I was trying to answer some questions a coworker had about our retirement benefits, and I quickly realized she's more clueless than she lets on -- to the point that she could not even tell me whether or not she was saving in a taxable or pretax account. Our conversation went something like this:
Me: (having just explained that we have a 403b and a 457b option, and they're both mediocre, but better than nothing)
Her: I do invest, but not through work. I just bought Disney stock, and that's been kind of fun!
Me: If it's not through work, is it in an IRA? That would mean you can only save $6,000 a year. The 403b and 457 will let you save $18K a year each.
Her: It's a Fidelity account.
Me: What kind of account?
Her: Um, just Fidelity? It's nice, though, because I get a little deposit every month. Not much, but it should be more over time. It's just fun money. (points to earrings) Disney went up last month.
Me: Dividends? You should reinvest those. Is it a taxable account?
Her: I told you, it's a Fidelity. Maybe an IRA? I don't know.
Me: I gotta go.
I really did need to go, but "It's a Fidelity" makes me think that she really doesn't know much. But, what would she be getting every month? She made it sound like money is getting deposited into her checking account every month, which seems odd.