Financial transparency
How do you feel about financial transparency? Do the people around you know how much you owe and how much you own? Your net worth? Salary?
Are you comfortable with those ideas?
I’m guessing that for most of us, the answers are no.
Even in the pf blogging world, I suspect many of us don’t share that kind of information with those around us in real life (unless those around us are also readers, and then they read what we choose to share on our blogs.)
It’s still pretty taboo to talk about money in that way. At work, people don’t want to discuss salary because it’s too easy to make comparisons. (And in some cases they’ve signed agreements not to.)
Of course employers don’t want their employees comparing numbers — it could cause havoc. Although there are some jobs where salaries are public knowledge. Not surprisingly, salary increases in those types of jobs are often much more regimented.
I’d probably be willing to talk about it in person if someone asked (depending on who was asking), but since it’s also taboo to ask that kind of information, chances are I won’t share.
But I wonder, what if all of that information was popular knowledge? Could you imagine knowing your coworker was $50,000 in debt and had no assets at all? Or what about if they had a net worth of $1,000,000 and no debt at all?
I think that would definitely color interactions among people. It might also motivate some people to change. On the other hand, if I were a millionaire I don’t think I’d want every random person knowing it.
Maybe slightly more financial transparency would be an improvement, but not that level.
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June 26th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
At my previous job, I did discuss my salary with a close friend and it deal lead to problems. The only insurance for keeping things less competitive is to keep things to yourself.
Jerry
June 27th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
I imagine that talking to a coworker about salary is a recipe for disaster. So unless someone honestly needs to know your salary in order to get an idea of what kind of raise he/she needs, I would avoid disclosing that sort of thing.
That said, none of my friends talk about income. We discuss PT/FT work, but I have no idea what they make. Well, I have a very general idea. And none of them are hurting for money.
On the other hand, Tim and I are struggling right now. So I do talk about money on my site. Well, I mean exact amounts of money. And in talking to friends, it does sometimes come up these days. Mostly if I feel like something needs to be put in context.
I think money is too loaded a subject for most people to broach. Frankly, while I might be a tad envious, I don’t care if my friends make a ton of money. They work hard, and, by and large, they spend wisely.
Honestly, I think we all need to be a little more open about salary — just not with people we work with. I grew up having no idea what my parents made. I think I asked my mom once and she sort of brushed me off. I know for a fact she’d never answer others who asked what she made. (“Oh the usual: A little less than I think I’m worth and a little more than they think I’m worth.” It’s a great deflection technique.)
But money has so much emotion tied to it, it’s an explosive subject. If you try to advise a friend who is a spender and constantly in debt, you get resentment. If you say nothing, you get to hear about their woes. But no one will talk hard numbers, because somehow it’s tacky. I think we’re secretly all afraid of two things: 1. We’ll make a lot more and our friends will get distant and angry; 2. We’ll make less than our friends and we’ll wonder why they’re worth more.
June 29th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
I think that’s a good point about maybe being more open about money within our own families. Especially in the case of kids going to college, it’d be good for them to know what kind of support they might or might not be able to count on.