I'm still a worker bee... but it is Thursday during the most dead week of the year. I think I'm one of the rare people who is still pretending to do work 
Anyway, on to my question. I was just wondering if anyone had any insight into why most people seem to turn off their brains when it comes to financial discussions / issues?
Examples of what I mean:
1. At Christmas, it came up a few times that my wife and I are planning on retiring in 10 years to go sailing (at age 40). A few young people asked a little about how we were going to do that, but for the most part we got two replies: "Yeah right, we'll see" and "Wish I could have been so lucky". Talking about the actual money seemed to make people very uncomfortable.
2. My parents were paying (and still are) huge fees on their managed under-performing retirement accounts. I suggested and explained why they should take a little time to move those accounts to index funds. They agreed it was probably a good idea... and did nothing.
3. A couple I know retired at around age 55 with about $250k in retirement funds. Their expenses are around $40k per year (and they have a $15k pension.. withdrawing around 25k per year). They complain that they're worried if they'll make it to social security age before the money runs out. It is mentioned that the SS money won't be enough to cover the gap, and they say they'll figure it out. They don't conserve, they don't plan, they just keep trucking along, spending that money down.
I'm sure everyone else has examples of the same types of things. So why are people so uncomfortable thinking / talking about money? I'm not trying to say this in a nasty "those stupid people" way, but because it genuinely confuses me. If someone said "My wife and I paid off our house last year", I'd certainly be interested in knowing how they did it, how long have they been paying extra, etc. I find that interesting, so it is hard for me to understand why others don't care.
Now if I was talking about woodworking, I could understand. Not everyone cares about woodworking, and it doesn't affect most people. If they don't know the difference between a maple and an oak cutting board, it probably won't make a difference in their life. However, this is money we're talking about.. a pretty important part of life. Yet people shake their head as if money were this fascinating but far too complicated thing for them to worry about.
Finally, my guesses as to why people don't like to think / talk about finances:
1. Embarrassed that they don't know much. So many people are ignorant, but assume that others aren't. So if I start talking about interest rates, and they don't understand interest rates, they want to change the subject, to avoid looking like a fool.
2. People hiding their head in the sand to avoid thinking about something terrible. Somewhat like a person with cancer who doesn't want to talk about it. They figure they're somewhat doomed, are hoping that it will just "go away", and they don't want to deal with it anymore.
3. Without a basis in math / economics, perhaps finances really are more complex than they seem to me. To me, I understand that if I have a bank account paying 5% interest, and I have a car loan charging 3% interest, I may as well keep my extra money in the bank account, rather than paying off the car loan (with exceptions of course, such as credit rating, etc). Anyway, perhaps to others, this is vastly complicated, similar to speaking in Greek about nanotechnology limitations.
4. Grew up being told that finances are "personal" business, somewhat like nudity. I know many people who have said that their parents never told them how much they earned, how much they had, etc. I know most people I know never talk about what their salaries are, bonuses, etc. I might hear "I got a good raise", or "Last year he got a 10% bonus, but it was 20% this year!!".. but rarely actual numbers. In fact, when I do hear numbers, often they say it under their breath, as if they're afraid that someone else will hear that they have a 5.5% mortgage rate.. like this knowledge is some dire secret.
Anyway, I managed to spend some of my extra time. Anyone have any ideas / feedback?
Anyway, on to my question. I was just wondering if anyone had any insight into why most people seem to turn off their brains when it comes to financial discussions / issues?
Examples of what I mean:
1. At Christmas, it came up a few times that my wife and I are planning on retiring in 10 years to go sailing (at age 40). A few young people asked a little about how we were going to do that, but for the most part we got two replies: "Yeah right, we'll see" and "Wish I could have been so lucky". Talking about the actual money seemed to make people very uncomfortable.
2. My parents were paying (and still are) huge fees on their managed under-performing retirement accounts. I suggested and explained why they should take a little time to move those accounts to index funds. They agreed it was probably a good idea... and did nothing.
3. A couple I know retired at around age 55 with about $250k in retirement funds. Their expenses are around $40k per year (and they have a $15k pension.. withdrawing around 25k per year). They complain that they're worried if they'll make it to social security age before the money runs out. It is mentioned that the SS money won't be enough to cover the gap, and they say they'll figure it out. They don't conserve, they don't plan, they just keep trucking along, spending that money down.
I'm sure everyone else has examples of the same types of things. So why are people so uncomfortable thinking / talking about money? I'm not trying to say this in a nasty "those stupid people" way, but because it genuinely confuses me. If someone said "My wife and I paid off our house last year", I'd certainly be interested in knowing how they did it, how long have they been paying extra, etc. I find that interesting, so it is hard for me to understand why others don't care.
Now if I was talking about woodworking, I could understand. Not everyone cares about woodworking, and it doesn't affect most people. If they don't know the difference between a maple and an oak cutting board, it probably won't make a difference in their life. However, this is money we're talking about.. a pretty important part of life. Yet people shake their head as if money were this fascinating but far too complicated thing for them to worry about.
Finally, my guesses as to why people don't like to think / talk about finances:
1. Embarrassed that they don't know much. So many people are ignorant, but assume that others aren't. So if I start talking about interest rates, and they don't understand interest rates, they want to change the subject, to avoid looking like a fool.
2. People hiding their head in the sand to avoid thinking about something terrible. Somewhat like a person with cancer who doesn't want to talk about it. They figure they're somewhat doomed, are hoping that it will just "go away", and they don't want to deal with it anymore.
3. Without a basis in math / economics, perhaps finances really are more complex than they seem to me. To me, I understand that if I have a bank account paying 5% interest, and I have a car loan charging 3% interest, I may as well keep my extra money in the bank account, rather than paying off the car loan (with exceptions of course, such as credit rating, etc). Anyway, perhaps to others, this is vastly complicated, similar to speaking in Greek about nanotechnology limitations.
4. Grew up being told that finances are "personal" business, somewhat like nudity. I know many people who have said that their parents never told them how much they earned, how much they had, etc. I know most people I know never talk about what their salaries are, bonuses, etc. I might hear "I got a good raise", or "Last year he got a 10% bonus, but it was 20% this year!!".. but rarely actual numbers. In fact, when I do hear numbers, often they say it under their breath, as if they're afraid that someone else will hear that they have a 5.5% mortgage rate.. like this knowledge is some dire secret.
Anyway, I managed to spend some of my extra time. Anyone have any ideas / feedback?
