Comments on: Why Is Money Taboo?

By: Ebony

Ebony — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:15:12 +0000

The problem is that people in this country think that salary is a person’s worth. I admit I’m touchy about how little I make. A guy in my carpool said I was lucky because I get to keep 80% of the money I made. this made me angry is the reason I get taxed less is because I don’t make that much. The guy who made that statement probably makes about 10X more than I do.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 01:51:58 +0000

Great post, I completely agree about sharing finances.

I’m actually about the unveil my own finances on my own blog for several reasons, one of which is to begin breaking down this taboo which is completely unproductive.

Ryan @ Plantingdollars

By: CFO Scott

CFO Scott — Sun, 31 May 2009 01:51:37 +0000

I’m a money-person myself and agree that haggling can be effective. But as a business owner, I don’t always appreciate the notion of an employee discussing his or her salary. I suppose it could be beneficial, but some companies consider it unethical to “talk shop” in that way.

Still, perhaps it’s going to be a new wave of the future. If so, we’ll just have to get accustomed to operating in a more transparent way when it comes to our annual pays.

Scott
http://www.financialfuturecfo.com/blog

By: ontrider

ontrider — Wed, 20 May 2009 00:41:51 +0000

I don’t think it hurts for people to ask for a deal, but I wouldn’t want to be the guy asking to buy the $10.99 item for $8.99 all the time… I’d rather just pay the money and save the haggling for larger items. Contractors are another good one for bargaining with. A lot of the time they just throw a number out knowing it is inflated and most people don’t know any better and just pay it. I’ve seen large jobs 18-20K get 5K knocked off them in about a minute of bargaining… that’s where you can save some real money!

Personally I don’t like discussing salary or income with people I don’t know that well because it makes me uncomfortable and I don’t think it’s relevant. I also don’t like people judging me based on my financial status whether I am rich or poor. I had a girl ask me some rather prodding financial questions on a first date once which really irritated me. Discussing salary at work or with co-workers I think is a bad idea unless you are secure with what you’re making. I had a job once where I stumbled upon the department payroll and seeing what some people made vs. others can be really irritating when you know what they actually do around the place and would be enough to drive you crazy. haha.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:05:51 +0000

Thanks for the comment! You’d be amazed what people will do if you are nice and ask. Even if they can’t lower the price, they may have an extra coupon lying around that you didn’t know about!

And to clarify, I am against talking about salaries in the work place or with co-workers. It can create hostility.

By: FunFrugalMom

FunFrugalMom — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:56:14 +0000

This is a thought-provoking post. I was always under the assumption that salespeople didn’t have the authority to lower a price. Like in department stores.

I also remember, when I worked in an office, that it was against the rules to discuss your salary. I’m guessing that benefits the employer. Uprisings happen when the masses find out what the real deal is.

I also think that many people associate the amount of money they earn with their value as a person, so they avoid disclosing that information out of fear of appearing inferior to others.