Author Topic: Overheard at Work 2  (Read 1112975 times)

eljefe-speaks

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #250 on: January 22, 2019, 08:03:18 AM »
Coworker has complained on a couple of occasions recently about how much money he is dropping on Christmas. His family is coming to visit and he has to buy gifts for aunts, uncles, their kids, etc., and take them all out to dinner. While purchasing all these gifts he bought a 75" flat screen to treat himself and he found a "great deal" on a pool table. Also, he just got back from Disneyland a couple weeks ago. I have no clue how much money he makes but that is an alarming spending rate.

I had to post an update on this same coworker. Just heard over the cubicle wall...

Coworker is complaining about his very high heating bill (mostly because he bought too much house - which also has a bad commute). My other coworker, with whom he is conversing, recommended that he turn the thermostat down when nobody is home. He said, no, "it's too much of a pain in the butt." Oh, and he keeps his house at 75 degrees!

Gail2000

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #251 on: January 22, 2019, 09:04:06 AM »
Coworker has complained on a couple of occasions recently about how much money he is dropping on Christmas. His family is coming to visit and he has to buy gifts for aunts, uncles, their kids, etc., and take them all out to dinner. While purchasing all these gifts he bought a 75" flat screen to treat himself and he found a "great deal" on a pool table. Also, he just got back from Disneyland a couple weeks ago. I have no clue how much money he makes but that is an alarming spending rate.

I had to post an update on this same coworker. Just heard over the cubicle wall...

Coworker is complaining about his very high heating bill (mostly because he bought too much house - which also has a bad commute). My other coworker, with whom he is conversing, recommended that he turn the thermostat down when nobody is home. He said, no, "it's too much of a pain in the butt." Oh, and he keeps his house at 75 degrees!

I enjoy these posts but at the same time it causes pain in an area of my brain that i would be curious as to what it specifically does. In the name of science i should get a scan.

slugline

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #252 on: January 22, 2019, 09:17:39 AM »
I enjoy these posts but at the same time it causes pain in an area of my brain that i would be curious as to what it specifically does. In the name of science i should get a scan.

They're like the digital equivalent of hot peppers. It burns . . . it burns . . . may I have another? :)

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #253 on: January 22, 2019, 10:44:23 AM »
Too much trouble? What other little life chores does this guy avoid? Does he brush his teeth or are they too much trouble too? Does he ties his shoes? Change the oil in his car?

Wonder if he knows that even basic digital thermostats will do this automatically?

fattest_foot

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #254 on: January 22, 2019, 10:57:36 AM »
Speaking of collectibles, I had three; comic books, cards, and coins.

The coins were probably my first foray as I inherited my dad's coin collection when he died (I was 2 at the time). The comics and various cards (baseball, soccer, comics, etc) were late 80's and early 90's where I wasted an inordinate amount of my childhood savings. Worse is I almost never read them, I just collected.

Turns out they all ended up being worthless. By the 80's, I think everyone had caught onto the whole, "If I buy this and keep it in mint condition, it'll be worth a fortune!"

The coins were probably the biggest slap in the face, as I realized that the only ones actually worth anything are things like mis-prints. And by the time I was even born, everyone knew about them. Worse, my wife worked at a bank and they allowed her to "buy" (trade in) quarters that she wanted. She did this for a few months grabbing the pre-1962 quarters. I think a year or two ago I went through the entire coin collection and her quarters. The silver value of her quarters made them actually valuable; about $800. The rest of the coin collection? I might be able to get $50 if I could unload them all.

Gail2000

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #255 on: January 22, 2019, 11:26:21 AM »
I enjoy these posts but at the same time it causes pain in an area of my brain that i would be curious as to what it specifically does. In the name of science i should get a scan.

They're like the digital equivalent of hot peppers. It burns . . . it burns . . . may I have another? :)

Hmmmm..apt metaphor =).   

talltexan

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #256 on: January 25, 2019, 08:29:10 AM »
Anyone remember how you could get the MLB Topps sets at Costco?  Something like "Limit 4" boxes or similar? 

We had Ken Griffey Jr.'s rookie card in one of the those sets.  Never opened the box, still had the shrink wrap sleeve over box too.  Thought it would be worth a lot one day.   

I see it on eBay today for $4. 

At least the XH took all that crap with him when he poofed.

With all the discussion about Rivera being a unanimous HOF candidate, I have to say I would have been fine with Griffey getting that honor. I have childhood memories of the cool kids having his Upper Deck Rookie card (I never owned it). I have teenage memories of him becoming one of the elite homerun hitters in the game. And I got to see him play during his final years in Cincinnati; he was old, but still managed a triple in one of those games. $4 seems like a bargain for those memories.

Prairie Moustache

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #257 on: January 25, 2019, 09:07:57 AM »
I overheard my office mate say recently "yeah we'll be paying off that truck for a while, but we'll be building equity in it so it's okay!"

jps

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #258 on: January 25, 2019, 10:18:44 AM »
I overheard my office mate say recently "yeah we'll be paying off that truck for a while, but we'll be building equity in it so it's okay!"

Yikes! There's nothing like paying interest to build equity on something that loses value every year!

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #259 on: January 25, 2019, 01:31:20 PM »
I overheard my office mate say recently "yeah we'll be paying off that truck for a while, but we'll be building equity in it so it's okay!"

Yikes! There's nothing like paying interest to build equity on something that loses value every year!

Really, you build your % of equity faster that way! 

Prairie Moustache

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #260 on: January 25, 2019, 01:51:12 PM »
I overheard my office mate say recently "yeah we'll be paying off that truck for a while, but we'll be building equity in it so it's okay!"

Yikes! There's nothing like paying interest to build equity on something that loses value every year!

Really, you build your % of equity faster that way!

I like the positivity! ;)

bluebelle

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #261 on: January 25, 2019, 02:19:29 PM »
I enjoy these posts but at the same time it causes pain in an area of my brain that i would be curious as to what it specifically does. In the name of science i should get a scan.

They're like the digital equivalent of hot peppers. It burns . . . it burns . . . may I have another? :)

jojoguy

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #262 on: January 26, 2019, 03:51:11 AM »
I come across so many older people who make a lot more than me and have less savings than me at work. They have to have that 400K-500K home and a car that is less than 2 years old. Then I come across a very young guy making 40K+ a year who is already saving pretty well, and is very welcoming to the idea of saving his wealth for an early retirement. Wow, if only I had that mindset when I was in my early 20s.

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #263 on: January 26, 2019, 02:51:59 PM »
I'm taking several unopened boxes of baseball cards from the 90s to donate today. They've hung around here long enough and I'm sure after checking eBay they are worth maybe $10 each. Not really worth the effort to auction. Hopefully some little kid will have a ball with 'em.

Gail2000

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #264 on: January 28, 2019, 06:37:18 PM »
I enjoy these posts but at the same time it causes pain in an area of my brain that i would be curious as to what it specifically does. In the name of science i should get a scan.

They're like the digital equivalent of hot peppers. It burns . . . it burns . . . may I have another? :)

That’s it! My colleague struck again but fully admitted to the mistake. She had her car brought in to the dealership and had them put on windshield wipers. Said she tried. Said her dad tried. Paid 75$. Ok now today had the, replace the, and provide the part.... F! An sais I’m out of debt be cause I’m married. I’m a receptionist. She’s an accredited accountant. She doesn’t need a man! Ok nor do I really but the income helps and he’s kinda cute ( etc.)

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #265 on: January 28, 2019, 10:59:19 PM »
I had a coworker get a bit snarky with me after hearing that I went to Hamilton this weekend. "Must be nice to be able to spend all that money" We were talking about groceries last week and she admitted she spends $800 a month for her and her husband; that's $500 more than we spend! Really wanted to point out that she is spending $6K a year more than us on groceries and could go to any show she could possibly want for that much money. Our season tickets, which these were part of, cost us just $600 and include 7 shows.

I've had a similar reaction from a coworker because I'm on a few weeks unpaid leave right now. She made a snooty comment about it being nice for some to afford to take a few weeks off. No thought to the fact that I worked through xmas and this is effectively my break now, and even less thought to that fact that she proudly tells everyone she gives herself $200 a week 'fun money'. The woman is delusional.

nnls

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #266 on: January 28, 2019, 11:56:25 PM »
I had a coworker get a bit snarky with me after hearing that I went to Hamilton this weekend. "Must be nice to be able to spend all that money" We were talking about groceries last week and she admitted she spends $800 a month for her and her husband; that's $500 more than we spend! Really wanted to point out that she is spending $6K a year more than us on groceries and could go to any show she could possibly want for that much money. Our season tickets, which these were part of, cost us just $600 and include 7 shows.

I've had a similar reaction from a coworker because I'm on a few weeks unpaid leave right now. She made a snooty comment about it being nice for some to afford to take a few weeks off. No thought to the fact that I worked through xmas and this is effectively my break now, and even less thought to that fact that she proudly tells everyone she gives herself $200 a week 'fun money'. The woman is delusional.

I have the same thing when I go on holidays (admittedly not very mustachian holidays sometimes) and people at my work question how I can afford it, when I point out my car is 11 years old, I live in a small house, dont have a boat, dont gamble ect but they dont seem to see the correlation

HappierAtHome

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #267 on: January 29, 2019, 12:14:22 AM »
I had a coworker get a bit snarky with me after hearing that I went to Hamilton this weekend. "Must be nice to be able to spend all that money" We were talking about groceries last week and she admitted she spends $800 a month for her and her husband; that's $500 more than we spend! Really wanted to point out that she is spending $6K a year more than us on groceries and could go to any show she could possibly want for that much money. Our season tickets, which these were part of, cost us just $600 and include 7 shows.

I've had a similar reaction from a coworker because I'm on a few weeks unpaid leave right now. She made a snooty comment about it being nice for some to afford to take a few weeks off. No thought to the fact that I worked through xmas and this is effectively my break now, and even less thought to that fact that she proudly tells everyone she gives herself $200 a week 'fun money'. The woman is delusional.

I have the same thing when I go on holidays (admittedly not very mustachian holidays sometimes) and people at my work question how I can afford it, when I point out my car is 11 years old, I live in a small house, dont have a boat, dont gamble ect but they dont seem to see the correlation causation

Fixed that for you :-)

Linea_Norway

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #268 on: January 29, 2019, 12:51:45 AM »
I had a coworker get a bit snarky with me after hearing that I went to Hamilton this weekend. "Must be nice to be able to spend all that money" We were talking about groceries last week and she admitted she spends $800 a month for her and her husband; that's $500 more than we spend! Really wanted to point out that she is spending $6K a year more than us on groceries and could go to any show she could possibly want for that much money. Our season tickets, which these were part of, cost us just $600 and include 7 shows.

I've had a similar reaction from a coworker because I'm on a few weeks unpaid leave right now. She made a snooty comment about it being nice for some to afford to take a few weeks off. No thought to the fact that I worked through xmas and this is effectively my break now, and even less thought to that fact that she proudly tells everyone she gives herself $200 a week 'fun money'. The woman is delusional.

I have the same thing when I go on holidays (admittedly not very mustachian holidays sometimes) and people at my work question how I can afford it, when I point out my car is 11 years old, I live in a small house, dont have a boat, dont gamble ect but they dont seem to see the correlation causation

Fixed that for you :-)

I think it was early in my working career (maybe in year 2000) that I noticed that we saved a lot more than other people of our age. I once mentioned to a colleague that we saved about 20K a year. He was completely baffled and looked like he saw water burning. I thought a lot about what it was that we did different, as I thought his income should be pretty similar to mine. Was it just the fact that we brewed beer at home? But it was probably our whole lifestyle in total.

marty998

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #269 on: January 29, 2019, 02:23:38 AM »
Work colleague was talking to another this morning

"How was your trip?"
"It was great, we took the kids skiing in Japan [for 5 days]"
"That's cool, I've got a couple of mates who like to go there for weekends, really good time of year to go, lots of snow"
"No kidding, I've got a mate who owns a cabin up there"

.... and on it went.


Bear in mind this is Sydney... Japan isn't exactly down the road.

patrickza

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #270 on: January 29, 2019, 06:52:54 AM »
I enjoy these posts but at the same time it causes pain in an area of my brain that i would be curious as to what it specifically does. In the name of science i should get a scan.

They're like the digital equivalent of hot peppers. It burns . . . it burns . . . may I have another? :)
Yes that's what it is. I used to always think of it as rubber necking road accidents. You really shouldn't look, and screw up the traffic for everyone else but you just can't help it.

Sugaree

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #271 on: January 29, 2019, 07:32:24 AM »
I had a coworker get a bit snarky with me after hearing that I went to Hamilton this weekend. "Must be nice to be able to spend all that money" We were talking about groceries last week and she admitted she spends $800 a month for her and her husband; that's $500 more than we spend! Really wanted to point out that she is spending $6K a year more than us on groceries and could go to any show she could possibly want for that much money. Our season tickets, which these were part of, cost us just $600 and include 7 shows.

I've had a similar reaction from a coworker because I'm on a few weeks unpaid leave right now. She made a snooty comment about it being nice for some to afford to take a few weeks off. No thought to the fact that I worked through xmas and this is effectively my break now, and even less thought to that fact that she proudly tells everyone she gives herself $200 a week 'fun money'. The woman is delusional.

I have the same thing when I go on holidays (admittedly not very mustachian holidays sometimes) and people at my work question how I can afford it, when I point out my car is 11 years old, I live in a small house, dont have a boat, dont gamble ect but they dont seem to see the correlation causation

Fixed that for you :-)

I think it was early in my working career (maybe in year 2000) that I noticed that we saved a lot more than other people of our age. I once mentioned to a colleague that we saved about 20K a year. He was completely baffled and looked like he saw water burning. I thought a lot about what it was that we did different, as I thought his income should be pretty similar to mine. Was it just the fact that we brewed beer at home? But it was probably our whole lifestyle in total.

Same here.  I don't mention how much I save anymore.  At least two of the guys I work with are only saving the 5% in our TSP to get the agency match.  One is my age and has a wife in graduate school and the other is in his late 40s and trying to get the last kiddo out of undergraduate.  I think that I spent so much time in college (without the "benefit" of loans) that I've never really outgrown that broke-college-kid mentality. 

Linea_Norway

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #272 on: January 29, 2019, 07:54:40 AM »
I had a coworker get a bit snarky with me after hearing that I went to Hamilton this weekend. "Must be nice to be able to spend all that money" We were talking about groceries last week and she admitted she spends $800 a month for her and her husband; that's $500 more than we spend! Really wanted to point out that she is spending $6K a year more than us on groceries and could go to any show she could possibly want for that much money. Our season tickets, which these were part of, cost us just $600 and include 7 shows.

I've had a similar reaction from a coworker because I'm on a few weeks unpaid leave right now. She made a snooty comment about it being nice for some to afford to take a few weeks off. No thought to the fact that I worked through xmas and this is effectively my break now, and even less thought to that fact that she proudly tells everyone she gives herself $200 a week 'fun money'. The woman is delusional.

I have the same thing when I go on holidays (admittedly not very mustachian holidays sometimes) and people at my work question how I can afford it, when I point out my car is 11 years old, I live in a small house, dont have a boat, dont gamble ect but they dont seem to see the correlation causation

Fixed that for you :-)

I think it was early in my working career (maybe in year 2000) that I noticed that we saved a lot more than other people of our age. I once mentioned to a colleague that we saved about 20K a year. He was completely baffled and looked like he saw water burning. I thought a lot about what it was that we did different, as I thought his income should be pretty similar to mine. Was it just the fact that we brewed beer at home? But it was probably our whole lifestyle in total.

Same here.  I don't mention how much I save anymore.  At least two of the guys I work with are only saving the 5% in our TSP to get the agency match.  One is my age and has a wife in graduate school and the other is in his late 40s and trying to get the last kiddo out of undergraduate.  I think that I spent so much time in college (without the "benefit" of loans) that I've never really outgrown that broke-college-kid mentality.

At the beginning of 2017 I mentioned out loud to a frugal colleague that we had managed to save 60% of our income in 2016. Despite being a frugal person, she was still flabbergasted. But she visits her family in law in the US every year, with husband and children. That isn't cheap. So I know where some of her family's money is going.
At the beginning of 2018 I did not mention our new savings rate of 75% in 2017. It is so far from other people's reality, even from frugal people, that there is not really a point in talking about it.

Sugaree

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #273 on: January 29, 2019, 09:03:09 AM »
I had a coworker get a bit snarky with me after hearing that I went to Hamilton this weekend. "Must be nice to be able to spend all that money" We were talking about groceries last week and she admitted she spends $800 a month for her and her husband; that's $500 more than we spend! Really wanted to point out that she is spending $6K a year more than us on groceries and could go to any show she could possibly want for that much money. Our season tickets, which these were part of, cost us just $600 and include 7 shows.

I've had a similar reaction from a coworker because I'm on a few weeks unpaid leave right now. She made a snooty comment about it being nice for some to afford to take a few weeks off. No thought to the fact that I worked through xmas and this is effectively my break now, and even less thought to that fact that she proudly tells everyone she gives herself $200 a week 'fun money'. The woman is delusional.

I have the same thing when I go on holidays (admittedly not very mustachian holidays sometimes) and people at my work question how I can afford it, when I point out my car is 11 years old, I live in a small house, dont have a boat, dont gamble ect but they dont seem to see the correlation causation

Fixed that for you :-)

I think it was early in my working career (maybe in year 2000) that I noticed that we saved a lot more than other people of our age. I once mentioned to a colleague that we saved about 20K a year. He was completely baffled and looked like he saw water burning. I thought a lot about what it was that we did different, as I thought his income should be pretty similar to mine. Was it just the fact that we brewed beer at home? But it was probably our whole lifestyle in total.

Same here.  I don't mention how much I save anymore.  At least two of the guys I work with are only saving the 5% in our TSP to get the agency match.  One is my age and has a wife in graduate school and the other is in his late 40s and trying to get the last kiddo out of undergraduate.  I think that I spent so much time in college (without the "benefit" of loans) that I've never really outgrown that broke-college-kid mentality.

At the beginning of 2017 I mentioned out loud to a frugal colleague that we had managed to save 60% of our income in 2016. Despite being a frugal person, she was still flabbergasted. But she visits her family in law in the US every year, with husband and children. That isn't cheap. So I know where some of her family's money is going.
At the beginning of 2018 I did not mention our new savings rate of 75% in 2017. It is so far from other people's reality, even from frugal people, that there is not really a point in talking about it.

I'm damn impressed by 75%.  I'm only at about 28% until we recover from the trainwreck that was 2018.  But even that's up from about 19%.

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #274 on: January 29, 2019, 09:08:35 AM »
Listened to two coworkers discuss their cars.

CW#1 bought something newish (used - yay!) and loves it top to bottom. I drove it to a lunch with everyone piled in. Made a little compliment about how the four cylinder had alot of power. A frown came over their face. They were certain they had purchased a V6. Its definitely an I4. I didn't argue, I quit that hot potato topic. A previous vehicle they bought had AWD - except it didn't. A quick peek underneath proved that. I'm hoping - and I did not ask - that they did not pay extra for those features except I know they did b/c bigger engines and AWD come with a slight premium in most vehicles. In the future I'll just smile and say "I really like it" and leave it at that.

CW#2 Bought a used car (yay!) which the seller promised was all squared away. Except it wasn't. Off to mechanic #1 who did something. CW#2 wrote the check but doesn't know what. It didn't fix the problem. Then it went to mechanic #2 who did something else that CW#2 wrote a check for and doesn't understand - and it remains to be seen whether that fixed it or not.

Over the years I've been amazed at the "blank check" people give dealers and mechanics b/c the average person doesn't know and doesn't want to know anything about their car.

AMandM

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #275 on: January 29, 2019, 09:48:22 AM »
I think that I spent so much time in college (without the "benefit" of loans) that I've never really outgrown that broke-college-kid mentality.

This.
A few months ago my husband said, "You know, I'm a tenured full professor. Maybe we should get a couch that doesn't look like a grad student's."
We got one from Craigslist for $150.

Sugaree

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #276 on: January 29, 2019, 09:56:47 AM »
I think that I spent so much time in college (without the "benefit" of loans) that I've never really outgrown that broke-college-kid mentality.

This.
A few months ago my husband said, "You know, I'm a tenured full professor. Maybe we should get a couch that doesn't look like a grad student's."
We got one from Craigslist for $150.

Up until a year ago, I was still using the sofa and loveseat that my grandparents bought in about 1993.  They were ugly, but actually a lot more comfy than what I have now.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #277 on: January 29, 2019, 10:24:52 AM »
My daughter still teases me about spending/living like a university student.  I love being retired/eccentric.

onlykelsey

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #278 on: January 29, 2019, 10:30:00 AM »
TomTX beat me to it, still wish it was more.  I know some gov workers can do a lot more, never really looked into why as I never expect to be one.

So, while most employer plans (401k, 403b, SIMPLE IRA, etc) "count" against the same per-person $19k limit, the 457 plan has its own separate $19k limit. Only government entities and nonprofits can offer the 457. Some of them will offer both types of plan, effectively allowing $38k in contributions.

The flip side is that salaries tend to be notably lower than private sector, so it's more difficult to take advantage of the extra space.
Posting to follow, and also to hopethat I may be able to put away 38K this year if I change jobs!  I'll max my 401K in my seventh paycheck (early April) then can hopefully get to another 19K before year end in my much lower-salary job...

Lucky Penny Acres

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #279 on: January 29, 2019, 11:28:05 AM »
If you change jobs mid-year and if they are both normal 401k plans, the total yearly contribution is aggregated across both plans.
That means the aggregate contribution limit is still only $19k (not $38k) and you cannot contribute $19k to each plan. 

If you max out $19k in the first job, it would be an overcontribution if you also contribute anything to the second job.


Cool Friend

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #280 on: January 29, 2019, 01:08:34 PM »
This thread is a panacea for when I feel bad about myself and my life choices.

letsdoit

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #281 on: January 29, 2019, 01:42:05 PM »
the 457 401 thing :  i wonder if anyone switches jobs like they do credit cards in order to do this technique

Gus

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #282 on: January 29, 2019, 03:14:18 PM »
I had a coworker get a bit snarky with me after hearing that I went to Hamilton this weekend. "Must be nice to be able to spend all that money" We were talking about groceries last week and she admitted she spends $800 a month for her and her husband; that's $500 more than we spend! Really wanted to point out that she is spending $6K a year more than us on groceries and could go to any show she could possibly want for that much money. Our season tickets, which these were part of, cost us just $600 and include 7 shows.

I feel like you could easily respond to that without being a jerk -- talk about the cost of the program and then talk about other things you've passed over. I think it sounds like a great deal and not something to save for if you make it a point to do so.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #283 on: January 30, 2019, 01:57:23 AM »
I'm damn impressed by 75%.  I'm only at about 28% until we recover from the trainwreck that was 2018.  But even that's up from about 19%.

That is simple: I counted the amount of money I had transferred to our stock accounts, as part of our nett income. So I just calculated savings rate, not stash growth.

onlykelsey

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #284 on: January 30, 2019, 07:13:39 AM »
If you change jobs mid-year and if they are both normal 401k plans, the total yearly contribution is aggregated across both plans.
That means the aggregate contribution limit is still only $19k (not $38k) and you cannot contribute $19k to each plan. 

If you max out $19k in the first job, it would be an overcontribution if you also contribute anything to the second job.
I think that @onlykelsey is moving to a government/non profit job where they will have access to the 457 plan.
]
Yes, exactly.  Going from private to public (maybe).

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #285 on: January 30, 2019, 07:23:25 AM »
I had a coworker get a bit snarky with me after hearing that I went to Hamilton this weekend. "Must be nice to be able to spend all that money" We were talking about groceries last week and she admitted she spends $800 a month for her and her husband; that's $500 more than we spend! Really wanted to point out that she is spending $6K a year more than us on groceries and could go to any show she could possibly want for that much money. Our season tickets, which these were part of, cost us just $600 and include 7 shows.

I don't accept snarky comments.   I prefer to toss some trenchant observations about the snark back, pretty much like a handgrenade into their foxhole.   It tends to discourage them from snarking at or near me again.

Then again, I had FU money.   But the real defense is that people who do that kind of snark do it to any and all possible victims, so you've got lots of passive support out there waiting to cheer you on.

Her: "Must be nice to be able to spend all that money!"

Me: "Sure is!   I had a great time!   I've heard you say you spend $800 a month on groceries for you and your husband.   We spend $300 a month for the 3 of us.  That's, let see, $500 per month times 12 months, why, that's $6000 more than us on just groceries!   That's how we could afford that show.   But hey, enough about me, you're clearly the expert here on big spending!  Tell us more!"

letsdoit

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #286 on: January 30, 2019, 09:57:46 AM »
I'm damn impressed by 75%.  I'm only at about 28% until we recover from the trainwreck that was 2018.  But even that's up from about 19%.

That is simple: I counted the amount of money I had transferred to our stock accounts, as part of our nett income. So I just calculated savings rate, not stash growth.

to clarify:  if you took 100k home after taxes, you invested 75k in stocks?  not including home equity. 

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #287 on: January 30, 2019, 01:54:25 PM »
I had a coworker get a bit snarky with me after hearing that I went to Hamilton this weekend. "Must be nice to be able to spend all that money" We were talking about groceries last week and she admitted she spends $800 a month for her and her husband; that's $500 more than we spend! Really wanted to point out that she is spending $6K a year more than us on groceries and could go to any show she could possibly want for that much money. Our season tickets, which these were part of, cost us just $600 and include 7 shows.

I don't accept snarky comments.   I prefer to toss some trenchant observations about the snark back, pretty much like a handgrenade into their foxhole.   It tends to discourage them from snarking at or near me again.

Then again, I had FU money.   But the real defense is that people who do that kind of snark do it to any and all possible victims, so you've got lots of passive support out there waiting to cheer you on.

Her: "Must be nice to be able to spend all that money!"

Me: "Sure is!   I had a great time!   I've heard you say you spend $800 a month on groceries for you and your husband.   We spend $300 a month for the 3 of us.  That's, let see, $500 per month times 12 months, why, that's $6000 more than us on just groceries!   That's how we could afford that show.   But hey, enough about me, you're clearly the expert here on big spending!  Tell us more!"

I don’t get why “must be nice” is even snarky.  I mean I get the intent and tone are key here, but objectively it is nice.  If someone said that to me, even sneakily, my response would probably just be “yeah it is nice”

bluebelle

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #288 on: January 30, 2019, 03:27:34 PM »
trenchant
thank you using a word I've never heard of....made me go look it up....I'm definately working it into the dinner conversation to see if DH knows it (his vocabulary is better than mine and we like this kind of stuff)

Definition of trenchant
1 : KEEN, SHARP
2 : vigorously effective and articulate
a trenchant analysis
also : CAUSTIC
trenchant remarks
3a : sharply perceptive : PENETRATING
a trenchant view of current conditions
b : CLEAR-CUT, DISTINCT
the trenchant divisions between right and wrong
— Edith Wharton

ysette9

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #289 on: January 30, 2019, 04:34:28 PM »
From the French word « tranche » meaning “slice”. :)

I love how so many fancy words in English are just a normal French word meaning the same thing.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #290 on: January 30, 2019, 05:12:30 PM »
From the French word « tranche » meaning “slice”. :)

I love how so many fancy words in English are just a normal French word meaning the same thing.
Very astut

Rural

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #291 on: January 30, 2019, 06:48:13 PM »
From the French word « tranche » meaning “slice”. :)

I love how so many fancy words in English are just a normal French word meaning the same thing.


It's all because of the Normans.

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #292 on: January 30, 2019, 06:52:51 PM »
I had a coworker get a bit snarky with me after hearing that I went to Hamilton this weekend. "Must be nice to be able to spend all that money" We were talking about groceries last week and she admitted she spends $800 a month for her and her husband; that's $500 more than we spend! Really wanted to point out that she is spending $6K a year more than us on groceries and could go to any show she could possibly want for that much money. Our season tickets, which these were part of, cost us just $600 and include 7 shows.

I don't accept snarky comments.   I prefer to toss some trenchant observations about the snark back, pretty much like a handgrenade into their foxhole.   It tends to discourage them from snarking at or near me again.

Then again, I had FU money.   But the real defense is that people who do that kind of snark do it to any and all possible victims, so you've got lots of passive support out there waiting to cheer you on.

Her: "Must be nice to be able to spend all that money!"

Me: "Sure is!   I had a great time!   I've heard you say you spend $800 a month on groceries for you and your husband.   We spend $300 a month for the 3 of us.  That's, let see, $500 per month times 12 months, why, that's $6000 more than us on just groceries!   That's how we could afford that show.   But hey, enough about me, you're clearly the expert here on big spending!  Tell us more!"

I don’t get why “must be nice” is even snarky.  I mean I get the intent and tone are key here, but objectively it is nice.  If someone said that to me, even sneakily, my response would probably just be “yeah it is nice”

I made the assumptions that the original poster knows mean-spirited snark vs other kinds of comments.  It's not an unreasonable assumption to make.   I also made the assumption that there was enough pattern of that behavior that all doubt about the mean spiritedness had been removed.   (Sometimes people are just socially awkward, not mean.)

I believe that if people are being mean on a repeated basis, they need to be taught to stop doing that.   If I choose a moment when the snark has targetted me, it's a way to defend other people without putting them in the spotlight, like it would if I stepped in to defend them when they got snarked.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #293 on: January 31, 2019, 05:32:49 AM »
I'm damn impressed by 75%.  I'm only at about 28% until we recover from the trainwreck that was 2018.  But even that's up from about 19%.

That is simple: I counted the amount of money I had transferred to our stock accounts, as part of our nett income. So I just calculated savings rate, not stash growth.

to clarify:  if you took 100k home after taxes, you invested 75k in stocks?  not including home equity.

Yes.
We haven't had a mortgage for the last 13 years or so and that of course accelerated our savings rate. Our stash didn't grow more than a tiny bit in 2018. So the savings just went into a black hole, called the stock market.

JZinCO

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #294 on: January 31, 2019, 01:19:00 PM »
I'm going to throw out a second-hand 'heard at work'.
So I bought a home. And apparently it's the equivalent of having a birthday. I am emotionally pleased with my decision but I don't see it as a a celebratory thing. The math works out to being somewhat equivalent to renting (The NYTimes Rent vs Buy tradeoff calculator truly applies to me because I will be diverting cash once destined for market investments to pay the mortgage). So financially it's close to a wash at face value, though I will rent out a room so I will come out ahead.
At any rate I keep having these conversations:
CW: I head you bought a place!
Me: Yup
CW: Congratulations, you're way better off and no longer throwing money away.
Me: Thanks.
CW: [Sensing my blank expression] Are you happy?
Me: Yeah
I think the several years of 10% appreciation in my locale are painting the picture that the only way to get ahead is to buy a primary home...Coworkers cite the recent stock market correction but conveniently forget the entirety of the bull run, long-term market perfomances, long-term primary home valuations, carrying costs of owning a home, etc. No coworker has been biased the other way ,e.g. 'Yeah, I prefer renting because of the flexibility', etc...

LPG

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #295 on: January 31, 2019, 01:26:48 PM »
I'm going to throw out a second-hand 'heard at work'.
So I bought a home. And apparently it's the equivalent of having a birthday. I am emotionally pleased with my decision but I don't see it as a a celebratory thing. The math works out to being somewhat equivalent to renting (The NYTimes Rent vs Buy tradeoff calculator truly applies to me because I will be diverting cash once destined for market investments to pay the mortgage). So financially it's close to a wash at face value, though I will rent out a room so I will come out ahead.
At any rate I keep having these conversations:
CW: I head you bought a place!
Me: Yup
CW: Congratulations, you're way better off and no longer throwing money away.
Me: Thanks.
CW: [Sensing my blank expression] Are you happy?
Me: Yeah
I think the several years of 10% appreciation in my locale are painting the picture that the only way to get ahead is to buy a primary home...Coworkers cite the recent stock market correction but conveniently forget the entirety of the bull run, long-term market perfomances, long-term primary home valuations, carrying costs of owning a home, etc. No coworker has been biased the other way ,e.g. 'Yeah, I prefer renting because of the flexibility', etc...

I'm not sure that this perception is limited to the recent "several years of 10% appreciation". At least in the US the middle class is convinced that buying a home is the single best investment you can ever make, and anything else guarantees that you'll be poor forever. It's so extreme that people try to convince me to buy a condo at ~$2500/month with only ~$400 going to principal at first rather than renting for ~$1500. Right, because throwing $2100/month into interest, taxes, HOA is worth it for $400/mo in principal, but throwing $1500/mo into rent and $1000/mo into the stock market is throwing money away? Such a very ingrained assumption that people rarely look into the numbers before making a decision.

JZinCO

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #296 on: January 31, 2019, 01:35:24 PM »
Yeah you're right.
Talking to coworkers I found that the average down payment is 3-5%. I put down 10% and many of them gave an audible 'wow'.
side: to avoid facepunches, please know my PMI is $420 annually, effectively increasing my rate by 0.5% for 8 years. I haven't yet decided if it's worth extra payments to get to 20% or investing.

markbike528CBX

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #297 on: January 31, 2019, 01:56:03 PM »
From the French word « tranche » meaning “slice”. :)

I love how so many fancy words in English are just a normal French word meaning the same thing.

I once described myself and an American colleague (a one-time, near-Olympic heavyweight weightlifter) as the minions of one of our French colleagues(a petite younger lady).

And hilarity ensued.   When the laughter died down, our French colleagues noted that mignon implied little dancing gay boys at the French court.  And hilarity ensued.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mignon   open up the the English historical noun dropdown

or the French -
mignon (feminine singular mignonne, masculine plural mignons, feminine plural mignonnes)
cute (of a baby, an animal, etc.)
cute (sexually attractive).      -- neither of which really applies to us.

ysette9

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #298 on: January 31, 2019, 03:54:12 PM »
I call my little girls “mignonne” all the time. ;)

Your story brings a smile to my face.

Ever_Anon

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #299 on: February 01, 2019, 10:52:16 AM »
I don't usually discuss finances with my coworkers, but I just had a weird conversation with one of them. We're contractors, and about 1.5 years ago our contract was taken over by a different company. Today a coworker asked me if I'd had a 401k with the previous company, and if so what I'd done with the money when the contract switched.

This guy is about 20 years older then me. He's definitely held way more professional jobs. But he apparently left that balance sitting there for 1.5 years without thinking about what to do with it. Our 401k options at the first company were horrible. He's probably lost a fuckton of money in fees.  Plus he admitted he has another 401k lurking somewhere he's done nothing with.

Okay, whatever, a lot of Americans don't roll over their 401ks. Except during our conversation he said "I hope I didn't miss the window to get that money." Which implies that he actually thought there was a possibility that whatever money he contributed would disappear if he didn't do something about it, and then left it there anyway.

He also apparently never set up a 401k with our current company, because he "needed the money."

I hope he's got a trust fund or something waiting in the wings, because otherwise I fear for his ability to ever retire.