Is this the place?

E

ER Man

Recycles dryer sheets
Joined
Sep 23, 2011
Messages
112
Hi, I am fairly new here and I want to know if its safe to put my personal financial information on this forum and get some advice?
 
Hi, and welcome to the ER Forum. :)

Anything you post here is available publicly on the internet. Anyone could read it, and it is always possible that someone might figure out who you are as well.

So, if that bothers you then I can certainly understand why you might be hesitant to post such information here. Not only that, but there are no guarantees as to the quality of response you might or might not receive.

Also, be careful about those who might solicit you privately to invest or spend your money in certain ways (and please report any such attempts to the moderator team). We do not allow this type of private messages to our members by spammers or others who wish to profit from our members.
 
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ER Man, the moderators here can see the ip address from which you posted and accessd this site. There is not much exposure there. As far as I know (and moderators or others correct me if I am wrong) you are "generally" anonymous here. However, if you use the same user name "Er Man" here and on other sites, somebody with some modicum of free time on his/her hands who accesses other sites to which you might subscribe may take information posted here and from other sites and put two and two together to identify you (at least to some degree), but this is unlikely, as most here have other priorities. Anyway, overwhelming advice is to use different user names on different sites.

Other than that, it is probably pretty safe -- as long as you remain anonymous.
 
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REWahoo said:
You don't necessarily have to remain anonymous as long as you post only your SS#, account #s, pin #s, and passwords. :)
Click to expand...
And you've now met REW, our beloved Comedian Emeritus...
 
I had an experience where a former coworker posted here and after two or three posts, I sent him a PM and welcomed him to the site. I think it kind of freaked him out, as he has not reposted, or now posts under a different name, more carefully.

So, welcome and tell us all your details.
 
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Hi ER Man, I'm new here too, and had the same concerns about posting my financial info. But, the advice and experience of the people here is very valuable, so I decided to risk it. Don't mention the city you live in, the company you work for, or anything else that someone you know could recognize to identify you. And, as others said, if you use ER Man on other boards, you should use something else on here.
 
CantThinkofAUserName said:
as others said, if you use ER Man on other boards, you should use something else on here.
Click to expand...

Since multiple accounts are not generally allowed on this board, just contact one of the mods or admins and ask for your username to be changed (if that is desired for reasons of privacy).

I am always amazed when new members post the size of their nestegg and net worth on the board. Apparently they don't mind doing it, but I haven't posted those specific numbers because for me it just seems like too much to reveal. I guess long time members can probably guess pretty accurately even so.
 
W2R said:
I am always amazed when new members post the size of their nestegg and net worth on the board. Apparently they don't mind doing it, but I haven't posted those specific numbers because for me it just seems like too much to reveal.
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Nor have you posted a photo of your RV...
 

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ER Man said:
Hi, I am fairly new here and I want to know if its safe to put my personal financial information on this forum and get some advice?
Click to expand...

Advise based on generalities will be very general advise.

OTOH, I wouldn't post anything that I'd hate for the neighbors or a friend to know. Identities are figured out from time to time. But info such as my 50/50 AA, buy and hold outlook, a few specific equities I own, strategy for collecting SS and that sort of thing seem harmless enough. Lots of folks not on this forum already know those things about me.

A secondary consideration is that once you let specific info regarding your net worth, pension/SS amounts and similar details out, you'll always be considered and treated with that info in mind here on the forum.
 
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Look through some threads and you'll see some people post using percentages rather than numbers (like "17% of my nest egg is in Beaver Cheese Futures, is this safe?" rather than $132,000 is in Beaver Cheese Futures).

And also to be taken with a grain of salt is the advice you'll receive in response, like any advice from anyone--it can be really helpful and most posters have no vested interest whatsoever in what they suggest, but still, we're an anonymous message board, so good to consider any recommendations in light of your own situation and level of risk.
 
FinanceDude said:
So, the FBI, Witness Protection, and the Mafioso?? :)
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Don't forget where I live. The Precinct Captain, the Ward Boss, the Alderman and the guys puffing on cigars in the "smokey back room" are the ones I try to keep from knowing much........... They control everything!
 
Bestwifeever said:
Look through some threads and you'll see some people post using percentages rather than numbers (like "17% of my nest egg is in Beaver Cheese Futures, is this safe?" rather than $132,000 is in Beaver Cheese Futures).

And also to be taken with a grain of salt is the advice you'll receive in response, like any advice from anyone--it can be really helpful and most posters have no vested interest whatsoever in what they suggest, but still, we're an anonymous message board, so good to consider any recommendations in light of your own situation and level of risk.
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Uh, that's Venezuelan Beaver Cheese Futures, if you don't mind.
 
MichaelB said:
Uh, that's Venezuelan Beaver Cheese Futures, if you don't mind.
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Ooops!!!! And should someone choose the generic Beaver Cheese futures over the Venezuelan, I shudder to think what would happen to the portfolio, not to mention how it would throw off the Beaver Cheese asset allocation.
 
REWahoo said:
And we plan on using that information to report you to the...uh...turn you in to the...uh...to rent movies from Netflix in your name! :)
Click to expand...

Netflix raised their price and their stocks have plunged lately.
 
W2R said:
I am always amazed when new members post the size of their nestegg and net worth on the board. Apparently they don't mind doing it, but I haven't posted those specific numbers because for me it just seems like too much to reveal. I guess long time members can probably guess pretty accurately even so.
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I think I posted my net worth in one of my first posts, and also posted the amount of an inheritance more recently so anyone who wanted to, could figure out my approximate net worth. The fact that others known to me might come across this information doesn't concern me.

However, I'm much more careful about posting details of disagreements etc. with close friends and family members. I'd hate for them to be casually reading one of my posts and figure out that it's them I'm talking about. Pretty slim chance of that happening, but I wouldn't want to take that risk.
 
When I was working, I always thought employee compensation should be public among the employees. Some small companies have tried to do this. It would make things more fun:cool:.
 
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