Talking about "it"

[LRS]

... where "it" is your pot o' gold.

Another person's post made me think about this. The poster basically said he felt uncomfortable posting details like how much money he had invested, etc.

That seems really sensible to me. After all, we're all trained from birth to refrain from talking about money, and people who blab on about their wealth are worse than bores, right? Well, except for all of us, that is--we talk about nothing else (except sticking nails into pee-pees and things like that.)

My feeling is, there is nobody else I can talk to about money, except my husband. It would be grossly impolite to bring it up among my friends, some of whom are in serious debt and others of whom are struggling to survive on meager government pensions. Various of my family members have first hand experience with bankruptcy. One of my sisters was heard to say she didn't know how much money her husband has invested, and she doesn't want to know. It's not "nice."

Needless to say nobody wants to hear about my plans to retire in ... let's see, this is Feb., so it's now 4.7 years away. Yet obviously, I am somewhat obsessed with the subject. So I blab my most secret intimate financial details to a million random strangers. I guess it is a little strange, isn't it?

 

[OldAgePensioner]

LRS,
OK. Out with it. How much ya got!

On this board we discuss weight, amount of lead pencil, and golf balls where the sun don't shine.

Who knows, if you got some land and a tractor, you may get a proposal.

 

[HFWR]

Forty acres and a mule...

 

[SC]

Yet obviously, I am somewhat obsessed with the subject. So I blab my most secret intimate financial details to a million random strangers. I guess it is a little strange, isn't it?

Great observation. I also don't discuss "it" with anyone except my wife (hmm, that could be interpreted wrong - we're still talking about money, right? ), for the reasons you gave and more. Sort of like the "What do you tell people when they ask what you do" thread that appears from time to time.

Here, you know folks are in the same boat (or planning/wishing to be), so it's "safe." Yeah, it's pretty strange when you think about it, but we're lucky such a place exists. Kudos to Dory36 and our fine moderators.

 

[mickeyd]

Oh, I was hoping that "it" was the other "it" that is fun to talk about and fun to participate in. However the other "it" has short term returns that do not reoccur as often as they usta. And your "it" is generally refering to long term.

I suppose you could say that is a good example of negative correlation.

 

[Nords]

My feeling is, there is nobody else I can talk to about money, except my husband.

I don't mind discussing money with all the posters on this board.

It's the lurkers & Google with whom I object to financially skinny-dipping.

 

[REWahoo]

So I tell the reporter from Bloomberg that I thought we had enough to last until we were in our 90's. He asks "How much is that?" and learns I'm not comfortable revealing that information.

Now if he had belived me when I said my name was Richard E. Wahoo...

 

[wildcat]

LRS -

I suppose it could be me you are referring to from a pervious thread.  The difference here is that you remain anonymous.  Telling friends, extended family, neighbors, co-workers, strangers, etc. how much you have or about ER plans A) kind of goes against my introverted personality and my preference to keep details of my life to a very few close people and B) makes you a target to those people you tell.  

What good can come of it?  I know many of you ERs that are open about it have experienced the following - been contacted by financial "professionals", asked to do favors because you have all this free time, maybe have family members or friends who now expect you to pick up the tabs (because you have more money), have co-workers who dislike you because maybe you are getting ahead of them or try to talk you out of anything that may allow you to ER, been approached with various "business" plans by your spouse's 2nd 3rd cousin you didn't even know existed and the list goes on....When I try to come with a list of positives I don't get very far.  Recognition maybe?

Just food for thought and this doesn't really apply to us mortals but it is interesting nonetheless.  Eddie Lampert, a billionaire, is often seen on the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest people.  This past year, a group of young men kidnapped and held him at gunpoint for hours because they knew how much money he was worth.   How did they find out about Eddie? - Forbes magazine.

 

[TomSimpsonAZ]

Yes, I like to remain totally anony.......DAMNIT!

 

[grumpy]

I don't feel the reluctance to talk about how much of a nest egg I have. I don't have enough to make me a kidnap target. My family knows how much I have and that I worked damn hard to get it and keep it so they don't expect any handouts. I feel proud of what I have been able to accomplish in reaching FIRE. If it helps someone on the board planning for FIRE to know how much I have invested in a given asset class, how much I spend, what my net worth is, etc. I don't mind answering.

Grumpy

 

[JPatrick]

I'll even tell you where my special mole is

 

[Dogcliff]

(except sticking nails into pee-pees and things like that.)

?!?

Excuse me?

dc

 

[brewer12345]

So I tell the reporter from Bloomberg that I thought we had enough to last until we were in our 90's.  He asks "How much is that?" and learns I'm not comfortable revealing that information. 

Now if he had belived me when I said my name was Richard E. Wahoo...

Heheh, I use the name Heywood Jahblowme whenever I am asked by someone who doesn't need to know. I've even gotten mail in that name.

Heywood has a cousin: Harry Gnutsack. Harry will be getting some publc exposure soon, too.

 

[Jane_Doe]

LRS -

I have to agree with Nords - I don't mind disclosing this financial info to the regulars here, but the thought of any lurker or web surfer somehow figuring my identity freaks me out a bit.  

Why not start a POLL about it    EVERYBODY likes POLLS!  (No - CFB Not the ones for strippers   - sorry!)  

Just my two cents worth
Jane

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I use the name Heywood Jahblowme

I still get spam email for haywood, who I use for bullshit registrations. It was funny the first 200 times starting 7-8 years ago.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Why not start a POLL about it EVERYBODY likes POLLS! (No - CFB Not the ones for strippers - sorry!)

Jane, you and everyone else can count on a comprehensive set of polls coming to a theater near you, and soon!

I have a plan.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

 

[sgeeeee]

... where "it" is . . . my most secret intimate . . . details to a million random strangers. I guess it is a little strange, isn't it?

Only if some hacker cuts out most of the post and makes an otherwise intelligent post seem obscene.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

We need a little unnecessary censorship around here

 

[Nords]

We need a little unnecessary censorship around here

Moderator here, how may I help you?

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Censor me unnecessarily please.

 

[REWahoo]

Censor me unnecessarily please.

It was good for me, was is good for you?

 

[mathjak107]

well since its my article current running in money magazine in the makeover column i have to tell you my first reaction was i didnt want that info displayed for all to see...but then when i really thought about the well why not? i really coudnt come up with a valid answere...as long as it was in the interest of those people who read the magazine and these kind of articles to read them to get ideas,and to see how others are doing it i saw nothing wrong....i wouldnt just blab it around the office but in the interest of helping interested people or getting better ideas from others for myself ,it was all a go....

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

its always good for me.

Dont make me post a really, really long link...

 

[Sheryl]

Good topic (does anyone mind if I go back to it? : )

The only people I talk to about how much $ I have are my S.O. and my Dad.

I don't mind discussing things generally here, but don't feel a need to spell out my exact net worth. Anyone who REALLY wanted to know could piece it together from various posts, but who cares that much?

I don't talk about "it" IRL because (a) friends resent it, (b) partners worry I will be quitting soon (c) coworkers and friends constantly give me grief about being "cheap," living in a small, old, somewhat run-down house, and driving a 9 yr-old Toyota when I have plenty of money to upgrade.

The obvious answer is, "But if I did that, then I wouldn't HAVE plenty of money, now would I?" This somehow just does not compute. It seems to be impossible for about 80% of the people I know to understand that if you spend less, you save more, and then you have more.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I tried "show you mine if you'll show me yours" here when i first joined up years ago, figuring "whats the big deal".

Posted my name, where I used to work, how much money I had, etc.

No takers. Ended up just deleting it.