Author Topic: Overheard at Work  (Read 13252889 times)

KittyCat

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9900 on: August 10, 2015, 05:04:07 PM »
I work in a sales division and we were suppose to get quarterly bonuses at the end of July, but payroll made a mistake so they won't be issued until this Friday.

A couple of coworkers started freaking out and even saying horrifying things like, "I just bought $5,000 worth of Loui Vuitton luggage and was counting on that money to pay rent!".
Wow, talk about a case of counting your chickens before they hatch. I'm sure the extra few days/weeks of the luggage's utility was well worth it though.

gimp

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9901 on: August 10, 2015, 05:30:28 PM »
In the next year or so, I might buy this:



Go ahead, talk shit, I can take it.

At least it gets about 30 mpg highway if driven sensibly. Better than my four cylinder grocery getter which isn't geared well for interstate travel like the 'Vette.

Yeah, I do a lot of road tripping... let's see; 7k in 2012, 12k in 2013, 12k in 2014, and this year is anomalous with only 2500 miles of legit road trip, but the year ain't over yet, and I'll probably put another 3k during thanksgiving.

The last thing I want to do it with is with a little tiny screaming 4-banger.

But it's not like I have any issues doing it with my current car. Except, you know, mechanical, but I have a combination of bad luck, kinda shitty build quality / design, and just sheer mileage and statistics.

Ironically, it would be _more efficient_ than my current 25-27 highway mpg at ~75mph.
« Last Edit: August 10, 2015, 05:32:23 PM by gimp »

Jakejake

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9902 on: August 10, 2015, 05:43:01 PM »
Anyone else's company have 401k contributions as part of a whole %

Wow, what a pain. My wife's 401k actually let's them choose a fixed dollar amount per paycheck, which makes the math much easier. I don't know why more places don't offer that - it seems like it would be simpler for everyone.
We have it where we set a fixed dollar amount and everybody gets all pissy that they can't do a %. ...
I wish I could do a percent! I put my whole check into my 403b, then switch to the 457 when the 403b is maxed out. And the following year, I do it in reverse so I only have to fill out paperwork once. But the dollar amount is per month, not paycheck so when we get a month with 3 paychecks the third check has no deductions. So annoying to be forced to have take home pay when I want it stashed for later.

Papa Mustache

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9903 on: August 10, 2015, 06:56:15 PM »
I work in a sales division and we were suppose to get quarterly bonuses at the end of July, but payroll made a mistake so they won't be issued until this Friday.

A couple of coworkers started freaking out and even saying horrifying things like, "I just bought $5,000 worth of Loui Vuitton luggage and was counting on that money to pay rent!".

$5K worth of luggage that some baggage handler will throw on and off of luggage carts or conveyor belts. I'm not owning that kind of luggage unless someone is carefully placing it in the trunk of my Rolls-Royce. Since that isn't happening I'm sticking with my JC Penney luggage.

Chris22

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9904 on: August 10, 2015, 07:27:20 PM »


Is this a mustachian sportscar ? - it's built by Subaru so it will last >20years and does 25/35 mpg
Although you can't put 8x4 sheets of drywall in the back.
Mustachian sports car is probably a mazda miata since they are so readily available used.  The toyotaburu  (frs/brz)   might be a good choice in a few years when a bigger used market is available.
Scratch that.  Mustachian sports car =
Brown Manual Diesel Wagon.

:: sits back and sees if anyone outs themselves.

Nope, I read Jalop but I'm a TTAC'er.

RWD

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9905 on: August 10, 2015, 08:15:06 PM »


Is this a mustachian sportscar ? - it's built by Subaru so it will last >20years and does 25/35 mpg
Although you can't put 8x4 sheets of drywall in the back.
Mustachian sports car is probably a mazda miata since they are so readily available used.  The toyotaburu  (frs/brz)   might be a good choice in a few years when a bigger used market is available.
Scratch that.  Mustachian sports car =
Brown Manual Diesel Wagon.

:: sits back and sees if anyone outs themselves.

Nope, I read Jalop but I'm a TTAC'er.

I own a Subaru BRZ. I've averaged 33 mpg over about 15k miles (about 50/50 city/hwy driving). If you're looking for a lightweight, non-convertible with rear-wheel drive and a manual transmission it is hard to beat. [edit] It is surprisingly practical too. I've made many trips to Costco with it. [/edit]

I also read Jalopnik, but prefer TTAC as well.
« Last Edit: August 10, 2015, 08:16:56 PM by RWD »

Papa Mustache

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9906 on: August 10, 2015, 08:17:14 PM »


Is this a mustachian sportscar ? - it's built by Subaru so it will last >20years and does 25/35 mpg
Although you can't put 8x4 sheets of drywall in the back.
Mustachian sports car is probably a mazda miata since they are so readily available used.  The toyotaburu  (frs/brz)   might be a good choice in a few years when a bigger used market is available.
Scratch that.  Mustachian sports car =
Brown Manual Diesel Wagon.

:: sits back and sees if anyone outs themselves.

Nope, I read Jalop but I'm a TTAC'er.

I LOVE TTAC!

bacchi

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9907 on: August 10, 2015, 09:06:39 PM »
Back to the original topic:

Well paid co-workers complaining about the cost of gap health insurance that they need in order to cover the $1500 health deductible. Yes, a health insurance plan to cover the health insurance plan deductible for the additional cost of $30/mth.

Taran Wanderer

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9908 on: August 10, 2015, 09:09:16 PM »
That seems like a bad deal for the insurer.

Zamboni

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9909 on: August 10, 2015, 09:27:22 PM »
^My guess is that they have done the math and worked it out based upon many people not making any claims. And if it turns out to be a bad deal for the insurer, they will quickly up the premium for next year.

Quote
I work in a sales division and we were suppose to get quarterly bonuses at the end of July, but payroll made a mistake so they won't be issued until this Friday.

A couple of coworkers started freaking out and even saying horrifying things like, "I just bought $5,000 worth of Loui Vuitton luggage and was counting on that money to pay rent!".

I'm somewhat sympathetic to this one (okay, not the item bought, but the general idea of expecting to be paid precisely when told you will be paid.) I was also supposed to get an extra large check in July that didn't get processed on time due to some bureaucracy. Yes, I can wait until the end of August to see that money (because we only get paid monthly), but it is annoying even though it isn't already spent. Yes, I can move money out of savings to cover everything if a check is short, but I prefer to just be paid when I am supposed to be paid according to the agreement I made with them.

eyePod

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9910 on: August 11, 2015, 06:00:42 AM »
Anyone else's company have 401k contributions as part of a whole %

Wow, what a pain. My wife's 401k actually let's them choose a fixed dollar amount per paycheck, which makes the math much easier. I don't know why more places don't offer that - it seems like it would be simpler for everyone.

If I had to guess it's to dumb it down for the end user. When you see a dollar value, you think of all the ways you could have spent it. If you only see a percentage, it's much more abstract. But I want my dollar!

GuitarStv

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9911 on: August 11, 2015, 06:01:29 AM »
I'm actually in software and this kid fits what we would call a "little-head" (rosh katan, from Hebrew) type. The kind of person who follows an instruction to the letter but refuses to honor the spirit of it. You know, the funny guy who answers "Yes, I do" when you ask him "do you have the time?"

These types usually perform just good enough. You ask the person to fix a bug in the software and they go and fix that bug, AND THAT BUG ONLY.  In reality, there are probably more bugs in that particular part of the sotware that anyone who looks closely enough can see and should be able to fix. The best performers either go look for similar bugs in the entire body of code and come up with a fix for all of them or at least fix all similar bugs in the immediate vicinity.

We don't like these "little-head" types. So, no. The guy who answered "ass-tat" doesn't get hired. And in my experience he doesn't have the drive to go start the next Google.

What you're deriding is actually a pretty valuable skill to have in software.  Most legacy code is chock full of bugs, maintaining it is a nightmare.  Small bugs that aren't causing problem reports from end users aren't problems that need to be fixed.  If you're given money to fix an issue, you shouldn't be wasting budget working on other stuff.  You should focus only on the issue.  Randomly checking through the code as a make work project would get you fired from many places, and is a sign of the worst performers I've worked with.  These are the guys who get a 40 hour budget to solve a problem and charge up 300 hours on it.

WerKater

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9912 on: August 11, 2015, 06:42:36 AM »
I'm actually in software and this kid fits what we would call a "little-head" (rosh katan, from Hebrew) type. The kind of person who follows an instruction to the letter but refuses to honor the spirit of it. You know, the funny guy who answers "Yes, I do" when you ask him "do you have the time?"

These types usually perform just good enough. You ask the person to fix a bug in the software and they go and fix that bug, AND THAT BUG ONLY.  In reality, there are probably more bugs in that particular part of the sotware that anyone who looks closely enough can see and should be able to fix. The best performers either go look for similar bugs in the entire body of code and come up with a fix for all of them or at least fix all similar bugs in the immediate vicinity.

We don't like these "little-head" types. So, no. The guy who answered "ass-tat" doesn't get hired. And in my experience he doesn't have the drive to go start the next Google.

What you're deriding is actually a pretty valuable skill to have in software.  Most legacy code is chock full of bugs, maintaining it is a nightmare.  Small bugs that aren't causing problem reports from end users aren't problems that need to be fixed.  If you're given money to fix an issue, you shouldn't be wasting budget working on other stuff.  You should focus only on the issue.  Randomly checking through the code as a make work project would get you fired from many places, and is a sign of the worst performers I've worked with.  These are the guys who get a 40 hour budget to solve a problem and charge up 300 hours on it.
I've seen scripts that had not only bugs but actual glaringly obvious syntax errors. When I was young and naive, I fixed one of those syntax errors. I was quite happy with myself until a user told me that the script now did not do any more what it was supposed to. So, yeah, I don't fix shit unless it leads to problems. It's too probable that the fix will just break something else.

nobody123

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9913 on: August 11, 2015, 07:10:14 AM »
I'm actually in software and this kid fits what we would call a "little-head" (rosh katan, from Hebrew) type. The kind of person who follows an instruction to the letter but refuses to honor the spirit of it. You know, the funny guy who answers "Yes, I do" when you ask him "do you have the time?"

These types usually perform just good enough. You ask the person to fix a bug in the software and they go and fix that bug, AND THAT BUG ONLY.  In reality, there are probably more bugs in that particular part of the sotware that anyone who looks closely enough can see and should be able to fix. The best performers either go look for similar bugs in the entire body of code and come up with a fix for all of them or at least fix all similar bugs in the immediate vicinity.

We don't like these "little-head" types. So, no. The guy who answered "ass-tat" doesn't get hired. And in my experience he doesn't have the drive to go start the next Google.

What you're deriding is actually a pretty valuable skill to have in software.  Most legacy code is chock full of bugs, maintaining it is a nightmare.  Small bugs that aren't causing problem reports from end users aren't problems that need to be fixed.  If you're given money to fix an issue, you shouldn't be wasting budget working on other stuff.  You should focus only on the issue.  Randomly checking through the code as a make work project would get you fired from many places, and is a sign of the worst performers I've worked with.  These are the guys who get a 40 hour budget to solve a problem and charge up 300 hours on it.
I've seen scripts that had not only bugs but actual glaringly obvious syntax errors. When I was young and naive, I fixed one of those syntax errors. I was quite happy with myself until a user told me that the script now did not do any more what it was supposed to. So, yeah, I don't fix shit unless it leads to problems. It's too probable that the fix will just break something else.

+ 1 for the last two responses.  There are few things more annoying at work than a "do-gooder" coder who decides that his/her interpretation of what some legacy piece of code SHOULD be doing must be correct and reworks it, only to mistakenly alter the functionality.  A close second are the ones who constantly want to refactor perfectly functional and tested code because the old code isn't in the latest flavor-of-the-week framework.  Both are complete wastes of time and money.

Even if I found their comment humorous, I still wouldn't hire anyone who told me about their ass-tat while I was interviewing them.  As others have pointed out, if they can't behave in a very structured formal setting such as a job interview, how can I trust their judgment when they are talking to clients or even their co-workers.  It's an HR nightmare waiting to happen.  Maybe someone that 'free spirited' would fit in at a startup where HR is just some imaginary thing that they are sure they don't need, but not in a Fortune 100 company where HR is vigilant due to fear of lawsuits.

theadvicist

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9914 on: August 11, 2015, 07:51:53 AM »
I'm actually in software and this kid fits what we would call a "little-head" (rosh katan, from Hebrew) type. The kind of person who follows an instruction to the letter but refuses to honor the spirit of it. You know, the funny guy who answers "Yes, I do" when you ask him "do you have the time?"

These types usually perform just good enough. You ask the person to fix a bug in the software and they go and fix that bug, AND THAT BUG ONLY.  In reality, there are probably more bugs in that particular part of the sotware that anyone who looks closely enough can see and should be able to fix. The best performers either go look for similar bugs in the entire body of code and come up with a fix for all of them or at least fix all similar bugs in the immediate vicinity.

We don't like these "little-head" types. So, no. The guy who answered "ass-tat" doesn't get hired. And in my experience he doesn't have the drive to go start the next Google.

You got all that from a reported story in which the subject said two words? (if a hyphenated word is two words?). Wow.

EricL

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9915 on: August 11, 2015, 10:19:40 AM »
I'm actually in software and this kid fits what we would call a "little-head" (rosh katan, from Hebrew) type. The kind of person who follows an instruction to the letter but refuses to honor the spirit of it. You know, the funny guy who answers "Yes, I do" when you ask him "do you have the time?"

These types usually perform just good enough. You ask the person to fix a bug in the software and they go and fix that bug, AND THAT BUG ONLY.  In reality, there are probably more bugs in that particular part of the sotware that anyone who looks closely enough can see and should be able to fix. The best performers either go look for similar bugs in the entire body of code and come up with a fix for all of them or at least fix all similar bugs in the immediate vicinity.

We don't like these "little-head" types. So, no. The guy who answered "ass-tat" doesn't get hired. And in my experience he doesn't have the drive to go start the next Google.

You got all that from a reported story in which the subject said two words? (if a hyphenated word is two words?). Wow.

Yeah, the business HR world is full of those snap judgements. Some are valid but way too many are BS. I can trace my decision NOT to get a civilian job during Army retirement transition training. The job interview class gave those "don'ts" ranging from OK to BS. The actual tipping point: "Don't wear loafers to the interview."

bludreamin

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9916 on: August 11, 2015, 11:36:31 AM »
Anyone else's company have 401k contributions as part of a whole %

Wow, what a pain. My wife's 401k actually let's them choose a fixed dollar amount per paycheck, which makes the math much easier. I don't know why more places don't offer that - it seems like it would be simpler for everyone.

If I had to guess it's to dumb it down for the end user. When you see a dollar value, you think of all the ways you could have spent it. If you only see a percentage, it's much more abstract. But I want my dollar!

Agreed it's dumbed down but think percentage is more common because typically employers match on percentage not $ amount (i.e.  employee puts in 5% of pay, employer puts in equivalent of 3.5%).  So the percentage makes sense if you're only trying to maximize the employer's match. For most here though we're trying to max total contributions. I know I'd like the option to have a set $ amount withheld.
« Last Edit: August 11, 2015, 11:38:40 AM by bludreamin »

nobody123

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9917 on: August 11, 2015, 12:05:17 PM »
Anyone else's company have 401k contributions as part of a whole %

Wow, what a pain. My wife's 401k actually let's them choose a fixed dollar amount per paycheck, which makes the math much easier. I don't know why more places don't offer that - it seems like it would be simpler for everyone.

If I had to guess it's to dumb it down for the end user. When you see a dollar value, you think of all the ways you could have spent it. If you only see a percentage, it's much more abstract. But I want my dollar!

Agreed it's dumbed down but think percentage is more common because typically employers match on percentage not $ amount (i.e.  employee puts in 5% of pay, employer puts in equivalent of 3.5%).  So the percentage makes sense if you're only trying to maximize the employer's match. For most here though we're trying to max total contributions. I know I'd like the option to have a set $ amount withheld.

We have Vanguard for our 401(k) and the interface is actually 2 whole-number percentages, one for matched dollars and another for non-matched if you max out the matched percentage.  I would think it would be more of a PITA to use actual dollars.  First, my company would have to feed Vanguard my projected gross pay daily so they could put the idiot checks on the dollar amount inputs.  Second, you'd potentially lose out on some matching if you forgot to update your dollar amount the moment your raise went into effect.  Third, what happens if your dollar amount to be withheld exceeds the company's ability to deduct it from your check because you have unpaid sick time or whatever.

RyanAtTanagra

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9918 on: August 11, 2015, 12:16:38 PM »
We have Vanguard for our 401(k) and the interface is actually 2 whole-number percentages, one for matched dollars and another for non-matched if you max out the matched percentage.  I would think it would be more of a PITA to use actual dollars.  First, my company would have to feed Vanguard my projected gross pay daily so they could put the idiot checks on the dollar amount inputs.  Second, you'd potentially lose out on some matching if you forgot to update your dollar amount the moment your raise went into effect.  Third, what happens if your dollar amount to be withheld exceeds the company's ability to deduct it from your check because you have unpaid sick time or whatever.

None of those concerns make any sense.  With a flat dollar contribution, if I want to max out the $18k limit I just say take $750 out of each of my 24 paychecks and I never have to think about it again till next year if the limits change, then I recalculate that dollar amount once and I'm done again.  If it's a percentage, is that 21% or 22%?  It's kind of in between, so I have to do 22% then remember to reduce it at the end of the year to try to get as close to $18k as possible, or talk to HR so they can cut it off manually.  Then what happens when you get a raise?  You have to recalculate all over again.  Flat dollar amount?  Raises don't matter.  The matching concern I don't get.  If the company is going to match 3% they're going to do that wether you're putting in a dollar amount or a percentage amount.  Unless like someone said you ONLY want to contribute 3% in order to get the match, and not a penny more.  But I doubt there are many here doing that.

MoonShadow

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9919 on: August 11, 2015, 12:24:58 PM »

Of course they may be able to sell excess eggs. If that is the case, they can expect to recoup $3.50 per dozen for farm fresh eggs.

Sure, but that's a part time job in it's own right.

nobody123

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9920 on: August 11, 2015, 12:59:46 PM »
We have Vanguard for our 401(k) and the interface is actually 2 whole-number percentages, one for matched dollars and another for non-matched if you max out the matched percentage.  I would think it would be more of a PITA to use actual dollars.  First, my company would have to feed Vanguard my projected gross pay daily so they could put the idiot checks on the dollar amount inputs.  Second, you'd potentially lose out on some matching if you forgot to update your dollar amount the moment your raise went into effect.  Third, what happens if your dollar amount to be withheld exceeds the company's ability to deduct it from your check because you have unpaid sick time or whatever.

None of those concerns make any sense.  With a flat dollar contribution, if I want to max out the $18k limit I just say take $750 out of each of my 24 paychecks and I never have to think about it again till next year if the limits change, then I recalculate that dollar amount once and I'm done again.  If it's a percentage, is that 21% or 22%?  It's kind of in between, so I have to do 22% then remember to reduce it at the end of the year to try to get as close to $18k as possible, or talk to HR so they can cut it off manually.  Then what happens when you get a raise?  You have to recalculate all over again.  Flat dollar amount?  Raises don't matter.  The matching concern I don't get.  If the company is going to match 3% they're going to do that wether you're putting in a dollar amount or a percentage amount.  Unless like someone said you ONLY want to contribute 3% in order to get the match, and not a penny more.  But I doubt there are many here doing that.

Flat dollar makes sense if you're contributing the full $18K.  I'm guessing that less than 2% of 401k participants actually do that.  Assuming your company does a true-up so you get the full match regardless of how you contribute the $18K over the year, you pick 22% and get a little extra take home on paycheck #24.

Matching matters if you're not contributing over the matching limit percentage.  If you make $48K and they match on up to the first 5% of your salary, you would put $100 per paycheck to get the full company match available.  If you get a raise to $50K, you would need to change the dollar amount to $104.17 to get the full match.

We've probably thought more about our 401k contributions having this exchange than most plan participants do all year.  Percentages are just easier for most participants to deal with.

MoonShadow

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9921 on: August 11, 2015, 01:24:37 PM »

Flat dollar makes sense if you're contributing the full $18K.  I'm guessing that less than 2% of 401k participants actually do that.

Mine doesn't even allow me to do that.  The individual percentage contribution isn't high enough for me, or pretty much anyone, to max out the annual pre-tax.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9922 on: August 11, 2015, 01:29:01 PM »

Flat dollar makes sense if you're contributing the full $18K.  I'm guessing that less than 2% of 401k participants actually do that.

Mine doesn't even allow me to do that.  The individual percentage contribution isn't high enough for me, or pretty much anyone, to max out the annual pre-tax.

You aren't able to adjust it?  For instance, I could set it to 24% if I wanted to max out my 403b.
Doesn't matter that the company mandates 3%- change it.

Chris22

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9923 on: August 11, 2015, 01:41:59 PM »
2 coworkers are house hunting in order to get away from the city. Neither have kids. One is looking at houses about an hour away so her husband can go fishing and shoot targets at home. They are looking for a waterfront acreage.

The other is looking for a hobby farm about 45 minutes in the other direction because she wants to raise chickens.

All I can think is that those are some damned expensive eggs and fish.

Lets say the mortgage goes up by $200,000 and they use a dozen eggs per week...

$200,000/20 years = $10,000 per year
$10,000/52 weeks = $192 per week (One fish dinner a week??)
$192/12 eggs=$16 per egg before interest.

Of course they may be able to sell excess eggs. If that is the case, they can expect to recoup $3.50 per dozen for farm fresh eggs.

Why would you assume mortgage goes up?  Usually when you move further from a city property cost goes down OR you get "more" property for equal cost.  Also, if they are buying into an area they plan to retire to...

MoonShadow

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9924 on: August 11, 2015, 02:12:03 PM »

Flat dollar makes sense if you're contributing the full $18K.  I'm guessing that less than 2% of 401k participants actually do that.

Mine doesn't even allow me to do that.  The individual percentage contribution isn't high enough for me, or pretty much anyone, to max out the annual pre-tax.

You aren't able to adjust it?  For instance, I could set it to 24% if I wanted to max out my 403b.
Doesn't matter that the company mandates 3%- change it.

The max allowable is 10% of gross wages.

RyanAtTanagra

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9925 on: August 11, 2015, 02:14:47 PM »

Flat dollar makes sense if you're contributing the full $18K.  I'm guessing that less than 2% of 401k participants actually do that.

Mine doesn't even allow me to do that.  The individual percentage contribution isn't high enough for me, or pretty much anyone, to max out the annual pre-tax.

You aren't able to adjust it?  For instance, I could set it to 24% if I wanted to max out my 403b.
Doesn't matter that the company mandates 3%- change it.

The max allowable is 10% of gross wages.

Allowable by whom?  Even if the web form doesn't go higher, you should be able to have HR manually adjust it.

Paul der Krake

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9926 on: August 11, 2015, 02:56:34 PM »
Unfortunately, plans are in not required to provide a percentage of contribution that allows employees to reach the IRS limit.

Mine is capped at 40%, which doesn't quite let me contribute as much as I would like to. It's enough to max out the pre-tax limit, but not the post 86 portion. #mustachianProblems

RyanAtTanagra

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9927 on: August 11, 2015, 03:01:52 PM »
Unfortunately, plans are in not required to provide a percentage of contribution that allows employees to reach the IRS limit.

Mine is capped at 40%, which doesn't quite let me contribute as much as I would like to. It's enough to max out the pre-tax limit, but not the post 86 portion. #mustachianProblems

I'd have a hard time getting angry at a 40% limit, but 10 or 15 I'd be raising a stink and possibly asking for a raise to make up for the taxes I have to pay by putting that money in a taxable account instead.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9928 on: August 11, 2015, 04:08:52 PM »

Flat dollar makes sense if you're contributing the full $18K.  I'm guessing that less than 2% of 401k participants actually do that.

Mine doesn't even allow me to do that.  The individual percentage contribution isn't high enough for me, or pretty much anyone, to max out the annual pre-tax.

You aren't able to adjust it?  For instance, I could set it to 24% if I wanted to max out my 403b.
Doesn't matter that the company mandates 3%- change it.

The max allowable is 10% of gross wages.

Allowable by whom?  Even if the web form doesn't go higher, you should be able to have HR manually adjust it.

I tried that already.  They wouldn't have it.  I'm sure that they were just being difficult, but they made it clear that it was not going to happen.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9929 on: August 11, 2015, 04:16:48 PM »

The max allowable is 10% of gross wages.

That stinks.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9930 on: August 12, 2015, 07:24:38 AM »
Today's tally:
               Me      CW
Breakfast  $0      $4
Lunch       $0.69 $14

Should I tell him I'm keeping score? >.<

After a month, then make up something really cool you bought with the difference.

Or instead, tell him he could have "x" if he did what you do?
So proud of this CW. He decided to get his masters and one of his first classes was basic accounting. Results are showing already.

Yesterday, he told me he added up his cafe' expenses for the last month ($280) and misc. energy drinks, dip, etc (another $300) and resolved to stop screwing himself. He made his own sandwiches for lunch. :D

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9931 on: August 12, 2015, 08:06:57 AM »

So proud of this CW. He decided to get his masters and one of his first classes was basic accounting. Results are showing already.

Yesterday, he told me he added up his cafe' expenses for the last month ($280) and misc. energy drinks, dip, etc (another $300) and resolved to stop screwing himself. He made his own sandwiches for lunch. :D

Isn't it beautiful to see people suddenly 'getting it'? :D

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9932 on: August 12, 2015, 09:31:51 AM »
Isn't it beautiful to see people suddenly 'getting it'? :D
Baby steps :D

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9933 on: August 12, 2015, 09:51:17 AM »

Flat dollar makes sense if you're contributing the full $18K.  I'm guessing that less than 2% of 401k participants actually do that.

Mine doesn't even allow me to do that.  The individual percentage contribution isn't high enough for me, or pretty much anyone, to max out the annual pre-tax.

You aren't able to adjust it?  For instance, I could set it to 24% if I wanted to max out my 403b.
Doesn't matter that the company mandates 3%- change it.

The max allowable is 10% of gross wages.

Allowable by whom?  Even if the web form doesn't go higher, you should be able to have HR manually adjust it.

Some places have problems with failing 401k discrimination testing because the amount that Highly Compensated Employees contribute is higher than the amount that Non-Highly Compensated Employees contribute, beyond some allowable bounds. Some companies limit contributions to reduce the chances of that happening. I've heard of company-set limits that don't allow people to contribute beyond the match, so no more than a couple percent in some cases. There are other ways to fix it. My dad has had some contributions returned to him the last couple of years. Some companies give a fully-vested contribution to NHCEs to close the difference. Certain plan designs give people incentive to contribute enough to close the gap.

Not necessarily what's going on here, but those low limits aren't uncommon.
« Last Edit: August 12, 2015, 09:54:23 AM by jorjor »

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9934 on: August 12, 2015, 10:49:29 AM »
We have 401k contribution limits at my company (large High-tech).  But they are 40% for base contributions plus 40% for catch-up contributions if you qualify.  This adds up to 80% of your paycheck that you can potentially contribute pre-tax! 

It you do this you would miss out on some of the company match money because it caps out at 6% of your gross salary.  But, if you are a short timer or have other reasons for wanting to accelerate your 401k contributions, it is pretty good.

Since I always think in terms of contributing the maximum allowed by law to my 401k I have a different perspective than many regarding matching caps and contribution limits.  I don't like either limit.  A 6% match cap like mine means that only people grossing over $200K can get a match for all of their 401k contributions (too lazy to do the exact math).  Salary caps are bad when they are low (mine isn't) because that can mean that you cannot max out your annual contribution.  I would be totally pissed off if my contribution was capped at 10% of my salary like iowajes mentioned.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9935 on: August 12, 2015, 10:52:49 AM »
We have 401k contribution limits at my company (large High-tech).  But they are 40% for base contributions plus 40% for catch-up contributions if you qualify.  This adds up to 80% of your paycheck that you can potentially contribute pre-tax! 

It you do this you would miss out on some of the company match money because it caps out at 6% of your gross salary.  But, if you are a short timer or have other reasons for wanting to accelerate your 401k contributions, it is pretty good.

Assuming 40% doesn't reach your max before the end of the year (so what's that under $45k salary?)- how would you miss out on the match?  Wouldn't you still get the 6% matched?

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9936 on: August 12, 2015, 11:05:10 AM »
Overheard from coworker a day or two ago:  I can't buy anything until the end of the year, I've spent so much already, and payday isn't until this Friday!

CW today:  I'm trading in my Toyota (a circa 2007 Rav4, nothing wrong with it) for a new Audi!  OMG I love them so much!

I'm just sitting here thinking that she's going from one of the most reliable vehicles to one of the least reliable, and if her past money habits continue, she won't have any $ to repair the Audi after warranty expires.  There's just no helping some people.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9937 on: August 12, 2015, 11:08:41 AM »
Finally have something to contribute. It's not that my office is so great with their money, but it's usually just the normal stuff that we all hear if money is brought up at all.

CW 1: My boyfriend says he can't wait to get laid off so he can pay off his house. (Apparently he's been slacking off for the last year to try and accomplish this.)

CW 2: How does that work?

CW 1: He says that if he gets laid off he will take money out of his 401K to pay off the house because he can withdraw money without penalty if he's unemployed.

Me (around the corner): WTF are these people thinking??

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9938 on: August 12, 2015, 12:06:09 PM »
Overheard from coworker a day or two ago:  I can't buy anything until the end of the year, I've spent so much already, and payday isn't until this Friday!

CW today:  I'm trading in my Toyota (a circa 2007 Rav4, nothing wrong with it) for a new Audi!  OMG I love them so much!

I'm just sitting here thinking that she's going from one of the most reliable vehicles to one of the least reliable, and if her past money habits continue, she won't have any $ to repair the Audi after warranty expires.  There's just no helping some people.

Duh, that's why you trade it in when the warranty expires


Beaker

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9939 on: August 12, 2015, 01:36:01 PM »
Finally have something to contribute. It's not that my office is so great with their money, but it's usually just the normal stuff that we all hear if money is brought up at all.

CW 1: My boyfriend says he can't wait to get laid off so he can pay off his house. (Apparently he's been slacking off for the last year to try and accomplish this.)

CW 2: How does that work?

CW 1: He says that if he gets laid off he will take money out of his 401K to pay off the house because he can withdraw money without penalty if he's unemployed.

Me (around the corner): WTF are these people thinking??

Well, that might work if he's 55 or older this year. Not that it's a good idea, but it would at least work.

Too bad, it'd be pretty handy for RE if being unemployed would let you access your 401k.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9940 on: August 12, 2015, 01:44:04 PM »
Finally have something to contribute. It's not that my office is so great with their money, but it's usually just the normal stuff that we all hear if money is brought up at all.

CW 1: My boyfriend says he can't wait to get laid off so he can pay off his house. (Apparently he's been slacking off for the last year to try and accomplish this.)

CW 2: How does that work?

CW 1: He says that if he gets laid off he will take money out of his 401K to pay off the house because he can withdraw money without penalty if he's unemployed.

Me (around the corner): WTF are these people thinking??

Well, that might work if he's 55 or older this year. Not that it's a good idea, but it would at least work.

Too bad, it'd be pretty handy for RE if being unemployed would let you access your 401k.

He might be referring to the hardship withdrawal rules for the 401k.  This depends upon the rules of the 401k more than anything, but some form of proof of hardship must be documented to the IRS the following April 15th, and they can disallow it if they don't believe it.  Just getting laid off is unlikely to qualify, particularly to an amount that would cover an entire mortgage.  It would work if the amount was comparable to the mortgage payment during the time of the layoff, in order to avoid forclosure actions; but like many of the withdrawal penalty exceptions, this one hasn't really be tested in court, so we don't know how far it can be taken before it is disallowed.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9941 on: August 12, 2015, 01:46:46 PM »
He might be referring to the hardship withdrawal rules for the 401k.  This depends upon the rules of the 401k more than anything, but some form of proof of hardship must be documented to the IRS the following April 15th, and they can disallow it if they don't believe it.  Just getting laid off is unlikely to qualify, particularly to an amount that would cover an entire mortgage.  It would work if the amount was comparable to the mortgage payment during the time of the layoff, in order to avoid forclosure actions; but like many of the withdrawal penalty exceptions, this one hasn't really be tested in court, so we don't know how far it can be taken before it is disallowed.
Am I an asshole for hoping nobody points this out, and he does it, and totally screws himself? :P

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9942 on: August 12, 2015, 01:50:09 PM »

Flat dollar makes sense if you're contributing the full $18K.  I'm guessing that less than 2% of 401k participants actually do that.

Mine doesn't even allow me to do that.  The individual percentage contribution isn't high enough for me, or pretty much anyone, to max out the annual pre-tax.

You aren't able to adjust it?  For instance, I could set it to 24% if I wanted to max out my 403b.
Doesn't matter that the company mandates 3%- change it.

The max allowable is 10% of gross wages.

Allowable by whom?  Even if the web form doesn't go higher, you should be able to have HR manually adjust it.

Some places have problems with failing 401k discrimination testing because the amount that Highly Compensated Employees contribute is higher than the amount that Non-Highly Compensated Employees contribute, beyond some allowable bounds. Some companies limit contributions to reduce the chances of that happening. I've heard of company-set limits that don't allow people to contribute beyond the match, so no more than a couple percent in some cases. There are other ways to fix it. My dad has had some contributions returned to him the last couple of years. Some companies give a fully-vested contribution to NHCEs to close the difference. Certain plan designs give people incentive to contribute enough to close the gap.

Not necessarily what's going on here, but those low limits aren't uncommon.

This might be the root cause, because I'm considered a "highly compensated employee" here.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9943 on: August 12, 2015, 01:51:05 PM »
He might be referring to the hardship withdrawal rules for the 401k.  This depends upon the rules of the 401k more than anything, but some form of proof of hardship must be documented to the IRS the following April 15th, and they can disallow it if they don't believe it.  Just getting laid off is unlikely to qualify, particularly to an amount that would cover an entire mortgage.  It would work if the amount was comparable to the mortgage payment during the time of the layoff, in order to avoid forclosure actions; but like many of the withdrawal penalty exceptions, this one hasn't really be tested in court, so we don't know how far it can be taken before it is disallowed.
Am I an asshole for hoping nobody points this out, and he does it, and totally screws himself? :P

Yes, but that is not a reason alone to prevent it.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9944 on: August 12, 2015, 01:53:43 PM »
Yes, but that is not a reason alone to prevent it.
I'm not saying I'd withhold the advice if I actually knew the guy.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9945 on: August 12, 2015, 02:59:08 PM »
Yes, but that is not a reason alone to prevent it.
I'm not saying I'd withhold the advice if I actually knew the guy.

Depends on how much you like saying...

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9946 on: August 12, 2015, 03:06:49 PM »
He might be referring to the hardship withdrawal rules for the 401k.  This depends upon the rules of the 401k more than anything, but some form of proof of hardship must be documented to the IRS the following April 15th, and they can disallow it if they don't believe it.  Just getting laid off is unlikely to qualify, particularly to an amount that would cover an entire mortgage.  It would work if the amount was comparable to the mortgage payment during the time of the layoff, in order to avoid forclosure actions; but like many of the withdrawal penalty exceptions, this one hasn't really be tested in court, so we don't know how far it can be taken before it is disallowed.
Am I an asshole for hoping nobody points this out, and he does it, and totally screws himself? :P

Yes, but that is not a reason alone to prevent it.
I've withheld information before, mostly to see what would happen. Living vicariously through others can be just as fun, and a lot easier on the wallet.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9947 on: August 12, 2015, 05:40:10 PM »
Finally have something to contribute. It's not that my office is so great with their money, but it's usually just the normal stuff that we all hear if money is brought up at all.

CW 1: My boyfriend says he can't wait to get laid off so he can pay off his house. (Apparently he's been slacking off for the last year to try and accomplish this.)

CW 2: How does that work?

CW 1: He says that if he gets laid off he will take money out of his 401K to pay off the house because he can withdraw money without penalty if he's unemployed.

Me (around the corner): WTF are these people thinking??

Well, that might work if he's 55 or older this year. Not that it's a good idea, but it would at least work.

Too bad, it'd be pretty handy for RE if being unemployed would let you access your 401k.

He might be referring to the hardship withdrawal rules for the 401k.  This depends upon the rules of the 401k more than anything, but some form of proof of hardship must be documented to the IRS the following April 15th, and they can disallow it if they don't believe it.  Just getting laid off is unlikely to qualify, particularly to an amount that would cover an entire mortgage.  It would work if the amount was comparable to the mortgage payment during the time of the layoff, in order to avoid forclosure actions; but like many of the withdrawal penalty exceptions, this one hasn't really be tested in court, so we don't know how far it can be taken before it is disallowed.

He's pretty firmly in his 40s I believe...

Pylon

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9948 on: August 12, 2015, 05:44:14 PM »
Yes, but that is not a reason alone to prevent it.
I'm not saying I'd withhold the advice if I actually knew the guy.

Too bad I don't know him. And I don't know my coworker well enough to be saying anything to her about her boyfriend...  Guess I'll just have to wait to see if it happens to come up again in the future.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9949 on: August 13, 2015, 07:34:44 AM »
I've withheld information before, mostly to see what would happen. Living vicariously through others can be just as fun, and a lot easier on the wallet.

I've intentionally said very antimustachian things to coworkers just for my own amusement. Nothing about myself, but things that reaffirm their poor choices, e.g. they tell me they live 35 miles away, I say "oh yeah, you can get a lot more house out there!" or they say their BMW's in the shop again and I say "yeah, but it's totally worth it for when it's out, right?" My coworkers are about as antimustachian as they come, so I have fun with it.