Author Topic: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition  (Read 981398 times)

Fomerly known as something

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1150 on: January 08, 2019, 05:58:10 AM »
Funny how “maxing” seems to have different meanings.
Max go get company match (whatever)
Max of tax-deferred space ($19k)
Max of total contributions ($55k)

The last is for the lucky few.  Those whose company's either give a super match or allow for after tax contributions.  I'd love to put in another 30k or so but my 401k has said "no not allowed"

marty998

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1151 on: January 08, 2019, 01:32:27 PM »
Colleague dropped a bomb yesterday afternoon - emailed around saying it was her last day at work and she won't be back. She'd been here for a little over 5 years.

They're typical - husband works full time, she worked part time, they have a young kid, house/mortgage etc etc. Am somewhat amazed she has FU money to just walk out.

LPG

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1152 on: January 08, 2019, 03:23:05 PM »
Not a huge bombshell, but I noticed one of younger (Mid-20s) colleagues had Personal Capital open on his computer the other day. I don't know if he's interested in FIRE or not, but I've mentioned my plans at one point and we've talked to each other about being interested in self-employment in the future. Not sure what his goals are, but it sounds to me like he has his head on relatively straight.

freedomfightergal

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1153 on: January 08, 2019, 07:01:18 PM »
At my current gig, this was perhaps a month ago.

Boss:  Let's all go out to lunch today to celebrate the completion of Project X!
Coworker A:  YEAH!  I know just the place.  Sushi.
Coworker B:  Uhh... boss, you're paying, right?
Boss:  Well, not exactly. 
Coworker A:  Aw, who cares?  We get to go out and have fun!
Coworker B:  Pass.  Let me know if you want to actually take us out as a real reward.

So cool - I rarely hear people other than me ask the tough questions in these situations.  Then the bill comes and it's too late.

LOL, one time my boss invited me to lunch, and then immediately added "you pay for yourself" (or something to that effect... maybe a bit more tactful but still super awkward). The  joys of working with lawyers.

I had a Boss ask me of I wanted to come out to lunch with him, I asked where, he said a Sandwich at Stop n Shop!  errr NO, I said I brought my lunch already. EWWW! so cheap! (and a sleazebag)

TRD

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1154 on: January 18, 2019, 06:32:43 AM »
Spoke to a business contact in LA. She’s heartbroken because her 11yo Toyota Yaris requires such major repairs she’s going to have to replace it. She’s a high income earner in a keeping up with the Joneses-centric industry. She does not want to have to buy a new car and just wants something cheap/small/relaible.

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1155 on: January 18, 2019, 09:06:15 AM »
I had the "Ask a Mustachian" tab open on my computer when one of my co-workers was asking me an IT question.  The next day, he told me that he had a vivid dream about discussing FIRE together - it turns out that he's been following MMM for years.  I've been outed!  :-P

Work is in a huge upheaval right now.  We smiled over having "FU money" to get us through.

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1156 on: January 18, 2019, 01:32:51 PM »
I had the "Ask a Mustachian" tab open on my computer when one of my co-workers was asking me an IT question.  The next day, he told me that he had a vivid dream about discussing FIRE together - it turns out that he's been following MMM for years.  I've been outed!  :-P

Work is in a huge upheaval right now.  We smiled over having "FU money" to get us through.

One of my young coworker's really old car is having issues (he had it towed, the towing company did something bad to it...)  Anyway, I was joking about how my husband wanted to buy me a minivan last fall and I said no.  (Because my 12.5 year old Toyota is fine) and he pipes up "I'm probably in the market for a new car if you want to sell it!"

Mikila

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1157 on: January 18, 2019, 03:22:11 PM »
I found at work someone's anti-mustachian ex-husband.  While we were discussing our W-2's, I mentioned paying yourself first.  He said, "Yeah, my ex was a big saver.  She had lots of money and was one of the most joyless persons I've known. I want to live."  O-K.  I guess frugality and stoicism can look like depression when your happiness stems from buying stuff.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1158 on: January 18, 2019, 03:58:41 PM »
I found at work someone's anti-mustachian ex-husband.  While we were discussing our W-2's, I mentioned paying yourself first.  He said, "Yeah, my ex was a big saver.  She had lots of money and was one of the most joyless persons I've known. I want to live."  O-K.  I guess frugality and stoicism can look like depression when your happiness stems from buying stuff.
I'm not sure whether this one fits this thread because of the frugal ex-wife, or whether it belongs in the "overheard at work 2" thread, because of the spendthrift guy.

LennStar

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1159 on: January 19, 2019, 06:52:52 AM »
I found at work someone's anti-mustachian ex-husband.  While we were discussing our W-2's, I mentioned paying yourself first.  He said, "Yeah, my ex was a big saver.  She had lots of money and was one of the most joyless persons I've known. I want to live."  O-K.  I guess frugality and stoicism can look like depression when your happiness stems from buying stuff.

Just a little cautioner here. Your interpretation might me very off (of course you know that person better).
You can be joyless with or without spending money and you can be spending money in carloads and still a party buster. Not to mention that an ex is normally not the most objective source.

In my case an ex could say "He was such a joyless miser! He would say 40$ for a concert was way too much money and would instead buy a book for 10 bucks and sit all the day at home!!"

I don't like concerts, but I like books. For me that is way more joyful, so of course 40$ is way too much for less fun.

Dicey

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1160 on: January 21, 2019, 10:01:52 AM »
I found at work someone's anti-mustachian ex-husband.  While we were discussing our W-2's, I mentioned paying yourself first.  He said, "Yeah, my ex was a big saver.  She had lots of money and was one of the most joyless persons I've known. I want to live."  O-K.  I guess frugality and stoicism can look like depression when your happiness stems from buying stuff.

Just a little cautioner here. Your interpretation might me very off (of course you know that person better).
You can be joyless with or without spending money and you can be spending money in carloads and still a party buster. Not to mention that an ex is normally not the most objective source.

In my case an ex could say "He was such a joyless miser! He would say 40$ for a concert was way too much money and would instead buy a book for 10 bucks and sit all the day at home!!"

I don't like concerts, but I like books. For me that is way more joyful, so of course 40$ is way too much for less fun.
And $10 Is too much for a book, when libraries are free, lol!

Hirondelle

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1161 on: January 21, 2019, 01:10:29 PM »
One of my coworkers started a conversation about investing lately. She's aware that I'm frugal/a saver so she asked if I invested my money vs having it on a savings account. As I was glad she's thinking about investing (we're both first year into full time working post-college) I told her I have quite a few resources and ideas on it to share. I was so happy that my not-too-frugal coworker DOES save some money and wants to invest it.

It also gave me an MPP as I was afraid recommending MMM to her would result in her coming to the forums and recognizing me as her coworker.

Miss Piggy

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1162 on: January 21, 2019, 01:54:29 PM »
It also gave me an MPP as I was afraid recommending MMM to her would result in her coming to the forums and recognizing me as her coworker.

I hate to say it here, but that would totally ruin my day if it happened to me.

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1163 on: January 21, 2019, 03:28:18 PM »
What is MPP? Thanks. (Google didn't deliver an answer)

Fomerly known as something

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1164 on: January 21, 2019, 04:27:43 PM »
What is MPP? Thanks. (Google didn't deliver an answer)

From the Mustachian People Problems Post over on the general discussion page.

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/mustachian-people-problems-(just-for-fun)/

Linea_Norway

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1165 on: January 22, 2019, 02:03:11 AM »
It also gave me an MPP as I was afraid recommending MMM to her would result in her coming to the forums and recognizing me as her coworker.

I hate to say it here, but that would totally ruin my day if it happened to me.

I have mentioned the concept of self financed early retirement to two young colleagues some time ago. I'm not sure if they ever went to investigate the idea further, as they never asked follow up questions about it. But if they would come to this forum, I would be really easy to recognise, using my real first name and real country of living.

Our hope is that there is a lot of valuable information to read on the MMM blog site, without needing to visit the forums. I think the forums are more for the people who like to communicate with like-minded people.

Hirondelle

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1166 on: January 22, 2019, 02:47:33 AM »
It also gave me an MPP as I was afraid recommending MMM to her would result in her coming to the forums and recognizing me as her coworker.

I hate to say it here, but that would totally ruin my day if it happened to me.

I have mentioned the concept of self financed early retirement to two young colleagues some time ago. I'm not sure if they ever went to investigate the idea further, as they never asked follow up questions about it. But if they would come to this forum, I would be really easy to recognise, using my real first name and real country of living.

Our hope is that there is a lot of valuable information to read on the MMM blog site, without needing to visit the forums. I think the forums are more for the people who like to communicate with like-minded people.

Same here Linda. I don't use my real name, but country + city + moving history + job information should make it VERY obvious once one finds my journal. But indeed a new MMM reader won't likely end up in the journal section of the forum all too quickly. I did recommend her several other resources though (Dutch "Financieelonafhankelijk" blog, JLCollins, some general investment/broker advice) so she should get plenty of exposure to the type of investments she could start out with + it's Dutch-focussed. She didn't seem all too interested in the frugality message so I thought some more NL-specific advice would be sufficient. Not sure if she'll get back to me about it, but generally we're pretty open about this sort of stuff so I'll see.

LennStar

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1167 on: January 22, 2019, 05:00:41 AM »
And $10 Is too much for a book, when libraries are free, lol!

They are not. yearly fees are about one book though. But getting abook from another library normally costs money, and they very certainly don't have the english edition here in Germany.

And of course, there is the warm feeling of a library in your home...
As far as luxuries goes, books are certainly one of the cheapest and most positive hobbies there are ;)


Quote
"Financieelonafhankelijk"
LOL
I like that as a German, I can get the meaning of practically every dutch word if I just repeat it often enough, even with such mammoth words. Took me 4 times for this ^^
Interesting, German has no bang word, we put it in two. Finanzielle Unabhängigkeit. 

Linea_Norway

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1168 on: January 22, 2019, 06:08:44 AM »
Quote
"Financieelonafhankelijk"
LOL
I like that as a German, I can get the meaning of practically every dutch word if I just repeat it often enough, even with such mammoth words. Took me 4 times for this ^^
Interesting, German has no bang word, we put it in two. Finanzielle Unabhängigkeit.

I am Dutch. I think it is not natural to write Financieelonafhankelijk as one word. Financieel onafhankelijk or Financiële onafhankelijkheid would be more proper Dutch. But a blog address probably works better as one word without space.

We Dutch people can also understand German quite well, even if we didn't pay too much attention during the lessons at school. It is very similar.

chaskavitch

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1169 on: January 22, 2019, 06:31:26 AM »
And $10 Is too much for a book, when libraries are free, lol!

They are not. yearly fees are about one book though. But getting abook from another library normally costs money, and they very certainly don't have the english edition here in Germany.

And of course, there is the warm feeling of a library in your home...
As far as luxuries goes, books are certainly one of the cheapest and most positive hobbies there are ;)


Quote
"Financieelonafhankelijk"
LOL
I like that as a German, I can get the meaning of practically every dutch word if I just repeat it often enough, even with such mammoth words. Took me 4 times for this ^^
Interesting, German has no bang word, we put it in two. Finanzielle Unabhängigkeit.

Libraries in the US are free, or at least paid for by taxes regardless of whether or not you decide to use them.  The only time I've paid extra is when I don't bring books back on time and I get late fees.  You can request books from other libraries for free as well. 

I've actually found German translations available of books a few times, but that might be because I live in a town with a university, and within 100 miles of three others - I bet all of the German books come from there.  Not that I can read them anymore.  My German reading comprehension is at like a 1st grade level, if I'm being very generous with myself.

Hirondelle

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1170 on: January 22, 2019, 08:19:13 AM »
Quote
"Financieelonafhankelijk"
LOL
I like that as a German, I can get the meaning of practically every dutch word if I just repeat it often enough, even with such mammoth words. Took me 4 times for this ^^
Interesting, German has no bang word, we put it in two. Finanzielle Unabhängigkeit.

I am Dutch. I think it is not natural to write Financieelonafhankelijk as one word. Financieel onafhankelijk or Financiële onafhankelijkheid would be more proper Dutch. But a blog address probably works better as one word without space.

We Dutch people can also understand German quite well, even if we didn't pay too much attention during the lessons at school. It is very similar.

True, it was actually a good old typo from my side, the actual name is "Financieel Onafhankelijk blog". And same thing on the German phrases/words. I have a lot of German friends and as they tend to cluster together and easily end up speaking German to each other when abroad, my German listening abilities always skyrocket during my trips (and then suddenly when I reply I fall back into English cause German speaking is muuuuch harder).

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1171 on: January 22, 2019, 04:48:43 PM »
The only time I've paid extra is when I don't bring books back on time and I get late fees.

My county recently offered an amnesty on all fees.  Had a bunch of late/lost books?  Erased.  Imagine the vitriol on the local conservative news site.

This is the same county that just gives thousands of books away each year (those taken out of circulation).  That actually seems like a lot of waste to me, but perhaps a lot of it was donations to begin with.

La Bibliotecaria Feroz

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1172 on: January 22, 2019, 05:11:02 PM »
The only time I've paid extra is when I don't bring books back on time and I get late fees.

My county recently offered an amnesty on all fees.  Had a bunch of late/lost books?  Erased.  Imagine the vitriol on the local conservative news site.

This is the same county that just gives thousands of books away each year (those taken out of circulation).  That actually seems like a lot of waste to me, but perhaps a lot of it was donations to begin with.

I work for a library. Sooooo many books come out every year. It would be really unfortunate if we didn't have room for awesome new books because our shelf space was taken up with stuff people don't want. Sometimes popularity wanes before the copies physically wear out, sometimes maybe it was just a dud. But selling those books at the book sale or giving them away at outreach events is at least a chance to build excitement about the library.

As far as amnesty on fines, a lot of times fines don't actually go back to the library, they just go to the general local government budget, where they are a tiny drop in the bucket. So there may be no relationship between fines and the ability to purchase new items.

FWIW the library I work for doesn't charge fines anymore anyway, which is nice. You only have to pay for a book if you lose it. Or, say, your cat throws up on it. Which has definitely happened to me.

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1173 on: January 22, 2019, 05:45:57 PM »
And $10 Is too much for a book, when libraries are free, lol!

They are not. yearly fees are about one book though. But getting abook from another library normally costs money, and they very certainly don't have the english edition here in Germany.

And of course, there is the warm feeling of a library in your home...
As far as luxuries goes, books are certainly one of the cheapest and most positive hobbies there are ;)


Quote
"Financieelonafhankelijk"
LOL
I like that as a German, I can get the meaning of practically every dutch word if I just repeat it often enough, even with such mammoth words. Took me 4 times for this ^^
Interesting, German has no bang word, we put it in two. Finanzielle Unabhängigkeit.

I love that, in German and Dutch, you can kind of make up new words by stringing smaller existing words and particles together. If you do that in English or French it's a symptom of schizophrenia.

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1174 on: January 23, 2019, 07:48:06 AM »
People up north talk too fast, I thought they were stringing words together to make new words.

Dicey

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1175 on: January 23, 2019, 08:21:02 AM »
The only time I've paid extra is when I don't bring books back on time and I get late fees.

My county recently offered an amnesty on all fees.  Had a bunch of late/lost books?  Erased.  Imagine the vitriol on the local conservative news site.

This is the same county that just gives thousands of books away each year (those taken out of circulation).  That actually seems like a lot of waste to me, but perhaps a lot of it was donations to begin with.

I work for a library. Sooooo many books come out every year. It would be really unfortunate if we didn't have room for awesome new books because our shelf space was taken up with stuff people don't want. Sometimes popularity wanes before the copies physically wear out, sometimes maybe it was just a dud. But selling those books at the book sale or giving them away at outreach events is at least a chance to build excitement about the library.

As far as amnesty on fines, a lot of times fines don't actually go back to the library, they just go to the general local government budget, where they are a tiny drop in the bucket. So there may be no relationship between fines and the ability to purchase new items.

FWIW the library I work for doesn't charge fines anymore anyway, which is nice. You only have to pay for a book if you lose it. Or, say, your cat throws up on it. Which has definitely happened to me.
Our library system has just enacted this same policy! The feeling was that accrued fines were preventing too many lower income kids from checking out books. Also, not having to manage cash frees up time for staff.

@LennStar, I did not know you are in Germany. I agree that a stockpile of good books to read is comforting. When I was squeezing my budget the hardest, I realized I just couldn't afford my new book habit. I decided to volunteer at the library's book sales. Now I'm on the Friends of the Library Board and help run the sales. I haven't paid more than $1.00 for a book in over a decade. It's amazing what people donate! Until this new policy was put in place, it was also a great way to avoid fines. It's funny, I get so many books this way that I rarely use my library card any more. And my frugal personal library is quite cozy indeed!

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1176 on: January 23, 2019, 08:51:05 AM »
And that is why I have my own small library. Can't rely on the library to have a book important to me in the future. I just buy used books to keep the costs down.

Peachtea

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1177 on: January 23, 2019, 11:28:51 AM »
It also gave me an MPP as I was afraid recommending MMM to her would result in her coming to the forums and recognizing me as her coworker.

I hate to say it here, but that would totally ruin my day if it happened to me.

I have mentioned the concept of self financed early retirement to two young colleagues some time ago. I'm not sure if they ever went to investigate the idea further, as they never asked follow up questions about it. But if they would come to this forum, I would be really easy to recognise, using my real first name and real country of living.

Our hope is that there is a lot of valuable information to read on the MMM blog site, without needing to visit the forums. I think the forums are more for the people who like to communicate with like-minded people.

Same here Linda. I don't use my real name, but country + city + moving history + job information should make it VERY obvious once one finds my journal. But indeed a new MMM reader won't likely end up in the journal section of the forum all too quickly. I did recommend her several other resources though (Dutch "Financieelonafhankelijk" blog, JLCollins, some general investment/broker advice) so she should get plenty of exposure to the type of investments she could start out with + it's Dutch-focussed. She didn't seem all too interested in the frugality message so I thought some more NL-specific advice would be sufficient. Not sure if she'll get back to me about it, but generally we're pretty open about this sort of stuff so I'll see.

I accidentally found my co-worker, who is no longer active on the forums, when reading a very old thread. I couldn’t help myself from reading a couple old posts to confirm my inkling, but I was able to quash my curiousity of reading more...it felt too much like an invasion of privacy. If she became active again, I’m sure she would quickly figure out my identity. She knows I’m on the forums and I sometimes update her on any discussions I think she would find interesting. And I’ve shared links, including mmm, with a new coworker who seems naturally mustachian. One of the first questions he asked me was if I knew how our state taxes 401k/IRA distributions in retirement (to help him decide Roth v traditional). I’m sure he could figure out my identity as well if he looks at the forum. So I try to keep that in mind when I’m posting things.

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1178 on: January 23, 2019, 01:41:44 PM »
People up north talk too fast, I thought they were stringing words together to make new words.

Years ago I had to make a tech support phone call to NYC.   The person I reached talked really fast and wasn't really motivated to provide good customer service either.

So I said this, in a very exaggerated southern accent, making sure to draw out the length of key words throughout the sentence: 

"Excuse me, ma'am, but I'm from the south and we don't talk that fast 'round here.  Would you mind talking a mite slower?"


Worked like a charm.  Literally.   It tickled her so much she became very helpful.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1179 on: January 23, 2019, 04:17:16 PM »
I love that, in German and Dutch, you can kind of make up new words by stringing smaller existing words and particles together. If you do that in English or French it's a symptom of schizophrenia.
In English, we just string a whole bunch of nouns together, and pretend that all but the last are adjectives. :)

jinga nation

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1180 on: January 24, 2019, 08:02:21 AM »
People up north talk too fast, I thought they were stringing words together to make new words.

Years ago I had to make a tech support phone call to NYC.   The person I reached talked really fast and wasn't really motivated to provide good customer service either.

So I said this, in a very exaggerated southern accent, making sure to draw out the length of key words throughout the sentence: 

"Excuse me, ma'am, but I'm from the south and we don't talk that fast 'round here.  Would you mind talking a mite slower?"


Worked like a charm.  Literally.   It tickled her so much she became very helpful.

When my internet is down and I've checked everything on my end, I've noticed I get the best support when I explain the problem and what I've done so far in a drawl. This means the tech doesn't have to make me run through the verification checks again, and they immediately start investigating their side of the network. At brick-n-mortar customer service departments, using the line "Sir/Ma'am what would you do if you were in my shoes?" is a winner.

Sugaree

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1181 on: January 24, 2019, 08:26:40 AM »
I found at work someone's anti-mustachian ex-husband.  While we were discussing our W-2's, I mentioned paying yourself first.  He said, "Yeah, my ex was a big saver.  She had lots of money and was one of the most joyless persons I've known. I want to live."  O-K.  I guess frugality and stoicism can look like depression when your happiness stems from buying stuff.

Oh, you work with my ex-husband? 

Sugaree

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1182 on: January 24, 2019, 08:31:24 AM »
And that is why I have my own small library. Can't rely on the library to have a book important to me in the future. I just buy used books to keep the costs down.

I picked up one of the best books I've read in awhile at a thrift store for a dollar recently (In the Heart of the Sea, if you're interested).  But I really don't have a lot of room for books.  Or anything else for that matter; ah, the...um....joys of living with a hoarder.  I have two Kindles though.  My old one that is the e-ink version that I use to check out books from the library.  I can download 5 to the Kindle and then turn it's wifi off.  Then I can return those books to the library or let them return automatically in two weeks.  The books won't actually go off the Kindle until it connects back to wifi.  I get to read at my leisure and someone else gets to check them out.  Win-win.  I also have a newer Kindle that I use more as a tablet and use it to read things like the books that come as one of my Prime benefits.

Dicey

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1183 on: January 24, 2019, 08:33:51 AM »
Loved that ^^ book and I paid the same price. It was worth every penny.

Cookie78

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1184 on: January 24, 2019, 08:54:46 AM »
And that is why I have my own small library. Can't rely on the library to have a book important to me in the future. I just buy used books to keep the costs down.

I picked up one of the best books I've read in awhile at a thrift store for a dollar recently (In the Heart of the Sea, if you're interested).  But I really don't have a lot of room for books.  Or anything else for that matter; ah, the...um....joys of living with a hoarder.  I have two Kindles though.  My old one that is the e-ink version that I use to check out books from the library.  I can download 5 to the Kindle and then turn it's wifi off.  Then I can return those books to the library or let them return automatically in two weeks.  The books won't actually go off the Kindle until it connects back to wifi.  I get to read at my leisure and someone else gets to check them out.  Win-win.  I also have a newer Kindle that I use more as a tablet and use it to read things like the books that come as one of my Prime benefits.

I don't know if it is true, but I have read on this forum that until you turn the wifi back on and return the book it IS locked and no one else can check out the book. I'd love to know for sure whether this is true or not.

Sugaree

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1185 on: January 24, 2019, 09:08:03 AM »
And that is why I have my own small library. Can't rely on the library to have a book important to me in the future. I just buy used books to keep the costs down.

I picked up one of the best books I've read in awhile at a thrift store for a dollar recently (In the Heart of the Sea, if you're interested).  But I really don't have a lot of room for books.  Or anything else for that matter; ah, the...um....joys of living with a hoarder.  I have two Kindles though.  My old one that is the e-ink version that I use to check out books from the library.  I can download 5 to the Kindle and then turn it's wifi off.  Then I can return those books to the library or let them return automatically in two weeks.  The books won't actually go off the Kindle until it connects back to wifi.  I get to read at my leisure and someone else gets to check them out.  Win-win.  I also have a newer Kindle that I use more as a tablet and use it to read things like the books that come as one of my Prime benefits.

I don't know if it is true, but I have read on this forum that until you turn the wifi back on and return the book it IS locked and no one else can check out the book. I'd love to know for sure whether this is true or not.

https://librarianbyday.net/2011/10/26/how-to-extend-the-due-date-of-your-library-ebook-on-the-kindle/  This says that it doesn't prevent others from checking it out.  Also, https://bookriot.com/2018/08/20/how-to-keep-library-ebooks-longer/
« Last Edit: January 24, 2019, 09:13:44 AM by Sugaree »

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1186 on: January 25, 2019, 12:28:39 PM »
Our book collection isn't that large. We have a modest sized home with four 3 ft wide bookshelves scattered around for media and books.

Dee

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1187 on: January 27, 2019, 03:06:25 PM »
I have a neighbour at work who is retiring imminently, at age 55. She will be getting a pension from work and is basically views it as having won lottery for life. She is thrilled and I am thrilled for her.  She wasn't making the big bucks in her position and even though 55 is not exactly what is considered ER on these boards, I get the impression she has a pretty mustachian lifestyle. In retirement, she is looking forward to spending more time with friends, biking, and hiking, for example.

littlelykke

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1188 on: January 28, 2019, 05:59:33 AM »
I have a neighbour at work who is retiring imminently, at age 55. She will be getting a pension from work and is basically views it as having won lottery for life. She is thrilled and I am thrilled for her.  She wasn't making the big bucks in her position and even though 55 is not exactly what is considered ER on these boards, I get the impression she has a pretty mustachian lifestyle. In retirement, she is looking forward to spending more time with friends, biking, and hiking, for example.
Good on her! I still think being able to leave 12 years early is quite the achievement! I definitely count it as ER.

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1189 on: January 30, 2019, 11:31:12 AM »
Boss: "I hired someone to come organize everything so I can just stand there and point where I want it."

Co-worker: "Wow, nice." (Unsure if this was sarcasm or not)

Me in my head: U WOT M8 :)

Sugaree

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1190 on: January 31, 2019, 09:00:55 AM »
My co-worker just increased his retirement withholding.  Granted, it's only because he did his taxes last night and got a nasty surprise and is looking for ways to decrease his tax burden for next year.  But it's something. 

Kashmani

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1191 on: January 31, 2019, 11:03:49 AM »
Interesting, German has no bang word, we put it in two. Finanzielle Unabhängigkeit.

Kohleförderungsausstieg? Knetenselbstvermehrung?

If either of those stick, I claim credit. :)


Slow&Steady

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1192 on: February 13, 2019, 03:21:31 PM »
I started carpooling with a coworker in a few months ago.  This person is somebody that has a lot of debt but is trying to dig out of it, not really in a mustachian way but still trying to pay it off.

The other day we are driving home and CW tells me that for the 1st time ever they set aside half of next months rent out of this paycheck and put it into savings.  I said how impressed I am.  CW then tells me that they had to use it to fix the car but they didn't have to put anything extra on the credit card. CW was really excited about not putting more debt on the cc so I think they will continue to try to put money into savings from every check to cover future expenses.  Everyone has to start somewhere.

I considered this conversation in 3 parts, win - ouch - win.

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1193 on: February 13, 2019, 05:14:31 PM »
I started carpooling with a coworker in a few months ago.  This person is somebody that has a lot of debt but is trying to dig out of it, not really in a mustachian way but still trying to pay it off.

The other day we are driving home and CW tells me that for the 1st time ever they set aside half of next months rent out of this paycheck and put it into savings.  I said how impressed I am.  CW then tells me that they had to use it to fix the car but they didn't have to put anything extra on the credit card. CW was really excited about not putting more debt on the cc so I think they will continue to try to put money into savings from every check to cover future expenses.  Everyone has to start somewhere.

I considered this conversation in 3 parts, win - ouch - win.


Pretty much everyone I've ever known to try this gets hammered by a big bill soon afterwards.  It's as if the universe is testing us...

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1194 on: February 13, 2019, 11:29:12 PM »
I started carpooling with a coworker in a few months ago.  This person is somebody that has a lot of debt but is trying to dig out of it, not really in a mustachian way but still trying to pay it off.

The other day we are driving home and CW tells me that for the 1st time ever they set aside half of next months rent out of this paycheck and put it into savings.  I said how impressed I am.  CW then tells me that they had to use it to fix the car but they didn't have to put anything extra on the credit card. CW was really excited about not putting more debt on the cc so I think they will continue to try to put money into savings from every check to cover future expenses.  Everyone has to start somewhere.

I considered this conversation in 3 parts, win - ouch - win.


Pretty much everyone I've ever known to try this gets hammered by a big bill soon afterwards.  It's as if the universe is testing us...

Of course it's a fallacy, but this is mentioned in that "psychology of a poor person" article... if you don't spend all extra money on something fun, it'll inevitably get eaten up by something boring like a car repair.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1195 on: February 14, 2019, 02:31:41 AM »
Not really Mustachian, but a hot topic on this website.

My boss told me yesterday that she is now in decluttering mood. Marie Condo-lite. She can finally find her clothes in her wardrobe, after declutttering 3 garbage bags full of them.

Slow&Steady

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1196 on: February 14, 2019, 07:15:23 AM »
I started carpooling with a coworker in a few months ago.  This person is somebody that has a lot of debt but is trying to dig out of it, not really in a mustachian way but still trying to pay it off.

The other day we are driving home and CW tells me that for the 1st time ever they set aside half of next months rent out of this paycheck and put it into savings.  I said how impressed I am.  CW then tells me that they had to use it to fix the car but they didn't have to put anything extra on the credit card. CW was really excited about not putting more debt on the cc so I think they will continue to try to put money into savings from every check to cover future expenses.  Everyone has to start somewhere.

I considered this conversation in 3 parts, win - ouch - win.


Pretty much everyone I've ever known to try this gets hammered by a big bill soon afterwards.  It's as if the universe is testing us...

Of course it's a fallacy, but this is mentioned in that "psychology of a poor person" article... if you don't spend all extra money on something fun, it'll inevitably get eaten up by something boring like a car repair.

I guess the person's attitude about it is what really matters.  One can look at is as "if you don't spend all extra money on something fun, it'll inevitably get eaten up by something boring" or "I love the feeling of being able to pay for something without creating more debt, this is fun".  It seemed like CW is leaning towards the 2nd mentality.

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1197 on: February 14, 2019, 07:25:40 AM »
Not really Mustachian, but a hot topic on this website.

My boss told me yesterday that she is now in decluttering mood. Marie Condo-lite. She can finally find her clothes in her wardrobe, after declutttering 3 garbage bags full of them.

Time to go shopping soon!

Oh right - not the right thread... :)

Cool Friend

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1198 on: February 14, 2019, 08:31:16 AM »
New coworker, 21 and fresh out of college, was a little sheepish about her bagged lunch... said she felt like a kindergartener.  But I was like, no way I bring my lunch too (we're the only two people in our small office who do)!  Told her that there's only a handful of decent places to eat around here and they get old real fast anyway.  She seemed encouraged and has kept bringing her lunch in.

PMG

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #1199 on: February 14, 2019, 08:45:50 AM »
New coworker, 21 and fresh out of college, was a little sheepish about her bagged lunch... said she felt like a kindergartener.  But I was like, no way I bring my lunch too (we're the only two people in our small office who do)!  Told her that there's only a handful of decent places to eat around here and they get old real fast anyway.  She seemed encouraged and has kept bringing her lunch in.

You can be that cool friend who inspires her to even more coolness.