Author Topic: Overheard at Work  (Read 13252646 times)

cliner

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 36
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19300 on: December 27, 2017, 03:30:15 PM »
I haven't posted here since I first joined earlier this year, but I've been lurking these threads for a while. At my work, we have the usual: Coworkers drive their cars to wait in the drive-thru at the Starbucks across the street. A couple coworkers pack their lunches, but most drive to pick up a $7-10 meal almost every day. The usual stuff...

But there are two coworkers of mine that stand out to me. They're both great people and a pleasure to work with, but I can't help but cringe at some of their choices:

- Coworker A is a single mother of 5 kids. We've talked briefly about money in passing, so I know she's struggling earning just above minimum wage + some child support, but I haven't intruded much since she hasn't asked me. I only recommended setting up a budget with something like Mint and planning out each month's spending ahead of time, finding ways to cut spending, etc. She insists there's nothing she can cut from her expenses, but she admits she doesn't use a written budget. Regarding income, I feel for her, because our company isn't letting its employees work OT, so her only opportunity to earn extra income is a 2nd job.

Anyway, her old SUV was giving her lots of trouble, so she started shopping around for a replacement. I showed her how to price used cars on KBB/Edmunds/etc. so she doesn't end up overpaying. One day she rolls up in her replacement vehicle: a (admittedly, used) BMW x3. I didn't ask what (or how) she paid for it, not my business. First routine maintenance comes along, she said she had to pay $150 for an oil change. While I didn't give her a hard time for the car purchase, I did tell her she paid way too much for an oil change. She responded "It's because it's a BMW". AHHhhhh!!!

- Coworker B, at the same company. We're a little closer and have had longer talks about things like money, health, personal stuff, and she's more open to suggestions re: $$$. Anyway, she's working full time while taking night classes at community college. She lives with her mom to reduce expenses, but she is still taking out student loans for college. Also Coworker B says she's paying her friend $400 each month to borrow her car, and that "once its paid off, her friend will give the car to Coworker B". I told her that's a bad idea: 1) She's paying too much for a car & 2) the risk of her "friend" ripping her off. I can just see her coming in one day, crushed that the owner took the car back after all the money Coworker B put in to it. Anyway, Coworker B says she can't afford to save up for her own car. I asked her why, it should be doable in a few months since she works full time and pays no rent. She then admitted it's because she's loaning Coworker A $500/mo to pay for her apartment, says she'll get the money back in April when Coworker A gets her tax refund.

How can I (and should I) help? Especially Coworker B. She means well, but keeps doing dumb stuff with her money, like subsidizing Coworker A's luxury crossover. And she always has an excuse: "Well, I couldn't save any money this month because I got a parking ticket", or "I had to pay for my boyfriend's daughter's school clothes", or "like 5 of my cousins were in town so I had to spend all my money on groceries and taking them out to restaurants and movies and stuff".

Feivel2000

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 327
  • Age: 39
  • Location: Germany
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19301 on: December 27, 2017, 03:53:38 PM »
Don't get involved unless they ask directly for your help.

Blackeagle

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 295
  • Location: Ivins, UT
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19302 on: December 27, 2017, 05:35:42 PM »
This has certainly been mentioned before, but I'm not gonna read all 390 pages, haha.  Coworkers are all big into hunting.  But I think they're actually bigger into the 9 months of off season when they all buy new rifles and scopes and trail cameras.  All that cost more than my freakin' car.  And then some of them have the gall to claim it's cheaper to feed their family that way.  I'm sure it would be, but not when you're buying the latest and greatest $3000 scope and whatnot. 

Also, the boss took a day off from work a few weeks ago to drive a state over to buy a third... THIRD... trailer.  Don't ask me why he needed another.

Hunting is definitely one of those activities that is usually either an inexpensive badass activity that saves money on groceries, or an astronomically expensive lifestyle-hobby that consumes vast amounts of time and money and produces some meat in the freezer as a microscopic side-note.  Fishing can be the same.

My most recent hunting trip was definitely in the lifestyle-hobby category (expensive out of state elk tag, drive 1500 miles each way, etc.), but the experience of spending two weeks with a good friend and his family and hunting every day was truly great.

Despite the cost I think the trip may end up speeding up FIRE for me.  My friend lives off grid in rural Montana, just the sort of place that I aspire to after I hit FIRE.  Any time I need some more motivation to stay mustachian I think back to how wonderful that trip was and how great it would be to live that life full time.

cliner

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 36
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19303 on: December 27, 2017, 11:01:47 PM »
Don't get involved unless they ask directly for your help.

Got it!

better late

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 488
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19304 on: December 27, 2017, 11:16:10 PM »
I haven't posted here since I first joined earlier this year, but I've been lurking these threads for a while. At my work, we have the usual: Coworkers drive their cars to wait in the drive-thru at the Starbucks across the street. A couple coworkers pack their lunches, but most drive to pick up a $7-10 meal almost every day. The usual stuff...

But there are two coworkers of mine that stand out to me. They're both great people and a pleasure to work with, but I can't help but cringe at some of their choices:
....

- Coworker B, at the same company. We're a little closer and have had longer talks about things like money, health, personal stuff, and she's more open to suggestions re: $$$. Anyway, she's working full time while taking night classes at community college. She lives with her mom to reduce expenses, but she is still taking out student loans for college. Also Coworker B says she's paying her friend $400 each month to borrow her car, and that "once its paid off, her friend will give the car to Coworker B". I told her that's a bad idea: 1) She's paying too much for a car & 2) the risk of her "friend" ripping her off. I can just see her coming in one day, crushed that the owner took the car back after all the money Coworker B put in to it. Anyway, Coworker B says she can't afford to save up for her own car. I asked her why, it should be doable in a few months since she works full time and pays no rent. She then admitted it's because she's loaning Coworker A $500/mo to pay for her apartment, says she'll get the money back in April when Coworker A gets her tax refund.

How can I (and should I) help? Especially Coworker B. She means well, but keeps doing dumb stuff with her money, like subsidizing Coworker A's luxury crossover. And she always has an excuse: "Well, I couldn't save any money this month because I got a parking ticket", or "I had to pay for my boyfriend's daughter's school clothes", or "like 5 of my cousins were in town so I had to spend all my money on groceries and taking them out to restaurants and movies and stuff".
[/quote

 she sounds like she could really benefit from learning about boundaries-I'm pretty sure there was a book mentioned on the forum on that topic.

Pioneerw2b

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 19
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19305 on: December 28, 2017, 05:28:36 AM »
I haven't posted here since I first joined earlier this year, but I've been lurking these threads for a while. At my work, we have the usual: Coworkers drive their cars to wait in the drive-thru at the Starbucks across the street. A couple coworkers pack their lunches, but most drive to pick up a $7-10 meal almost every day. The usual stuff...

But there are two coworkers of mine that stand out to me. They're both great people and a pleasure to work with, but I can't help but cringe at some of their choices:
....

- Coworker B, at the same company. We're a little closer and have had longer talks about things like money, health, personal stuff, and she's more open to suggestions re: $$$. Anyway, she's working full time while taking night classes at community college. She lives with her mom to reduce expenses, but she is still taking out student loans for college. Also Coworker B says she's paying her friend $400 each month to borrow her car, and that "once its paid off, her friend will give the car to Coworker B". I told her that's a bad idea: 1) She's paying too much for a car & 2) the risk of her "friend" ripping her off. I can just see her coming in one day, crushed that the owner took the car back after all the money Coworker B put in to it. Anyway, Coworker B says she can't afford to save up for her own car. I asked her why, it should be doable in a few months since she works full time and pays no rent. She then admitted it's because she's loaning Coworker A $500/mo to pay for her apartment, says she'll get the money back in April when Coworker A gets her tax refund.

How can I (and should I) help? Especially Coworker B. She means well, but keeps doing dumb stuff with her money, like subsidizing Coworker A's luxury crossover. And she always has an excuse: "Well, I couldn't save any money this month because I got a parking ticket", or "I had to pay for my boyfriend's daughter's school clothes", or "like 5 of my cousins were in town so I had to spend all my money on groceries and taking them out to restaurants and movies and stuff".
[/quote

 she sounds like she could really benefit from learning about boundaries-I'm pretty sure there was a book mentioned on the forum on that topic.



The book "Boundaries" would be a great idea.....

Personally I would have blown a gasket if I was helping someone pay their rent (which I would never do ) and they showed up in a luxury car....



TomTX

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5345
  • Location: Texas
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19306 on: December 30, 2017, 04:26:00 PM »
I do think it is too easy to get credit, and for a lot of people, it means getting in trouble, because the interest compounds. I also worry now that we are in the future losing our safety nets, particularly health care, that it is going to be more and more likely people will end up over their heads. I'm not sure what the solution is.

I still remember in the late 90's, just graduated from college, had a job, had a checking and savings account and I applied for a credit card, and I was turned down! Insufficient credit history. I had to open up a store credit card use it for a few months and apply again before I could qualify. Compared to now students entering college walk past tables with free tshirts and freebies so they will sign up for that credit card.
You have to have debt before they'll let you go into debt. When I graduated from college in 2011, with a job, nobody would give me a credit card. Then I bought a pickup truck with an auto loan co-signed by my dad (who has spectacular credit). (Pre-Mustache days, and I sold that truck after a year, but I still miss it.) I had no trouble getting the next credit card I applied for after that auto loan.

Wonder why both your experiences are so different from mine.  I went to college in 1997, same time partygypsy got out, and I got a bunch of free tshirts.  Had to do a lot of CC cancellations when I ran my credit report for the first time 10 years later.  Had no credit to start with.


You get the first credit card WHILE in college. Approval is easier than after graduation for most. I got my free T-shirt credit card in 1994.

Why the heck would you do CC cancellations unless there were annual fees attached and the cards couldn't be converted to no fee? Length of credit history helps a lot with credit score.  I am THRILLED that I still have 3 cards which are 20+ years old. Been churning for year, and it keeps up my average age of accounts.

TomTX

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5345
  • Location: Texas
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19307 on: December 30, 2017, 04:33:54 PM »
Coworker is displeased with the MPG of their daily driver SUV.

Coworker lives so close to work that they could walk or bicycle so the miles driven weekly must be low.

Coworker admits the vehicle is otherwise fine and will last many years. Plans to buy something new or newish.

Coworker plans to give the vehicle to the child going away to college who will presumably be driving alot more than coworker and the coworker will still be paying for the fuel it consumes.

That's some fuzzy logic. Don't know why coworker shares this info with me. I never asked. ;)

I have a coworker with three adult children who are all MDs (one is still in residency, but is making $60k.)

Coworker has "no money" - because he's always doing stuff like buying a car (on credit) then giving the perfectly good 5 year old car to one of the kids.  Somehow he and his wife always have at least 3 cars. He still pays the cell phone bills for all of them. And car insurance for 2 of them. He still subsidizes rent for the one in residency. He paid off some smed school loans for one of them by taking out a 401k loan...

His house is vastly oversized for empty-nesters, even if one of the kids came back for awhile. 3,000+ square feet, 5 bedrooms plus office, etc. He's paying nearly $10k a year in property tax. But he won't sell it. Despite there being plenty of very nice smaller, cheaper places nearer to work.

He has to put his property taxes on a credit card every year, despite saying he is adamantly against having debt. And he won't even get new ones for the signup bonuses. It's not hard to find a card with a decent signup bonus and 12+months interest-free. But his existing card is low interest! (so he says...)

RyanAtTanagra

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1316
  • Location: Sierra Mountains
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19308 on: December 30, 2017, 05:52:46 PM »
Why the heck would you do CC cancellations unless there were annual fees attached and the cards couldn't be converted to no fee? Length of credit history helps a lot with credit score.  I am THRILLED that I still have 3 cards which are 20+ years old. Been churning for year, and it keeps up my average age of accounts.

Eh, I don't need half a dozen cards I never used, don't have the card for anymore, and didn't even remember existed.  If nothing else they're a security/fraud liability.  I still have one card from college (my discover card) that I kept because I used it.  I have 2 credit cards total and a credit score of 800+.  Having more credit cards isn't going to raise my score any more (lack of a recent installment loan is the main drag on my score).  But really it's just a matter of financial tidiness.  I don't like clutter, neither in the home nor in my finances.

ysette9

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8930
  • Age: 2020
  • Location: Bay Area at heart living in the PNW
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19309 on: December 31, 2017, 07:16:19 PM »
You can put your property taxes on a credit card?? I didn’t even realize that was a thing.

Sibley

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7408
  • Location: Northwest Indiana
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19310 on: December 31, 2017, 07:39:45 PM »
You can put your property taxes on a credit card?? I didn’t even realize that was a thing.

Assuming your tax collector's office accepts credit cards payments, yes. There is sometimes a fee however.

jinga nation

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2694
  • Age: 247
  • Location: 'Murica's Dong
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19311 on: January 01, 2018, 09:40:05 AM »
You can put your property taxes on a credit card?? I didn’t even realize that was a thing.

Assuming your tax collector's office accepts credit cards payments, yes. There is sometimes a fee however.
If i pay property taxes for year 20xy in November of the same year, I get a 4% discount. But putting it on a credit card costs 3.5%. It a wash, only useful for churning credit card bonuses.

DarkandStormy

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1498
  • Age: 34
  • Location: Midwest, USA
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19312 on: January 02, 2018, 07:34:36 AM »
You can put your property taxes on a credit card?? I didn’t even realize that was a thing.

Our county charged a 2.35% fee.  Unfortunately, we can't beat that in cash back and were in between opening a new card for travel hacking purposes.  Oh well, I'll be getting ~20% ROI on that in just a couple months.

dragoncar

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 9918
  • Registered member
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19313 on: January 02, 2018, 12:09:58 PM »
You can put your property taxes on a credit card?? I didn’t even realize that was a thing.

Our county charged a 2.35% fee.  Unfortunately, we can't beat that in cash back and were in between opening a new card for travel hacking purposes.  Oh well, I'll be getting ~20% ROI on that in just a couple months.

With my Chase Freedom I get 1.5%.  With the CSR that's worth 2.25% in travel.  So on $100 with a 2.35% fee, I'm getting 2.25%*102.35 = $2.30 in travel and at least 1 month float.  Even in savings, the measly 1% interest makes up the difference.

So it's not really worth the trouble, but not as terrible as it might seem.

DarkandStormy

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1498
  • Age: 34
  • Location: Midwest, USA
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19314 on: January 02, 2018, 12:31:59 PM »
You can put your property taxes on a credit card?? I didn’t even realize that was a thing.

Our county charged a 2.35% fee.  Unfortunately, we can't beat that in cash back and were in between opening a new card for travel hacking purposes.  Oh well, I'll be getting ~20% ROI on that in just a couple months.

With my Chase Freedom I get 1.5%.  With the CSR that's worth 2.25% in travel.  So on $100 with a 2.35% fee, I'm getting 2.25%*102.35 = $2.30 in travel and at least 1 month float.  Even in savings, the measly 1% interest makes up the difference.

So it's not really worth the trouble, but not as terrible as it might seem.

Yeah, we just did the e-check thing this year.  We're changing filing status next year so we will go through this whole process AGAIN next December - I'll be sure to have a CIP or something with a $5k MSR to pay with and get a much better bang for my buck.

Catbert

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3288
  • Location: Southern California
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19315 on: January 02, 2018, 03:42:53 PM »
You can put your property taxes on a credit card?? I didn’t even realize that was a thing.

Our county charged a 2.35% fee.  Unfortunately, we can't beat that in cash back and were in between opening a new card for travel hacking purposes.  Oh well, I'll be getting ~20% ROI on that in just a couple months.
The only time paying a fee really makes sense is if you need to meet aminimum spend requirement to get a bonus.
With my Chase Freedom I get 1.5%.  With the CSR that's worth 2.25% in travel.  So on $100 with a 2.35% fee, I'm getting 2.25%*102.35 = $2.30 in travel and at least 1 month float.  Even in savings, the measly 1% interest makes up the difference.

So it's not really worth the trouble, but not as terrible as it might seem.

dragoncar

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 9918
  • Registered member
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19316 on: January 02, 2018, 04:09:46 PM »
You can put your property taxes on a credit card?? I didn’t even realize that was a thing.

Our county charged a 2.35% fee.  Unfortunately, we can't beat that in cash back and were in between opening a new card for travel hacking purposes.  Oh well, I'll be getting ~20% ROI on that in just a couple months.

With my Chase Freedom I get 1.5%.  With the CSR that's worth 2.25% in travel.  So on $100 with a 2.35% fee, I'm getting 2.25%*102.35 = $2.30 in travel and at least 1 month float.  Even in savings, the measly 1% interest makes up the difference.

So it's not really worth the trouble, but not as terrible as it might seem.

The only time paying a fee really makes sense is if you need to meet aminimum spend requirement to get a bonus.

Yeah I just did that to meet minimum spend. 

ketchup

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4323
  • Age: 33
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19317 on: January 03, 2018, 08:10:42 AM »
This guy at work that's been here for a few months... you want to feel bad for him but he keep digging himself into a hole.

Before he got this job, he was working minimum wage at a grocery store after losing his old job.  He got behind on his bills and trashed his credit.  He lives alone because he only recently moved to the area, and his entire support network is across the country.  He drove a janky-but-reliable bumperless old Accord that made funny noises.

After getting this job, he tries to catch up and get his shit together, but he still does moronic things like pay $20 to have Jimmy Johns delivered for lunch five days a week, buy a roughly $2k gaming laptop for no reason, and buy the new iPad AND iPhone the week they come out.

Recently he put in a couple weeks of overtime and then quit the grocery store job.  I assume he's paid off some stuff and things are looking up.  But apparently he's still literally crying every day in his apartment over his student loans and credit card debt.

Over the weekend he bought a 2013 Infiniti.  He has no money.  His credit is complete garbage.  I don't even want to know what his monthly payment, interest rate, or term is.  It makes me queasy.  But he's just excited about the car.

He's a nice guy, and I want to feel bad for him, but he's making it really, really hard.

Sibley

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7408
  • Location: Northwest Indiana
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19318 on: January 03, 2018, 11:16:34 AM »
New job, new coworkers... and I might be starting to contribute.

Young coworker, early 20s, admitted that she doesn't have a credit card because she's afraid she'll buy way too much clothing. Ok, not too bad.

Mgr's furnace went out last week, just in time for multiple days of subzero temps. In the conversation around coping, getting it fixed, etc, I found out she keeps her heat at 80. This is Chicago. We've had a week+ of freezing temps in a row. I do not want to see her heating bill.

Same mgr - her son doesn't have a credit card. She has one and added him as an authorized user and monitors when he uses it. She will take money from his account to pay it as well. Son is 28. Um, ok?

4alpacas

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1825
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19319 on: January 03, 2018, 11:21:10 AM »
Coworker stops by this morn. Wants to replace his well worn pickup which is getting the job done but needing a repair here and there.

He's truck shopping. Wants a new heavy duty 4WD truck to use on the farm feeding animals, going to the hardware store, towing a utility trailer and basically doing all things dirty with it. $60K+.

Coworker makes ~$35K/yr. 
Can you get a $60k car loan if you make $35k/year?!

vivophoenix

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 429
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19320 on: January 03, 2018, 11:25:51 AM »
Coworker stops by this morn. Wants to replace his well worn pickup which is getting the job done but needing a repair here and there.

He's truck shopping. Wants a new heavy duty 4WD truck to use on the farm feeding animals, going to the hardware store, towing a utility trailer and basically doing all things dirty with it. $60K+.

Coworker makes ~$35K/yr. 
Can you get a $60k car loan if you make $35k/year?!

there are now 84 month car loans

RyanAtTanagra

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1316
  • Location: Sierra Mountains
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19321 on: January 03, 2018, 11:32:11 AM »
Coworker stops by this morn. Wants to replace his well worn pickup which is getting the job done but needing a repair here and there.

He's truck shopping. Wants a new heavy duty 4WD truck to use on the farm feeding animals, going to the hardware store, towing a utility trailer and basically doing all things dirty with it. $60K+.

Coworker makes ~$35K/yr. 
Can you get a $60k car loan if you make $35k/year?!

there are now 84 month car loans

There have been 10 year car loans for a long time.  There are 12-year ones now.

Metta

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 773
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19322 on: January 03, 2018, 11:41:22 AM »
While visiting with a friend from my previous job I asked after someone I knew (call her Mary) who was having a tough time. When I last heard from Mary, she had realized that buying a 5000 sq. ft. house that they could only afford as long as both her and her husband were working might be a dubious idea. Her husband had just been diagnosed with cancer (which might have metastasized, they weren't sure) and Mary was afraid that he would die. Not only was she sad that she would be alone without him, but her monthly expenses (and lack of savings) meant that she couldn't afford their way of life and she was overcome with financial stress. I gently recommended that they sell the large house since 5000 sq. ft. for two people was probably also hard to keep up. Mary agreed but said they had to concentrate on medical issues. That was about a year ago.

I asked my friend how Mary and her husband were doing now. The husband has been under treatment and is doing much better. Not only haven't they sold the enormous house, they have leased two new BMWs and just bought a vacation home in addition to their primary home. (This is not income property.)

Apparently the lesson she took away from this scare was YOLO and you need to spend it now. I feel so sad for her.

tinylittlemonkey

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 61
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19323 on: January 03, 2018, 11:44:57 AM »
I overheard a coworker say they use a Christmas tree delivery company every year and pay $250 but "it's totally worth it!"

The same coworker and I were talking about when I got laid off in July and she had panic on her face and she asked what I did. I was like, "well, I used my severance package and unemployment until I found a job I wanted." She responded with "OMG, husband and I are a 2 income house and we live like it!"

Her purse costs the same as 6 months of my mortgage so that explained a lot about how they are. Nothing will surprise me about them anymore.

ysette9

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8930
  • Age: 2020
  • Location: Bay Area at heart living in the PNW
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19324 on: January 03, 2018, 12:06:49 PM »
I can’t even imagine a purse like that. How is anything so expensive, or do you live in a $20k mobile home that was financed over 30 years?

vivophoenix

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 429
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19325 on: January 03, 2018, 12:17:10 PM »
Coworker stops by this morn. Wants to replace his well worn pickup which is getting the job done but needing a repair here and there.

He's truck shopping. Wants a new heavy duty 4WD truck to use on the farm feeding animals, going to the hardware store, towing a utility trailer and basically doing all things dirty with it. $60K+.

Coworker makes ~$35K/yr. 
Can you get a $60k car loan if you make $35k/year?!

there are now 84 month car loans

There have been 10 year car loans for a long time.  There are 12-year ones now.


84 months= 7 years

apologies
« Last Edit: January 03, 2018, 12:34:40 PM by vivophoenix »

RyanAtTanagra

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1316
  • Location: Sierra Mountains
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19326 on: January 03, 2018, 12:27:40 PM »
Coworker stops by this morn. Wants to replace his well worn pickup which is getting the job done but needing a repair here and there.

He's truck shopping. Wants a new heavy duty 4WD truck to use on the farm feeding animals, going to the hardware store, towing a utility trailer and basically doing all things dirty with it. $60K+.

Coworker makes ~$35K/yr. 
Can you get a $60k car loan if you make $35k/year?!

there are now 84 month car loans

There have been 10 year car loans for a long time.  There are 12-year ones now.


84 months= 12 years

wouldn't 12 years be 144 months and 84 months be 7 years?

this is why i never understood why loans are discussed in months when they're always whole-year intervals and people general think in years.  why the needless math?

MgoSam

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3684
  • Location: Minnesota
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19327 on: January 03, 2018, 12:32:39 PM »
Coworker stops by this morn. Wants to replace his well worn pickup which is getting the job done but needing a repair here and there.

He's truck shopping. Wants a new heavy duty 4WD truck to use on the farm feeding animals, going to the hardware store, towing a utility trailer and basically doing all things dirty with it. $60K+.

Coworker makes ~$35K/yr. 
Can you get a $60k car loan if you make $35k/year?!

there are now 84 month car loans

There have been 10 year car loans for a long time.  There are 12-year ones now.


84 months= 12 years

wouldn't 12 years be 144 months and 84 months be 7 years?

this is why i never understood why loans are discussed in months when they're always whole-year intervals and people general think in years.  why the needless math?

Why does flammable and inflammable mean the same thing?

MgoSam

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3684
  • Location: Minnesota
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19328 on: January 03, 2018, 12:37:52 PM »
I can’t even imagine a purse like that. How is anything so expensive, or do you live in a $20k mobile home that was financed over 30 years?

We SIL bought herself one of the Chanel Lucky purses because "She deserved it". The cheapest I found it for online when she told me was $7K. I don't get it.

I don't know if Chanel does, but I've read that some purses appreciate decently.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/hermes-birkin-bag-better-investment-stocks-gold-why-explained-a7651936.html

LennStar

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3672
  • Location: Germany
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19329 on: January 03, 2018, 01:17:05 PM »
Why does flammable and inflammable mean the same thing?
Maybe they don't?

I am not sure about English, but in German there is a similar thing. One thing can get into burning from normal conditions (friction induced or whatever), the other needs an open fire put to it. We also have "schwer entflammbar" meaning hard (in)flammable. On normal conditions it goes out again, but a hefty drafty air might make it continue burning.


Rowellen

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 396
  • Location: Australia
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19330 on: January 03, 2018, 01:36:11 PM »
Coworker stops by this morn. Wants to replace his well worn pickup which is getting the job done but needing a repair here and there.

He's truck shopping. Wants a new heavy duty 4WD truck to use on the farm feeding animals, going to the hardware store, towing a utility trailer and basically doing all things dirty with it. $60K+.

Coworker makes ~$35K/yr. 
Can you get a $60k car loan if you make $35k/year?!

there are now 84 month car loans

There have been 10 year car loans for a long time.  There are 12-year ones now.


84 months= 12 years

wouldn't 12 years be 144 months and 84 months be 7 years?

this is why i never understood why loans are discussed in months when they're always whole-year intervals and people general think in years.  why the needless math?

Marketing. Only 84 months sounds less than 7 freaking years. Until you work it out. But apparently most people don't bother. We are a weird bunch at MMM.

frugalnacho

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5055
  • Age: 41
  • Location: Metro Detroit
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19331 on: January 03, 2018, 02:03:29 PM »
Why does flammable and inflammable mean the same thing?

Inflammable means flammable?! What a country!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8mD2hsxrhQ

faithless

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 108
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19332 on: January 03, 2018, 02:56:53 PM »
I can’t even imagine a purse like that. How is anything so expensive, or do you live in a $20k mobile home that was financed over 30 years?

We SIL bought herself one of the Chanel Lucky purses because "She deserved it". The cheapest I found it for online when she told me was $7K. I don't get it.

I don't know if Chanel does, but I've read that some purses appreciate decently.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/hermes-birkin-bag-better-investment-stocks-gold-why-explained-a7651936.html

The thing I don't get is even if that model maintains its value or appreciates, they need to be kept in basically perfect condition to do that - so you can't really use it as a bag without constantly worry where you're putting it down, what you're putting in it etc - eg doubt you'd dare carry pens or a bottle of water in case they leaked.

oldladystache

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 943
  • Age: 79
  • Location: coastal southern california
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19333 on: January 03, 2018, 04:10:54 PM »
Why does flammable and inflammable mean the same thing?

Inflammable means flammable?! What a country!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8mD2hsxrhQ

Same reason ravel and unravel mean the same thing.

mustachepungoeshere

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2404
  • Location: Sydney, Oz
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19334 on: January 03, 2018, 04:20:06 PM »
I knew my colleagues were spendy but a brief exchange yesterday still surprised me.

We recently moved offices within our building, and found two boxes of envelopes (240 per box) that the previous team had left in a cupboard.

Colleague: Shall we throw them out?
Me: ... why don't we just keep them and use them? It will save us a few dollars off our next stationery order. And it's better than putting them in the bin.

She gave me a look like I was an alien for even considering our team's budget. I suppose we're even because I thought she was from another planet for automatically wanting to throw them out.

It's not like it's a bottle of milk. They're envelopes - they don't have an expiration date!

shelivesthedream

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 6740
  • Location: London, UK
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19335 on: January 04, 2018, 02:15:33 AM »
I can’t even imagine a purse like that. How is anything so expensive, or do you live in a $20k mobile home that was financed over 30 years?

We SIL bought herself one of the Chanel Lucky purses because "She deserved it". The cheapest I found it for online when she told me was $7K. I don't get it.

I don't know if Chanel does, but I've read that some purses appreciate decently.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/hermes-birkin-bag-better-investment-stocks-gold-why-explained-a7651936.html

High fashion *could* be a genuine investment vehicle, a little like wine. For example, anyone who bought anything from John Galliano's graduate collection is presumably sitting on a tidy sum of money right now. But in terms of certainty it's even worse than stock picking. You've got to predict in advance who is going to be worth the money in the future, you've it to predict which items are going to appreciate (how many handbags has Hermes released? How many are enduring classics?) and got to buy them before anyone else notices, but then you've also got to hang onto them until the perfect time to sell. John Galliano accused of being an anti-Semitic arse? Oops, that original dress just tanked in value. Alexander McQueen dies? Damn! If only you hadn't sold that coat last year! Plus you've got to store everything in the meantime. And it's not like art where you could make enough on one lucky purchase to sustain you for life and cover all the bad choices. Fashion does have a ceiling price because it's "just clothes". So even if you do make a couple of thousand on one piece, you're going to have to keep doing it. Buying new fashion pieces as a financial investment is a mug's game. If only there were a fashion index fund!

It is very possible to make a living buying underpriced vintage designer clothing and cleaning up and reselling, but it's a full time job. Again, you might strike gold one day (60s Chanel suit for 99p at a car boot sale kind of thing) but it's only going to be a modest amount of gold, never enough to set you up for life.

merula

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1609
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19336 on: January 04, 2018, 07:14:39 AM »
Why does flammable and inflammable mean the same thing?
Maybe they don't?

I am not sure about English, but in German there is a similar thing. One thing can get into burning from normal conditions (friction induced or whatever), the other needs an open fire put to it. We also have "schwer entflammbar" meaning hard (in)flammable. On normal conditions it goes out again, but a hefty drafty air might make it continue burning.

In English, flammable and inflammable do mean the same thing, and both can mean the same as either brennbar (though "combustible" would be a better translation), or feuergefährlich.

http://grammarist.com/usage/flammable-inflammable/

I don't know of any other examples of words that are synonyms with the word that should be its antonym, but there's a somewhat similar concept with a lot of examples of words that are their own antonym. Like "cleave", which can either mean to separate or to combine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-antonym

/grammar foam

frugalnacho

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5055
  • Age: 41
  • Location: Metro Detroit
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19337 on: January 04, 2018, 08:04:40 AM »
Why does flammable and inflammable mean the same thing?
Maybe they don't?

I am not sure about English, but in German there is a similar thing. One thing can get into burning from normal conditions (friction induced or whatever), the other needs an open fire put to it. We also have "schwer entflammbar" meaning hard (in)flammable. On normal conditions it goes out again, but a hefty drafty air might make it continue burning.

In English, flammable and inflammable do mean the same thing, and both can mean the same as either brennbar (though "combustible" would be a better translation), or feuergefährlich.

http://grammarist.com/usage/flammable-inflammable/

I don't know of any other examples of words that are synonyms with the word that should be its antonym, but there's a somewhat similar concept with a lot of examples of words that are their own antonym. Like "cleave", which can either mean to separate or to combine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-antonym

/grammar foam

thaw and unthaw

ambimammular

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 424
  • Age: 46
  • Location: Indiana
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19338 on: January 04, 2018, 11:40:53 AM »
Coworker stops by this morn. Wants to replace his well worn pickup which is getting the job done but needing a repair here and there.

He's truck shopping. Wants a new heavy duty 4WD truck to use on the farm feeding animals, going to the hardware store, towing a utility trailer and basically doing all things dirty with it. $60K+.

Coworker makes ~$35K/yr. 
Can you get a $60k car loan if you make $35k/year?!

there are now 84 month car loans

There have been 10 year car loans for a long time.  There are 12-year ones now.


84 months= 12 years

wouldn't 12 years be 144 months and 84 months be 7 years?

this is why i never understood why loans are discussed in months when they're always whole-year intervals and people general think in years.  why the needless math?

Marketing. Only 84 months sounds less than 7 freaking years. Until you work it out. But apparently most people don't bother. We are a weird bunch at MMM.

I hate when parents do this with their kidlets' ages. After a year and a half don't tell me how old they are in months.

Davnasty

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2793
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19339 on: January 04, 2018, 11:46:26 AM »
Why does flammable and inflammable mean the same thing?
Maybe they don't?

I am not sure about English, but in German there is a similar thing. One thing can get into burning from normal conditions (friction induced or whatever), the other needs an open fire put to it. We also have "schwer entflammbar" meaning hard (in)flammable. On normal conditions it goes out again, but a hefty drafty air might make it continue burning.

In English, flammable and inflammable do mean the same thing, and both can mean the same as either brennbar (though "combustible" would be a better translation), or feuergefährlich.

http://grammarist.com/usage/flammable-inflammable/

I don't know of any other examples of words that are synonyms with the word that should be its antonym, but there's a somewhat similar concept with a lot of examples of words that are their own antonym. Like "cleave", which can either mean to separate or to combine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-antonym

/grammar foam

thaw and unthaw

And unthaw meets both of these descriptions. It means thaw and also yet to be thawed. but it never means freeze, which it should. Of course that would be redundant.

MgoSam

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3684
  • Location: Minnesota
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19340 on: January 04, 2018, 12:03:52 PM »
I've always wondered why corn refers to the pieces of it while "corn on the cob" is the entire stalk. Shouldn't it be 'corn off the cob,' and just corn for when you're eating the whole sucker?

frugalnacho

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5055
  • Age: 41
  • Location: Metro Detroit
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19341 on: January 04, 2018, 10:09:34 PM »
I've always wondered why corn refers to the pieces of it while "corn on the cob" is the entire stalk. Shouldn't it be 'corn off the cob,' and just corn for when you're eating the whole sucker?

You know they call corn-on-the-cob "corn-on-the-cob," right? But that's how it comes out of the ground, man. They should call that "corn", and they should call every other version "corn-off-the-cob." It's not like if you cut off my arm you would call my arm "Mitch", but then reattach it and call it "Mitch-all-together."

-Mitch Hedberg

dragoncar

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 9918
  • Registered member
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19342 on: January 04, 2018, 11:30:10 PM »
I've always wondered why corn refers to the pieces of it while "corn on the cob" is the entire stalk. Shouldn't it be 'corn off the cob,' and just corn for when you're eating the whole sucker?

You know they call corn-on-the-cob "corn-on-the-cob," right? But that's how it comes out of the ground, man. They should call that "corn", and they should call every other version "corn-off-the-cob." It's not like if you cut off my arm you would call my arm "Mitch", but then reattach it and call it "Mitch-all-together."

-Mitch Hedberg

F

barbaz

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 201
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19343 on: January 05, 2018, 12:58:34 AM »
I've always wondered why corn refers to the pieces of it while "corn on the cob" is the entire stalk. Shouldn't it be 'corn off the cob,' and just corn for when you're eating the whole sucker?

You know they call corn-on-the-cob "corn-on-the-cob," right? But that's how it comes out of the ground, man. They should call that "corn", and they should call every other version "corn-off-the-cob." It's not like if you cut off my arm you would call my arm "Mitch", but then reattach it and call it "Mitch-all-together."

-Mitch Hedberg
It‘s more like calling it “arm” and “arm on the Mitch”, respectively. The word corn used to mean cereal or grain, the plant is maize. Maize corns, on the cob, makes perfect sense. Around 200 years ago the meaning of corn changed but was not updated consistently.

Playing with Fire UK

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3449
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19344 on: January 05, 2018, 01:18:06 AM »
I don't know of any other examples of words that are synonyms with the word that should be its antonym, but there's a somewhat similar concept with a lot of examples of words that are their own antonym. Like "cleave", which can either mean to separate or to combine.

Habitable and inhabitable. I overheard this at work.

dragoncar

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 9918
  • Registered member
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19345 on: January 05, 2018, 01:25:11 AM »
I don't know of any other examples of words that are synonyms with the word that should be its antonym, but there's a somewhat similar concept with a lot of examples of words that are their own antonym. Like "cleave", which can either mean to separate or to combine.

Habitable and inhabitable. I overheard this at work.

Tuitive and intuitive

Incidentally, all round tuits are intuitive

Roadrunner53

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3570
Overheard at Work
« Reply #19346 on: January 05, 2018, 04:32:37 AM »
There is a woman who recently got divorced and has two children. She and her hub owned a mobile home she and the kids lived in. I think the hub legally owned it. She was paying around $500 a month lot rent and was months behind and that started the eviction process. She found an apartment at $1,000 a month and didn't even have enough for a down payment. She played the landlord for over a month. I think he let her move in because she gave him some story about having the money in a few weeks. Well, in the meantime, she hoodwinked her church for money. The agreement was that she was to bring her kids to church each week which she didn't. Then she hoodwinked her employer to give her money. They have some kind of funds for employees that are in need of help. She was almost evicted from her apartment and was taken to court but finally money funneled in from these two sources. She paid her rent and so far, has not been evicted. Now, during this time she is corresponding with some guy from Africa who is 'in love' with her. She starts sending him money thru Western Union and her employer catches wind of it. So, then she starts buying I-Tune cards to send to this guy. She barely comes to work and uses her kids mental health as an excuse. There is so much more it is pathetic. Oh and lover boy from Africa was supposed to fly to USA a few months ago and they were going to get married and he was going to build her a house. He never made it to USA. No idea how she paid the second months rent!

CU Tiger

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 462
  • Location: Mid-Atlantic USA
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19347 on: January 05, 2018, 04:49:13 AM »
There is a woman who recently got divorced and has two children. She and her hub owned a mobile home she and the kids lived in. I think the hub legally owned it. She was paying around $500 a month lot rent and was months behind and that started the eviction process. She found an apartment at $1,000 a month and didn't even have enough for a down payment. She played the landlord for over a month. I think he let her move in because she gave him some story about having the money in a few weeks. Well, in the meantime, she hoodwinked her church for money. The agreement was that she was to bring her kids to church each week which she didn't. Then she hoodwinked her employer to give her money. They have some kind of funds for employees that are in need of help. She was almost evicted from her apartment and was taken to court but finally money funneled in from these two sources. She paid her rent and so far, has not been evicted. Now, during this time she is corresponding with some guy from Africa who is 'in love' with her. She starts sending him money thru Western Union and her employer catches wind of it. So, then she starts buying I-Tune cards to send to this guy. She barely comes to work and uses her kids mental health as an excuse. There is so much more it is pathetic. Oh and lover boy from Africa was supposed to fly to USA a few months ago and they were going to get married and he was going to build her a house. He never made it to USA. No idea how she paid the second months rent!

Wow! Talk about someone who lives at the corner of Shame and Comedy.

When I hear stories like this I feel sorry for her kids. How can they have any kind of chance ?

cerat0n1a

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2319
  • Location: England
Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19348 on: January 05, 2018, 04:56:34 AM »
I don't know of any other examples of words that are synonyms with the word that should be its antonym, but there's a somewhat similar concept with a lot of examples of words that are their own antonym. Like "cleave", which can either mean to separate or to combine.

Habitable and inhabitable. I overheard this at work.

And similarly, I overheard at work a long time ago, a discussion of "razing" (demolish something) vs "raising" (building something) a barn. At least the spelling is different.

Roadrunner53

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3570
Overheard at Work
« Reply #19349 on: January 05, 2018, 05:05:10 AM »
Her kids are a whole other story. The boy refused to go to school and that created tons of problems. The girl and the boy have both threatened suicide. I think it is mostly threats and she told her employer her kids have had psychiatric care. To get the money from her employer and to prove she is taking so much time off to get them help the employer asked for proof of doctor visits. She didn't have any! Then I think she did admit them to some facility so she had proof. They were only there a short while. That is when she managed to get the money from the employer. I cannot see how this story will ever have a happy ending. The woman is supposed to get a portion of her hubs retirement savings. You can imagine what will happen to that money. It will all be blown one way or another.