Overheard at Work 2

[Michael in ABQ]

Since I'm self-employed, my only co-workers now are the people I serve with in the National Guard. This weekend I was working with a guy to update some of my personnel records. The next morning when I came in, he asked if I drove a Black Widow lifted truck that he knew belonged to somebody in the unit. Apparently, this is an optional package for new vehicles that is brand agnostic and only adds about $20,000 to the MSRP - what a deal!

I told him it belonged to one of my colleagues (who is already FIRE and can easily afford it due) and then laughed that I would never make such a ridiculous purchase. My colleague had previously mentioned the sticker price was about $75,000 but he got a deal due to a police discount and it was only $70,000 or so.



Meanwhile my 18-year-old minivan that cost $4,500 a few years ago is still working fine - and probably still worth about the same amount I paid for it even with the additional years and miles since I bought it.

[LennStar]

75K! That 5 years of non-spendypants living over here! The only day you would see me driving this is when I won it at a lottery (not that I play or they ever have such high prices) and I am driving it to sell!

[scottish]

I got in a discussion with a coworker today about FU money.  We were testing something out, I made a minor mistake, and CW jokingly said "you're fired!" to which jokingly I said "ok!"  CW expressed how "it sure would be nice" to have FU money, and kinda-sorta asked how it's possible.  I said "well, do you see what kind of car the CEO and I drive?"  (CEO drives a 2003 Honda Civic, I drive a '97 Geo Prizm) 

Cue the "oh, but you don't wanna be left on the side of the road" comments, to which I responded that such a situation had happened to me precisely once in twenty years. Coworker drives a late model quad cab pickup truck for her 45-minute commute.  As does her spouse. They have one kid left at home, and their family's preferred extracurricular/hobby is racing cars.  Which, of course, comes with the need to buy a trailer for the car and to sleep in when they're out of town.  Coworker is probably 10 years older than me.

So they've got one truck to pull the race car on a trailer, and a second truck to pull the trailer they sleep in?

Speaking of getting left on the side of the road, the MAF in my vehicle died yesterday and I had to get it towed to the garage because it would stall whenever I took my foot off the gas.    Coincidentally, this is the first time in 19 years with that vehicle that it wouldn't run.

[Artem_F]

This might not work for all vehicles, but I recall that removing the MAF sensor connector tells the system to switch to a "safe mode" and run on average settings without reading MAF values. The performance and gas mileage will suffer, and the car won't pass any emission tests, but at least it will remain drivable, so one can get home or go straight to the garage.

[zolotiyeruki]

This might not work for all vehicles, but I recall that removing the MAF sensor connector tells the system to switch to a "safe mode" and run on average settings without reading MAF values. The performance and gas mileage will suffer, and the car won't pass any emission tests, but at least it will remain drivable, so one can get home or go straight to the garage.

Heh, that reminds me of a time several years ago, when after replacing a power steering hose, I neglected to reconnect the vacuum line from the intake manifold to the MAP sensor.  Naturally, the ECU assumed there was a ton of air flowing into the manifold, and was positively dumping fuel into the intake.  Once I figured it out and reconnected the vacuum line, I took it for a test drive, and promptly smoked up a good section of the neighborhood with all the unburned hydrocarbons that had been sitting in my exhaust!

[Extramedium]

I got in a discussion with a coworker today about FU money.  We were testing something out, I made a minor mistake, and CW jokingly said "you're fired!" to which jokingly I said "ok!"  CW expressed how "it sure would be nice" to have FU money, and kinda-sorta asked how it's possible.  I said "well, do you see what kind of car the CEO and I drive?"  (CEO drives a 2003 Honda Civic, I drive a '97 Geo Prizm) 

Cue the "oh, but you don't wanna be left on the side of the road" comments, to which I responded that such a situation had happened to me precisely once in twenty years. Coworker drives a late model quad cab pickup truck for her 45-minute commute.  As does her spouse. They have one kid left at home, and their family's preferred extracurricular/hobby is racing cars.  Which, of course, comes with the need to buy a trailer for the car and to sleep in when they're out of town.  Coworker is probably 10 years older than me.

Holy smokes.  This makes mountain bikes and gym memberships sound so tame!

[scottish]

This might not work for all vehicles, but I recall that removing the MAF sensor connector tells the system to switch to a "safe mode" and run on average settings without reading MAF values. The performance and gas mileage will suffer, and the car won't pass any emission tests, but at least it will remain drivable, so one can get home or go straight to the garage.

Just curious, how would you know it was a failed MAF so you could disconnect it?     I had the same thing happen in a different vehicle about 25 years ago, so I suspected it was the MAF, but I wasn't sure...

[Psychstache]

I got in a discussion with a coworker today about FU money.  We were testing something out, I made a minor mistake, and CW jokingly said "you're fired!" to which jokingly I said "ok!"  CW expressed how "it sure would be nice" to have FU money, and kinda-sorta asked how it's possible.  I said "well, do you see what kind of car the CEO and I drive?"  (CEO drives a 2003 Honda Civic, I drive a '97 Geo Prizm) 

Cue the "oh, but you don't wanna be left on the side of the road" comments, to which I responded that such a situation had happened to me precisely once in twenty years. Coworker drives a late model quad cab pickup truck for her 45-minute commute.  As does her spouse. They have one kid left at home, and their family's preferred extracurricular/hobby is racing cars.  Which, of course, comes with the need to buy a trailer for the car and to sleep in when they're out of town.  Coworker is probably 10 years older than me.

Holy smokes.  This makes mountain bikes and gym memberships sound so tame!

The road to financial hell is paved with insane car payments.

[Fomerly known as something]

Once again got into an argument at work today about the difference between taxes withheld and tax rate.  Our bonuses get taxed like regular income, as in my $25k bonus last year along with my regular paycheck got taxed as if I made $850k for the year at 52% total between Feds, State (CA) and FICA.   But I’m also getting money back after filing my return because of this.

[JAYSLOL]

I got in a discussion with a coworker today about FU money.  We were testing something out, I made a minor mistake, and CW jokingly said "you're fired!" to which jokingly I said "ok!"  CW expressed how "it sure would be nice" to have FU money, and kinda-sorta asked how it's possible.  I said "well, do you see what kind of car the CEO and I drive?"  (CEO drives a 2003 Honda Civic, I drive a '97 Geo Prizm) 

Cue the "oh, but you don't wanna be left on the side of the road" comments, to which I responded that such a situation had happened to me precisely once in twenty years. Coworker drives a late model quad cab pickup truck for her 45-minute commute.  As does her spouse. They have one kid left at home, and their family's preferred extracurricular/hobby is racing cars.  Which, of course, comes with the need to buy a trailer for the car and to sleep in when they're out of town.  Coworker is probably 10 years older than me.

Holy smokes.  This makes mountain bikes and gym memberships sound so tame!

The road to financial hell is paved with insane car payments.

It certainly is for this guy

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4D2psZ0GrrQ&t=11s

(long video, but worth the watch, just keeps getting more insane)

[ATtiny85]

Once again got into an argument at work today about the difference between taxes withheld and tax rate.  Our bonuses get taxed like regular income, as in my $25k bonus last year along with my regular paycheck got taxed as if I made $850k for the year at 52% total between Feds, State (CA) and FICA.   But I’m also getting money back after filing my return because of this.

There are two methods for bonuses as I understand it. A flat 22% and a supplemental wage method. Yours appears to be the supplemental method. My company uses the flat 22% method. This is for bonuses under a million bucks. Anyone making a bonus of over that should go read the docs themselves...

Either one can lead to the argument you had though.

[By the River]

I got in a discussion with a coworker today about FU money.  We were testing something out, I made a minor mistake, and CW jokingly said "you're fired!" to which jokingly I said "ok!"  CW expressed how "it sure would be nice" to have FU money, and kinda-sorta asked how it's possible.  I said "well, do you see what kind of car the CEO and I drive?"  (CEO drives a 2003 Honda Civic, I drive a '97 Geo Prizm) 

Cue the "oh, but you don't wanna be left on the side of the road" comments, to which I responded that such a situation had happened to me precisely once in twenty years. Coworker drives a late model quad cab pickup truck for her 45-minute commute.  As does her spouse. They have one kid left at home, and their family's preferred extracurricular/hobby is racing cars.  Which, of course, comes with the need to buy a trailer for the car and to sleep in when they're out of town.  Coworker is probably 10 years older than me.

Holy smokes.  This makes mountain bikes and gym memberships sound so tame!

The road to financial hell is paved with insane car payments.

This car payment is insane but not the amount.  https://hip-hopvibe.com/news/woman-buys-old-car-for-289-a-month-for-84-years/

[LennStar]

84 month not years. Quality Journalism!

[Sibley]

Once again got into an argument at work today about the difference between taxes withheld and tax rate.  Our bonuses get taxed like regular income, as in my $25k bonus last year along with my regular paycheck got taxed as if I made $850k for the year at 52% total between Feds, State (CA) and FICA.   But I’m also getting money back after filing my return because of this.

There are two methods for bonuses as I understand it. A flat 22% and a supplemental wage method. Yours appears to be the supplemental method. My company uses the flat 22% method. This is for bonuses under a million bucks. Anyone making a bonus of over that should go read the docs themselves...

Either one can lead to the argument you had though.

Are you referring to payroll withholdings? Some systems will withhold at a flat percentage of the bonus, others will treat it as if that was your normal pay amount and you'd have withholdings accordingly. It has no impact on how tax is calculated when you prepare the return. Its treated as income on the tax return, so refund or payment depends entirely on tax less tax payments already made.

But yes, this leads to all sorts of arguments and misunderstandings because people don't understand taxes. If they argue with me (someone who actually knows the answer to this) vs just going, huh, I didn't know that, thanks, then they've told me who they are and I will believe them.

[JAYSLOL]

I got in a discussion with a coworker today about FU money.  We were testing something out, I made a minor mistake, and CW jokingly said "you're fired!" to which jokingly I said "ok!"  CW expressed how "it sure would be nice" to have FU money, and kinda-sorta asked how it's possible.  I said "well, do you see what kind of car the CEO and I drive?"  (CEO drives a 2003 Honda Civic, I drive a '97 Geo Prizm) 

Cue the "oh, but you don't wanna be left on the side of the road" comments, to which I responded that such a situation had happened to me precisely once in twenty years. Coworker drives a late model quad cab pickup truck for her 45-minute commute.  As does her spouse. They have one kid left at home, and their family's preferred extracurricular/hobby is racing cars.  Which, of course, comes with the need to buy a trailer for the car and to sleep in when they're out of town.  Coworker is probably 10 years older than me.

Holy smokes.  This makes mountain bikes and gym memberships sound so tame!

The road to financial hell is paved with insane car payments.

This car payment is insane but not the amount.  https://hip-hopvibe.com/news/woman-buys-old-car-for-289-a-month-for-84-years/

For a car worth barely over a grand, that payment amount is truly insane.  She definitely needs to bring that back.  A car over 20 years old shouldn’t be able to be financed at all in my opinion, but definitely shouldn’t be allowed to be financed over more than say 18 months.  I hope this wasn’t an outright con on the part of the dealer, and was a mistake between the dealer and finance company mixup between a 7 month term and a 7 year term.  7 months and she’d pay about $2k for that car which is about fair

[geekette]

I tried to explain refundable tax credits this week.  It didn't go well.

[ATtiny85]

Once again got into an argument at work today about the difference between taxes withheld and tax rate.  Our bonuses get taxed like regular income, as in my $25k bonus last year along with my regular paycheck got taxed as if I made $850k for the year at 52% total between Feds, State (CA) and FICA.   But I’m also getting money back after filing my return because of this.

There are two methods for bonuses as I understand it. A flat 22% and a supplemental wage method. Yours appears to be the supplemental method. My company uses the flat 22% method. This is for bonuses under a million bucks. Anyone making a bonus of over that should go read the docs themselves...

Either one can lead to the argument you had though.

Are you referring to payroll withholdings? Some systems will withhold at a flat percentage of the bonus, others will treat it as if that was your normal pay amount and you'd have withholdings accordingly. It has no impact on how tax is calculated when you prepare the return. Its treated as income on the tax return, so refund or payment depends entirely on tax less tax payments already made.

But yes, this leads to all sorts of arguments and misunderstandings because people don't understand taxes. If they argue with me (someone who actually knows the answer to this) vs just going, huh, I didn't know that, thanks, then they've told me who they are and I will believe them.

yeah, withholding, duh (duh to me not you...). I was way too loose with my typing. Should have inserted the term withholding...which of course is almost the exact origin of the arguments and misunderstanding!

[Fomerly known as something]

I’m going to sit down with my financial advisor tomorrow now that I’m actually retired and see if I have to get a “retirement job”. Federal retiring employee.

[TomTX]

I hope your advisor is a fee-only fiduciary.

You can DIY pretty damn easily: https://engaging-data.com/will-money-last-retire-early/

Feel free to post any questions.

[ATtiny85]

I hope your advisor is a fee-only fiduciary.

You can DIY pretty damn easily: https://engaging-data.com/will-money-last-retire-early/

Feel free to post any questions.

Pretty sure that was what was overheard…

[Fomerly known as something]

I hope your advisor is a fee-only fiduciary.

You can DIY pretty damn easily: https://engaging-data.com/will-money-last-retire-early/

Feel free to post any questions.

Pretty sure that was what was overheard…

It was overheard,  well actually I was in the conversation but I wasn’t the one retiring.  OTOH, as a single person I do pay a fee only FA to check myself.  I retire in 2.5 years.  We’re are starting to talk post retirement finances now.

[Freedomin5]

DH is a high school teacher at an international school. He overheard one student tell another that his parents give him 40,000 rmb (USD$5800) a month if he attends school.

[LennStar]

DH is a high school teacher at an international school. He overheard one student tell another that his parents give him 40,000 rmb (USD$5800) a month if he attends school.

That's average income there, right?

Not bad for simple attendance.

[Freedomin5]

DH is a high school teacher at an international school. He overheard one student tell another that his parents give him 40,000 rmb (USD$5800) a month if he attends school.

That's average income there, right?

Not bad for simple attendance.

A quick Google search tells me it’s about FOUR TIMES the average income in Shanghai. 😂

On the afternoon of July 5, 2022, Shanghai Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau announced that the average salary in China – Shanghai in 2021 (hereinafter referred to as “social average salary”) was CNY 11,396 per month

https://www.jscgroups.com/2022-average-salary-in-china-shanghai/

[LennStar]

Ah, sorry, I had per year in my head not month. lol.

But the numbers are still fucked up royally. Depending where I look I get (dollar) between 4K and 30K.
But it seems the most hits are around 12K dollar, so it seems I was right. Per year of course.

If that student doesn't want to go to school, I guess I could do for him for that money!

[SunnyDays]

DH is a high school teacher at an international school. He overheard one student tell another that his parents give him 40,000 rmb (USD$5800) a month if he attends school.

I wonder how much he'll get for going to work when he's older? 

[Freedomin5]

DH is a high school teacher at an international school. He overheard one student tell another that his parents give him 40,000 rmb (USD$5800) a month if he attends school.

I wonder how much he'll get for going to work when he's older?

His family probably owns a multimillion dollar company, so I’m guessing he’ll get paid millions?

[SunnyDays]

DH is a high school teacher at an international school. He overheard one student tell another that his parents give him 40,000 rmb (USD$5800) a month if he attends school.

I wonder how much he'll get for going to work when he's older?

His family probably owns a multimillion dollar company, so I’m guessing he’ll get paid millions?

As a salary for actually working or a bribe for just showing up?

[Freedomin5]

DH is a high school teacher at an international school. He overheard one student tell another that his parents give him 40,000 rmb (USD$5800) a month if he attends school.

I wonder how much he'll get for going to work when he's older?

His family probably owns a multimillion dollar company, so I’m guessing he’ll get paid millions?

As a salary for actually working or a bribe for just showing up?

Yes. Same difference 😂  I’m sure there are smart people working for the family and helping to run the company.

[Artem_F]

Just curious, how would you know it was a failed MAF so you could disconnect it?     I had the same thing happen in a different vehicle about 25 years ago, so I suspected it was the MAF, but I wasn't sure...

well, this is a good question. As for me, I have a diagnostic OBD2 tool in the car. If not, it would be a trial-and-error in the case described above. On the other hand, if the Check Engine light is on, there are not too many sensors the failure of which leads to stalling, so MAF would be under suspicion anyway. BTW, once I had a very tricky failure, which was difficult to diagnose because there was no CE light and the failure manifested itself once in 3-5 days. After reading the forums and replacing a couple of things I managed to pinpoint it - it was an idle valve, which was just slightly clogged with fume/oil deposits and once in a while it was stuck in closed position :)

[geekette]

<off topic>
We once had a very tricky problem - occasionally, the ABS would suddenly, briefly, trigger, which was scary at highway speeds.  There was no definitive way to diagnose, but a faulty yaw sensor was the only thing the shop come up with (and they were correct).
</ot>

[AlanStache]

<off topic>

<off topic>
We once had a very tricky problem - occasionally, the ABS would suddenly, briefly, trigger, which was scary at highway speeds.  There was no definitive way to diagnose, but a faulty yaw sensor was the only thing the shop come up with (and they were correct).
</ot>

I have MetroMile car insurance and they bill me based in miles driven as obtained via an always installed OBD (that talks to cell towers) so have gotten emails/texts of issues while driving that it detected.  Shame the OEM cant do this... (maybe they are but I have not had really driven anything 'modern')

</ot>

[TomTX]

Just curious, how would you know it was a failed MAF so you could disconnect it?     I had the same thing happen in a different vehicle about 25 years ago, so I suspected it was the MAF, but I wasn't sure...

well, this is a good question. As for me, I have a diagnostic OBD2 tool in the car. If not, it would be a trial-and-error in the case described above. On the other hand, if the Check Engine light is on, there are not too many sensors the failure of which leads to stalling, so MAF would be under suspicion anyway. BTW, once I had a very tricky failure, which was difficult to diagnose because there was no CE light and the failure manifested itself once in 3-5 days. After reading the forums and replacing a couple of things I managed to pinpoint it - it was an idle valve, which was just slightly clogged with fume/oil deposits and once in a while it was stuck in closed position :)

OBD2 tools really aren't that expensive when you get a Bluetooth one and all the heavy lifting is done by your phone using an app like Torque Pro.

Example: https://www.amazon.com/BAFX-Products-Wireless-Bluetooth-Diagnostic/dp/B005NLQAHS/

[geekette]

<off topic>

<off topic>
We once had a very tricky problem - occasionally, the ABS would suddenly, briefly, trigger, which was scary at highway speeds.  There was no definitive way to diagnose, but a faulty yaw sensor was the only thing the shop come up with (and they were correct).
</ot>

I have MetroMile car insurance and they bill me based in miles driven as obtained via an always installed OBD (that talks to cell towers) so have gotten emails/texts of issues while driving that it detected.  Shame the OEM cant do this... (maybe they are but I have not had really driven anything 'modern')

</ot>

We have an OBD2 (bluetooth, similar to the one TomTX linked), but the car never threw a code.  It just scared us!

[Artem_F]

the sensors and OBD diagnostics are essential, but they cannot tell you a lot of things - for example, a leaking injector, a stuck idle valve, a faulty or wet spark plug, etc. But, the fault search is much easier with them than without them.

[dcheesi]

Just curious, how would you know it was a failed MAF so you could disconnect it?     I had the same thing happen in a different vehicle about 25 years ago, so I suspected it was the MAF, but I wasn't sure...

well, this is a good question. As for me, I have a diagnostic OBD2 tool in the car. If not, it would be a trial-and-error in the case described above. On the other hand, if the Check Engine light is on, there are not too many sensors the failure of which leads to stalling, so MAF would be under suspicion anyway. BTW, once I had a very tricky failure, which was difficult to diagnose because there was no CE light and the failure manifested itself once in 3-5 days. After reading the forums and replacing a couple of things I managed to pinpoint it - it was an idle valve, which was just slightly clogged with fume/oil deposits and once in a while it was stuck in closed position :)

OBD2 tools really aren't that expensive when you get a Bluetooth one and all the heavy lifting is done by your phone using an app like Torque Pro.

Example: https://www.amazon.com/BAFX-Products-Wireless-Bluetooth-Diagnostic/dp/B005NLQAHS/

FWIW, if you don't mind a very basic user interface, the ones w/ their own screen etc. can be pretty cheap as well: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G5EA74I/

(For reasons that seem increasingly silly, I've been slow to warm up to BT-connected devices using my phone as the UI. I'm also a "senior" embedded software dev., so ugly old-school LCD menu interfaces like this are comfortingly familiar to me)

[Reynold]

DW was talking to a more senior co-worker of mine at a company event late last year, and he said that "it had been noticed" that I brought leftover food home.  We have company lunches every week, and nobody else eats leftovers, so I often brought some home.  We typically got 1-2 extra lunches and dinners a week that way. 

The conversation also turned to my impending retirement (now retired as of March 3, stayed long enough to collect the 2022 bonus, woot!).  He said he didn't really understand how I could manage to afford to retire.  I'll have to have a conversation with him some time now that I am out to try to connect those dots. . .

Conversely, my boss I know has been saving, and planning to retire early (10 years younger than me).  He is deliberately moving down from a management back to a technical position to set the stage for some consulting work with the company when he retires, much as I expect to do, for a bit of supplemental income and a way to pay ACA health insurance bills.  My company is very friendly to this kind of thing, our work is specialized and hard to find experienced people for.  As a consultant I may even go to a few company lunches and bring home leftovers. . . :)

[LennStar]

Ahaha, that last sentence was golden!

Congratulations, I guess?

There are people who think something bad when you take leftovers, but I think bad of those who don't think anything about wasting that food - and that is even without considering environmental damage and climate change.

Not that long ago we had a company dinner at an all you can eat place. I certainly eat too much, nearly puked because I wanted to try everything :D But it also meant I didn't need to eat anything the whole next day, so everything has 2 sides.

[Dicey]

Congratulations @Reynold!

[charis]

There are people who think something bad when you take leftovers, but I think bad of those who don't think anything about wasting that food - and that is even without considering environmental damage and climate change.

I used to think that people who didn't like leftovers were wasteful and/or spoiled, and I still do for the most part.   But I have a youngish child who is thoroughly put off by leftovers.  I have no idea where this came from since we have always served and eaten leftovers every week and everyone else in the family is fine with it.  I've had some success covertly reheating food in the air fryer, but he can usually tell.  We require that he takes a bite before declining and at that point he can have a sandwich for dinner.  My frugal self is baffled.

[By the River]

There are people who think something bad when you take leftovers, but I think bad of those who don't think anything about wasting that food - and that is even without considering environmental damage and climate change.

I used to think that people who didn't like leftovers were wasteful and/or spoiled, and I still do for the most part.   But I have a youngish child who is thoroughly put off by leftovers.  I have no idea where this came from since we have always served and eaten leftovers every week and everyone else in the family is fine with it.  I've had some success covertly reheating food in the air fryer, but he can usually tell.  We require that he takes a bite before declining and at that point he can have a sandwich for dinner.  My frugal self is baffled.

I have an older son that is similar.  Says he doesn't like leftovers but does batch cooking to bring for lunch (like grills 3 chicken breasts and veggies on Sunday night for lunch M-W).  So its not a leftover if it was specifically cooked for later...that I don't understand

[JGS1980]

There are people who think something bad when you take leftovers, but I think bad of those who don't think anything about wasting that food - and that is even without considering environmental damage and climate change.

I used to think that people who didn't like leftovers were wasteful and/or spoiled, and I still do for the most part.   But I have a youngish child who is thoroughly put off by leftovers.  I have no idea where this came from since we have always served and eaten leftovers every week and everyone else in the family is fine with it.  I've had some success covertly reheating food in the air fryer, but he can usually tell.  We require that he takes a bite before declining and at that point he can have a sandwich for dinner.  My frugal self is baffled.

I am my family's leftover food vacuum cleaner. I love leftovers. Leftovers also happen to be very frugal. My wife (and many in her family) rarely tolerate leftovers as it does not appeal to their palettes. I have two supertaster (i.e. superpicky) children and 1 child who is willing to eat anything. Oh well. 1 out of 3 aint bad.

JGS

[charis]

I am my family's leftover food vacuum cleaner.

Thank you for your service.

I have an older son that is similar.  Says he doesn't like leftovers but does batch cooking to bring for lunch (like grills 3 chicken breasts and veggies on Sunday night for lunch M-W).  So its not a leftover if it was specifically cooked for later...that I don't understand

I wish there were some forum leftover-haters who could explain this condition, lol. 

My son wouldn't eat if there was no alternative, but after some traumatic experiences with my own parents as a kid at mealtime, I will never pick a battle over food.

[SunnyDays]

Leftovers taste better than fresh cooked, generally.  The flavours have a chance to mingle.

I had a roommate once who cooked pretty much the same meal every day, and when I asked her why she didn't just make more for 2 or 3 meals. she replied that she liked her food "fresh."  I thought to myself, Yeah, it's fresh cooked, but the food has traveled from who knows where, sat in the store, then sat in the fridge until you cooked it.  It's not "fresh."

(When I was a kid, I always had 2 choices for meals - eat it or go hungry, lol.  Still not a picky eater.)

[dcheesi]

There are people who think something bad when you take leftovers, but I think bad of those who don't think anything about wasting that food - and that is even without considering environmental damage and climate change.

I used to think that people who didn't like leftovers were wasteful and/or spoiled, and I still do for the most part.   But I have a youngish child who is thoroughly put off by leftovers.  I have no idea where this came from since we have always served and eaten leftovers every week and everyone else in the family is fine with it.  I've had some success covertly reheating food in the air fryer, but he can usually tell.  We require that he takes a bite before declining and at that point he can have a sandwich for dinner.  My frugal self is baffled.

I have an older son that is similar.  Says he doesn't like leftovers but does batch cooking to bring for lunch (like grills 3 chicken breasts and veggies on Sunday night for lunch M-W).  So its not a leftover if it was specifically cooked for later...that I don't understand

I'm a bit of a leftover-phobe, though I struggle to overcome it. For me, a big part of it is seeing/smelling the cold leftovers from the fridge; something about it just really puts me off. If someone takes it out and reheats it for me, then it's usually fine (and no, this isn't just a tactic to get my wife to do the work!)

I also have an easier time when it's my own cooking, which is weird since I certainly didn't have any problem eating any of the food the first time around. It's not a trust thing, and it's not (always) a preferred-foods thing... I guess maybe it's just "pride of ownership" in my own creations? IDK

[Frugal Lizard]

There are people who think something bad when you take leftovers, but I think bad of those who don't think anything about wasting that food - and that is even without considering environmental damage and climate change.

I used to think that people who didn't like leftovers were wasteful and/or spoiled, and I still do for the most part.   But I have a youngish child who is thoroughly put off by leftovers.  I have no idea where this came from since we have always served and eaten leftovers every week and everyone else in the family is fine with it.  I've had some success covertly reheating food in the air fryer, but he can usually tell.  We require that he takes a bite before declining and at that point he can have a sandwich for dinner.  My frugal self is baffled.

I have an older son that is similar.  Says he doesn't like leftovers but does batch cooking to bring for lunch (like grills 3 chicken breasts and veggies on Sunday night for lunch M-W).  So its not a leftover if it was specifically cooked for later...that I don't understand

I'm a bit of a leftover-phobe, though I struggle to overcome it. For me, a big part of it is seeing/smelling the cold leftovers from the fridge; something about it just really puts me off. If someone takes it out and reheats it for me, then it's usually fine (and no, this isn't just a tactic to get my wife to do the work!)

I also have an easier time when it's my own cooking, which is weird since I certainly didn't have any problem eating any of the food the first time around. It's not a trust thing, and it's not (always) a preferred-foods thing... I guess maybe it's just "pride of ownership" in my own creations? IDK

For me it's a texture thing. If the leftovers can be reheated without one component getting soggy or dried out and all the parts are hot again, I am fine. I have an aversion to warmed up food (probably some cave-brain about food borne illness) and I also get sick from food easily. My in-laws will soak the dried cod overnight in a bowl on the dryer and I cannot eat that fish casserole at all. My DH and his siblings will chow down and feel a little off the next day.

[LennStar]

There are people who think something bad when you take leftovers, but I think bad of those who don't think anything about wasting that food - and that is even without considering environmental damage and climate change.

I used to think that people who didn't like leftovers were wasteful and/or spoiled, and I still do for the most part.   But I have a youngish child who is thoroughly put off by leftovers.  I have no idea where this came from since we have always served and eaten leftovers every week and everyone else in the family is fine with it.  I've had some success covertly reheating food in the air fryer, but he can usually tell.  We require that he takes a bite before declining and at that point he can have a sandwich for dinner.  My frugal self is baffled.

I have an older son that is similar.  Says he doesn't like leftovers but does batch cooking to bring for lunch (like grills 3 chicken breasts and veggies on Sunday night for lunch M-W).  So its not a leftover if it was specifically cooked for later...that I don't understand

I'm a bit of a leftover-phobe, though I struggle to overcome it. For me, a big part of it is seeing/smelling the cold leftovers from the fridge; something about it just really puts me off. If someone takes it out and reheats it for me, then it's usually fine (and no, this isn't just a tactic to get my wife to do the work!)

I also have an easier time when it's my own cooking, which is weird since I certainly didn't have any problem eating any of the food the first time around. It's not a trust thing, and it's not (always) a preferred-foods thing... I guess maybe it's just "pride of ownership" in my own creations? IDK

For me it's a texture thing. If the leftovers can be reheated without one component getting soggy or dried out and all the parts are hot again, I am fine. I have an aversion to warmed up food (probably some cave-brain about food borne illness) and I also get sick from food easily. My in-laws will soak the dried cod overnight in a bowl on the dryer and I cannot eat that fish casserole at all. My DH and his siblings will chow down and feel a little off the next day.

Well, I can't say that I like leftovers - most stuff does not taste better if it's older - and I am also a sort of supertaster for bitter stuff (hence my aversion to lots of vegetables. Some are ok after thouroughly cooked, which puts others off (see above), but a few things make my stomach revolt just smelling).
But I will never understand those who refuse everything.

[Sugaree]

I will eat leftovers, but I know myself well enough to know that I really need to pack them in individual serving containers.  For some reason, I don't love serving portions out of a cold dish, putting the rest back in the fridge, and then warming up my own serving.  I think it goes back to my mom's...questionable...food storage practices. 

[dcheesi]

I will eat leftovers, but I know myself well enough to know that I really need to pack them in individual serving containers.  For some reason, I don't love serving portions out of a cold dish, putting the rest back in the fridge, and then warming up my own serving.  I think it goes back to my mom's...questionable...food storage practices.

Yeah, I think this is part of it for me as well. Scooping out cold, partially congealed glop... *shudder* 

And my mom used to forget things in the back of the fridge all the time (as do I), so I'm sure there's some remembered "trauma" there lol

[dragoncar]

There are people who think something bad when you take leftovers, but I think bad of those who don't think anything about wasting that food - and that is even without considering environmental damage and climate change.

I used to think that people who didn't like leftovers were wasteful and/or spoiled, and I still do for the most part.   But I have a youngish child who is thoroughly put off by leftovers.  I have no idea where this came from since we have always served and eaten leftovers every week and everyone else in the family is fine with it.  I've had some success covertly reheating food in the air fryer, but he can usually tell.  We require that he takes a bite before declining and at that point he can have a sandwich for dinner.  My frugal self is baffled.

I have an older son that is similar.  Says he doesn't like leftovers but does batch cooking to bring for lunch (like grills 3 chicken breasts and veggies on Sunday night for lunch M-W).  So its not a leftover if it was specifically cooked for later...that I don't understand

I'm a bit of a leftover-phobe, though I struggle to overcome it. For me, a big part of it is seeing/smelling the cold leftovers from the fridge; something about it just really puts me off. If someone takes it out and reheats it for me, then it's usually fine (and no, this isn't just a tactic to get my wife to do the work!)

I also have an easier time when it's my own cooking, which is weird since I certainly didn't have any problem eating any of the food the first time around. It's not a trust thing, and it's not (always) a preferred-foods thing... I guess maybe it's just "pride of ownership" in my own creations? IDK

For me it's a texture thing. If the leftovers can be reheated without one component getting soggy or dried out and all the parts are hot again, I am fine. I have an aversion to warmed up food (probably some cave-brain about food borne illness) and I also get sick from food easily. My in-laws will soak the dried cod overnight in a bowl on the dryer and I cannot eat that fish casserole at all. My DH and his siblings will chow down and feel a little off the next day.

All of the above, but for me a lot of it is also how it's been packaged/stored.  Something about seeing those nasty tupperware containers with ancient food staining the plastic crevices, all smooshed down by the lid but still somehow the lid came off and it's absorbed other odors and gotten crusty from dry air... yuck.  Now that I run the house I use only glass containers and try to still "plate" it in an appetizing way.  That really helps the situation.