Author Topic: Shock and Awe  (Read 3830 times)

CerebralPrimate

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Shock and Awe
« on: September 18, 2014, 12:57:05 AM »
Is anyone else just dumbstruck over the financial decisions the people around them make?

I literally just found out that one of my subordinates doesnt even have his own bank account. He is working overseas and ALL of his check gets deposited in to his wife's account. He has asked me for advice on what to do with the money because all it does is just sit there in a savings account making next to nothing, but unfortunately being a Non-US citizen means it's a little more difficult than giving the usual answer of "Low cost index funds".

Although personally I would caution against working in a warzone and depositing those funds in anyone else's bank, one could reasonably argue "hey, it's my wife, I trust her". Fair enough. But you've now given that person absolute control over your life's savings of working warzone gigs for the last 4 years. Then, because you're lonely, you've kept a girlfriend here in Iraq for the last 6 months.

As I said, it's a subordinate, so I didnt say what was on my mind (are you really this retarded?), and instead just said "You realize that if your money goes into an account that doesnt even have your name attached, it's pretty much no longer your money". IMO, if his wife ever finds out about his girlfriend, I think it's safe to say she probably wont be in the mood to give back even a share of that hard earned nest egg. She'll get the kids, the house and keep the nest egg... and ya know what, you probably deserve it.

But I didnt say that. I didnt express my shock nd awe at this otherwise financially educated and savvy saver. I just put my face in my hands and said I was feeling really tired lately and couldnt wait for my next break (12 days and counting down).

I've seen ugly things in the past... guys working in Baghdad for 2 years, then going home to find a completely emptied house and zero'd out bank accounts.  Or rotational oil workers who find the love of their life in Thailand... coming back to visit her in their big expensive house in Thailand, meanwhile she cant wait for him to get back to work so her boyfriend can move back in.

For me, I still follow the advice of an old real estate invesotr guru... "when ya dont put yourself in a position to gt totally skru'd, the odds of it happening drop dramatically."

Anyway, just wanted to share/vent... even when someone is a great saver and financially pretty well off, they can still make illogical choices that put it all at risk.




« Last Edit: September 18, 2014, 01:06:22 AM by CerebralPrimate »

tccoastguard

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Re: Shock and Awe
« Reply #1 on: September 18, 2014, 04:58:32 AM »
So why didn't you deliver the well deserved facepunch?  Sometimes people need to hear it, especially subordinates!

Tai

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Re: Shock and Awe
« Reply #2 on: September 18, 2014, 08:08:46 AM »
I don't think in Afghanistan that a wife who leaves her husband for any reason gets anything. No house, no custody, no money, nothing. No need to worry about that for your employee.

jmusic

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Re: Shock and Awe
« Reply #3 on: September 18, 2014, 09:49:06 AM »
I don't think in Afghanistan that a wife who leaves her husband for any reason gets anything. No house, no custody, no money, nothing. No need to worry about that for your employee.

He never mentioned Afghanistan, just that the worker was in IRAQ.  My understanding is that his wife is in the USA, and with the savings account in her name only, he doesn't even have a claim to his money at all.

CerebralPrimate

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Re: Shock and Awe
« Reply #4 on: September 18, 2014, 12:39:10 PM »
I don't think in Afghanistan that a wife who leaves her husband for any reason gets anything. No house, no custody, no money, nothing. No need to worry about that for your employee.

He never mentioned Afghanistan, just that the worker was in IRAQ.  My understanding is that his wife is in the USA, and with the savings account in her name only, he doesn't even have a claim to his money at all.

The wife isnt Afghani or Iraqi and isnt in the US either... the person in question is from Asia.

It was just wrong on multiple levels... wrong to put yourself in jeopardy for years to build a nest egg that doesnt even have your name on it... then supremely stupid to cheat on the person who's one name is on that account.

Then again, perhaps cheating on one's wife should come at a high price. All I told him personally about the subject, when it became an official "thing", was that it wasnt a question of "if" his wife will find out, it was only a question of when. Women are god's version of smaller, faster, smarter, better. Why do guys think they'll never get caught?

I've been doing these kinds of gigs for a while now. I understand the loneliness. I understand being constantly separated from home sucks. But that's when you have to work the hardest to keep your real r/ship good.