I miss having people to talk about finances with

[gwix98]

Consider the Morningstar Community Forums.
Some pretty sharp folks on there.

 

[Rick_CFP7]

Although the vast majority of postings are from those retired, as a professional I too enjoy talking finance with my colleagues/friends. Might I suggest you look at joining a local FPA (Financial Planning Assoc.) chapter or AAII (American Assoc. Individual Investor). With everything virtual, you can get a taste of the topics, and eventually get your fill of all thing financial when we get back in-person. No selling going on, just collaborating.

 

[imnontrad]

Here's some things you could try:
1) See if there is a local chapter of AAII. They may not be meeting in person right now but may have Zoom meetings (I listen in on one monthly meeting in San Diego).
2) If you are on Facebook, join one of the many groups for finance/financial independence. Maybe you'll be one of the "elders" helping those still on the journey.
3) See if there are any finance related Meetup groups in your area.
4) Some organizations may have a "side group" of people interested in investing/finance. I saw one of those in my area as a side group of a retired military officers organization.
5) Consider taking free courses online via coursera about finance, investing and real estate. You may "meet" other students and develop long distance relationships there.

 

[Reese]

I think there's meetup.com. You can certainly try reddit to see if you can find some like minded people who want to talk about finances and investing . This forum is a wonderful resource itself.

+1 Reddit can be like the wild wild west but if you find the right sub you can have some great conversation. Just don't have thin skin or take some of the comments personally...

 

[JoeWras]

+1 Reddit can be like the wild wild west but if you find the right sub you can have some great conversation. Just don't have thin skin or take some of the comments personally...

Also, you haven't really lived and experienced Reddit until you've been downvoted into oblivion at least once.

I made an innocent post on a TV show subreddit, and got about -90 karma in 1 hour. Gotta thicken the skin.

 

[bzribee]

I post in this forum, bogleheads, and mmm forum. In person, I am planning to attend some of the local bogleheads meetups once the virus goes away.

Some of the local Bogleheads groups that used to meet in person are now meeting online and may continue that after the virus. Our (CA) group went to monthly meetings for awhile but now are back to every other month. Since it's virtual, we have folks joining us from AZ, CO and even Mexico occasionally. You can go to bogleheads.org and find a local or not so local group and test out those waters...

 

[rodi]

You never worked as an engineer, so no, you don't get to say that you "think like one". If only because the shallow stereotype of "thinks like an engineer" is meaningless and kinda insulting.

"thinks like an engineer" is a real thing. I'm married to a former architect who thinks like an engineer. He really should have been a civil or structural engineer.

I'm sorry you had crappy interactions with some F.A's... I've had a similar reaction from an HR rep when I reversed engineered their ridiculous bonus for extra hours program (that actually paid less/hour the more hours you worked.) She skoffed and said "of course it's an engineer who figures this out. Um yeah, she was talking about my paycheck AND it was an engineering/tech company. She was an idiot. She thought she was insulting me because I 'thought like an engineer". I took it as a compliment for exposing (because I shared the disincentive structure with my fellow engineers once I'd confirmed it.)

Please don't be so quick to dismiss someone who hasn't worked 40 years in engineering. They can still 'think like an engineer".

 

[Almost There 2021]

I think you have touched on a point easy to remedy. Have you ever heard of Seeking Alpha? The site has authors who present many finance articles on a daily basis. After reading folks are enticed and enjoy commenting on the article which then leads folks to speak to each other. Some very good financial information , commentary and discussion.

Give it a try. I am sure the folks on the newsletter would also be interested as it brings on many viewers and advertisements.

I'm in.....

 

[jazz4cash]

I had an additional thought on the topic of engineers and investing. Somehow I managed to graduate high school without a single economics class. My first exposure was Engineering Economics freshmen year. It was the classic case study of planning and construction of a river crossing (bridge, tunnel, ferry?). It accounted for income streams from tolls and cost to finance via bonds. PV, FV, discount rate, etc. The financial analysis stirred an interest within me to invest and grow my money. No one anywhere in my extended family ever owned or invested in stocks. That awakening occurred in senior year when I went on interviews and noticed one employer had monitors mounted in the office to display their stock price.

 

[davidfin]

Continuing financial discussions with former colleagues

Beginning shortly after FIRE, I established a monthly happy hour with several former colleagues to discuss financial topics. Since COVID, we’ve moved to weekly ZOOM meetings. Works well for us.

 

[Almost There 2021]

First comment on Finance. Be very careful until the Jan.5 Senate race in GA.is over. Could be major turbulance if the blue wave takes over but I will be well situated with cash I am harvesting now.

OK if I am wrong as a retiree as I am not giving back some significant gains this year.
There will always be opportunities..

GL