Who do you talk with about finances

[bjl584]

Other than my wife, no one really knows too many details about our finances.
The people on here know more about my finances, at least the long term members
I have a friend who is a savvy investor, and he and I trade investing ideas, but we never get too personal about the actual numbers.

[disneysteve]

My wife, our current accountant, our former accountant who is a good friend of ours, my wife's cousin who is also the CFP we've used, and the good folks here and on the early retirement forum. There is one member (of both sites) in particular with whom I discuss things in great detail on a regular basis (via email), and they do the same with me. We've gotten very friendly over the years.

That's it. Other than that, unfortunately talking about money is so screwed up in our society that I don't get into it with anyone. Just last night we were at a party with my college friends and at one point we were discussing something where mentioning our finances would have been very relevant to the conversation but I just nodded my head and continued talking without any input about our money. It's a shame that the world is like that but it is.

[Stump1000]

Mostly just my spouse too. Talking numbers with friends always feels a bit awkward.

[kork13]

Sometimes my brothers. Somewhat regularly with my father. Occasionally some of the folks in my unit at work. It's mostly in generality, unless they have specific questions ... But I'm open about being a finance nerd & happy to discuss money issues. My unit is mostly young folks (19-25 y/o's), so they're actually more open to discussing finances because they want to learn. Though I've also noticed generally that younger folks seem more open (in general terms) to discuss just about any topic with fewer inhibitions than folks my age or older.

[disneysteve]

I've also noticed generally that younger folks seem more open (in general terms) to discuss just about any topic with fewer inhibitions than folks my age or older.

Thankfully, many of the taboo topics of older generations are dying out. The world would be such a better place if people were more open and transparent about things like money and healthcare and relationships. Keeping secrets rarely makes things better.

[Drake3287]

Yep, I'm another who has never talked about finances to anyone other than my wife, broker and estate attorney. My adult kids and the rest of my family have no idea about financial picture although I can tell they must wonder just based on what they see from our spending. I tend to be the millionaire next door that no one suspects and I like it that way.

[ua_guy]

Mostly my spouse, and occasionally bouncing general ideas off the forum here. We use an accountant who knows our financial picture, but he does our taxes, and that's it. We recently hired a CFP, and I jokingly said each conversation is like financial therapy. I can finally openly ask questions of someone with professional experience and who can help strategize, versus relay an anecdotal experience / their own situation.

I don't talk money with friends, and it's a taboo topic in our family (improper). Definitely never with colleagues/coworkers.

[cypher1]

General questions about financial literacy or investment vehicles I have no problem discussing with certain friends and a couple siblings, and some coworkers. Some friends may know a portion of my portfolio like certain index funds in my taxables or Roth (spoiler it's mostly VTSAX). But no one knows the total amounts or net worth.

At age 44 I enjoy financial discussions with others, and let other come to me with general questions. I never ask for specific numbers since it's so personal for everyone. Nor try to give them specific advice besides sharing links or videos to certain subjects. A couple coworkers were discussing their day trading strategies which they volunteered when I mentioned watching the stock market. I think for younger people it's great for at least have a dialogue for personal finances, without trying to probe into their specific financial situations.

[myrdale]

Who do I talk to about finances? Primarily y'all.

Who discusses their finances with me? Several of my friends.

Discussing with my mother never ends well. She likes to poor mouth, yet took multiple trips to Europe last year, and is planning a trip to Kenya this year. But then she will say how unrealistic it is for people to live debt free or save for vehicle.

My sister and I have never really discussed. I imagine she is minimum wage despite having a college degree. Her husband is blue collar but I imagine does ok working on oil rigs.

One of my friends will occasionally try to pitch gold or penny stocks to me.

A couple of my other friends will ask my opinion on credit card debt or mortgages, or budgeting after divorce.

I try to speak in general terms any time, never asking for their exact numbers.

[srblanco7]

Other than my wife, our financial advisor and attorney have an understanding of our finances. Our accountant understands our income and annual dividends/cap gains, but not necessarily our net worth/investments. Our kids (and perhaps some of the people on this forum) have a general understanding of the numbers.

A few friends have asked for input on their finances and investments, and I've offered my thoughts, but haven't shared the details regarding our situation because it didn't seem relevant to their inquiry.

[disneysteve]

Other than my wife, our financial advisor and attorney have an understanding of our finances. Our accountant understands our income and annual dividends/cap gains, but not necessarily our net worth/investments.

I think it's a good idea to be fully transparent with your accountant as they may have suggestions of ways to improve tax efficiency of your portfolio.

[msomnipotent]

No one. I tell my husband once a month what our net worth is. I handle everything financial because he thinks he's really good with money but he's actually really bad at it. Our daughter has an idea of how much we have, but our financial talks center around her needs.

My extended family tends to be suspicious and jealous, so I really didn't want them to know anything. My father and I were talking about the economy one day and I accidentally slipped up and said that we have over 1 mil in savings but I still feel like I'm juggling bills, and then he got weird on me. I'm pretty sure he told everyone because they have been acting differently as well. I tried asking my mother questions about Medicare and Social Security and she would just get angry with me, then a few days later would blurt out that rich people shouldn't be allowed to get social security.

[disneysteve]

No one. I tell my husband once a month what our net worth is. I handle everything financial because he thinks he's really good with money but he's actually really bad at it. Our daughter has an idea of how much we have, but our financial talks center around her needs.

My extended family tends to be suspicious and jealous, so I really didn't want them to know anything. My father and I were talking about the economy one day and I accidentally slipped up and said that we have over 1 mil in savings but I still feel like I'm juggling bills, and then he got weird on me. I'm pretty sure he told everyone because they have been acting differently as well. I tried asking my mother questions about Medicare and Social Security and she would just get angry with me, then a few days later would blurt out that rich people shouldn't be allowed to get social security.

I just "love" the thinking that someone with $1M is "rich". We all know that's far from reality.

[msomnipotent]

My family has always been on the lower end of middle class while I was young. My siblings make decent to well above average salaries and my parents definitely are not struggling now, but they still have really outdated views on finances and life in general. My father was upset that he had to pay $40 for a pair of shoes the last time I talked to him.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Here and ER. two commentors here by email. And three friends in real life. 1 we talk stock tips all the time, but not numbers. 1 we also talk stock tips and FIRE. We are on the same trajectory of timeframe and same age kids so 2030. He could probably get close to guessing our number but the number is now unpredictable because he knows our real life situation. And now we are at a different scale. And 1 more friend but that one she asks and is trying to get to FIRE, but has trouble wrapping her head around FIRE. They are more than comfortable and able to FIRE likely but she's too nervous.