Author Topic: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition  (Read 982741 times)

powersuitrecall

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #800 on: October 14, 2016, 08:45:59 AM »
Finally I can post to this thread!

A co-worker (mid-30s) was asking our manager about taking the retirement course as she's heard it should be taken within 10 years of retiring.  I had to pipe in ...

me: You, um, are retiring within 10 years?
cw: I'm thinking about taking a deferred annuity (DB pension, so this is a thing) and live off RRSPs until I start receiving it.
me: That's awesome! Hey did you know that if you retire before 50 you can take a lump sum payout of your pension an invest it yourself?
cw: That's interesting. Hmmm.  Well I want to retire when I'm 43 or 44.  My husband and I have been paying off our house, not buying expensive cars, and trying to save as much as possible so we can do this.  Maybe I'll pick up a part time job later on or something.  I don't want to work here for much longer.
me: Have you heard of MMM? Canadian Couch Potato?
cw: Nope.
me: link link link
< ... awesome saving / low spending / money is time conversation follows ... >


4alpacas

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #801 on: October 14, 2016, 09:25:20 AM »
powersuitrecall, that's awesome!

talltexan

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #802 on: October 19, 2016, 12:15:00 PM »
So a while ago, I had shared the MMM post arguing against Lauren Martin's consumerist post about spending away your 20s (link: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2015/09/29/if-youre-not-getting-rich-in-your-20s-youre-doing-it-wrong/) with a young co-worker who'd just recently bought a condo. I just ran into her, and she said she's gone full-mustache. Read all the posts, and now she and her boyfriend bike to work. She was radiant!

I am ashamedly still driving my eight-year-old Toyota Camry 700 miles/month.

ender

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #803 on: October 22, 2016, 08:53:47 AM »
So a while ago, I had shared the MMM post arguing against Lauren Martin's consumerist post about spending away your 20s (link: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2015/09/29/if-youre-not-getting-rich-in-your-20s-youre-doing-it-wrong/) with a young co-worker who'd just recently bought a condo. I just ran into her, and she said she's gone full-mustache. Read all the posts, and now she and her boyfriend bike to work. She was radiant!

I am ashamedly still driving my eight-year-old Toyota Camry 700 miles/month.

:-)

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #804 on: October 22, 2016, 11:33:38 AM »
Checked in with a young man who I had introduced to MMM and JL Collins a month back.

They have cut their expenses way back and are working towards being FI in about 10 years.   

A good day at work!

LennStar

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #805 on: October 23, 2016, 05:55:59 AM »
Hold strong, believers, for the pityful heathens are more and more converted to the one and only true God named FI!

talltexan

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #806 on: October 25, 2016, 09:34:49 AM »
What are we supposed to do if we're yoked to unbelievers?

My wife made a lot of progress, went to a charity auction last night and used the cash I gave her, didn't buy anything that required writing a check, but still...

slipslop

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #807 on: November 02, 2016, 11:06:40 PM »
I just realized that some of the hand-me-downs that I just received from my coworkers have been through seven babies--my director's 2 kids, a coworker's only child, and 2 of my boss' before coming to me for my two kids. Now that they've grown out of them, the clothes that survived are getting bagged and going to yet another one of my coworkers. Not 'overheard' so much, but still a pretty mustachian chain of hand-me-downs and a great way to keep the children from breaking the bank.

powersuitrecall

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #808 on: November 03, 2016, 05:40:06 AM »
I just realized that some of the hand-me-downs that I just received from my coworkers have been through seven babies--my director's 2 kids, a coworker's only child, and 2 of my boss' before coming to me for my two kids. Now that they've grown out of them, the clothes that survived are getting bagged and going to yet another one of my coworkers. Not 'overheard' so much, but still a pretty mustachian chain of hand-me-downs and a great way to keep the children from breaking the bank.

The great thing about hand-me-downs that have lasted a couple of kids is that you know they are good quality - you can feel good about handing them off to the next family.

Another Anti-Antimustachian occurrence at work - a co-worker renewed his mortgage at a lower rate and then set up to auto-pay his line of credit with the saved amount.

talltexan

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #809 on: November 04, 2016, 07:29:20 AM »
I'm amazed at how many details my co-workers share regarding their mortgages. I think I know the rate each of them is paying.

But good Lord, I would never want to know their salaries!

powersuitrecall

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #810 on: November 04, 2016, 11:42:48 AM »
I'm amazed at how many details my co-workers share regarding their mortgages. I think I know the rate each of them is paying.

But good Lord, I would never want to know their salaries!

I work in the gov't so not only are our salaries known to each other, they are published online.  The only wildcard is how much overtime someone manages to rack up over the year.  When T4 time comes we all break them out and compare.  It's pretty fun :)  It's VERY different from my former private sector job, where it was against company policy to disclose your salary to co-workers.

ysette9

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #811 on: November 04, 2016, 01:26:19 PM »
One of my employees was telling me yesterday how pleased he was with the promotion he got this year, and how he convinced his wife to shovel it all into his 401(k), getting it up to a 20% contribution. He shared with me because we have chatted finances before and he knows I am all about saving and inverseront. Yay!

infogoon

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #812 on: November 04, 2016, 01:42:10 PM »
We moved into new office space today, so for the last couple of weeks everyone has been eating all of the soup and other lunch rations we had in our cubes. Free lunches and that much less stuff to move.

talltexan

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #813 on: November 07, 2016, 07:47:39 AM »
My wife told me that she may go through another lay-off cycle at work. She's already survived two, but people all around her were consuming conspicuously before the previous round. Good luck, guys!

Warlord1986

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #814 on: November 07, 2016, 09:05:05 AM »
Co-worker and I recently talked about how debt is bad, eating out is expensive and unhealthy, and that we should save our money and live within our means. Nothing groundbreaking (or even mustachian, he's got a few decades on me and isn't looking to retire anytime soon), but it's still nice to talk to someone who doesn't live to consume.

bebegirl

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #815 on: November 07, 2016, 12:22:47 PM »
Just overheard two young employees under 30 years old talking about 401K plan contributions.

- Do you max out your 401K plan?
- I try too. You?
- Well we safe a lot including to 401K, we wanna buy a house.

I did not catch how 401K plan contributions can help with buying a house other than taking a loan from it but still a nice talk of younger people at the beginning of their career.

Well done!

wevan

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #816 on: November 07, 2016, 01:43:47 PM »
I did not catch how 401K plan contributions can help with buying a house other than taking a loan from it but still a nice talk of younger people at the beginning of their career.
Seems to me that he's saying he saves a lot in different accounts, but he doesn't max out his 401K because he's also saving up to buy a house.  Still, good for him!

Heroes821

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #817 on: November 10, 2016, 09:05:10 AM »
One of my younger co-workers mentioned wanting to find a financial planner.  I referred her to the fee-only guy who first showed me the MMM website.

Old reply can you still refer this person?

Travis

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #818 on: November 10, 2016, 11:16:23 AM »
I can't remember how the conversation started (maybe post-election stocks?), but one of my captains remarked that he is way behind on investing and knowing what he's doing (and probably needs a budget overhaul).  I mentioned how I learned to do it all myself and my FIRE plans and he asked if I could teach him.  I love teaching regardless of the subject, and I get really excited when I can help someone with personal finance.  I'm going to send him my copy of "Random Walk" and "Simple Path" and start off with looking at his budget and some investment basics.  I don't think I'm going to convert him into a full Mustachian, but he definitely wants to be in a better place for retirement since at this point he definitely sees himself working into his 60s.

Primm

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #819 on: November 10, 2016, 03:08:07 PM »
I have a new job with a smallish staff (about 30, compared to something over 300 in my previous department). On election day (Wednesday for us here), we watched results coming in. I went to the computer to transfer some of my spare money into my trading account to try and capitalise on the sudden drop in price of EFTs. The trading bank's website wasn't working, and when we started talking I found out FOUR of my new colleagues were having the same problem!

In my previous job I doubt anyone I worked with even knew what a trading account was.

kimmarg

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #820 on: November 10, 2016, 06:03:31 PM »
US Federal Government employee. We were discussing the new administration and whether there would be job cuts t our department. "I'm not worried" said my coworker. "My TSP will be over a million in a year or two." I pointed out to him that he could retire right now and he said "yea, I've been thinking about it". He's just shy of 50 I think.

infogoon

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #821 on: November 11, 2016, 01:28:14 PM »
I have a new job with a smallish staff (about 30, compared to something over 300 in my previous department). On election day (Wednesday for us here), we watched results coming in. I went to the computer to transfer some of my spare money into my trading account to try and capitalise on the sudden drop in price of EFTs. The trading bank's website wasn't working, and when we started talking I found out FOUR of my new colleagues were having the same problem!

In my previous job I doubt anyone I worked with even knew what a trading account was.

One of my coworkers had a nice windfall Tuesday night dabbling in Dow futures (I think?)

I'm glad he was doing something productive. I was watching election returns and drinking heavily.

nyxst

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #822 on: November 11, 2016, 08:52:10 PM »
Spendy Co-worker asked me how much I put in the company sponsored Simple IRA plan. I didn't want to tell her how much exactly because I couldn't guess why she was asking, so I said "a lot, why do you ask?" She said she wanted to stop just putting in the 3% to get a match and wanted to do more, so we chatted about a few things. She had just turned 40 and I think the number hit her hard... That was about a month or two ago. Today, my boss yelled across the office (he isn't very tactful) to make sure he was putting the change in correctly when he called in our pay. Turns out she decided to turn off her $230 cable bill and add all of it to her 3%.  Baby steps! If you knew her, you'd be proud!

frugalnacho

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #823 on: November 12, 2016, 01:47:04 PM »
Spendy Co-worker asked me how much I put in the company sponsored Simple IRA plan. I didn't want to tell her how much exactly because I couldn't guess why she was asking, so I said "a lot, why do you ask?" She said she wanted to stop just putting in the 3% to get a match and wanted to do more, so we chatted about a few things. She had just turned 40 and I think the number hit her hard... That was about a month or two ago. Today, my boss yelled across the office (he isn't very tactful) to make sure he was putting the change in correctly when he called in our pay. Turns out she decided to turn off her $230 cable bill and add all of it to her 3%.  Baby steps! If you knew her, you'd be proud!

That doesn't sound like baby step.  Saves her $2,760/yr and reduces her total stach needed by $69,000.  With the extra tax savings she'll gain she is probably saving over $3k/yr in reality. That's one giant leap for mustachianism!

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #824 on: January 15, 2017, 12:06:52 AM »
One of my younger co-workers was discussing his recent wedding. Both he and his wife are fans of ice cream cakes, and since they're both quite frugal they decided to order their wedding cake from Baskin-Robbins.

Unlike many retailers that jack up prices for all things wedding-related, it turns out that Baskin-Robbins doesn't. A wedding cake (made of ice cream) costs just the same as any of their other ice cream cakes.

MgoSam

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #825 on: January 17, 2017, 10:19:12 AM »
One of my younger co-workers was discussing his recent wedding. Both he and his wife are fans of ice cream cakes, and since they're both quite frugal they decided to order their wedding cake from Baskin-Robbins.

Unlike many retailers that jack up prices for all things wedding-related, it turns out that Baskin-Robbins doesn't. A wedding cake (made of ice cream) costs just the same as any of their other ice cream cakes.

That's very good to know! I LOVE DQ's cakes.

jinga nation

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #826 on: January 17, 2017, 11:13:35 AM »
I walked over to ask a question to a co-worker.
Him: What should I increase it to?
Me: Huh?
Him: I'm at 10%, what do you do?
Me: (I saw he was on his 401(K) Vanguard page.) I max it.
Him: OK. Me too. (proceeds to change his.)

I give him props for turning his finances around lately. He lived an hour plus away, and commuted with his wife to work. They put their house on rent recently and rented a significantly smaller apartment closer to work.  Also they got rid of the nanny and put the kids back into the excellent workplace daycare center.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #827 on: January 17, 2017, 11:18:13 AM »
Him: I'm at 10%, what do you do?
Me: (I saw he was on his 401(K) Vanguard page.) I max it.
Him: OK. Me too. (proceeds to change his.)

Unless he makes a ton of money, that's pretty amazing to go from 10% to a max without having to really think about it.  We save more than enough to max, but I still had to think about the implications of what that does to our various accounts to actually put that much money away into a retirement account.

Uturn

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #828 on: January 17, 2017, 03:22:30 PM »
Him: I'm at 10%, what do you do?
Me: (I saw he was on his 401(K) Vanguard page.) I max it.
Him: OK. Me too. (proceeds to change his.)

Unless he makes a ton of money, that's pretty amazing to go from 10% to a max without having to really think about it. 

I did this shortly after finding this site.  I was putting in 6%, because that was the max company max.  I was then putting another 5% elsewhere, and thinking that I was killing it because I had achieved and 11% retirement saving rate.  Once I found MMM, I immediately maxed. 

MgoSam

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #829 on: January 17, 2017, 04:18:42 PM »
Him: I'm at 10%, what do you do?
Me: (I saw he was on his 401(K) Vanguard page.) I max it.
Him: OK. Me too. (proceeds to change his.)

Unless he makes a ton of money, that's pretty amazing to go from 10% to a max without having to really think about it. 

I did this shortly after finding this site.  I was putting in 6%, because that was the max company max.  I was then putting another 5% elsewhere, and thinking that I was killing it because I had achieved and 11% retirement saving rate.  Once I found MMM, I immediately maxed.

Good point!

I'm a red panda

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #830 on: January 17, 2017, 05:04:04 PM »
Him: I'm at 10%, what do you do?
Me: (I saw he was on his 401(K) Vanguard page.) I max it.
Him: OK. Me too. (proceeds to change his.)

Unless he makes a ton of money, that's pretty amazing to go from 10% to a max without having to really think about it. 

I did this shortly after finding this site.  I was putting in 6%, because that was the max company max.  I was then putting another 5% elsewhere, and thinking that I was killing it because I had achieved and 11% retirement saving rate.  Once I found MMM, I immediately maxed.

I switched to maxing after finding this site too; fairly quickly- but not immediately upon seeing the suggestion. I spent a little while thinking "huh, wonder why I haven't done that before" and the implications of it. Read if there were other strategies that might be better; benefit to tax deferred etc.

This sounds like the guy just changed the entry the second someone suggested it. No reading up on the implications, no thinking about how it affects the accounts, etc.  Just "oh, 18k it is".

smilla

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #831 on: January 17, 2017, 05:56:33 PM »
Girl (15) that helps out a few afternoons a week, bought herself new boots and when asked by a school friend how much they cost, she replied in hours worked.





MgoSam

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #832 on: January 17, 2017, 06:13:42 PM »
Girl (15) that helps out a few afternoons a week, bought herself new boots and when asked by a school friend how much they cost, she replied in hours worked.

That's awesome! I remember in college I started to think of money in terms of pizza slices. "Hey, MgoSam it's only $4." "Hell no, that's 4 pizza slices!"

jinga nation

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #833 on: January 18, 2017, 06:15:40 AM »
Him: I'm at 10%, what do you do?
Me: (I saw he was on his 401(K) Vanguard page.) I max it.
Him: OK. Me too. (proceeds to change his.)

Unless he makes a ton of money, that's pretty amazing to go from 10% to a max without having to really think about it. 

I did this shortly after finding this site.  I was putting in 6%, because that was the max company max.  I was then putting another 5% elsewhere, and thinking that I was killing it because I had achieved and 11% retirement saving rate.  Once I found MMM, I immediately maxed.

I switched to maxing after finding this site too; fairly quickly- but not immediately upon seeing the suggestion. I spent a little while thinking "huh, wonder why I haven't done that before" and the implications of it. Read if there were other strategies that might be better; benefit to tax deferred etc.

This sounds like the guy just changed the entry the second someone suggested it. No reading up on the implications, no thinking about how it affects the accounts, etc.  Just "oh, 18k it is".
We're paid quite well. Starting salary in my team is $85k. I know he makes at least 95. His wife also has a stable well-paid civilian job. He's loud at times, and I've heard him say he has too much disposable income and he wants to reduce it. He was getting crazy suggestions like H&B, buy a boat or some big toy for big boys, or a fast car.

[Maxing out is under 17% of my gross pay, wish I wasn't limited. The rest of my savings goes with my wife's income into our RE investment rainy-day fund. When we find a rental property, CA$H IS K1NG! We've doing this 6 years.]

Playing with Fire UK

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #834 on: January 18, 2017, 07:27:34 AM »
Girl (15) that helps out a few afternoons a week, bought herself new boots and when asked by a school friend how much they cost, she replied in hours worked.
That's awesome! I remember in college I started to think of money in terms of pizza slices. "Hey, MgoSam it's only $4." "Hell no, that's 4 pizza slices!"

I did the same as this girl when I was in my first job. My hourly rate after taxed worked out to £5, so I'd withdraw my cash in £5 notes and think really hard about handing them over. My money mistakes started when I started to earn more than £5/hour and lost that thinking. I also gave into a bit of peer pressure when people thought I was being stupid for equating a £5 note with an hour waiting tables when I was no longer working waiting tables. If I could go back in time, for five seconds to deliver one kick to the groin, it would be then.

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #835 on: January 26, 2017, 02:31:06 PM »
We've got a few new hires at work, young fresh-out-of-college types. The first guy was an intern-to-hire.  I was impressed when I met him a few months ago and now I'm starting to realize how badass he is.

Firstly, he brings lunch every day.  (Which is not typical here in this area, for a new grad).
Second, he eats homemade and cheap food.  A lot of beans and rice, maybe veggie stews, curries, that sort of thing.
Third, today another new coworker asked my plans for the weekend.  I answered "the usual.  Grocery shopping, chores, and bulk cooking a ton of food that will be gone by Weds."  The beans-and-rice guy laughed and said "yep, I ran out of food yesterday so I made a double batch of pancakes for breakfast".  His lunch was pancakes, win!
Lastly.  I know he has a car, but he bikes to work every day.  Including last week during one of the biggest downpours ever.  I got soaked simply walking my kid into preschool. He was wet even UNDER his waterproof outer pants.

ysette9

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #836 on: January 26, 2017, 02:45:41 PM »
I had lunch with a coworker today. She really isn't that mustachian, but we did talk about saving, tracking spending, trying to cut down on eating out. Her husband has always been big on saving so they have always maxed out their 401ks. She was receptive to some of my ideas so I sent her some reading material, including the stock series and the link to cFIREsim. I suspect they probably have enough to retire now, but who knows? At least she is motivated to learn more about it and set up a plan so they know when they can retire.

shelivesthedream

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #837 on: January 26, 2017, 03:01:42 PM »
We've got a few new hires at work, young fresh-out-of-college types. The first guy was an intern-to-hire.  I was impressed when I met him a few months ago and now I'm starting to realize how badass he is.

Firstly, he brings lunch every day.  (Which is not typical here in this area, for a new grad).
Second, he eats homemade and cheap food.  A lot of beans and rice, maybe veggie stews, curries, that sort of thing.
Third, today another new coworker asked my plans for the weekend.  I answered "the usual.  Grocery shopping, chores, and bulk cooking a ton of food that will be gone by Weds."  The beans-and-rice guy laughed and said "yep, I ran out of food yesterday so I made a double batch of pancakes for breakfast".  His lunch was pancakes, win!
Lastly.  I know he has a car, but he bikes to work every day.  Including last week during one of the biggest downpours ever.  I got soaked simply walking my kid into preschool. He was wet even UNDER his waterproof outer pants.

Could you start leaving little mustaches on post-it notes on his desk to see if he gets the hint?

SeaEhm

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #838 on: January 28, 2017, 05:06:27 PM »
I was talking with a coworker about retirement and he said that even when he was working part time he would max out his retirement contributions.  He is back to full time and continuing to max out.

He's older and when retirement comes up, he just says, "I will retire when I don't feel like coming to work anymore."  I am pretty sure that his family is doing really well financially!


Warlord1986

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #839 on: January 28, 2017, 08:24:01 PM »
In another thread I talked about how my supervisor brings in breakfast several times a week and frequently goes out for lunch.

The other day she mentioned using YNAB and that she has an emergency fund.

SeaEhm

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #840 on: January 29, 2017, 09:48:43 AM »
In another thread I talked about how my supervisor brings in breakfast several times a week and frequently goes out for lunch.

The other day she mentioned using YNAB and that she has an emergency fund.

I wonder what people think about my wife at work.  They probably judge her like no other.  Designer luxuries, nice car, buys lunch everyday, etc. 

If I cared to look through this thread, she might be spoken about!

gaja

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #841 on: January 29, 2017, 04:10:01 PM »
There is no anti anti from Facebook, so I'll share it here. One of the local banks has made a series of advertisements where they interview people on the street about spending habits and savings. I sincerely hope this is a picture of the average citizen, because their replies are in the line of "I'm a student and my goal is to live on my scholarship income, and save 100% of my earned income", "I don't really save a fixed amount, I just avoid spending all my money, and put all the extra aside", "stop spending on stupid stuff, and you'll have money for everything you need" or when they say it is recommended to have an emergency fund of at least 2 months of income, the replies are "oh, I have more than that, that seems a bit low", and "yes, of course we have at least as much in the bank".

In Norwegian:
https://www.facebook.com/DanskeBankNorge/videos/1316025311773693/

Playing with Fire UK

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #842 on: January 30, 2017, 05:44:00 AM »
There is no anti anti from Facebook, so I'll share it here. One of the local banks has made a series of advertisements where they interview people on the street about spending habits and savings. I sincerely hope this is a picture of the average citizen, because their replies are in the line of "I'm a student and my goal is to live on my scholarship income, and save 100% of my earned income", "I don't really save a fixed amount, I just avoid spending all my money, and put all the extra aside", "stop spending on stupid stuff, and you'll have money for everything you need" or when they say it is recommended to have an emergency fund of at least 2 months of income, the replies are "oh, I have more than that, that seems a bit low", and "yes, of course we have at least as much in the bank".

In Norwegian:
https://www.facebook.com/DanskeBankNorge/videos/1316025311773693/

This is awesome, there is probably some bias in who will talk for attribution/on camera about money. So maybe not quite average.

lemanfan

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #843 on: January 30, 2017, 08:19:10 AM »
I sincerely hope this is a picture of the average citizen,

Not that I distrust Danske Bank more than anyone else, but testimonials like this are normally paid actors with a script or at least very selectively screened interviews with "common people".

gaja

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #844 on: January 30, 2017, 10:57:46 AM »
I sincerely hope this is a picture of the average citizen,

Not that I distrust Danske Bank more than anyone else, but testimonials like this are normally paid actors with a script or at least very selectively screened interviews with "common people".
Selectively screened, absolutely. But no lesss fun; most bank ads I've seen earlier have been about loans, credit cards, expensive mutual funds, etc. These films and several of their featured "articles" are on how to avoid spending money, and about savings in general. They are trying to build the image that the norm is to treat money responsibly, and that is something a lot of people need to hear.

shelivesthedream

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #845 on: January 31, 2017, 02:40:03 AM »
Interesting. David Cameron's Nudge Unit did a similar thing with income tax - they altered the reminder letters to let people know that most of their neighbours had already done their self-assessment and paid, and it worked. It's that "herd mentality" that we discuss so much on this forum, but being used for good. No one wants to be the one person not doing something, be it paying your tax on time or having an emergency fund.

Playing with Fire UK

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #846 on: January 31, 2017, 07:41:52 AM »
Re the Nudge Unit, how awesome would it be if they/we/I got the software they use for detecting fraud and then misused it to nicely email people about their financial misbehavings?

So when you signed up for the account you'd answer fraud/responsibility questions like "how much of your income do you plan to save this year?" and "how often do you treat yourself at Starbucks?". Then when you'd bought the third latte of the week you'd get a little email asking you if everything was okay and have you lost your card or your mind. You'd identify the self-defeating behaviour and highlight that B+ financial folk (like you self-identify as) don't normally spend like this.

Kitsune

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #847 on: January 31, 2017, 07:50:10 AM »
Re the Nudge Unit, how awesome would it be if they/we/I got the software they use for detecting fraud and then misused it to nicely email people about their financial misbehavings?

So when you signed up for the account you'd answer fraud/responsibility questions like "how much of your income do you plan to save this year?" and "how often do you treat yourself at Starbucks?". Then when you'd bought the third latte of the week you'd get a little email asking you if everything was okay and have you lost your card or your mind. You'd identify the self-defeating behaviour and highlight that B+ financial folk (like you self-identify as) don't normally spend like this.

That's actually the huge advantage of having a really detailed YNAB budget, for us.

I mean, I CAN buy a third Kindle book this week, but my budget line item immediately starts showing a bright red "you're out of your mind and out of your budget that you set, either give a good reason and fix this or don't do it!" Whereas without the details it's really easy to be like "enh, whatever, it's only 10$"... but 'only' 10$ adds up to a few hundred REALLY QUICK over the course of a month if you do that once or twice a day every day!

Morning Glory

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #848 on: February 01, 2017, 09:04:03 AM »
All of my students brought their lunch yesterday. One was even talking about how he and his roommates meal prep. These are juniors in college.

Adventine

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Re: Overheard at Work: The Anti-Antimustachian Edition
« Reply #849 on: February 01, 2017, 09:20:56 AM »
There's a lady at my new job who brings her lunch to work - usually a combination of red rice, veggies and some sort of lean protein. She usually walks to work and she doesn't wear makeup. She's a rather mature lady, but she's lean, fit, still mentally sharp and pretty nice, too. She'd be my Mustachian role model, except that I don't know her well enough yet to find out why she's still working. Maybe she likes the job? Who knows.

Also, most people at my new job bring lunch to work, and share freely! It's so refreshing.