First time posting...going back to thread topic. Yes, I read through or skimmed all of the posts on this thread. So much hate, fun and foam haha.
In the small department I work at, I'm the lowest paid employee who bikes to work and brings sandwiches. My coworkers go out to eat every day (they currently come into the office only four days a week). I just sit and eat my PB or deli sandwich and wonder how much the bill will be. One of them glimmers hope. Combined, he and his wife make around $250k/yr. He has a twelve year old Honda Accord, sometimes brings breakfast from home to work, recently tried the grocery store for lunch, and puts some of his money toward investments. I told him about FI when we were talking about management decisions and he looked at the MMM website and didn't groan or argue.
My boss is a different story. He has been with the company for a decade or so, and has wanted to make some type of contribution toward retirement, but hasn't despite making $100k a year over the past few years. He recently mortgaged a house (in addition to his rentals), is paying off his wife's $60k+ student loans, bought a red fancy 1970s Chevy (the awesome part is that this hot rod causes old men of all demographics to hit on him), and is having car trouble with his Mercedes. I've tried explaining FI to him, but the concept of doing what you want in your own time just does not register. He is the nicest guy, but I feel like I'm not reaching him.
My second coworker is a paradox. He brags about the excellent mileage he will get in his raised diesel Ford pickup truck (saying he may one day get 25mpg after spending $8k upgrading it). This was in response to me sharing my 15 year old Toyota gets 35mpg (I have since sold it and switched to a bicycle.) He also believes that the TCO of a brand new Lexus is lower than my old reliable Toyota. This guy isn't married, has a sporty Nissan that he has spent thousands on, the big diesel truck that he has spent thousands on, and a motorcycle that I've seen only twice. He earlier bragged about how Diesel was cheaper than regular petrol (by like $0.15?). He is consistently late to work and has a bad work ethic, often talking about leaving the company or asking people for letters of reference, but somehow got promoted on the condition he show up on time to work (not my call). This guy makes enemies like crazy at work once they see his true colors (usually takes 6 months) by being a dick to people behind their back but is convinced that everyone is wowed by him and he will become a manager.
CW3: is a sad case. She was months away from retiring, but blew up at her moron boss (she had only worked for him for a couple years. Almost no one can stand him). From what I've overheard, she was fired and lost 2/3 of her retirement (yay...pension plan! What could go wrong??).
CW4: He buys multiple things from Amazon and has it shipped to work. Most of it are trinkets or non-consumables. He is openly unhappy with his job (10+ years), and just bought a brand new Audi. He is single, and probably makes $85k/yr. If I was unhappy as him with that much freedom, I would save 50%-75% a month, instead of eating out every day worked at the office, and enjoying many life luxuries.
People at my work are often very unhappy, but are waiting until the pension kicks in during their mid 50s to early 60s. I just don't get it.