Overheard at Work

[arebelspy]

That's what we did at my elementary school. Kinder and first grade teachers bring it once, 2nd and 3rd, 4th and 5th, and specialists (PE, art, music, library) and support/office staff once.  You only bring stuff once, but get 4 potlucks.

Sounds like a fascinating sociological experiment. Did anyone eat the PE teacher's stuff ? Do kinder teachers eat glue ?

Surprisingly, the ratio of edible stuff was about what I'd expect from the normal population.

[esq]

Best potluck dish ever! I get asked for the recipe and requests to bring it. It tastes so much better than just 3 ingredients.

Cranberry Salad - aka super easy and special cranberry sauce.
2 cans whole berry cranberry
1 can mandarin oranges
1/2 cup toasted walnuts

A day or two before the potluck pour the cranberry in a large bowl and break it up. Stir in walnuts and then gently fold in mandarin oranges. Cover and put in fridge until mealtime.

Yum!  Thanks for reminding me of something similar I had years ago.  Used fresh oranges, though mandarin would work just as well, especially for potluck because it's so easy.

I have a fellow special ed teacher who never brings anything to our Christmas and Cinco de Mayo potlucks.  It's now a running joke, and I still invite him to eat.  (Mostly out of guilt- I know they pay him a pittance for whatever reason.  Not that I make so much, it's just more than him.)

[Dezrah]

No one touched my shoo-fly-pie at the Thanksgiving potluck though.  People have no sense of adventure.

Wait, what?!  Was it wet-bottom?  Seriously, I'd be all over that!  Mmmm... shoo-fly-pie..... *drools*

So now you need to have a sense of adventure to eat PIE?  Did they think it was actually made of flies?

Surprisingly yes, people were put off by the name and just went for the sure thing, like chocolate pudding pie or something. I don't think calling it "Amish molasses pie" would have resulted in more takers.

And no, the pie was moist at best but not wet. Funny story, I called my 80 year old grandma to get her recipe and she told me to to Google Amish shoo-fly-pie. She's rediscovered her love of cooking with all the internet recipes at her finger tips but I guess the rest of us have lost the special unique details hidden in the carefully saved index cards.

[mm1970]

I've always found potlucks to be really wasteful.

We have 50 people in our office, lets say 30 people decide to go to the potluck.  20-25 of them will bring enough food for 5-10 (certainly way more than the amount of food they could eat on there own), a few people will forget or just not contribute, but not many.  Well now we have enough food for 100 people... 


I've tried to convince work that we should rotate who brings food for each potluck, rather than asking everyone every time- but the people who run these things think that everyone who goes to the pot should be bringing things.

My neighborhood has a potluck every Sunday night.  We do pretty well by now.  There are generally minimal leftovers.  I had a bunch of leftover carrot salad this week, which was awesome, because I ate it for lunch.

[Proud Foot]

Our payroll manager came to me today asking what we needed to do. Today is payday and an employee received a live check but it got rejected at a check cashing place.  The employee called the manager freaking out and the manager asked why they didn't go to the bank our corporate bank accounts are with.  It turns out the employee has an account with the same bank but it is so overdrawn that if they took the check there to cash it the bank would take the whole paycheck to apply to their overdrawn account.

[kayvent]

Our payroll manager came to me today asking what we needed to do. Today is payday and an employee received a live check but it got rejected at a check cashing place.  The employee called the manager freaking out and the manager asked why they didn't go to the bank our corporate bank accounts are with.  It turns out the employee has an account with the same bank but it is so overdrawn that if they took the check there to cash it the bank would take the whole paycheck to apply to their overdrawn account.

As mentioned in the inheritance thread I literally don't understand some of these scenarios. I make over 5K/month and when I applied for overdraft at my bank they offered me a 250$ limit. It charges 24%/year interest and has a 5$/day fee if the overdraft lasts longer than one calendar day.

I understand that usury and interest collecting is how these banks make make money but at the same time I can't understand how they are willing to lend such grave amounts to people.

[socalteacher]

Last year I had a parent want to donate money to my class so that we could purchase a few Chromebooks for the kids to use. They donated the money and then I went about ordering the CB's through our purchasing department. Turns out one CB was going to cost about $700. I could get the identical CB on Amazon for about $250. The extra money was the service fee we had to pay for some company to maintain the machine or something like that. What a waste . The thing that sucked the most was that I could not give the money back to the parents to buy on their own and donate directly to my class. Once donated it is gone for good.

One more. We have access to 403b retirement accounts and a colleague shared his statements with me. He was paying outrageous fees and his account was severely lacking in growth for the amount of time he had been investing. I shared my roth account at VG for the same time frame to give him an idea of how much fees impact growth. I showed him where to move his money and what his best options were for a low cost everything fund, like a 2045 retirement, etc. A year later and he still has not done anything to change it. 

[nobodyspecial]

As mentioned in the inheritance thread I literally don't understand some of these scenarios. I make over 5K/month and when I applied for overdraft at my bank they offered me a 250$ limit. It charges 24%/year interest and has a 5$/day fee if the overdraft lasts longer than one calendar day.

I understand that usury and interest collecting is how these banks make make money but at the same time I can't understand how they are willing to lend such grave amounts to people.

Banks have pretty much given up on ending to people, except for mortgages, credit cards are much more profitable for them than a personal loan.

[kayvent]

As mentioned in the inheritance thread I literally don't understand some of these scenarios. I make over 5K/month and when I applied for overdraft at my bank they offered me a 250$ limit. It charges 24%/year interest and has a 5$/day fee if the overdraft lasts longer than one calendar day.

I understand that usury and interest collecting is how these banks make make money but at the same time I can't understand how they are willing to lend such grave amounts to people.

Banks have pretty much given up on ending to people, except for mortgages, credit cards are much more profitable for them than a personal loan.

And I guess I am mistaken. They make x% of each transaction on the credit card. So usury, interest, and a middle-man fee ;)

[Zaga]

As mentioned in the inheritance thread I literally don't understand some of these scenarios. I make over 5K/month and when I applied for overdraft at my bank they offered me a 250$ limit. It charges 24%/year interest and has a 5$/day fee if the overdraft lasts longer than one calendar day.

I understand that usury and interest collecting is how these banks make make money but at the same time I can't understand how they are willing to lend such grave amounts to people.

Banks have pretty much given up on ending to people, except for mortgages, credit cards are much more profitable for them than a personal loan.

And I guess I am mistaken. They make x% of each transaction on the credit card. So usury, interest, and a middle-man fee ;)

I deal with a few hundred business bank accounts daily.  I'm firmly convinced by what I see that a *huge* chunk of what banks earn comes from absolutely outrageous fees on business accounts.

[Regular Guy]

From a single Captain (Army) I work with who had saved $100,000 and had it all in his checking account "I'm going to buy a Porsche 911 but I'm bummed I can't afford the turbo"

Another Captain I work with who is married was looked at used $80,000 Aston Martins because he wants a "fun car".

Deployment money goes to some people's heads.  Guess I'm boring for saving/investing mine.

[nobodyspecial]

From a single Captain (Army) I work with who had saved $100,000 and had it all in his checking account "I'm going to buy a Porsche 911 but I'm bummed I can't afford the turbo"

Another Captain I work with who is married was looked at used $80,000 Aston Martins because he wants a "fun car".

At least they aren't in jobs where the inability to make a plan with any sort of strategic foresight is important

[esq]

From a single Captain (Army) I work with who had saved $100,000 and had it all in his checking account "I'm going to buy a Porsche 911 but I'm bummed I can't afford the turbo"

Another Captain I work with who is married was looked at used $80,000 Aston Martins because he wants a "fun car".

At least they aren't in jobs where the inability to make a plan with any sort of strategic foresight is important

Made me LMAO for real and I woke up both cats.

[TheGrimSqueaker]

From a single Captain (Army) I work with who had saved $100,000 and had it all in his checking account "I'm going to buy a Porsche 911 but I'm bummed I can't afford the turbo"

Another Captain I work with who is married was looked at used $80,000 Aston Martins because he wants a "fun car".

At least they aren't in jobs where the inability to make a plan with any sort of strategic foresight is important

Isn't military command supposed to require some kind of aptitude in logistics and strategy?

[nobodyspecial]

From a single Captain (Army) I work with who had saved $100,000 and had it all in his checking account "I'm going to buy a Porsche 911 but I'm bummed I can't afford the turbo"

Another Captain I work with who is married was looked at used $80,000 Aston Martins because he wants a "fun car".

At least they aren't in jobs where the inability to make a plan with any sort of strategic foresight is important

Isn't military command supposed to require some kind of aptitude in logistics and strategy?

I suppose they could be in procurement.

[TheGrimSqueaker]

From a single Captain (Army) I work with who had saved $100,000 and had it all in his checking account "I'm going to buy a Porsche 911 but I'm bummed I can't afford the turbo"

Another Captain I work with who is married was looked at used $80,000 Aston Martins because he wants a "fun car".

At least they aren't in jobs where the inability to make a plan with any sort of strategic foresight is important

Isn't military command supposed to require some kind of aptitude in logistics and strategy?

I suppose they could be in procurement.

In which case, after they retire from the military and cash in on the quid pro quo job offer from one of the companies they made sure to over-buy from, $100k on a car is going to be chicken feed.

[nanu]

From a single Captain (Army) I work with who had saved $100,000 and had it all in his checking account "I'm going to buy a Porsche 911 but I'm bummed I can't afford the turbo"

Another Captain I work with who is married was looked at used $80,000 Aston Martins because he wants a "fun car".

Deployment money goes to some people's heads.  Guess I'm boring for saving/investing mine.

To be completely honest, I've always wanted an Aston Martin...
Just two days ago, my girlfriend and I talked about it, and figured that given our current savings rate, we could purchase one and it would only delay retirement by about a year (depending on if new or used, and what model, obviously).
Maybe in 7-10 years, when I'll be FI, I'll consider doing that, but I hope I won't...

[SwordGuy]

From a single Captain (Army) I work with who had saved $100,000 and had it all in his checking account "I'm going to buy a Porsche 911 but I'm bummed I can't afford the turbo"

Another Captain I work with who is married was looked at used $80,000 Aston Martins because he wants a "fun car".

At least they aren't in jobs where the inability to make a plan with any sort of strategic foresight is important

Made me LMAO for real and I woke up both cats.

Too funny!  I woke up all four cats and startled my wife!

[BlueHouse]

From a single Captain (Army) I work with who had saved $100,000 and had it all in his checking account "I'm going to buy a Porsche 911 but I'm bummed I can't afford the turbo"

Another Captain I work with who is married was looked at used $80,000 Aston Martins because he wants a "fun car".

At least they aren't in jobs where the inability to make a plan with any sort of strategic foresight is important

Made me LMAO for real and I woke up both cats.

Too funny!  I woke up all four cats and startled my wife!

Is there a word for the type of laugh that jumps out of your mouth in an inappropriate place (work, church, near 4 sleeping cats)?  They usually escape in a short burst before you're able to contain and hide it.   

There should be an associated word that means the same thing but ends with uncontrollable shaking of the body until the laugh dies internally. 

I really need these words to describe what happens to me at work.   

[With This Herring]

Made me LMAO for real and I woke up both cats.

Too funny!  I woke up all four cats and startled my wife!

Is there a word for the type of laugh that jumps out of your mouth in an inappropriate place (work, church, near 4 sleeping cats)?  They usually escape in a short burst before you're able to contain and hide it.   

There should be an associated word that means the same thing but ends with uncontrollable shaking of the body until the laugh dies internally. 

I really need these words to describe what happens to me at work.   

For the first one, I think "guffaw" might work.

[BlueHouse]

Too funny!  I woke up all four cats and startled my wife!

Is there a word for the type of laugh that jumps out of your mouth in an inappropriate place (work, church, near 4 sleeping cats)?  They usually escape in a short burst before you're able to contain and hide it.   

There should be an associated word that means the same thing but ends with uncontrollable shaking of the body until the laugh dies internally. 

I really need these words to describe what happens to me at work.   

For the first one, I think "guffaw" might work.

I think with guffaw there is an openness that you can't have at work.  The laugh is contained and reined in. 

How about Guff-arble?  guffarble?  And possibly guffarble-quake? 

[zolotiyeruki]

Is there a word for the type of laugh that jumps out of your mouth in an inappropriate place (work, church, near 4 sleeping cats)?  They usually escape in a short burst before you're able to contain and hide it.   

There should be an associated word that means the same thing but ends with uncontrollable shaking of the body until the laugh dies internally. 

I really need these words to describe what happens to me at work.   

I can't think of a single word, but the phrase "sides heaving with barely-suppressed laughter" comes to mind.

[Playing with Fire UK]

I think with guffaw there is an openness that you can't have at work.  The laugh is contained and reined in. 

How about Guff-arble?  guffarble?  And possibly guffarble-quake?

I compel you to search for the video 'giggle loop' from the show Coupling. (I'm at work so can't search and link).

[nnls]

I think with guffaw there is an openness that you can't have at work.  The laugh is contained and reined in. 

How about Guff-arble?  guffarble?  And possibly guffarble-quake?

I compel you to search for the video 'giggle loop' from the show Coupling. (I'm at work so can't search and link).

I was about to comment the same thing

https://www.snotr.com/video/6244/The_Giggle_Loop

[former player]

Is there a word for the type of laugh that jumps out of your mouth in an inappropriate place (work, church, near 4 sleeping cats)?  They usually escape in a short burst before you're able to contain and hide it.   

There should be an associated word that means the same thing but ends with uncontrollable shaking of the body until the laugh dies internally. 

I really need these words to describe what happens to me at work.   

Corpsing (as in, an actor getting the giggles on stage while playing a corpse).  Of which the classic example (you do not need to understand cricket for this one)-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsVTpX7LdZQ

[csdreaming]

As mentioned in the inheritance thread I literally don't understand some of these scenarios. I make over 5K/month and when I applied for overdraft at my bank they offered me a 250$ limit. It charges 24%/year interest and has a 5$/day fee if the overdraft lasts longer than one calendar day.

I understand that usury and interest collecting is how these banks make make money but at the same time I can't understand how they are willing to lend such grave amounts to people.

Banks have pretty much given up on ending to people, except for mortgages, credit cards are much more profitable for them than a personal loan.

And I guess I am mistaken. They make x% of each transaction on the credit card. So usury, interest, and a middle-man fee ;)

I deal with a few hundred business bank accounts daily.  I'm firmly convinced by what I see that a *huge* chunk of what banks earn comes from absolutely outrageous fees on business accounts.

Many of us have our own business. I believe my biz acct (no monthly mins or fees, NSF is $29, after my 10 or 20 paper checks is 10 cents to cash) is good with fees. Would you please go into more details about these outrageous fees.

[theadvicist]

I too see outrageous business bank fees.

I use my UK bank for both business and personal accounts.

Recently, on my personal account, I was offered 3% cashback for all Direct Debits, for a monthly fee of £3. I get about £8 a month back. So £5 a month, given to me, for free.

Recently, on our business account (high turnover, many transactions), I was told our average monthly charges would go up from c. £9 a month, to nearer £19 a month.

So I definitely see it being weighted against businesses, with them subsidising 'free' or, 'more than free' personal bank accounts.

As an example, the business bank account will soon charge a fee for automated payments in or out. These used to be free, with charges for withdrawing over the counter, or for banking a cheque. They wanted to encourage people to switch to methods cheaper for them to process. Now everyone's made the switch, they've lost the revenue the 'older' ways generated, so they are charging for the new ways.

35p per automated transaction in or out
18p per BACS payment (this makes payday even more expensive!)
70p per £100 for cash in or out
70p per transaction over the counter
minimum charge £5 a month

Yes, I've looked at switching. Now clients pay into our account directly, switching becomes more of an issue. It seems the only way to get 'free' business banking is to switch every 12 months - it's not worth inconveniencing our clients with new bank details. I can't find anywhere with a long-term offering that's substantially cheaper.

[Zaga]

As mentioned in the inheritance thread I literally don't understand some of these scenarios. I make over 5K/month and when I applied for overdraft at my bank they offered me a 250$ limit. It charges 24%/year interest and has a 5$/day fee if the overdraft lasts longer than one calendar day.

I understand that usury and interest collecting is how these banks make make money but at the same time I can't understand how they are willing to lend such grave amounts to people.

Banks have pretty much given up on ending to people, except for mortgages, credit cards are much more profitable for them than a personal loan.

And I guess I am mistaken. They make x% of each transaction on the credit card. So usury, interest, and a middle-man fee ;)

I deal with a few hundred business bank accounts daily.  I'm firmly convinced by what I see that a *huge* chunk of what banks earn comes from absolutely outrageous fees on business accounts.

Many of us have our own business. I believe my biz acct (no monthly mins or fees, NSF is $29, after my 10 or 20 paper checks is 10 cents to cash) is good with fees. Would you please go into more details about these outrageous fees.

I was referring more to large corporate accounts.  The company I work for has over 1,000 stores, every one of them deposits all of their cash into a bank account every day.  Some share accounts between 2 to 300+ stores, some have individual accounts in smaller banks.  The monthly fees per store range from $0 to well over $300.  In addition the automated systems contribute to bounces, so there are a trickle of bounce fees most days.

Comparing that to us, we have a small business that's borderline hobby, and we do have a free small business checking account.  Large corporations are a whole different world in banking!

[noexcuses227]

Just finished reading 303 pages of posts!

co-worker #1 stories. 

Car 1. Paid for in cash. With a loan from a 401K loan!  Thinking to myself, that is not really paid for then is it. Instead of a 4% car loan you f---ed your retirement up for a Used Hyundai.
Car 2. Took out a 5 year loan to buy out their SUV that their lease is up on.  8 years of payments on a SUV.  Arrrgh  Both of these car decisions within last 60 days.

Bitches about not having money all the time.  Makes 120K+   Eats out all the time, we don't have time to cook. She is a SAHM and can't be bothered to cook or pack a sandwich to go to a kids sports event.  Double starbucks addiction. Fair amount of other debt (he mentioned in passing)

Fairly intelligent guy but he doesn't see that all of this stuff is related.  I have made a couple of comments about how well Dave Ramseys plan worked for me to get rid of debt several years ago, he says sounds like a good idea. Then next conversation is him/her about spending money. 

[arebelspy]

Just finished reading 303 pages of posts!

Seriously?

[johnny847]

Just finished reading 303 pages of posts!

Seriously?

What else are you supposed to do at work?

[kayvent]

Just finished reading 303 pages of posts!

Seriously?

What else are you supposed to do at work?

Listen to people's poor machinations on how they manage their finances?

[noexcuses227]

Just finished reading 303 pages of posts!

Seriously?

What else are you supposed to do at work?

Listen to people's poor machinations on how they manage their finances?

Clarification. I started reading this thread a long time ago and came back to it and got caught up.

[Zx]

Too funny!  I woke up all four cats and startled my wife!

Is there a word for the type of laugh that jumps out of your mouth in an inappropriate place (work, church, near 4 sleeping cats)?  They usually escape in a short burst before you're able to contain and hide it.   

There should be an associated word that means the same thing but ends with uncontrollable shaking of the body until the laugh dies internally. 

I really need these words to describe what happens to me at work.   

For the first one, I think "guffaw" might work.

I think with guffaw there is an openness that you can't have at work.  The laugh is contained and reined in. 

How about Guff-arble?  guffarble?  And possibly guffarble-quake?

I think the word you are looking for is Garfunkel.

Art Garfunkel.

[mm1970]

One friend was in her 40s and Chinese.  Each year, she and her husband and daughter would make homemade potstickers.  Then my Mexican friend would bring tamales or enchiladas (that his mom made).

I told the single guys to bring chips, soda, cookies, or ice cream. 

One year, my other single friend (early 30's) - well, she went to Costco, bought a bag of meatballs, bought sauce, and put it all in a crockpot in the morning.  My Chinese friend, who had spent 3 hours making potstickers...well, that was the last time she made potstickers for the potluck.

If one of my coworkers had told me at a potluck, as a "single guy" to just bring cheap crap to a potluck I would have been rather annoyed.

And I don't understand your lament of the person bringing meatballs/sauce and a crockpot. Crockpots are nearly perfect for work potlucks.

Yeah, that seems super sexist to be mad at the woman for bringing pre-made meatballs, but only expecting single men to bring bring pre-made crap.  By extension, presumably the married men are expected to press their wives to make stuff for a potluck they won't even attend?

Oh, it wasn't meant to be insulting.  Let me explain: the two 20 -something year old guys came up to me the morning of the potluck, and said "I forgot, and I can't cook anyway, can I bring chips or ice cream?"  And I said "that's fine!" (I would have been fine if they'd brought plates and cups too.)  Plus: I love chips and never buy them.  I like to have them at potlucks.  And if someone else buys them, and there are leftovers, then I am safe and don't have to take them home.

The fun of a potluck, to me, is getting to know my coworkers and trying new things.  I had no problem with the meatballs (and make stuff like that myself for potlucks sometimes), but I also sometimes like to cook or bake for these things.  It's kind of weird.  Like: fruit.  Last week I took a fruit tray to a potluck.  For some reason, I cannot bring myself to buy a fruit bowl for $10 at a store.  But I have no problem buying a basket of berries, a pineapple, and a cantaloupe and doing it myself.  And I don't know why, exactly - maybe I get to control the quality of the fruit?

In any event, time went on and eventually, the potluck became "everyone picking something up  at Costco".  Now, I love Costco, but a potluck of 100% Costco isn't really fun.

[mm1970]

One friend was in her 40s and Chinese.  Each year, she and her husband and daughter would make homemade potstickers.  Then my Mexican friend would bring tamales or enchiladas (that his mom made).

I told the single guys to bring chips, soda, cookies, or ice cream. 

One year, my other single friend (early 30's) - well, she went to Costco, bought a bag of meatballs, bought sauce, and put it all in a crockpot in the morning.  My Chinese friend, who had spent 3 hours making potstickers...well, that was the last time she made potstickers for the potluck.

If one of my coworkers had told me at a potluck, as a "single guy" to just bring cheap crap to a potluck I would have been rather annoyed.

And I don't understand your lament of the person bringing meatballs/sauce and a crockpot. Crockpots are nearly perfect for work potlucks.

Yeah, that seems super sexist to be mad at the woman for bringing pre-made meatballs, but only expecting single men to bring bring pre-made crap.  By extension, presumably the married men are expected to press their wives to make stuff for a potluck they won't even attend?

I think you're missing the point--he was expecting the woman to bring chips or similar. Instead she brought something that required no effort and one-upped the potstickers.

That is how I interpretted it, anyways.

*I* wasn't lamenting the meatballs.
*Potsticker woman* was lamenting the meatballs. 

[nobody123]

In any event, time went on and eventually, the potluck became "everyone picking something up  at Costco".  Now, I love Costco, but a potluck of 100% Costco isn't really fun.

Because my company is cheap For some reason, my boss thinks potlucks are a great idea for holiday departmental lunches.  He throws a fit when a bunch of us just pitch in to buy something like a sandwich tray or pizzas.  It turns out when half of the department is hosting family at said holiday a day or two later, nobody wants to cook yet another item and have to lug it back and forth to work.  For some reason he doesn't have an issue with the 74 bags of chips or store bought cookies that the young folks bring in.

[BFGirl]

I think with guffaw there is an openness that you can't have at work.  The laugh is contained and reined in. 

How about Guff-arble?  guffarble?  And possibly guffarble-quake?

I compel you to search for the video 'giggle loop' from the show Coupling. (I'm at work so can't search and link).

I was about to suggest "giggle loop"!!

[nobody123]

So, a group of neighbors were shooting the breeze this weekend.  One couple is in the process of getting an in-ground pool put in.  Good for them, if that's how they want to spend their money.  They're obviously excited about it, and everyone was being neighborly and saying how awesome it will be once it's done, asking about how they were going to decorate the yard around it, making jokes about who will pee in it first, etc.

However, the wife half of a couple who has been openly pining for a pool for the 4+ years they've lived in the neighborhood, says she can't even be happy for them because she's pissed that she doesn't have her pool yet.  Then, her husband then proceeds to publicly declare that he cashed out his state government pension & retirement savings from his last job when they moved here for his dream job.  He needed the money to put the down payment on their house and supplement his income (she doesn't work) because he took a significant pay cut to take the job, and then he tells us what he makes per year in his federal job.  He was lamenting that it reset the timer on when he can get a pension, so he's got another 16 years or so to hit the 20 necessary for his new government pension.  His wife then tells the group that he's got around $70K in his retirement account and she wants him to borrow against it to pay for a pool.  He very seriously tells her to go get a f-ing job.  Luckily, one of the neighbors quickly changed the subject.

So, when we get home, I tell the wife how I'm shocked at that whole conversation not only because it took place, but also because I would be freaking out if I only had $70K in our retirement accounts at that age (he's a few years older than us).  I also used the opportunity to point out how lucky she is to be married to me, because I have manners and have us in a much better financial position. ;)  She then tells me that the husband had approached the pool builder husband earlier in the day to ask how much they were spending on it because he was sick of the wife nagging him about it and he needed to shut her up.  For a little context, this couple does a poor job of maintaining their existing yard and house, so I can only assume that they can't really afford to maintain a pool, let alone the construction of one.  Nevertheless, I am willing to bet that next spring there will be a pool going into their yard...

[firelight]

So, a group of neighbors were shooting the breeze this weekend.  One couple is in the process of getting an in-ground pool put in.  Good for them, if that's how they want to spend their money.  They're obviously excited about it, and everyone was being neighborly and saying how awesome it will be once it's done, asking about how they were going to decorate the yard around it, making jokes about who will pee in it first, etc.

However, the wife half of a couple who has been openly pining for a pool for the 4+ years they've lived in the neighborhood, says she can't even be happy for them because she's pissed that she doesn't have her pool yet.  Then, her husband then proceeds to publicly declare that he cashed out his state government pension & retirement savings from his last job when they moved here for his dream job.  He needed the money to put the down payment on their house and supplement his income (she doesn't work) because he took a significant pay cut to take the job, and then he tells us what he makes per year in his federal job.  He was lamenting that it reset the timer on when he can get a pension, so he's got another 16 years or so to hit the 20 necessary for his new government pension.  His wife then tells the group that he's got around $70K in his retirement account and she wants him to borrow against it to pay for a pool.  He very seriously tells her to go get a f-ing job.  Luckily, one of the neighbors quickly changed the subject.

So, when we get home, I tell the wife how I'm shocked at that whole conversation not only because it took place, but also because I would be freaking out if I only had $70K in our retirement accounts at that age (he's a few years older than us).  I also used the opportunity to point out how lucky she is to be married to me, because I have manners and have us in a much better financial position. ;)  She then tells me that the husband had approached the pool builder husband earlier in the day to ask how much they were spending on it because he was sick of the wife nagging him about it and he needed to shut her up.  For a little context, this couple does a poor job of maintaining their existing yard and house, so I can only assume that they can't really afford to maintain a pool, let alone the construction of one.  Nevertheless, I am willing to bet that next spring there will be a pool going into their yard...

OMG!!!

[kayvent]

One of my coworkers drives an older toyota camry,I want to say it's a late nineties, early 2000's model. She comes into my office and says she's thinking of switching her car.

CW:I think I need a new car.
Me: Why, is there something wrong with it?
CW: Well I drive donors to dinner or events sometimes and the car just doesn't look up to snuff.
Me: Just rent a car for a few hours. It'll be much cheaper with the contracted rate.
CW: No, that'll be too much. I should buy a new car.

I tried to point out that renting a car is eligible for reimbursement and her car payment (she doesn't have the cash to purchase outright) wouldn't be.

No new car yet, so maybe I got through to her.

If you don't mind the compliment, that was ingenious thinking on your behalf.

[Kitsune]

One of my coworkers drives an older toyota camry,I want to say it's a late nineties, early 2000's model. She comes into my office and says she's thinking of switching her car.

CW:I think I need a new car.
Me: Why, is there something wrong with it?
CW: Well I drive donors to dinner or events sometimes and the car just doesn't look up to snuff.
Me: Just rent a car for a few hours. It'll be much cheaper with the contracted rate.
CW: No, that'll be too much. I should buy a new car.

I tried to point out that renting a car is eligible for reimbursement and her car payment (she doesn't have the cash to purchase outright) wouldn't be.

No new car yet, so maybe I got through to her.

I went to a fancy dinner with a bunch of schmancy executive-type people last year, and wound up walking down with one of the directors of the bank we do business with and waiting for the valets to bring our cars.

Me: "I'm almost embarassed at my car right now... everyone is driving BMWs and Audis and the like."
Banker: "You like your car? It's paid off?"
Me: "Yeah, of course it's paid off. Runs great."
Banker: "Y'know, I manage the banking of a lot of people in that room. Let me just say: your car? Pretty damned special, in this crowd. I'd keep driving it if I were you."

Since then, I've also come down to earth and started to appreciate my car a hell of a lot more. No embarassment for me - I have a GREAT car!

(And if you need a nicer car for a few hours and you can get it reimbursed... WHY WOULD YOU BUY ONE FROM YOUR OWN FUNDS. Your point is excellent.)

[Papa Mustache]

Well then she surely needs a luxury car to impress with... -eye roller-

[zephyr911]

Best potluck dish ever! I get asked for the recipe and requests to bring it. It tastes so much better than just 3 ingredients.

Cranberry Salad - aka super easy and special cranberry sauce.
2 cans whole berry cranberry
1 can mandarin oranges
1/2 cup toasted walnuts

A day or two before the potluck pour the cranberry in a large bowl and break it up. Stir in walnuts and then gently fold in mandarin oranges. Cover and put in fridge until mealtime.

Actually used this on Saturday. I just ate some of the leftovers. Love it!

[bigalsmith101]

I had posted earlier in the "Anti Anti-Mustachian" forum earlier about this situation, but the situation has since progressed to be better suited here.

My mid 50's coworker, with little to no retirement planned or saved, has just refinanced her townhouse. This, in itself, is awesome. She's dropped her interest rate from where it was at 5.5% down to 3.8%. Success!

This is where the success ends, and the poor decisions start. She's had a balance on a home equity line of credit to the tune of about $40k for quite a while now, along with a $5k credit card balance. Well, she used this refinance opportunity to consolidate her loans into one mortgage, dropping her total cumulative payments by $300/mo in the process. The poor decision? When she refinanced her mortgage that had 17yrs left on it to a 30yr mortgage, thus the ability to lower her monthly payments...

But it doesn't stop there. She also borrowed $10k to use towards buying a new car. You see, her perfectly capable 12yr old Hyundai Tiburon has been "nickel and diming" her for the past year or so. It's cost her $2k in the past year alone, and "dammit, she can't afford it". I tried to explain that if she decided to buy a new car, she would be easily paying $300/mo in car payments, plus an increase in insurance costs. A new car would cost her much more than her current car and she wouldn't have to take the hit of depreciation if she kept her current vehicle. I could tell she wasn't interested in keeping her old car, so I suggested that she look at a used car, or certified pre-owned as that would vastly decrease her costs. She agreed that that would be a good idea.

The next week, she's all excited about a certified pre-owned Hyundai Santa Fe 2.0T with all the bells and whistles. It's a lease return, with 36,000 miles, and it's priced at $25,000 before negotiating. It would come with the remainder of the 10yr, 100k mile warranty offered by Hyundai. It would cost her $270/mo after she paid $10k down, and it's pretty much exactly what she's looking for. She can't afford a new one, as they are nearly $40k, and she does NOT want to finance a car for the next 7-8 years to bring the payments low enough to afford.

A week goes by, and she tells me she's going back that weekend to check out the car again. She's got to choose between a white or a black one...

Monday rolls around, and there is a BRAND NEW Maroon Hyundai Santa Fe 2.0T (turbo), FULLY LOADED in the parking lot at work. I start thinking, "but there wasn't a maroon lease return at the dealer... She can't afford the financing terms on a new one... New ones cost $42k!... She'd have to pay almost $600/mo even if she gave them $10k upfront..."

And then I realized the brutal truth, "She must have leased it. Fuuuuuuuuuuck!"

I walk into the office and she immediately tells me that I HAVE to check out her new car. I don't pull any punches and I ask, "Did you lease it?" She says, "Yea, I really liked it, but they are really expensive. This thing is $42k with all the bells and whistles. I couldn't afford the nearly $600/mo payment to buy it new, so I thought I'd give the lease a try. If I don't like it, I can return it in three years. I had to give them the $10k up front, but my payment is only $270/mo which is totally affordable! I'm really excited, it's so nice! Plus, I have the option to buy it at the end of the lease, which would only be $22,800, which I can manage."

I ask her if she realizes that the $10k she paid up front is essentially to buy down the depreciation that the vehicle will incur in the next 3 years. That, when she's finished with her lease, she'll need to buy the car to make the lease worth it. Otherwise, she'll be paying almost $20k for a car for 3 years of use. She says, "Yea, I really like it. I'm pretty sure I'll definitely be buying it when the lease is up. I'm really happy with it."

I didn't mention that she's essentially financing $32k over 8yrs, AFTER paying down $10k. She's doing exactly what she didn't want to do in the first place, and has just signed on for $42k of debt that will be paid over the next 8 years. She's even decided to keep her older car, as she's never had the convenience of two cars before, and it doesn't cost her anything to keep it.

AAAAAAAGHAGAHAGAHAHGAGH!!!!

[gooki]

That was awesome. In a very sad way.

[kayvent]

But it doesn't stop there. She also borrowed $10k to use towards buying a new car.

....

"... I couldn't afford the nearly $600/mo payment to buy it new, so I thought I'd give the lease a try. If I don't like it, I can return it in three years. I had to give them the $10k up front, but my payment is only $270/mo which is totally affordable!"

Assuming the 10K loan is 0% and is a three-year loan, she does realize that she is effectively paying 600$/month or do you get the impression that she missed that transitive concept? Or put another way, does she understand that she has to pay back her loan and therefore the TCO of the car is more than just what the dealer says or thinks it is?

[bigalsmith101]

But it doesn't stop there. She also borrowed $10k to use towards buying a new car.

....

"... I couldn't afford the nearly $600/mo payment to buy it new, so I thought I'd give the lease a try. If I don't like it, I can return it in three years. I had to give them the $10k up front, but my payment is only $270/mo which is totally affordable!"

Assuming the 10K loan is 0% and is a three-year loan, she does realize that she is effectively paying 600$/month or do you get the impression that she missed that transitive concept? Or put another way, does she understand that she has to pay back her loan and therefore the TCO of the car is more than just what the dealer says or thinks it is?

The straight facts are that the $10k is coming from the cash out refinance on her home. Essentially, she's paying that $10k at 3.5% over the next 30 years. Both my coworker (a 50 year old male who's retired from one job, and holding out till 55 to be able to access his pension/401k fee free) tried to convince her not to use the refinance to access cash to buy a car, as she has excellent credit (800+) and qualified for 1.9% at the dealer. She didn't listen though. She does realize in the back of her mind, that she's paying off that 10k loan over the term of her mortgage, but she's not looking at the larger picture. She knows that her monthly payments have decreased by ~$300. She knows this is because she took a 30yr mortgage, but she also believes that in the next 5-7 years, she'll sell her home and buy a smaller one, thus the 30 year mortgage is justified...

Both the mortgage lender and the car dealership finance people spouted out some nonsense that got her excited and she made the bad decisions in rapid fire succession.

First mistake? Telling the dealer, "I don't want my payments to be any higher than about $270/mo." What did she do? She agreed to have a dumbass alarm installed, adding $15/mo to her lease ($540 alarm...) totaling $285/mo, and doesn't consider the extra cost of insurance as an increase in her monthly payment...

[mm1970]

And then I realized the brutal truth, "She must have leased it. Fuuuuuuuuuuck!"

I walk into the office and she immediately tells me that I HAVE to check out her new car. I don't pull any punches and I ask, "Did you lease it?" She says, "Yea, I really liked it, but they are really expensive. This thing is $42k with all the bells and whistles. I couldn't afford the nearly $600/mo payment to buy it new, so I thought I'd give the lease a try. If I don't like it, I can return it in three years. I had to give them the $10k up front, but my payment is only $270/mo which is totally affordable! I'm really excited, it's so nice! Plus, I have the option to buy it at the end of the lease, which would only be $22,800, which I can manage."

I ask her if she realizes that the $10k she paid up front is essentially to buy down the depreciation that the vehicle will incur in the next 3 years. That, when she's finished with her lease, she'll need to buy the car to make the lease worth it. Otherwise, she'll be paying almost $20k for a car for 3 years of use. She says, "Yea, I really like it. I'm pretty sure I'll definitely be buying it when the lease is up. I'm really happy with it."

That made my brain hurt.  People and cars.

[RyanAtTanagra]

...but she's not looking at the larger picture. She knows that her monthly payments have decreased by ~$300.

This is a major problem I see in a lot of people.  They only think of money in the short term, i.e. monthly payments, and if they can afford it.  Then they complain about how it's impossible to build wealth in the long term nowadays...