Overheard at Work

[Merrie]

I have a good one heard this morning at work.

An older coworker was trying to talk a younger coworker (YC) into trading in his scion xB for a new FR-S because "I've heard they're pretty good cars, and at least they don't look like a toaster like your car."
YC started strong by defending the decent fuel economy, passenger leg room, cargo room, and overall practicality of his xB .... then he completely lost me when he said that he had put 130,000 miles on it in the 4 years since he bought it. To his credit, he didn't buy it new and paid for it in full when he got it so at least there's that, but how can somebody even drive that much? That's more than double the national average in a nation of excessive commuting and driving!

That's a lot of miles, but not out of line with what I was driving when we were living the commuter lifestyle. At one point I was going 75 km each way to work, then got a new job with a 100 km (60 mile) each way commute.

This was strategic though... it meant my wife and I were working in the same building, so within 2 years we moved within biking distance of work. Anyways...

120 miles per day*5 days/wk*50weeks/year=30,000 miles per year before weekend/after work trips.
=120,000 miles in 4 years.

But all 'highway miles' so that makes it OK, right???   :)

I've never understood how somebody could justify that much time driving to and from work, even in my pre-mustachian days. I even moved out of my dad's house in college because I was tired of the 30-40 minute (13 miles in suburban/city traffic) commute to school. It wasn't the smartest financial decision, but it felt better to only be 5 minutes away from school in a cheap apartment than to waste an hour every day just going to and from.
The thing that gets me is that 1 hour+ commutes are pretty common. In my last job, of the 4 guys that sat near me, only one of them lived less than 50 miles from where we worked. One of the older guys at my current job drives an hour and a half on the highway to work every day and has been doing so for at least a decade.

To put it into perspective, I live about 4 miles from where I work. When I was job hunting, there was an opening about 5 miles from where he lives. I declined the job because I couldn't handle the commute and they didn't offer relocation compensation because I was "too close."

TLDR; Commuters are insane and I don't get it.

Yeah... I currently have a 65 mile commute. I like the job but hate the commute and it's absolutely not the 10 year plan to stay this way. I want to get back into a position in my area within 9-12 months and I think it's possible, and if it's really not I'll suck it up and move there, but I don't want to borrow trouble. I took this position because it was available and will get me experience that will help me get a better spot, and there was nothing in my area on the horizon.

Sadly, I think that commuting an hour plus is common in the area I'm working in. Nobody wants to live there, me included. If I didn't have a house and a family I'd consider moving up there temporarily, but selling or renting out the house, taking the kid out of school, etc. doesn't seem worth it in the short term.

[nobodyspecial]

I have a 90min each way commute!
But that is saving me $1M on the house price, I only have to do it for another 2-3years til I FIRE and I love the community I live in.

[MgoSam]

I have a 90min each way commute!
But that is saving me $1M on the house price, I only have to do it for another 2-3years til I FIRE and I love the community I live in.

If you enjoy reading, I highly recommend Audible. They occasionally run a promotion where you can get 2 months free if you're a brand new user (normally they offer one month free). I personally love their service as they have a daily discounted book, and sometimes they are worthy buys and there are so many books that I've read through them that I wouldn't have purchased otherwise.

[Threshkin]

I have a 90min each way commute!
But that is saving me $1M on the house price, I only have to do it for another 2-3years til I FIRE and I love the community I live in.

I used to drive for work (not commuting but visiting clients).  My favorite resource was books on CD from the library.  Free and made the driving time, even the traffic jams bearable. 

If you enjoy reading, I highly recommend Audible. They occasionally run a promotion where you can get 2 months free if you're a brand new user (normally they offer one month free). I personally love their service as they have a daily discounted book, and sometimes they are worthy buys and there are so many books that I've read through them that I wouldn't have purchased otherwise.

[Kitsune]

The reason I enjoy working for my current company: my boss.

Me, calling in while working from home: "hey... I've got a cold and I'm nauseous, I'm gonna log off work and work tomorrow instead (because I had booked Friday off)."
Boss (who is a pharmacist): "ok, you're going to log off, take some Motrin and nasal decongestant, and go take a nap, that's all that's likely to help! Also,  you're not working tomorrow, we offer sick days for a reason. Take a sick day! Take a day off! We'll see you on Monday!"

... Bosses like this, I seriously don't mind working for.

[JordanOfGilead]

The reason I enjoy working for my current company: my boss.

Me, calling in while working from home: "hey... I've got a cold and I'm nauseous, I'm gonna log off work and work tomorrow instead (because I had booked Friday off)."
Boss (who is a pharmacist): "ok, you're going to log off, take some Motrin and nasal decongestant, and go take a nap, that's all that's likely to help! Also,  you're not working tomorrow, we offer sick days for a reason. Take a sick day! Take a day off! We'll see you on Monday!"

... Bosses like this, I seriously don't mind working for.

Gotta love somebody that takes care of their people.

"Take care of your people and your people will take care of you."
- Every leadership training course/seminar/instructor ever

[Kitsune]

The reason I enjoy working for my current company: my boss.

Me, calling in while working from home: "hey... I've got a cold and I'm nauseous, I'm gonna log off work and work tomorrow instead (because I had booked Friday off)."
Boss (who is a pharmacist): "ok, you're going to log off, take some Motrin and nasal decongestant, and go take a nap, that's all that's likely to help! Also,  you're not working tomorrow, we offer sick days for a reason. Take a sick day! Take a day off! We'll see you on Monday!"

... Bosses like this, I seriously don't mind working for.

Gotta love somebody that takes care of their people.

"Take care of your people and your people will take care of you."
- Every leadership training course/seminar/instructor ever

He's amazing. He expects 50s-level loyalty from his employees, but he gives back more than he expects. Real-life examples: my kid is sick for a week, I have 3 sick days left. No problem, he says! Kids get sick, family is important! We've got a busy period in 2 months, make up the overtime them, we'll pay you now! He specifically sits down with all employees to make sure that they have vacation with their spouses and kids, and tries to split up the more desirable times (July, say...) equitably. And makes sure that everyone uses up their (very generous) vacation, every year. He pays living wages... like, our receptionist is buying a house. As a single mom. And on her salary, that's actually feasible where we live.

Two times in the past 10 years, business has been slow enough that he had to put everyone on 80% salary (and working 4 days per week, obv). Before that happened (and this is NOT common knowledge), he basically floated money back into the company to ensure that paycheques would go through, and then didn't take a salary himself for a few months, because he felt that owners should get paid last.

In any other company, a 20% pay cut due to lack of work would have a few people leaving, or interviewing elsewhere, or looking to leave, right? Not one. Either time. Not one single person even mentioned the vague possibility of looking elsewhere. And these are all professionals in a very in-demand field who could have found another job within a week.

[Kitsune]

The reason I enjoy working for my current company: my boss.

Me, calling in while working from home: "hey... I've got a cold and I'm nauseous, I'm gonna log off work and work tomorrow instead (because I had booked Friday off)."
Boss (who is a pharmacist): "ok, you're going to log off, take some Motrin and nasal decongestant, and go take a nap, that's all that's likely to help! Also,  you're not working tomorrow, we offer sick days for a reason. Take a sick day! Take a day off! We'll see you on Monday!"

... Bosses like this, I seriously don't mind working for.

Gotta love somebody that takes care of their people.

"Take care of your people and your people will take care of you."
- Every leadership training course/seminar/instructor ever

He's amazing. He expects 50s-level loyalty from his employees, but he gives back more than he expects. Real-life examples: my kid is sick for a week, I have 3 sick days left. No problem, he says! Kids get sick, family is important! We've got a busy period in 2 months, make up the overtime them, we'll pay you now! He specifically sits down with all employees to make sure that they have vacation with their spouses and kids, and tries to split up the more desirable times (July, say...) equitably. And makes sure that everyone uses up their (very generous) vacation, every year. He pays living wages... like, our receptionist is buying a house. As a single mom. And on her salary, that's actually feasible where we live.

Two times in the past 10 years, business has been slow enough that he had to put everyone on 80% salary (and working 4 days per week, obv). Before that happened (and this is NOT common knowledge), he basically floated money back into the company to ensure that paycheques would go through, and then didn't take a salary himself for a few months, because he felt that owners should get paid last.

In any other company, a 20% pay cut due to lack of work would have a few people leaving, or interviewing elsewhere, or looking to leave, right? Not one. Either time. Not one single person even mentioned the vague possibility of looking elsewhere. And these are all professionals in a very in-demand field who could have found another job within a week.

I'm working towards FIRE because there's no guarantee that this company will always be in business, or always be so good. But let's say I'm not as motivated as I was when working in the last corporate hellhole! ;)

Honestly, if FIRE dropped into my lap, I'd try to negotiate a 2-3 day/week work schedule instead of quitting outright. I genuinely do like working where I work, but I'd enjoy more free time for other things as well. I don't think I'd quit outright, though.

I'd work for him in a heartbeat! I bet many others would too.
I'd have a hard time retiring if I had a boss like this. As a counterpoint, my boss and my company made the FIRE decision VERY easy!

[RamonaQ]

If you enjoy reading, I highly recommend Audible. They occasionally run a promotion where you can get 2 months free if you're a brand new user (normally they offer one month free). I personally love their service as they have a daily discounted book, and sometimes they are worthy buys and there are so many books that I've read through them that I wouldn't have purchased otherwise.

I used to drive for work (not commuting but visiting clients).  My favorite resource was books on CD from the library.  Free and made the driving time, even the traffic jams bearable. 

In addition to books on CD, many libraries offer downloadable audio books (just like audible.com).  Still free and you don't even have to go into the building.

[FIRE me]

Young male at my workplace, who pays child support on two toddler age children, with different females, and is engaged to marry the Mother of the second child later this year.

Said coworker borrows 5k out his 401k, takes a week of of vacation, and goes to the local casino with 1k in pocket every day. Loses entire 5k, of course.

I'd love to see what he wrote on the 401k loan application for the purpose of the loan. Maybe “vacation”, which I guess that strictly speaking, would be true.

[TheGrimSqueaker]

Young male at my workplace, who pays child support on two toddler age children, with different females, and is engaged to marry the Mother of the second child later this year.

Said coworker borrows 5k out his 401k, takes a week of of vacation, and goes to the local casino with 1k in pocket every day. Loses entire 5k, of course.

I'd love to see what he wrote on the 401k loan application for the purpose of the loan. Maybe “vacation”, which I guess that strictly speaking, would be true.

Depending on which company handles the 401k, he may not have had to describe the purpose of the loan at all. He wouldn't be the first person to liquidate long-term assets for mindless consumer stupidity.

[Calgarian Mustashian]

First time posting. Had to share this.

Recently I was getting on my bike leaving work and heard a car start. Rode past the idling luxury SUV and realized there was no one in it. It was remote started to warm up. It had been idling for a couple of minutes.

It was cold out, January in Canada, but this was in AN UNDERGROUND HEATED PARKADE!!!!

I know this is a small point but the sheer wastefulness of it boggles my mind.

[mtn]

First time posting. Had to share this.

Recently I was getting on my bike leaving work and heard a car start. Rode past the idling luxury SUV and realized there was no one in it. It was remote started to warm up. It had been idling for a couple of minutes.

It was cold out, January in Canada, but this was in AN UNDERGROUND HEATED PARKADE!!!!

I know this is a small point but the sheer wastefulness of it boggles my mind.

If this was Chicago, that could have been my MIL. Except she just forgot to turn the car off when she left it one morning (Push-button start, new to her car, quiet car, and she has MS so is often distracted by pain)

[MoonShadow]

First time posting. Had to share this.

Recently I was getting on my bike leaving work and heard a car start. Rode past the idling luxury SUV and realized there was no one in it. It was remote started to warm up. It had been idling for a couple of minutes.

It was cold out, January in Canada, but this was in AN UNDERGROUND HEATED PARKADE!!!!

I know this is a small point but the sheer wastefulness of it boggles my mind.

I've literally never seen such a thing in my life, and I've working on construction projects that built public parking garages.  I have had to build heat trace systems to warm the fire extinguishers, water pipes & such in those spaces to above freezing, and the elevator lobbies & stairwells are usually heated to about 50 degrees F (which is why they are such popular hangouts for the homeless in winter; but I have never seen an parkade where the parking space areas themselves were deliberately or directly heated.

[mtn]

First time posting. Had to share this.

Recently I was getting on my bike leaving work and heard a car start. Rode past the idling luxury SUV and realized there was no one in it. It was remote started to warm up. It had been idling for a couple of minutes.

It was cold out, January in Canada, but this was in AN UNDERGROUND HEATED PARKADE!!!!

I know this is a small point but the sheer wastefulness of it boggles my mind.

I've literally never seen such a thing in my life, and I've working on construction projects that built public parking garages.  I have had to build heat trace systems to warm the fire extinguishers, water pipes & such in those spaces to above freezing, and the elevator lobbies & stairwells are usually heated to about 50 degrees F (which is why they are such popular hangouts for the homeless in winter; but I have never seen an parkade where the parking space areas themselves were deliberately or directly heated.

You're also in Louisville, Kentucky.

All of the heated garages I've seen are underground though, so it is much easier to heat them.

[HairyUpperLip]

First time posting. Had to share this.

Recently I was getting on my bike leaving work and heard a car start. Rode past the idling luxury SUV and realized there was no one in it. It was remote started to warm up. It had been idling for a couple of minutes.

It was cold out, January in Canada, but this was in AN UNDERGROUND HEATED PARKADE!!!!

I know this is a small point but the sheer wastefulness of it boggles my mind.

I've literally never seen such a thing in my life, and I've working on construction projects that built public parking garages.  I have had to build heat trace systems to warm the fire extinguishers, water pipes & such in those spaces to above freezing, and the elevator lobbies & stairwells are usually heated to about 50 degrees F (which is why they are such popular hangouts for the homeless in winter; but I have never seen an parkade where the parking space areas themselves were deliberately or directly heated.

My brother and SIL pay to park their Honda S2000 in a heated garage.

Edit - This is in America.

[dycker1978]

First time posting. Had to share this.

Recently I was getting on my bike leaving work and heard a car start. Rode past the idling luxury SUV and realized there was no one in it. It was remote started to warm up. It had been idling for a couple of minutes.

It was cold out, January in Canada, but this was in AN UNDERGROUND HEATED PARKADE!!!!

I know this is a small point but the sheer wastefulness of it boggles my mind.

I've literally never seen such a thing in my life, and I've working on construction projects that built public parking garages.  I have had to build heat trace systems to warm the fire extinguishers, water pipes & such in those spaces to above freezing, and the elevator lobbies & stairwells are usually heated to about 50 degrees F (which is why they are such popular hangouts for the homeless in winter; but I have never seen an parkade where the parking space areas themselves were deliberately or directly heated.

Interesting - maybe this is a Canadian thing. I can think of 3 heated garages in Toronto that I use regularly. I can also recall reviewing plans for a garage in Brampton where ceiling mounted heaters weren't taken into account on height restrictions and a major redesign was needed.

There are several here that are heated.  The parkade for the building I work in is heated in the winter and cooled in the summer. 

Even most of the shopping centers here have underground heated parking...

[JordanOfGilead]

First time posting. Had to share this.

Recently I was getting on my bike leaving work and heard a car start. Rode past the idling luxury SUV and realized there was no one in it. It was remote started to warm up. It had been idling for a couple of minutes.

It was cold out, January in Canada, but this was in AN UNDERGROUND HEATED PARKADE!!!!

I know this is a small point but the sheer wastefulness of it boggles my mind.

I've literally never seen such a thing in my life, and I've working on construction projects that built public parking garages.  I have had to build heat trace systems to warm the fire extinguishers, water pipes & such in those spaces to above freezing, and the elevator lobbies & stairwells are usually heated to about 50 degrees F (which is why they are such popular hangouts for the homeless in winter; but I have never seen an parkade where the parking space areas themselves were deliberately or directly heated.

My brother and SIL pay to park their Honda S2000 in a heated garage.

Edit - This is in America.

I understand wanting to keep the s2k safe and warm, but if you live somewhere where you don't have your own garage to keep it in, why own it?
I know that before I discovered mmm, I wasn't willing to park my sporty car outside at night, so I changed my housing arrangement so that I had a garage to keep it in.

[zephyr911]

Related, equally silly: my mom house-sat for a while for an old-money family in the Boston area. She had her own guest house on their property, and the guest house had a heated driveway for ice and snow - yep, buried heating elements to warm the entire driveway and melt it off.
I can only imagine the perks the actual house had. I like to imagine the toilets wash and dry your nether regions and pull your pants up when you're done....

[Calgarian Mustashian]

Related, equally silly: my mom house-sat for a while for an old-money family in the Boston area. She had her own guest house on their property, and the guest house had a heated driveway for ice and snow - yep, buried heating elements to warm the entire driveway and melt it off.
I can only imagine the perks the actual house had. I like to imagine the toilets wash and dry your nether regions and pull your pants up when you're done....

Back in my landscaping days I saw plenty of those. Turns out the melt water pools in some location and freezes, so you need to hire a snow removal service to go in there a chip the ice away every time it snows, which is incredibly time consuming. So in summary your handy-dandy heated driveway actually requires more intensive snow removal service than a regular, non-heated driveway.

*facepalm

[JordanOfGilead]

Related, equally silly: my mom house-sat for a while for an old-money family in the Boston area. She had her own guest house on their property, and the guest house had a heated driveway for ice and snow - yep, buried heating elements to warm the entire driveway and melt it off.
I can only imagine the perks the actual house had. I like to imagine the toilets wash and dry your nether regions and pull your pants up when you're done....

Funny enough, my dad is a semi-active lottery player and he has always said that if he won he would get a heated driveway so he didn't have to worry about ice and snow.

[jinga nation]

I like to imagine the toilets wash and dry your nether regions and pull your pants up when you're done....

Toto toilets will wash and dry and tickle your sensitive bottom parts...
Pulling up your pants is a user's task, entirely optional but strongly recommended.

[GuitarStv]

I like to imagine the toilets wash and dry your nether regions and pull your pants up when you're done....

Toto toilets will wash and dry and tickle your sensitive bottom parts...
Pulling up your pants is a user's task, entirely optional but strongly recommended.

DON'T TELL ME HOW TO LIVE MY LIFE!

[LennStar]

I like to imagine the toilets wash and dry your nether regions and pull your pants up when you're done....

Toto toilets will wash and dry and tickle your sensitive bottom parts...
Pulling up your pants is a user's task, entirely optional but strongly recommended.

Haha, you beat me on that ^^

If you dont know what we are talking about, try to google "washlet".
The more exclusive ones offer heated seats, blood pressure measure and other tests.
I love the japanese freakeries ^^

Buy the way, if you are looking at japanese-only bathroom equipment, try googling "otohime" (=soundprincess), too. Just for fun. You will know what I mean when you find it, its one of those things you dont believe even with photos.

[HairyUpperLip]

First time posting. Had to share this.

Recently I was getting on my bike leaving work and heard a car start. Rode past the idling luxury SUV and realized there was no one in it. It was remote started to warm up. It had been idling for a couple of minutes.

It was cold out, January in Canada, but this was in AN UNDERGROUND HEATED PARKADE!!!!

I know this is a small point but the sheer wastefulness of it boggles my mind.

I've literally never seen such a thing in my life, and I've working on construction projects that built public parking garages.  I have had to build heat trace systems to warm the fire extinguishers, water pipes & such in those spaces to above freezing, and the elevator lobbies & stairwells are usually heated to about 50 degrees F (which is why they are such popular hangouts for the homeless in winter; but I have never seen an parkade where the parking space areas themselves were deliberately or directly heated.

My brother and SIL pay to park their Honda S2000 in a heated garage.

Edit - This is in America.

I understand wanting to keep the s2k safe and warm, but if you live somewhere where you don't have your own garage to keep it in, why own it?
I know that before I discovered mmm, I wasn't willing to park my sporty car outside at night, so I changed my housing arrangement so that I had a garage to keep it in.

My SIL bought it before they were married and just dating. My brother had to move from where we live, the south, to somewhere cold and shitty - the worst part of america in fact, the midwest.

Anyways, their apartment offers a garage parking situation but again, being the midwest, the apartment garage is regularly broken into and a haven of sorts for crack heads.

They park their daily driver pickup truck in the apartment and the mother's normal car. The s2000 lives in an "car guy" only type of garage.   The rules are very strict and I forget the monthly rate, but I don't blame them. I know the car is paid for, they live in downtown, my brother walks to work, and their doing really well financially.

[hpb]

Guy at work makes around $130k and his wife works, so they do ok.  He's always crying about money and was telling me about his tax return

"I owe $2,400 on taxes this year.  I don't have that kind of money laying around.  Now I have to take it out of my Home equity line. I can't believe they phase out the child credits as they get older, it's just not fair."

Nevermind that he has a brand new sports car and lives in a 3,000+ sq ft house

[MgoSam]

Coworker just informed me that she purchased a $300 cake! for a baby shower! at the expectant mother's request.

Yikes, I see that you're in SF, so that might explain part of the price (as opposed to a lower COL area), but still. I hope that it's the size of a football field.

[MoonShadow]

First time posting. Had to share this.

Recently I was getting on my bike leaving work and heard a car start. Rode past the idling luxury SUV and realized there was no one in it. It was remote started to warm up. It had been idling for a couple of minutes.

It was cold out, January in Canada, but this was in AN UNDERGROUND HEATED PARKADE!!!!

I know this is a small point but the sheer wastefulness of it boggles my mind.

I've literally never seen such a thing in my life, and I've working on construction projects that built public parking garages.  I have had to build heat trace systems to warm the fire extinguishers, water pipes & such in those spaces to above freezing, and the elevator lobbies & stairwells are usually heated to about 50 degrees F (which is why they are such popular hangouts for the homeless in winter; but I have never seen an parkade where the parking space areas themselves were deliberately or directly heated.

You're also in Louisville, Kentucky.

I have lived & worked in many latitudes, but none so high as Canada.  I have known of parking spots that had electric circuits wired to each of them, so that the car owner could plug in an engine block heater; but I have never actually installed these myself.  If I ever do buy a new car, I certainly would get an engine block heater.  They are rare options around here, but it's amazing how quick the engine warms up to a ready-to-defrost-the-windshield temperature when they have been on the block heater for an hour.  As good at using those remote starters for 10 minutes before you leave the house, and likely much cheaper in the long run if you consider the cost of gasoline BTU's versus the cost of electric BTU's.

[nnls]

Coworker just informed me that she purchased a $300 cake! for a baby shower! at the expectant mother's request.

Yikes, I see that you're in SF, so that might explain part of the price (as opposed to a lower COL area), but still. I hope that it's the size of a football field.

Well sure, this is a HCOL area & stuff costs more.  But not usually on the order of 7x more!  That's just outrageous.  Coworker said that it's basically a wedding cake but with baby blue color theme & a little fondant elephant on top.  I bet in the midwest it would still cost $200.  Ok, I'm going to have a little lie-down now; I'm feeling faint from the thought of this cake...

my mate got a cake for her kids 1st birthday that was about $150 which I thought was crazy

[DutchGirl]

Even $40 for a cake seems outrageous to me. But then my mother always baked all cakes herself. Cost her a few hours and some flour and eggs, so to speak. Since I've started living on my own, well, come to think of it, my mother basically still bakes me a birthday cake, ha. I get to eat some when I visit them on or shortly after my birthday. I don't bake or buy them myself.

[FIRE me]

Young male at my workplace, who pays child support on two toddler age children, with different females, and is engaged to marry the Mother of the second child later this year.

Said coworker borrows 5k out his 401k, takes a week of of vacation, and goes to the local casino with 1k in pocket every day. Loses entire 5k, of course.

I'd love to see what he wrote on the 401k loan application for the purpose of the loan. Maybe “vacation”, which I guess that strictly speaking, would be true.

Depending on which company handles the 401k, he may not have had to describe the purpose of the loan at all. He wouldn't be the first person to liquidate long-term assets for mindless consumer stupidity.

It turns out that you're right. I checked the documentation, and loans are available for any general purpose. I thought an approved reason was needed.

The only restrictions seem to be no more than 50% of your balance, no more than two loans per year, no more than two loans active.

So apparently, “piss away Five Grand at the casino” is a perfectly valid use of his 401k. 

[frugalnacho]

Young male at my workplace, who pays child support on two toddler age children, with different females, and is engaged to marry the Mother of the second child later this year.

Said coworker borrows 5k out his 401k, takes a week of of vacation, and goes to the local casino with 1k in pocket every day. Loses entire 5k, of course.

I'd love to see what he wrote on the 401k loan application for the purpose of the loan. Maybe “vacation”, which I guess that strictly speaking, would be true.

Depending on which company handles the 401k, he may not have had to describe the purpose of the loan at all. He wouldn't be the first person to liquidate long-term assets for mindless consumer stupidity.

It turns out that you're right. I checked the documentation, and loans are available for any general purpose. I thought an approved reason was needed.

The only restrictions seem to be no more than 50% of your balance, no more than two loans per year, no more than two loans active.

So apparently, “piss away Five Grand at the casino” is a perfectly valid use of his 401k.

It is his money.  He can take 100% of it out any time he wants.

[nnls]

People at my work all combine money to buy weekly lotto tickets (they put in $50 every 10 weeks) they recently won a little (the equivalent of about $120 each) and have all decided to "reinvest" it in more lotto ticket.

When I pointed out it wasn't really an investment, since they have all contributed about $500 each so far and not actually had any winnings they have withdrawn. They told me it was a similar investment to shares as you could win big or lose everything.

[FIRE me]

So apparently, “piss away Five Grand at the casino” is a perfectly valid use of his 401k.

It is his money.  He can take 100% of it out any time he wants.

Not while he works for the company.

[Squirrel away]

People at my work all combine money to buy weekly lotto tickets (they put in $50 every 10 weeks) they recently won a little (the equivalent of about $120 each) and have all decided to "reinvest" it in more lotto ticket.

When I pointed out it wasn't really an investment, since they have all contributed about $500 each so far and not actually had any winnings they have withdrawn. They told me it was a similar investment to shares as you could win big or lose everything.

Lol. Oh dear.

[shanghaiMMM]

A colleague is going to watch an amateur rugby tournament, which seemed a fairly normal activity, until he mentioned a few costs:

Tickets to get into said amateur event.... $580!!
Add in flights (of course it's not local) ≈ $150

Add in hotel, food, drink etc, it's a $1000 weekend.

The best bit: he went last year, spent the whole time drinking and didn't even watch the matches!

[depogrig]

I was asking one of my coworkers why when I multiply my gross pay by my contribution % the amount showing on my pay stub doesn't match what it should be.  My mistake to ask this guy, he's been here 25+ years. He responds with "yeah it's bull, why does it show that we are paying into it, it's suppose to be them paying into it."  Then he goes on to tell me how as soon as there is enough in his 401k to withdraw he borrows every dollar that he can and files for hardship so he doesn't have to repay it.

I tried to explain that with taxes and the penalty it was a bad idea for him to do that, with him contributing 6% to get the match. I'll make sure I ask payroll questions to payroll next time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LennStar]

I really want to know what the guy counting the votes overheard here to make that "error" ;)

Keane Schwarz is certain he knows the outcome of the vote in his precinct: He was the lone caucusgoer in Woodbury County No. 43.
But the Iowa Democratic Party's final results state that Hillary Clinton won one county delegate and Bernie Sanders received zero.
"I voted for Bernie," Schwarz, 36, of Oto, told The Des Moines Register. “It was really suspicious … I’m actually pretty irate about it.”
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2016/02/06/iowans-claim-instances-when-sanders-shorted-delegates/79902080/

[jamesvt]

A few days ago the topic of retirement came up at work. CW1 mentions how even putting as little as $100 a month into your TSP a month will grow to a large amount over the years.
CW2 said setting up a TSP online is too complicated and doesn't want to deal with it.
What makes this even worse is it's not someone who is computer illiterate, but someone who does pretty complicated processes on computers all day long. I tried telling him how easy it is to set up, but he wasn't hearing it, so I just dropped it.

[zephyr911]

A few days ago the topic of retirement came up at work. CW1 mentions how even putting as little as $100 a month into your TSP a month will grow to a large amount over the years.
CW2 said setting up a TSP online is too complicated and doesn't want to deal with it.
What makes this even worse is it's not someone who is computer illiterate, but someone who does pretty complicated processes on computers all day long. I tried telling him how easy it is to set up, but he wasn't hearing it, so I just dropped it.

Eh, at least there's FERS for people like that. Most of my coworkers are prior service, content to work till their 60s and retire on military pension, maybe VA disability,, SS, and FERS annuities, and as long as they don't end up indigent as a result, I'm cool with it.
It seems dumb to me but at least it's basically responsible.

[kimmarg]

A few days ago the topic of retirement came up at work. CW1 mentions how even putting as little as $100 a month into your TSP a month will grow to a large amount over the years.
CW2 said setting up a TSP online is too complicated and doesn't want to deal with it.
What makes this even worse is it's not someone who is computer illiterate, but someone who does pretty complicated processes on computers all day long. I tried telling him how easy it is to set up, but he wasn't hearing it, so I just dropped it.

You don't even need online access to TSP. I don't.  I filled out the form to contribute when I got hired and haven't touched it since.  I keep meaning to set it up but why bother when my contributions go in fine without it.

[GuitarStv]

A colleague is going to watch an amateur rugby tournament, which seemed a fairly normal activity, until he mentioned a few costs:

Tickets to get into said amateur event.... $580!!
Add in flights (of course it's not local) ≈ $150

Add in hotel, food, drink etc, it's a $1000 weekend.

The best bit: he went last year, spent the whole time drinking and didn't even watch the matches!

Holy fuck.

[jamesvt]

Eh, at least there's FERS for people like that. Most of my coworkers are prior service, content to work till their 60s and retire on military pension, maybe VA disability,, SS, and FERS annuities, and as long as they don't end up indigent as a result, I'm cool with it.
It seems dumb to me but at least it's basically responsible.

My coworker is military so if you don't set up a TSP allotment through MyPay nothing will get contributed to TSP. He is also not planning on doing 20 years so it's not like he will have a pension to look forward to. I forgot to mention this coworker plans on re enlisting and using the around $75k bonus in which you get half up front to pay off credit card debt(good) and use the rest to put down on a fully loaded 2016 F-250 with a MSRP of around $50k. He also only makes between $45-50k a year.

[zephyr911]

Oh, never mind then.
He's a fuckin' retard.

[pancakes]

We were chatting about savings at work with a colleague who is always trying but not managing to start saving.

It came out that their household (two people) use 3-4 rolls of paper towel a week and 6-8 rolls of toilet paper, all premium branded.

They are spending almost $800 a year in paper that they buy to throw away.

[MrDelane]

6-8 rolls of toilet paper, all premium branded. 

If they are using that much a week, just imagine what their food bills must be.

[frugalnacho]

6-8 rolls of toilet paper, all premium branded. 

If they are using that much a week, just imagine what their food bills must be.

Maybe they have digestive issues?  I probably go through 4-6 rolls of tp per week just myself.  Maybe they are just wasteful, but how do you go through tp other than using it for it's designated purpose?

[pancakes]

I was trying to get to the bottom (haha) of it but couldn't work it out. It sounded a bit like they used toilet paper for purposes outside of the toilet like removing make-up & wiping up spills?

[dragoncar]

6-8 rolls of toilet paper, all premium branded. 

If they are using that much a week, just imagine what their food bills must be.

Maybe they have digestive issues?  I probably go through 4-6 rolls of tp per week just myself.  Maybe they are just wasteful, but how do you go through tp other than using it for it's designated purpose?

Before I got married, toilet paper was a cheaper alternative to tissue paper (I guess you pay extra to have them pre-cut the squares for you?).   Women also use it to wad up around tampons, possibly for makeup related things, etc. 

Anyways, how much do you poop?  1 roll per day implies like hourly pooping, right?

[arebelspy]

Before I got married, toilet paper was a cheaper alternative to tissue paper (I guess you pay extra to have them pre-cut the squares for you?).

Did they change the price for some reason after you got married?  Is there a marriage discount for Kleenex I never learned about?