.  I don't know how old she is, or how much she's saved on what wage, but it's definitely not the disaster that you're making it out to be.
Yeah, I have to say, it's not necessarily a disaster.  I think enjoying life now is a great idea.  As long as she gets back to the frugalness when she's done with her tour.

I've been working full time for 23 years.  Well, minus 2.5 years of 30-35 hours a week when I had babies/ toddlers.  I wish I'd taken more time when I was younger.

I mean really, the whole travel-round-the-world thing isn't really my thing at all.  But I wish I'd taken a few more 2 week or 3 week summer road trips.  The first time I took 2 weeks off straight was when my oldest was a toddler, and it was to visit family. I couldn't believe how relaxing 2 weeks is.  I mean, you are 3 days into it when you've finally relaxed from the grind, and there are 11 more days!  If only I'd done that pre-kid.

She belongs in this thread because she's far from frugal (eats lunch out every day at ~$15/pop). If she were frugal I'd totally be agreeing with her on this, but it's just going to make her life more difficult since she's moving to San Francisco and it's as expensive or more so than New York.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7870 on: April 23, 2015, 12:49:10 PM »
We had a fancy pants lunch of On the Border taco bar delivered to our office yesterday for the company meeting.  There were lots of leftovers so I packed it all up and put it in the fridge around 2:30.  I just took it out and reheated myself a plate for lunch today.  So far three people have walked by and the responses have been, OH! we got lunch AGAIN today sweet?!?...oh wait, that's just the leftover crap from yesterday isn't it?", "Ugh, but it's coooooold now" (there is a microwave sitting on the same counter and paper plates) and "Ewww! who eats LEFTOVERS!!"

Screw that, if no one else eats it I"m taking it home, it's almost two full trays of meat, rice, beans, chips and lbs of fixings like cheese and salsa.  I could eat for a week off of the leftovers, with extra at the end, the way they are and a month if I make stretch meals out of them.  The waste in this office kills me.
Oh gosh, this is terrible.  Not here. We've got bigwigs in town, and yesterday I got a free muffin.  And then they ordered sushi lunch with many leftovers sooo...I saved my salad for lunch for today, and had a sushi lunch yesterday.

Who knows if I will eat my salad.  I mean, there might be leftovers today too.

I am well known here as the person happy to take leftovers home.  Then again, most of my coworkers are engineers too.  So when we have guests and there's food, we all lurk and casually walk by the break room, waiting for the leftovers.  And then there are furtive phone calls to the people in the other building who just "happen" to come by when they are out.

One thing that always amazes me at work is the fact that the secretary has to clean out the fridge about once a quarter- not because it's gotten things spilled or is dirty but because it's gotten so stuffed with items that people put in there and forgot about that it's impossible for people to use it. It's amazing the volume of stuff she has to throw out each time- not only leftover take-out boxes (which do make up a good bit of it) but Tupperware containers people brought in and often unopened (and sometimes also expired) packages of food (there's about a week's worth of notices before the clean-out so nothing anybody actually wants to keep should get thrown away).

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7871 on: April 23, 2015, 12:59:07 PM »
We had a fancy pants lunch of On the Border taco bar delivered to our office yesterday for the company meeting.  There were lots of leftovers so I packed it all up and put it in the fridge around 2:30.  I just took it out and reheated myself a plate for lunch today.  So far three people have walked by and the responses have been, OH! we got lunch AGAIN today sweet?!?...oh wait, that's just the leftover crap from yesterday isn't it?", "Ugh, but it's coooooold now" (there is a microwave sitting on the same counter and paper plates) and "Ewww! who eats LEFTOVERS!!"

Screw that, if no one else eats it I"m taking it home, it's almost two full trays of meat, rice, beans, chips and lbs of fixings like cheese and salsa.  I could eat for a week off of the leftovers, with extra at the end, the way they are and a month if I make stretch meals out of them.  The waste in this office kills me.
Oh gosh, this is terrible.  Not here. We've got bigwigs in town, and yesterday I got a free muffin.  And then they ordered sushi lunch with many leftovers sooo...I saved my salad for lunch for today, and had a sushi lunch yesterday.

Who knows if I will eat my salad.  I mean, there might be leftovers today too.

I am well known here as the person happy to take leftovers home.  Then again, most of my coworkers are engineers too.  So when we have guests and there's food, we all lurk and casually walk by the break room, waiting for the leftovers.  And then there are furtive phone calls to the people in the other building who just "happen" to come by when they are out.

One thing that always amazes me at work is the fact that the secretary has to clean out the fridge about once a quarter- not because it's gotten things spilled or is dirty but because it's gotten so stuffed with items that people put in there and forgot about that it's impossible for people to use it. It's amazing the volume of stuff she has to throw out each time- not only leftover take-out boxes (which do make up a good bit of it) but Tupperware containers people brought in and often unopened (and sometimes also expired) packages of food (there's about a week's worth of notices before the clean-out so nothing anybody actually wants to keep should get thrown away).

I used to get stuck doing this when I was an office manager.  So many places have this issue, it's insane!  No amount of notice would make a difference either, so I eventually got in the habit of eyeballing the fridge on a regular basis.  Anything packaged would hit the trash a week post expiration date.  The first time I cleaned out the freezer, I found a frozen dinner in there that was 6 years past code!  Who knows if the owner of that particular meal even worked there anymore...

zephyr911

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7872 on: April 23, 2015, 01:09:47 PM »
CW who financed his wife's 40K SUV in Dec and admits to some remorse: "man, look at that new Tahoe... the more I look at the new ones the more I like them".
There's literally nothing wrong with the lifted 4x4 he already has, and his entire family + dog could fit in a Civic.
A few minutes later "I really like the new TRD Tundra they're making... I priced one out online the other day, came out to $45k."
Bright spot: realized that was a bad idea and probably won't do it. This one likes the job (hell, I don't mind it these days) but I don't think he wants to be here for another 35 years. My goal is to assist with the putting of 2 and 2 together... hehe

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7873 on: April 23, 2015, 01:13:27 PM »
We had a fancy pants lunch of On the Border taco bar delivered to our office yesterday for the company meeting.  There were lots of leftovers so I packed it all up and put it in the fridge around 2:30.  I just took it out and reheated myself a plate for lunch today.  So far three people have walked by and the responses have been, OH! we got lunch AGAIN today sweet?!?...oh wait, that's just the leftover crap from yesterday isn't it?", "Ugh, but it's coooooold now" (there is a microwave sitting on the same counter and paper plates) and "Ewww! who eats LEFTOVERS!!"

Screw that, if no one else eats it I"m taking it home, it's almost two full trays of meat, rice, beans, chips and lbs of fixings like cheese and salsa.  I could eat for a week off of the leftovers, with extra at the end, the way they are and a month if I make stretch meals out of them.  The waste in this office kills me.
Oh gosh, this is terrible.  Not here. We've got bigwigs in town, and yesterday I got a free muffin.  And then they ordered sushi lunch with many leftovers sooo...I saved my salad for lunch for today, and had a sushi lunch yesterday.

Who knows if I will eat my salad.  I mean, there might be leftovers today too.

I am well known here as the person happy to take leftovers home.  Then again, most of my coworkers are engineers too.  So when we have guests and there's food, we all lurk and casually walk by the break room, waiting for the leftovers.  And then there are furtive phone calls to the people in the other building who just "happen" to come by when they are out.

One thing that always amazes me at work is the fact that the secretary has to clean out the fridge about once a quarter- not because it's gotten things spilled or is dirty but because it's gotten so stuffed with items that people put in there and forgot about that it's impossible for people to use it. It's amazing the volume of stuff she has to throw out each time- not only leftover take-out boxes (which do make up a good bit of it) but Tupperware containers people brought in and often unopened (and sometimes also expired) packages of food (there's about a week's worth of notices before the clean-out so nothing anybody actually wants to keep should get thrown away).

I used to get stuck doing this when I was an office manager.  So many places have this issue, it's insane!  No amount of notice would make a difference either, so I eventually got in the habit of eyeballing the fridge on a regular basis.  Anything packaged would hit the trash a week post expiration date.  The first time I cleaned out the freezer, I found a frozen dinner in there that was 6 years past code!  Who knows if the owner of that particular meal even worked there anymore...

Here's the rule: if you put something in the fridge, put a date on it 1-week from now.  Every friday, check on fridge.  If no date, throw out.  If date is > today+1 week, throw out.

edit:  this doesn't stop someone from keeping milk in the fridge for a month.  They just have to keep putting a new date on it.  If they do that, it's likely it isn't forgotten/spoiled.
« Last Edit: April 23, 2015, 01:16:26 PM by dragoncar »

Travis

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7874 on: April 23, 2015, 01:48:35 PM »
Or at least put your name on it so we know who to pester. 

Ashyukun

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7875 on: April 23, 2015, 02:22:28 PM »

I used to get stuck doing this when I was an office manager.  So many places have this issue, it's insane!  No amount of notice would make a difference either, so I eventually got in the habit of eyeballing the fridge on a regular basis.  Anything packaged would hit the trash a week post expiration date.  The first time I cleaned out the freezer, I found a frozen dinner in there that was 6 years past code!  Who knows if the owner of that particular meal even worked there anymore...

Here's the rule: if you put something in the fridge, put a date on it 1-week from now.  Every friday, check on fridge.  If no date, throw out.  If date is > today+1 week, throw out.

edit:  this doesn't stop someone from keeping milk in the fridge for a month.  They just have to keep putting a new date on it.  If they do that, it's likely it isn't forgotten/spoiled.

I just don't see how people can just forget that they have food there in the fridge- and this is coming from someone who is a complete ADD airhead at times. The only time I've had things that weren't long-term (like milk, frozen waffles, etc.) in the fridge at work longer than a week was the one time that I brought in lunch 2 days before Christmas vacation started, ended up getting free lunch from work that day, and then was sick the next day so it sat over the few weeks of vacation.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7876 on: April 23, 2015, 02:37:43 PM »

I used to get stuck doing this when I was an office manager.  So many places have this issue, it's insane!  No amount of notice would make a difference either, so I eventually got in the habit of eyeballing the fridge on a regular basis.  Anything packaged would hit the trash a week post expiration date.  The first time I cleaned out the freezer, I found a frozen dinner in there that was 6 years past code!  Who knows if the owner of that particular meal even worked there anymore...

Here's the rule: if you put something in the fridge, put a date on it 1-week from now.  Every friday, check on fridge.  If no date, throw out.  If date is > today+1 week, throw out.

edit:  this doesn't stop someone from keeping milk in the fridge for a month.  They just have to keep putting a new date on it.  If they do that, it's likely it isn't forgotten/spoiled.

I just don't see how people can just forget that they have food there in the fridge- and this is coming from someone who is a complete ADD airhead at times. The only time I've had things that weren't long-term (like milk, frozen waffles, etc.) in the fridge at work longer than a week was the one time that I brought in lunch 2 days before Christmas vacation started, ended up getting free lunch from work that day, and then was sick the next day so it sat over the few weeks of vacation.

Here's a for example:  Bob eats most of his salad and then gets up to go to the bathroom.  Jill sees the salad and puts it in the fridge.  Bob comes back and goes "damn, I can't believe someone threw away my salad!"  Salad rots in fridge.

Hunny156

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7877 on: April 23, 2015, 03:22:09 PM »
I just checked one of the fridges, and there is a tupperware, with a person's name on it, and a date of 3/18!  I'm just glad I got out of administration, and that we have multiple fridges nearby.  ;)

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7878 on: April 23, 2015, 05:29:09 PM »
I had a co-worker who sat behind me and he always shared a lot of personal information and he told me before all about how he was broke and he owed over 100k in student loans. Yet, every single day of the week I saw this guy go to the cafeteria to buy breakfast and then go again later in the day to buy lunch. And he paid for HBO (although he was nice enough to voluntarily give me his HBO login to use lol. Personally, I don't even have cable).

This guy was also the slacker of the group and he slacked off for an entire year and drove myself and all my other team members insane. My manager finally put him on a PIP and then he ended up quitting and my group members were all very relieved. Our job is pretty damn easy and you really just need to do the work and you will be OK, but he was so lazy and he slacked off for an entire year (my manager is a pushover and I was shocked that he let this slacker stick around for so long). My other co-worker said that this slacker was telling him all about how broke he was and how much debt he had literally a week before he ended up quitting his job. It's just so fascinating that he chose to quit his job and mope around feeling sorry for himself instead of just working harder and actually doing his work so that he could get off the PIP. I will never understand slackers like that. He is the exact same age as me (27) and we had such different attitudes about hard work and finances. He was definitely a typically millennial though, with the way he spent all his money and then would act all "woe is me" about student loans, as if people forced him to take on those loans.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7879 on: April 23, 2015, 11:14:58 PM »
I just checked one of the fridges, and there is a tupperware, with a person's name on it, and a date of 3/18!  I'm just glad I got out of administration, and that we have multiple fridges nearby.  ;)

Maybe they were thinking it would last another 35 months... ;-)

theadvicist

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7880 on: April 24, 2015, 02:48:41 AM »
I love this thread! But does anyone else feel kind of...tainted... after reading it? I love the stories, and then I have to go and check my budget to make sure none of it has rubbed off on me somehow!

And to keep it on topic: overheard at lunch with a colleague on maternity leave, "I don't want to come back to work... but I have to... sigh. I'm dreading it, but we can't afford for me not to". *she was sipping an £18 champagne cocktail, my sympathy left the building.

elysianfields

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7881 on: April 24, 2015, 04:13:00 AM »
BTW, backup cameras are required for the 2018 model year. http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/31/autos/rear-facing-cameras/

From the article:
Quote
Rear facing cameras, including those that automakers already offer, would save between 59 and 69 deaths a year, NHTSA said.

Any death is bad, but statistically speaking this is a miniscule amount. Too miniscule to require all drivers in the US to have cameras in their cars.

And if you really wanted to prevent deaths, you need to somehow connect the rear-view camera with an image processing capability to detect anything behind it to the braking system. That way, the driver doesn't even have to think about braking at all...because there is no guarantee the driver will be looking at the camera. In all likelihood, they will be looking at their smartphone while backing up (unfortunately). ;-)

I know I'm late to the party on the discussion, and let's have some perspective.

Over 30,000 people die in the US every year due to motor vehicle accidents.  People don't realize the (relatively) enormous risks they are taking every time they get behind the wheel.  The real and most mustachian solution is to drive less or not at all.

Now back to the discussion of gelatinous dishes from bygone years...

grantmeaname

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7882 on: April 24, 2015, 04:49:16 AM »
Glad we stepped nine months back for that.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7883 on: April 24, 2015, 06:54:53 AM »
We had a fancy pants lunch of On the Border taco bar delivered to our office yesterday for the company meeting.  There were lots of leftovers so I packed it all up and put it in the fridge around 2:30.  I just took it out and reheated myself a plate for lunch today.  So far three people have walked by and the responses have been, OH! we got lunch AGAIN today sweet?!?...oh wait, that's just the leftover crap from yesterday isn't it?", "Ugh, but it's coooooold now" (there is a microwave sitting on the same counter and paper plates) and "Ewww! who eats LEFTOVERS!!"

Screw that, if no one else eats it I"m taking it home, it's almost two full trays of meat, rice, beans, chips and lbs of fixings like cheese and salsa.  I could eat for a week off of the leftovers, with extra at the end, the way they are and a month if I make stretch meals out of them.  The waste in this office kills me.
I don't hear a lot of snobbery about our office leftovers, but I don't see many people eating them either. Usually if we get to Friday and they're not all gone, I'll show up with containers. I've had weeks where I barely cooked.
A couple of months ago one of the officers in my guard unit got promoted and bought huge boxes of fried chicken for the party. You bet your ass I froze about 10 pounds of it on Sunday afternoon and lived off it all week. Great timing too, cause DW was off visiting family.
And actually, we have an office lunch today... I'll have to see what I can snag >.<

I'm jealous. I work with a bunch of 20-something guys, and whenever we get office lunch it all disappears in like 15 minutes.

I'm not exactly surrounded by Mustachians at work, but when we have leftovers from a company-paid lunch, our administrative assistant always makes sure to let me know first, because she knows I'll be all over that sh#t. The vultures have usually circled and departed, leaving nothing but scraps, after an hour. When there's still something left after an hour, I'll go back and pack up some leftovers for the next day. A few times I've been able save a pound of pork barbecue or enough baked chicken to eat for a week. I'm not the only one who comes in there with tupperware, either, so I don't even feel weird about it!

DecD

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7884 on: April 24, 2015, 07:52:41 AM »
So here's a bit of a mixed one.A coworker is going on sabbatical for ~3 months because she saved money since college over the last 3 or so years. She's going to places like Bali, St. Thomas, etc and then moving back to her home state (California). The good is that she saved. The bad is her attitude towards the saved money: gotta enjoy life while you're young because you never know what will happen. With that attitude, we all know what will happen. She will work until she's 70 and never be able to retire. I told her that. She disagreed and said now was more important anyway.
She does have a big advantage.  She's already learned how to flex the saving muscles.  I don't know how old she is, or how much she's saved on what wage, but it's definitely not the disaster that you're making it out to be.
Yeah, I have to say, it's not necessarily a disaster.  I think enjoying life now is a great idea.  As long as she gets back to the frugalness when she's done with her tour.

I've been working full time for 23 years.  Well, minus 2.5 years of 30-35 hours a week when I had babies/ toddlers.  I wish I'd taken more time when I was younger.

I mean really, the whole travel-round-the-world thing isn't really my thing at all.  But I wish I'd taken a few more 2 week or 3 week summer road trips.  The first time I took 2 weeks off straight was when my oldest was a toddler, and it was to visit family. I couldn't believe how relaxing 2 weeks is.  I mean, you are 3 days into it when you've finally relaxed from the grind, and there are 11 more days!  If only I'd done that pre-kid.

Yeah, I agree here.  After I finished my masters degree, I could have started my real engineering job immediately...but chose to spend a year in France instead.  Rather than making a real salary (~$70K) + benefits that year, I made $6K + basic living expenses, of which I spent all of it living & traveling.  So I saved $0 that year- I broke even exactly.  Missed out on a year of savings, 401K, job experience, annual raise...

Do not regret.  If my #1 goal had been early retirement, it was not a logical choice.  But I wasn't delaying life, waiting for FIRE to arrive.  I was very busy living.  I'll likely never choose to live abroad longterm again.  I'm glad I did it pre-kids.


druth

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7885 on: April 24, 2015, 08:08:32 AM »
My company is making something that will interact with services like Mint/CashEdge/etc.  A few of us in the meeting use Mint, the rest didn't really know much about it and were asking questions about why we like it.  A few examples of good thinking, and some not so good.

Coworker 1: "It's good for just looking back and seeing say...  how much you spent on a party or something.  Then you can say 'I spent HOW MUCH at the liquor store!' and at least be aware of it."
Coworker 2: "Yeah, my husband works really hard to save money on skiing, but then we realized that he was spending hundreds a month on the restaurants next to the ski location."
Coworker 3: "Wow, both of those sound exactly like things I DON'T want to know.  I'll pass and stay unaware."

Merrie

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7886 on: April 24, 2015, 08:10:31 AM »
When I look back on dubious financial decisions I've made in the past, I never regret spending 5 weeks studying in London, UK when I was in my last year of school, despite the cost (which I don't even remember what it was anymore, somewhere between 2k-5k is all I remember). That was literally a once in a lifetime opportunity and worth it.

MandalayVA

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7887 on: April 24, 2015, 08:19:57 AM »
Coworker 3: "Wow, both of those sound exactly like things I DON'T want to know.  I'll pass and stay unaware."

Ah, the "ignorance is bliss" response.  I once had a coworker who routinely overdrew her checking account because she never kept track and said "it doesn't matter."  She was astonished that I had (and continue to have) never overdrawn my account.  She honestly didn't know it could be done.  /headdesk

thd7t

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7888 on: April 24, 2015, 08:38:27 AM »
My company is making something that will interact with services like Mint/CashEdge/etc.  A few of us in the meeting use Mint, the rest didn't really know much about it and were asking questions about why we like it.  A few examples of good thinking, and some not so good.

Coworker 1: "It's good for just looking back and seeing say...  how much you spent on a party or something.  Then you can say 'I spent HOW MUCH at the liquor store!' and at least be aware of it."
Coworker 2: "Yeah, my husband works really hard to save money on skiing, but then we realized that he was spending hundreds a month on the restaurants next to the ski location."
Coworker 3: "Wow, both of those sound exactly like things I DON'T want to know.  I'll pass and stay unaware."
Wow!  It really shows how embracing information can be helpful.  Coworkers 1 & 2 may not be saving appropriately, but it sounds like just by tracking some expenses, they're primed to start.  Coworker3, WTF?!

Pooperman

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7889 on: April 24, 2015, 08:47:57 AM »
My company is making something that will interact with services like Mint/CashEdge/etc.  A few of us in the meeting use Mint, the rest didn't really know much about it and were asking questions about why we like it.  A few examples of good thinking, and some not so good.

Coworker 1: "It's good for just looking back and seeing say...  how much you spent on a party or something.  Then you can say 'I spent HOW MUCH at the liquor store!' and at least be aware of it."
Coworker 2: "Yeah, my husband works really hard to save money on skiing, but then we realized that he was spending hundreds a month on the restaurants next to the ski location."
Coworker 3: "Wow, both of those sound exactly like things I DON'T want to know.  I'll pass and stay unaware."
Wow!  It really shows how embracing information can be helpful.  Coworkers 1 & 2 may not be saving appropriately, but it sounds like just by tracking some expenses, they're primed to start.  Coworker3, WTF?!

Head + sand is a way of life.

elysianfields

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7890 on: April 24, 2015, 09:34:38 AM »
Great now Huey Lewis will be suck in my head all day.

Huey Lewis doesn't have to be suck in your head, he sucks most of the time.

frugalnacho

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7891 on: April 24, 2015, 10:01:10 AM »
Their early work was a little too 'new-wave' for my taste, but when Sports came out in '83, I think they really came into their own - both commercially and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost. He's been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far more bitter, cynical sense of humor. In '87, Huey released this, Fore!, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip To Be Square", a song so catchy most people probably don't listen to the lyrics - but they should! Because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity, and the importance of trends, it's also a personal statement about the band itself!

thd7t

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7892 on: April 24, 2015, 10:06:50 AM »
Their early work was a little too 'new-wave' for my taste, but when Sports came out in '83, I think they really came into their own - both commercially and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost. He's been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far more bitter, cynical sense of humor. In '87, Huey released this, Fore!, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip To Be Square", a song so catchy most people probably don't listen to the lyrics - but they should! Because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity, and the importance of trends, it's also a personal statement about the band itself!
I'm just quoting you here, because this should be in a quotation box.  I, too, am in murders and executions.

Risa

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7893 on: April 24, 2015, 12:47:15 PM »
At my first job, a coworker and I hit it off and we're still friends to this day. But she has a horrible spending problem. She has over 17 Coach/Kate Spade bags+ 2 wallets to go with each bag. I asked her why she needed two wallets for each bag and she told me she has "a lot of rewards cards."  She's in credit card debt up to her eyeballs, plus she has student loans and a car payment.

Two days ago she told me she's buying yet another bag+wallet combo. The crazy part? She's afraid of what her aunt will say if she sees the bags so she keeps them in her closet and never uses them.

I tell ya, it makes my brain hurt.

thd7t

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7894 on: April 24, 2015, 12:53:24 PM »
At my first job, a coworker and I hit it off and we're still friends to this day. But she has a horrible spending problem. She has over 17 Coach/Kate Spade bags+ 2 wallets to go with each bag. I asked her why she needed two wallets for each bag and she told me she has "a lot of rewards cards."  She's in credit card debt up to her eyeballs, plus she has student loans and a car payment.

Two days ago she told me she's buying yet another bag+wallet combo. The crazy part? She's afraid of what her aunt will say if she sees the bags so she keeps them in her closet and never uses them.

I tell ya, it makes my brain hurt.
This has the hallmarks of addiction.  She's embarrassed and knows it's detrimental, but can't stop.  It's scary!

Risa

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7895 on: April 24, 2015, 12:59:55 PM »
It really is. I've tried to get her to see a psychiatrist but she says she has no time/money/etc. She doesn't want to be helped, and it's very sad.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7896 on: April 24, 2015, 02:05:25 PM »
I've been reading this thread for a while, and I figure it's time to make a contribution.

Last year, I was having a conversation with one of my coworkers (~45 years old) and a fresh-out-of-school guy (~23 yo) from another organization that we were working a project with.  We were talking about jobs, finances, etc, and the young guy told us a story about a mandatory advising meeting he had in college where the advisor asked about what he really wanted from his career, and he told the advisor that he didn't care that much, and would love to be retired by the time he's 35.

My coworker informed him that he was SOL.  People of our generations (where defined benefit plans are going away and social security's future is uncertain) will probably just never retire.  This is coming from a guy who makes about $140k/year, with generous benefits, who commutes about 30 miles per day, has bought then sold multiple boats, and probably makes tons of other terrible spending decisions I don't know about.

I don't make a habit of talking about FIRE at work, but I told both of them at the time that that was bullshit, and while privately talking to the young guy later, told him to check out MMM.

thd7t

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7897 on: April 24, 2015, 03:06:19 PM »
I've been reading this thread for a while, and I figure it's time to make a contribution.

Last year, I was having a conversation with one of my coworkers (~45 years old) and a fresh-out-of-school guy (~23 yo) from another organization that we were working a project with.  We were talking about jobs, finances, etc, and the young guy told us a story about a mandatory advising meeting he had in college where the advisor asked about what he really wanted from his career, and he told the advisor that he didn't care that much, and would love to be retired by the time he's 35.

My coworker informed him that he was SOL.  People of our generations (where defined benefit plans are going away and social security's future is uncertain) will probably just never retire.  This is coming from a guy who makes about $140k/year, with generous benefits, who commutes about 30 miles per day, has bought then sold multiple boats, and probably makes tons of other terrible spending decisions I don't know about.

I don't make a habit of talking about FIRE at work, but I told both of them at the time that that was bullshit, and while privately talking to the young guy later, told him to check out MMM.
Talk about a spectrum!  That young colleague was lucky you were there!

MgoSam

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7898 on: April 24, 2015, 03:31:31 PM »
I've been reading this thread for a while, and I figure it's time to make a contribution.

Last year, I was having a conversation with one of my coworkers (~45 years old) and a fresh-out-of-school guy (~23 yo) from another organization that we were working a project with.  We were talking about jobs, finances, etc, and the young guy told us a story about a mandatory advising meeting he had in college where the advisor asked about what he really wanted from his career, and he told the advisor that he didn't care that much, and would love to be retired by the time he's 35.

My coworker informed him that he was SOL.  People of our generations (where defined benefit plans are going away and social security's future is uncertain) will probably just never retire.  This is coming from a guy who makes about $140k/year, with generous benefits, who commutes about 30 miles per day, has bought then sold multiple boats, and probably makes tons of other terrible spending decisions I don't know about.

I don't make a habit of talking about FIRE at work, but I told both of them at the time that that was bullshit, and while privately talking to the young guy later, told him to check out MMM.
Talk about a spectrum!  That young colleague was lucky you were there!

Yeah, I wonder how many people would love to retire by 35 but are told that it's impossible. Some of them will try to do it anyways, but others might give up and figure that since they are living in the rat race they mind as well live it up. That's why I don't make any secrets of my plan to retire and am willing to talk to anyone that wants to listen. They may not like my advice, but at least they should know that it is possible to retire early.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #7899 on: April 24, 2015, 04:57:57 PM »
I work on a team of 9 people.

In the past two months, 4 out of 9 got a new car. One of them is financing it at an exhorbitant rate because of mistakes he made in his youth that are still haunting him today.