Of course, because of the unwritten code in our social circles, "thou shall not discuss finances" it would be a taboo subject around here with friends.
I mentioned that we paid off our house to my mother-in-law thinking she'd appreciate how diligent we are with our finances. Big mistake. Suddenly this is out to the entire family. At a family gathering cousin's wife then mentions how nice it must be to make all this money and have all this disposable cash in a really snarky way. You'd think people would be happy for us. Instead I found out that people are pretty angry they haven't done the same and may be years away from doing the same. Of course our house was inexpensive, we are frugal in many ways, have no children, and don't do 'weekend girls trips to the beach'.
I'd recommend keeping that info to yourself or on here. People are strange when they learn about your finances.
I know exactly what you're talking about. My own parents were smart with their money, paid off house, retired early etc. So when I met DH, whose family was not very well off, his sister immediately took my parents money to mean I had money.
Ummm, nope, my parents don't believe in giving away their money, they still need it. She made snarky comments for years after DH and I were married about implying our money was given to us.
For anyone who has worked for their money that is freakin offensive. We both worked full time, built our own house stopped at two kids (although I wouldn't have minded a houseful) and saved while she has made less than stellar choices as a single mom.
This cat will not be getting out of the bag, which is why I am happy to find this forum. Lots of people who think like we do, that's rare in the "real world".
