I got the PERFECT suggestion for an article topic last night. I was kind of in a bad mood already because I’m on this stupid diet that doesn’t let me eat all the crappy food I want, and then this gem came through my twitter feed.
I don’t have ten, but I do have nine. Buckle your seat belts folks, because this is probably the best post you’ve read on Thousandaire in quite a long time.
9. Lack of Credit Card Processing in High-Risk Industries
8. Extreme Couponers
If I were at the grocery store and had to pick between getting in line behind someone with a contagious flesh eating disease or an extreme couponer with her 3″ binder filled with 82,000 scraps of paper, I’d take my chances with Mr. Necrotizing Fasciitis.
7. Giving Me Your Crappy Stock Tip
I really appreciate you looking out for me and trying to help me make a few bucks in the stock market. What I don’t appreciate is you giving me 32 reasons why I should invest in Myspace because “it’s making a comeback”.
I also don’t appreciate the sad puppy dog face you give me every time I reject your ridiculous stock picks. Just because I don’t like your stock pick doesn’t mean I don’t like you. Well, I probably don’t like you OR your stock pick. So please just stop talking to me.
6. Writing a Check at the Cash Register
Hi. Welcome to the year 2012. Maybe you missed it, but about three decades ago someone came up with a system where you can swipe a debit card and it works just the same as writing a check.
You don’t need to ask how to spell “Wal-Mart”. You don’t need to cross out your old address at the top of your check, write your new one, and try to make a joke like, “One of these days I’m gonna get my address updated on these darn things.”
I have a better idea. Go to your bank and ask for a debit card so the people behind you in line at the store will stop hating you.
5. People Who “Save” Money On Crap They Don’t Need
So you got a 46″ flat screen television, even though you already have four flat screen TVs for your one bedroom apartment. Whatever floats your boat.
But please don’t brag to me about how you “saved” $426.84 on this TV because it was an open-box item and you used a coupon. You didn’t save $426.84. You spent $800 on something you don’t need. Where I come from we call that wasting money, not saving it.
4. People Who Watch Their Stocks Too Closely
Yes, I’m very happy that your $100 investment in stock XYZ is up to $101.32. No, I don’t need another phone call, text message, email, instant message, smoke signal, or any other communication when it hits $102.
Unless I have thousands of dollars personally invested in the stock or you are taking me out to dinner with your gains, I don’t give a flying flip about the daily fluctuations of your stock. Sorry.
3. Spending 3 Minutes Looking for Exact Change in Their Purse
I understand your desire to avoid pennies. I really do. I hate pennies. That’s why I put everything on a freaking card!
I don’t care if you want to pay with cash. I don’t even care if you want to pay with exact change. But don’t waste 3 minutes of my time digging in your purse because “you know you have 13 cents in there somewhere”. Give the man 25 freaking dollars for your $24.13 bill and let us all move on with our lives.
2. Believing Your Way is the Only Way
Here is a list of people who talk in financial absolutes that absolutely piss me off:
- Suze Orman (Anyone who doesn’t think her prepaid card is the best thing in the world is an idiot)
- Dave Ramsey (Somehow credit cards are the devil, despite the fact I get hundreds of dollars in rewards from them every year and pay no fees)
- Anti Debt People (Sorry, but my 0% APR loan is not crushing my soul)
- Minimalists (Yes, I do have four pairs of jeans. And I don’t give a crap if you can’t understand why I would want so much clothing)
I respect your right to have an outrageously rigid financial life view that you try to push on everyone else despite the fact that it is only applicable to a very small group of people. Now I only ask that you respect my right to ignore everything you say.
1. Talking About Your Expensive Purchases When You Owe Me Money
If you borrow money from a friend, you should pay them back. Preferably before you spend money on an expensive vacation or an unnecessarily large television. And if you’re gonna blow your money, keep it to yourself. Seriously. For the love of all that is holy DON’T BRAG ABOUT WASTING YOUR MONEY ON CRAP WHEN YOU OWE ME MONEY!
That is all.
I hope you enjoyed that. I know I did. Please add the financial behaviors that piss you off most in the comments below.
Kevin McKee is an entrepreneur, IT guru, and personal finance leader. In addition to his writing, Kevin is the head of IT at Buildingstars, Co-Founder of Padmission, and organizer of Laravel STL. He is also the creator of www.contributetoopensource.com. When he’s not working, Kevin enjoys podcasting about movies and spending time with his wife and four children.
Wow. Lots of rage. It must suck to carry that around inside of you.
Rage is an unwritten side effect of P90X.
Of the diet, definitely. I don’t care about the soreness, but give me my freaking pizza and bread!
Due to this one post, I’ve lost tremendous respect for your blog. Looks like you might lose a few readers. It is an unfortunate turn of events.
Michael expresses my exact feelings. I’m sure many people that read this are feeling this way.
I don’t get angry often, but when I do, articles like this happen.
Just in case you may not know, one reason one might write checks is that they want to limit their expenses and reign in their spending. Debit cards can be as dangerous as credit cards. It all depends on what works best for one individual. What might work for you might not work so well for others!
Haha My mom is totally one of those people that still writes out checks at stores from time to time. If I am with, I will tell her “you know you can just use your card instead right?”. Obvioulsly she knows she just refuses to do it sometimes.
Keep telling her to just use the card. She’ll come around eventually. Hopefully.
Really enjoying rage-kevin. I think the things that bother me most are already up there – counting change and using a freaking check. WTF people – just use a gd card.
Imagine how much more time they would have in their days if they just got a debit card.
HAHAHAHAHAHAAHA! very funny. And true. 🙂 I was a Dave Ramsey absolute until I realized we had no credit. Got one credit card and just got 150.00 deposited in my account for cash-back…and never have paid any interest or late fees…hmmm…
🙂 I like it.
Good for you! Having credit is good, and having free money is good too. I’m glad you finally came around, and I’m sorry that Dave Ramsey led you down the path of not building credit for so long. If you have a cash back card though, I’m sure your credit is good enough. 🙂
As I write this, my one ETF is up over 18% since I bought it 5 months ago! BAM! Ya jelly?
Tell me more! Where did it close today?!
I don’t bother with it anymore, but trying to argue the merits of a cash back credit card with someone who latched on to Ramsey’s take on credit cards. Currently most online savings accounts are under or right at 1%. If you would take the time to get the most on your savings (which I applaud) why wouldn’t you also make the most interest (via rewards programs) on the money that is leaving your control (especially since you can make up to 5% in some cases). The Ramsey crowd will argue some stat that states people who use credit cards pay more than those with cash. Perhaps, some people who use credit cards do, maybe the ones who carry balances and can’t control what they buy to begin with, but I don’t and I would guess people who are like minded wouldn’t also.
I would spend more with cash because I can’t track it. Credit card transactions are categorized and put in my budget. If I don’t have that, I can just spend willy nilly with cash.
Ya know, my grandmother (now passed) taught me that you never loan money. If you can afford to give money, feel free to give it as a gift. But loaning money to friends or family just isn’ t worth it.
I definitely agree with this one. I actually already wrote an article about it. Learned my lesson.
#5 is probably the one that pisses me off the most. Especially when friends and family have this problem. Just because something is on sale doesn’t mean you saved money by buying it. It just means that retailer is good at closing sales.
Yeah, I don’t see that often but when I do it makes me cringe!
Every one of those points pisses me off too. Now I am equally pissed off as well as basking in the warmth of a PF blog that UNDERSTANDS.
We’re here for you Jamie. Come on back anytime.
The part that makes me crazy about the exact change person is that they have been waiting in line for 10 minutes and it never occurred to them during that 10 minute period to at least get out their wallet and have some money ready. Or even figure out how much their purchase is going to cost.
I live in Canada where cheques have gone way of the dodo bird. If you tried to pay for something in a store with a cheque the cashier would look at you like you had 3 heads.
It rarely happens in the US either. That’s why it’s so frustrating when it does happen.
And yes, when you have 10 minutes to wait in line, stop reading the tabloids for 15 seconds and get your money out! Grrrr……..
I might be guilty of # 7 on your site from time to time – sorry dude.
Giving me a stock pick is fine. Actually it’s great on my personal finance website.
On the other hand, coming to my desk while I’m working, telling me to buy some stock, and then getting mad when I don’t open up my zecco account and buy it right away is not acceptable.
– I totally agree on paying with checks/cash in the grocery store hate. Just last week I was stuck behind someone with 10 coupons that paid ~$5 of their balance WITH CHANGE… IN THE SELF CHECKOUT LANE, I was ready to kick a puppy into oncoming traffic.
– While I agree with you on credit cards, I do have some respect for people like Dave Ramsey because the people who go to him are with credit cards like an alcoholic is with booze, they are just not hardwired to use it in moderation. It’s best to make them live their lives without any access at all.
Now when one of his disciples that don’t understand the difference between correlation and causality spout spending statistics to people like us who know how to game the system advice, that’s just downright funny.
I’m all about options. If Dave Ramsey’s way is the best for you, then go for it! But I hate that Dave Ramsey tries to make everyone do it his way when that only makes a bunch of responsible people leave a lot of free money on the table.
*The word advice shouldn’t be in that last sentence, must still be in a rage from the self checkout incident.
God points! I would add people who complain about their financial situation and do nothing about it.
That’s a great one! I forgot about it because I just ignore almost anyone who repeatedly complains about money.
Ditto!
I try to help people with money problems but they never want to listen. They tell me they can’t save a penny and have all this debt, but when I tell them to get rid of their cable TV they look at me like I’m a crazy person.
I stay away from complainers too. Way too negative and it is annoying!
I’m a little older than your target market, but I agree with almost everything you’ve pointed out. I’ve dabbled with couponing, but I always have everything in my hand ready to give the cashier; it doesn’t take more than an extra 10 seconds to scan my three or four coupons. I have finally convinced my 70-yo mother to use a debit card, hallelujah!
As a frequent personal-finance book reader, I have to agree that the four people//groups you mentioned are annoying to me, too! I still read their book and glean what info I believe works for me and ignore the rest. The main thing that annoyed me with Dave Ramsey’s last book is that stupid motto of his: “Live like no one else so you can live like no one else.” I know what he means, but it’s not very eloquently stated.
Personally, I am more comfortable using cash than credit cards, though I see the advantage to cash-back cards. I just spend more when I use credit cards, so i try to avoid them. You just have to know yourself and do what works best for you.
“You just have to know yourself and do what works best for you.”
This right here. I think MOST people spend more with credit cards than they do with cash, that is an important thing to take into consideration. I think most people would benefit from cutting up their cards and only living on what they have without the option of financing.
People like myself actually spend LESS with credit cards because I download the activity so I can scrutinize where/how I’m spending. I know it seems anal, but it only takes me a couple minutes a month to get a real snapshot of my spending habits and where I can make real cuts. With cash, once I pull it out, it’s free money, I don’t have to reconcile it, it’s already out of the budget and I tend to it blow fast.
But as you say, it always boils down to knowing yourself, if you’re the type of person that would normally skate by with the minimum payment, then by all means, get rid of your card (or have one small monthly expense linked to your oldest card to not destroy your credit score) and star living only on available cash, I don’t think that’s an ill advised position for many people.
Just to clarify, I don’t mean that I think you are someone that only pays the minimum and lives near their credit limit. I have plenty of smart friends that pay their balances in full every month, but spend more on credit because they can “worry about it later.” They don’t look at their spending habits or anything like that, they just use it as a tool to buy things they want today but won’t have to pay for until a month and a half down the road interest free. Without the scrutiny I think people spend more on credit.
You’re right, this was a great post! Haven’t had to deal with it myself, but several times a year I have friends who have to deal with #1! And since we’re all fresh out of college, it doesn’t even have to be an expensive purchase! Someone will think, “You can’t go out to dinner! You owe me $100!”
Don’t borrow money, and if you do, pay it back ASAP.
Don’t loan money, and if you do, assume you’ll never get it back. Especially since most people don’t want to put themselves in a position where they need the money back / have to ask or beg to retrieve it!
We’re in alignment on all of these. Now, I don’t get angry over these things 🙂 But I simply don’t believe in any of these 8 behaviors either.
Of all of these, the check writing at the grocery register is the one that I’ve never understood. If anybody can actually come up with a legitmate answer as to why that’s a better idea than any alternative ways to pay for groceries, I’m ready for your answer!
I also don’t get how some of us regular folks check on stock prices daily, or even mulitple times during the day on their smartphones. It doesn’t matter, and time is better spent on more productive activities!
Here’s one vote for a video having some some fun with people who do all these things….
Great rant and funny too. I tend to feel the same about most of these especially #3. I never understood carrying around a bunch of change.
I found myself nodding in agreement at just about all your complaints, but especially at #2 – the section regarding Dave Ramsey. Like you, I earn a lot of money by using my cash back rewards credit card to pay for everything from groceries and gas to medical bills and insurance premiums; I still stick to a budget, I just do it using plastic instead of cash! EXCELLENT POINTS!
Rant away! I think this post will gain you more readers rather than lose them. For those offended tender souls, don’t let the door hit you on the toushie on the way out.
How about seeing two grossly obese people arguing over which coupon to use on EZ meals (or something like that) and totally blocking the aisles? Not hard to do when you’re the size of two golf carts.
Most everything on your list doesn’t bother me one bit. However, your #1 is also my #1. If my brother asks me one more time for money I’m gonna blow.
UGH! I totally agree with you on #3 (SPENDING 3 MINUTES LOOKING FOR EXACT CHANGE IN THEIR PURSE). I hate people who do that. I pay for pretty much everything with my debit card, though I should get better at having cash on me when I’m out for lunch with my coworkers sometimes.
#2 is spot on! They don’t call it “personal finance” for nutin.
I hate people who live off rich family members and then brag about the new Porsche “they” just bought. Please don’t expect me to be impressed by anything bought with someone else’s money. [Note I also apply this peeve to the old me and the amount of stuff I charged up on my credit card.]
Ps. Just found your blog and love it!
I hate people who live off rich family members and then brag about the new Porsche “they” just bought. Please don’t expect me to be impressed by any thing bought with someone else’s money. [Note I also apply this peeve to the old me and the amount of stuff I charged up on my credit card.]
Ps. I just found your blog and love it!
Loved the list, especially the last one! Usually though, it’s the card-users that take up too much time. All that time to punch up a pin and wait for the card to swipe when paying with a $5 bill would take 5 seconds. Comeon….
If you lost any readers because of this post…GOOD RIDDANCE! I would rather have 50% of people hate me and 50% love me than 75% ambivalent.
Seriously though, this gave me a good laugh.
Preach it, brother!
Great list.
#2 is right on the money. Rigidity in beliefs is often a sign of fear. Extreme positions limits creative solutions and, in many cases, the ability to compromise and collaborate.