WE MADE IT TO FRIDAY!!!

GO US!!!

I wish I had something exciting to reward you with, but I suppose it’s rewarding enough just to read my clever notes here, eh? ;) Can’t be too bad out there if The Sexy is still around! Lol…

(okay, that was bad)

In all seriousness, though – I miss coffee shops like a mother, so thought we’d go down memory lane and share some of the last #overheards I managed to grab before the chaos struck. Not many financial gossips in this batch, but I sure am saving more now that I’m not visiting cafes every single day! So that’s worth something, right?! RIGHT???!

Hope you get a good laugh out of these…

And that I didn’t catch any of you here in the act ;)

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“A beard is like sweatpants for your face”

Nothing truer has ever be spoken, haha…

“Inside of every man there is a little junior high guy inside of them.”

Okay, except for this one :) I admit I still see myself as a pre-teen still trying to figure things out! I’m certainly not a FATHER OF THREE as it appears to everyone else?! I still look around for the adult in the room whenever one’s needed!

“Do you have a radiator I can dry my hat on?”

Now this one was the highlight of my day…. :) Just imagine a dripping wet 70-year-old coming in from a sudden rainstorm and asking the barista to dry his hat out for him. With a radiator no less! But while they couldn’t appease him in that regard, they did have something else that could do the trick – an oven. Lol… A few mins later it was dry and crispy again :)

“My husband finally got his PHD! I think I need a certificate for not divorcing him throughout it… He’s been A.B.D. for awhile now – All But Dissertation”

Low blow!!! But as a spouse who also lived through this, it def. does seem to go epically slow, haha…. Do NOT miss those days one bit while our growing family was living off my dwindling blog income at the time… But all that work’s since paid off and the Mrs. continues to climb and bring home that health insurance!! Oh, and also an income!

“Don’t make me cross the street just to kick your ass.”

From BJ:

Overheard on the streets of Brooklyn, New Yawk…

More than 10 years later and it still makes me laugh when I think of it!

“OK ping pong”

From Shnugi:

I’m on the train and a guy keeps saying “OK ping pong” as a catch phrase.

“If you are saving for retirement, you must be dead inside.”

From James:

Two young women having dinner together… Overheard at a restaurant by a friend who found it so ridiculous and knew I would appreciate it. I have many questions for this person! – James

“Sparkle Carcass.”

From Paula:

My favorite #overheard turned out to be a band name. I couldn’t figure out where my acquaintance came up with the name, and it turned out he loves to ride the trains and (possibly) mishear random things.

The band name? Sparkle Carcass.

And yes, there have been a few bourbon-tasting evenings where a few of us competed in a sketching contest for their new logo…

“STOP COMPLAINING! There are only two people in the world, those who don’t want to hear your problems, and those who are glad you have them!”

-“Mad” Max Speedwell

And then the line that still echoes strong all these years later:

“The challenge is not to touch it.”

Told to a 13 y/o by a 65 y/o trying to instill some good lessons while in the check-out line at Target, lol… Never a bad place or time to spread the financial gospel! And just as relevant today than ever!

Keep on keeping on everyone…

Life is still good despite the disruption!

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For past posts in this series –> #overheard

[This post, #Overheard at the coffee shops… Remember those?, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Morning my fellow $$$ nerds!!!

Ready to get out there and stack that cash?!

I won’t hold you up too much today, but before you get down to business I hope you’ll enjoy this latest round of #overheards from my daily coffee shop excursions…

I may be “wasting” $4.00 for coffee every day, but the entertainment I receive for doing so is priceless. And now it’s your gain too! ;)

So please to enjoy today – the latest installment of our #overheard series… Maybe I caught one of you spilling it out this month?

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“I don’t go to stores because I buy $hit.”

A simple, yet often overlooked, piece of insight :)

“Sounds like you suffer from OFS… Oh Fart Syndrome!”

Two older ladies giving each other a hard time, haha…

“It’s okay to fail, but it’s never okay to suck.”

Should be a bumper sticker!

“Sometimes I walk into my house and wonder ‘where is the adult?'”

You and me both, haha… I have no idea at what point this happened, but it’s not nearly as fun as when someone else is in charge!

“This creepy guy showed up behind me in class today… he started out in a different seat, and then when I turned around minutes later he was right behind me”

I almost spit out my coffee on that one! That is creepy!!! And from what I gathered from the rest of the convo, it didn’t seem like he was interested in anything else in the class except her – *shiver*.

Person unexpectedly seeing her friend at the table: “You’re already done with work?”
Friend at the table: “Yup – only had to be in court for 6 mins today.”
Person: “Well that sucks.”
Friend: “Nah, not really – I get paid for the full 3 hours no matter how long I’m there for!”

I REALLY wanted to jump in and ask what he does, but didn’t want to be stalker’ish like that creepster up above, haha… Maybe one of you can take an educated guess though?!

“Be present and be nice. You do those two things and everything else will work itself out.”

This one was in regards to running a business, but obviously works in all areas of life :)

“If you look at his Facebook, it’s literally only pictures of him and his mom… so weird.”

I would LOVE to see this as a parent :)

“The love in my heart is keeping me from smacking you across your face right now…”

I almost had to move chairs after hearing these two people bicker for 15 mins, wow… Even put on my  headphones and could still hear them going after each other!

“Should we study something, and you know, talk about it? Or should we just hang out?”

Three college students trying to make the best use of their time… They ended up just hanging out.

“People who don’t math, don’t live long.”

Took me a while to make sure I heard that right, but after hearing “budgeting” and “pricing” come in shortly thereafter I knew it was ;) If you can’t understand the simple rule of spending less than you earn in life, you’re in for a rough ride! Math doesn’t lie!

“Can you really get pregnant without losing your virginity??”

The look on the other person’s face was priceless, haha…

“People are now walking away from excellent job offers because one of the rules is that you’re not allowed to have your cell phone with you.”

A mom of a millennial in disbelief talking to her friend… (and rightfully so!)

“I just spent a month in Australia, and I didn’t see a single plastic straw there… They were all made of paper or metal.”

This was really cool to hear :) Didn’t even know about paper or metal straws until the other month when some of y’all chimed in during my paper cup ban at Panera Bread… Such an easy and cheap alternative to do our part w/ the environment!

“I can’t find any wedding dresses I like or that I can afford, so I’m just going to sew it myself.”

Another awesome thing to hear!! Reminds me of when my wife wrote our own first dance song to dance to at our wedding, only she had to actually pony up some to get it recorded nicely :) One of the best gifts she’s ever given me.

“I love you, but like – I’m an a$$hole of a person. *Laughs*”

At least he knows himself? :)

“If I wanted to marry for money, I wouldn’t have gotten with someone who has a degree in education.”

Ouch.

(A guy being interviewed for a barista job)

Interviewer: “So, do you like coffee?”
Interviewee: “Um yeah… I drink it”
Interviewer: “Do you like people?
Interviewee: “Um yeah… they’re okay”

The guy did not get the job.

******

And then here are some gems that some of y’all have sent over :) Love that you’re joining me in the cause here! Haha…

From Hannah:

Kid: “I won.”

Dad: “No, that’s not how this works.”

Kid: “Daaaaaad, I won. Don’t you see these points?”

Dad: “Please don’t try to explain the rules of Pokemon to me. I was incredibly uncool in high school, and I know all the rules. I clearly won.”

From Nick:

From a mother to her daughter, probably around the age of 8 as she was looking at cereal:

Daughter: Mom, this one is cheaper, its only X.

Mother: But did you check the ounces?

Daughter: No

Mother: You need to check the ounces to see that you’re really getting a better deal.

They then busted out her phone and did the calculations… Gave me a warm tingly feeling watching the interaction until I had to move on because I realized how creepy I probably looked as 31 year old male.

And then lastly, from Cait Flanders who has been roaming around the world writing her 2nd book! This is more of an observance than an #overheard per se, but it was too interesting to not share with y’all… If you haven’t read Cait’s first book btw, you’re missing out! “The Year of Less”

I’ve been thinking a lot about this girl who I often see at my coffee shop here. She comes in at very random times, and sets herself up at one of the tables… and then puts out a little box of business cards on the corner of the table, facing outward, for people to see.

I haven’t been close enough to see what her business is, or had the courage to ask her yet… But what’s even more interesting is I’ve NEVER seen someone go up to her table and talk to her. And yet… she still does it.

Something about it feels so open/vulnerable to me… like you’re just putting yourself on display, in a way! I don’t think I could do it, but I’m totally inspired by the fact that she does.

*****

Overheard anything lately yourself? Let us know!

Happy Monday!

——
For all posts in the series, visit: #overheard

[This post, #Overheard at the coffee shop – Volume VII, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

What up what up!

Been asked a lot about when our next #Overheard installment will be dropping, and while I haven’t stockpiled *too* many convos lately, I suppose we have enough to have some fun today ;)

So please to enjoy: things I’ve overheard at the coffee shop lately!

Courtesy of unsuspecting – but very interesting – people unlucky enough to sit near me, haha…

*******

“Mom – you don’t have to be there every time I make a decision… Just let me put a gold cap on my tooth! It’s cool!”

Haha… The things we spend our money and energy on as a kid!!! Though I can’t really talk – I tried putting earrings in as many holes on my face as I could back then ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

“I’m going to punch you in your boob”

Almost spit out my coffee on that one.

“She’s as fake as a $3.00 bill!”

YES!!! Excellent money analogy!!

“I asked for 6 inches, and he gave me 12…”

Here’s a perfect example of when context is key, haha… After my adolescent chuckle I realized they were talking about *hair cuts* ;)

“She looks skinny but is not…”

Here’s another one – they were talking about their cat!! Lol…

“I won a Nintendo Switch for only $9.00!”

Now that’s cool!!! Couldn’t quite hear *how* he pulled this off, but my guess is that he won it in some raffle or something… Either that or he’s a master eBay scout!!

“I never thought birds were cute.”

Say whaaaaaaa?

“English is the language of money.”

True true…. I think? I actually don’t get this all the way, haha… Particularly as it was said directly to an hispanic woman?

(gets off the phone) “That was the tennis team – we’re getting matching skirts!”

*Followed by a bunch of high fives and deep dives into patterns and color schemes*

Friend #1: “I wanted to be a waitress but they wouldn’t let me.”
Friend #2: “Why?
Friend #3: “Because I wasn’t strong enough.”

Does it really take that much strength?? Haha… I’ve seen many a petite women excel at serving!

“He’s not the smartest crayon in the box”… “err…. brightest crayon in the box”

The best when people mess these up ;)

“Where would blacks be without the post office?”

Had to google this one as admittedly I was intrigued, and found this article right away from The Washington Post – What we’ll lose if we lose the post office.

Here’s a snippet:

“The post office has historically helped all kinds of people find jobs, including immigrants, rural migrants and those pursuing higher education. For African Americans in particular, the post office has been a job magnet and a vehicle for social activism and community development. Since changes in the law allowed them to enter the ranks in 1865, African Americans fought segregation and discrimination in the Postal Service and its unions, and they played a key role in modernizing the agency. Historically, the post office has been the largest employer of African Americans, and from 1970 to 2000, blacks were at least twice as likely to work for the post office as whites.”

I had noooooo idea about any of this, did you??!

For once my eavesdropping has taught me something!! Haha…

Here’s some more articles around this as well that I spent the next 20 minutes devouring:

• African-American Postal Workers in the 20th Century via USPS
• U.S. Post Office Job Cuts Threaten Black Middle Class via Huffington Post

******

And then here are some other #overheard stories from readers of the blog who have passed them over…

“I was in a restaurant with my daughter once and a couple nearby was talking about a friend of theirs. The gentleman said: “She has a big ass….. retirement account” Such an unfortunate pause. My daughter and I still laugh about that one.” – Mary

“I was in a grocery store and these two women were talking to each other…. W1- “Hey!  What are you doing here? I thought you were picking Jason up off the bus?” W2 – “No, my ex said he would do it. He’s supposed to be getting out of jail this afternoon” – Log cabin Ruth

“I am at a conference this week and I overheard something interesting yesterday while drinking my coffee in the lobby. A lady was asking the hotel manager if the hotel is haunted and he was pretty adamant it wasn’t.  Her response, “I find that hard to believe because I was talking to two spirits in the lobby yesterday that used to be grounds keepers on this property.”  Freaky!” – Max Out of Pocket

******

Always something to be overheard out there! ;)

Keep those ears perked up, friends! Just not when you’re around me…

XOXO,

For previous #overheards:

• #Overheard at The Coffee Shop – Volume V
• #Overheard at The Coffee Shop – Volume IV
• #Overheard at The Coffee Shop – Volume III
• #Overheard at The Coffee Shop – Volume II
• #Overheard at The Coffee Shop – Volume I

[This post, #OverHeard at the Coffee Shop – Volume VI, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Time for another dumping of all the secrets I hear people say!!

It really is amazing the variety of discussions going on every day at coffee shops, from people talking about God to alpacas to book clubs, bikinis, mustaches, pajamas, EpiPens, fertility, mackerels, nap taking, and even the relevance of Michael Bublé, haha…

All of which is featured in today’s post – woo!

And which also I dedicate to all my deaf friends reading this right now who’ve told me how much they enjoy these posts :) Hadn’t thought about it much before, but now every time I jot one of these one-liners down I get even more excited to share them later knowing they help fill in the blanks for ’em…

Here’s one of the latest notes I received that completely made my day:

I have to say, thanks for posting these. As a Deaf person, I don’t hear these kinds of conversations and there are moments I wish I could hear. I find them fascinating!

When I see people engaged in conversation and emotions are ramped up, it makes me curious. Sometimes I can figure out partial things with lip reading but that requires intense concentration and staring. More and more people don’t look at each other, they look around and I’m easily ‘caught’ if I’m trying to figure out what they are talking about.

I’ve tried downloading dictation apps just to ‘hear’ what people talk about at random times – grocery stores, at the Apple Store waiting for my turn, gas stations, long lines of some grand opening, campgrounds – but none of the apps really work. :-/

Looking forward to the next installment!

And with that, here is the next installment!

Round 5 of all the things I’ve overheard working out of coffee shops lately

(Which in itself is worth the price of the overpriced coffee!)

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“Naps… That’s how Napoleon won the wars.”

Haha… Google didn’t prove otherwise! “Napoleon could sleep like a baby right before battle and even when cannons were booming nearby.”

“There is no such thing as a $6.00 bill… But there is a $5 Billion dollar bill!”

Said by a 10 year old :)

“Ohio in Japanese means “good morning””

TRUTH! Though it’s spelled “Ohayō”.

“You should write a book about your book club, and then talk about it at the book club.”

That would be fun!

“The new currency is mackerels. Like the fish. It used to be cigarettes, but they’re now on a health kick”

A mother giving her friend an update about her incarcerated daughter.

“I used to pray but I stopped… I’m 82 years old now and God knows I’m a good boy.”

:)

“Remember that time I took you to that Alpaca farm?”

Fun fact: Alpacas actually come in 22 different colors, ranging from black to tan to white! And there’s also no such thing as wild alpacas as they’re all domesticated versions of vicuñas…

“We had to build a separate apartment for our cats because my wife was allergic… they have everything they need in there – big windows, electric blankets, you name it.”

!!!!

“I’m one of those people that if you give me 8 hours to do something, it’ll take 8 hours for me to do it. But if you only give me 1 hour, then it will only take me 1 hour!”

Yup! That’s “Parkinson’s law” for ya! The idea that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion” – something we’re all prone too…

“Great balls of fire! What are you doing over here?” 

Only funny because it was said by an 80 year old yelling to his wife :)

“I always try to wear clothes that feel like pajamas.”

I tweeted this out the second I heard it and it got over 2,300 likes within hours, haha…

“I’m waiting for this guy to show up to interview me, but I was a little late and I think I might have missed him… I don’t think I’m going to take the job anyways as he’s a bit unorganized.”

Umm….

“Going to my first bachelor party in 35 years… The guy is 57 years old and asked us all to bring a 6 pack of Bud and some lottery scratchers.”

Hahahha… my type of party!

“Someone kept talking about a Michael Bublé… I’ve never heard of the guy – who’s Michael Bublé?”

He’s the guy everyone used to call Michael Bubble until he got popular enough :)

He’s also got some mad dance moves:

(via Wikipedia)

“I always wear a suit and tie when I have important stuff to do. I like it when people call me “Sir.””

It does give you more confidence for some reason!

“Gotta go pick up this EpiPen for my daughter… used to be $100 and now it’s $600 due to that Shkreli who’s now in jail. Thank God.”

Ugh…

Person #1: “Found me a dime!”
Person #2: “Remember when you could make a phone call with that?”

Nope! But I remember when you could make calls for a quarter! And aspiring savers would search all the payphone slots looking for forgotten coins to add to their piggy banks ;)

“You’re not fully dressed until you wear a mustache.”

One hipster talking to another hipster (without a mustache).

“I yell at you because I love you and have to tell you the truth.”

I tried to hear what this “truth” was, but sadly the person got up to walk away – the nerve!

“53 years ago, before you were born, we got married.”

A grandpa talking to some whipper snappers.

30-something dude: “so I’m hooking up with this 21 year old chick”
30-something dude’s female coworker: “I hope I never get divorced and have to go back to dating again…”

This is the stuff I do miss at 9-5s… all that camaraderie between colleagues, even the dumb stuff!

“I’m very fertile… I have to be careful”

A mom to her mom group, where everyone else nods too as they feed their nursing babies ;)

“The average podcast listener listens to 7 different podcasts”

Is that true? How many do you listen to?

“I gave my kids $10,000 to do a cruise trip together”

What a gift! And experience!

Woman #1: “I will never wear a bikini – ever.”
Woman #2: “But you did the other year? And you looked amazing!
Woman #1: “No I did not”
Woman #2: “Yes you did!”
Woman #1: “No I did not. I would never.”
Woman #2: “But you did!!!”
Woman #1: “But I didn’t! No one should ever see what’s going on around there!” – Points to her stomach…”

The world will never know the truth… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

“My birthday is the same as Martin Luther King’s. And I got married on the same day he got killed.”

Dang!!

And lastly… “Never show the audience that you are lost. Smile! I learned this when giving a speech to 16,000 soldiers and had no idea what I was doing… The longer I stood there doing nothing but smiling, the more others started smiling back at me, eventually erupting into laughter long enough for me to gather my thoughts and give my impromptu speech. One of the best moment of my life.”

Said by an 82 year old war vet, grinning ear to ear the whole time ;) And an excellent reminder of the power of a smile!!

Hope you enjoyed these!

Back tomorrow with more shenanigans, I’m sure…

******
For past articles in the series:

• #Overheard At The Coffee Shop: Volume IV
• #Overheard At The Coffee Shop: Volume III
• #Overheard At The Coffee Shop: Volume II
• #Overheard At The Coffee Shop: Volume I

[This post, #Overheard at The Coffee Shop – Volume V, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Welcome to another edition of me “accidentally” hearing other people’s conversations! And then them “mysteriously” landing on this blog here!

You know what they say – what happens at coffee houses does not stay at coffee houses ;)

And we’ve got a ton to offload on ya today too as they’ve been adding up over the year since our last one and cracks me up just revisiting some of these again, haha… It really does take all kinds to run this world of ours, and a few of these characters are certainly highlighted here.

Hope you enjoy, as you prob won’t learn anything! :)

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Overheard At The Coffee Shop:

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“Beaver Bucks! Everyone knows what they are… Beaver Bucks!”

Um… nope. Can’t say that everyone does, haha… And my “no interjecting” rule prevented me from jumping in unfortunately and asking!

“Windows aren’t sexy, but a guy’s gotta be comfortable.”

Haha… I’m assuming this was around home upgrades?

“I’m gonna sue them bro… And I have the money for it! As soon as I finish this term paper, I’m totally suing them bro.”

Not too often you hear “suing” and “term paper” in the same sentence :)

“How much do you think my thigh weighs?”

Not even touching that one…

Person #1: “The new Tesla car is only $35,000”
Person #2: “My father’s first house was $35,000!”

Now that’s perspective!!

“Rock, paper, scissors… OCEAN!! (I wash you away!)”

Next up was “Rock, paper, scissors… DETENTION!” but couldn’t catch what that one did ;) Maybe beats out all but the paper? Since rocks and scissors have a higher probability of getting you in trouble, unless you’re Mr. Sue-Happy Term Paper Bro? ;)

“I save Shakespeare until 8th grade when the kids can handle how dirty he is.”

Is he really??

“It’ll be India all over again, where you’re naked with a middle-aged woman. Only we won’t be oiled up this time.”

!!!!!!!!!

Teen: “You know what “swag” means, mom?”
Mom: “Of course I know what swag means!”

Work it, mom…

“The disease is hereditary. But you actually don’t know you have it until you just one day drop dead.”

Can you imagine? :(

“Just because you said it two years ago, doesn’t mean you have to still do it!”

YES YES YES!!!! IT’S COMPLETELY OKAY TO CHANGE YOUR MIND on stuff when life changes!! Which is like all the time, so why would you stick to yesterday’s plans when the future just flipped on you?? Smart people tweak their plans and adapt to the changing world, stubborn ones don’t…

Person #1: “I’m back like a bad penny!”
Person #2: “You might be the penny someone’s looking for!”

Awwww….

“A couple years ago I met a couple who retired at 28 and 29 and left their jobs to live a life according to their values… Now we’re about to do the same in three years since they’ve been mentoring us.”

I swear, I really did hear this one and did NOT plant it! :) This was real people talking about real epic $hit here and I loved hearing every last word of it… I could have hugged these guys if it didn’t give away my slyness!

“I want all my debt gone within 6 months… We have $70,000 in cash and a $120,000 townhouse that’s paid off in full. We should be able to do this, right?”

Another great money one!! And I would hope it’s enough to pay off the debts?? Though I never caught exactly how much debt we were talking about here… errr, what THEY were talking about here ;)

“I would buy this if I were allowed to… Unfortunately my wife won’t tolerate any other person’s art in our house except for her own.”

Best line of the year right there, haha… I was DYING listening to this conversation… DYING.

“Can you put your frog in your pocket?”

Let’s not, and say we did. (Remember that comeback???? 90’s era baby – yeah!)

Mom: “So what did you think about the DMV?”
3 y/o daughter: “It was FUN!!!”
Mom: “What now?”

Doesn’t take much to entertain a kid :)

“Being old and in retirement is the most expensive thing there is… Back in the day you didn’t have to worry about it when you died in your 40s – but these days we’re living until 80 and 90 years old!”

Yup, a good problem to have, but no less a problem! All the more reason to gobble up money blogs while you’re young and able to do something about it!!

“I can afford Starbucks two days a month: paydays”

Ironically enough said by a Panera worker, haha…

“Whenever you get the hiccups it means you’re growing taller”

Definitely not true, but definitely stealing to use on my kids ;)

“I give homeless people a few bucks whenever I come across them… I used to give sandwiches but got tired of them throwing them on the ground right in front of me.”

Ugh… But good for him for not getting jaded and still wanting to help people! Sandwich throwing or not, they’re still much more troubled than any of us :(

And lastly….

Wife to husband as he walks to throw something away: “You’re an old MEAN man…”
(Turns to me and asks if I agree once he leaves…)
Me: “Maybe he’s just grumpy today?”
Wife back to husband: “This guy here thinks you’re grumpy today!”

Serves me right for eavesdropping ;)

Happy weekend everyone… Watch those wallets and secrets!

*********
For more #overheards, see:

• Financial Overheards Round III
• “The Challenge Is Not To Touch It!” (And Other Things I Recently Overheard)
• Overheard at The Coffee Shop

[This post, #Overheard At The Coffee Shop: Volume IV, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Lots of juicy convos going on at Starbucks lately :) Thought we’d do another round of financial overheards today since y’all liked the last one we did! So interesting to hear random people talking about money!

We’ll start with these two kids:

Teen #1: “I want to be a millionaire”
Teen #2: “How?”
Teen #1: “I’m going to be a business man”
Teen #2: “What are you going to do?”
Teen #1:  “I don’t know yet”

Haha… Sounds about right :) I remember having these same conversations myself growing up with my best friends. We were really great dreamers, but not so much do’ers! After a while some older guy (one of their dads?) came up and interjected into these guys’ conversation, “Start with the things that you like – it’ll push you to get closer to it.” Now we’re talking!

Then this sad one from someone who looked to be in their 70s, maybe early 80s:

“I would love to go back to work! But no one hires old people anymore.”

It sounded like he was forced into retirement a while ago and was never able to pick up something new… Said it was crazy because he has all this knowledge in his head and no one seems to want it :(

Another convo I overheard from some sort of financial advisor/salesmen talking to a new hire:

“I tell people all the time that I want to retire…

They ask me how much you need to be able to do that, and  I tell them $3,000,000. And then I walk them through how to get it backwards – investments, insurance, etc.

Works every time.”

It took everything in me not to turn around and punch this dude in the face. First, for spreading the ridiculous notion that everyone needs the same large-ass number when we all know it’s based on your *expenses* which differs for everyone!, and secondly for then using this number to upsell his clients on Lord knows what type of investments and insurances. The guy he was talking to was totally soaking it in too and making mental notes so he can copy it once he’s out in the field too, ugh…

Thankfully most of the other eavesdropping I did was more on the entertainment side of things ;) I blurted out an unexpected laugh upon hearing this one!

“Have you ever eaten an egg, that came out of a chicken you ate?”

Which he then followed with,

“Did you know you could fit the entire population of the world in Rhode Island?”

I thought I was listening to that kid from Jerry Maguire ;)

Then there was this gem:

“Found out my parents have a copy of “the love of joy and sex” on their night stand drawer:

(How else do you think you were born?? ;))

And then this one:

Guy #1: “Man, Obamacare sucks!”
Guy’s friend: “Wait, but aren’t you on Obamacare?”
Guy: “Nah man – I have the Affordable Care Act”

Haha… Told my wife about this one and she told me to go look up Jimmy Kimmel’s street interviews around this – pretty hilarious!

Getting back to money though, here was another good one:

“Want to know how to beat out the market every time? Just watch what I do and do the opposite.”

That could have easily been me years ago :) For some reason there’s never a shortage of the hottest trends or stock opinions out there, yet no one can ever tell you exactly when to scoop them up and when to cash them out. The latter being the most important. I’m SOOO glad I’ve totally gotten out of that game and now just stick to my boring, yet very trusty, index funds :)

Here’s another line I overheard about a woman dishing dirt on her sister:

“The woman can spend some money. She’ll easily drop $1,000 on theater tickets but not on her child?”

Ouch! Apparently her child is sick and the sister refuses to give her any medication… Anytime when asked why, she would start quoting Johnny Depp? No idea what that was about, but had to pop in my earbuds at that point as they were heading into deep personal matters… And that’s where my eavesdropping line gets crossed ;) Money chats? Fair game! Personal secrets? I’m outta there…

Another medical one :(

“How dare do you judge somebody for their credit card debt when it’s all medical bills!”

Always sad to hear how badly getting sick can crush our finances on top of our lives. Have to be better about remembering this whenever blogging about financial freedom and getting out of debt here as it’s so easy to forget that for some it had nothing to do with poor choices at all :( We’re blessed if we’ve never had tragedy strike!

And not this type of tragedy either:

“There’s nothing worse than having to listen to people bitch about the world ending because their yacht is in the maintenance yard.”

Lastly, probably the most important thought of the day:

“I said, “No way babe, we are not going to get married to a song that was on Twilight.””

Haha… That’s it for this round of financial overheards. Check out our last one here, or the one before that here, and I’ll continue to keep my ears open for more juicy gossip…

In the meantime, you’ll have to let me know where YOU’RE drinking coffee these days? ;)

[This post, Financial Overheards Round III, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

“The challenge is not to touch it!” That’s what I overheard a 65 year old guy telling a 13 year old kid the other day while checking out at Target :)

I *of course* had to switch lanes so I can get closer to eavesdropping territory, and from what I could tell they somehow got on the topic of becoming a millionaire, and more particularly how HE became a millionaire by the time he hit 65. (And probably earlier)

To say the kid was glued to every word coming out of his mouth was an understatement. Who doesn’t want to become a millionaire??? And why aren’t they teaching THAT in classes?? I guarantee attendance would perk right the hell up with a juicy word like that thrown in. No kid cares about budgeting and financial management – they all just want money! :)

But I digress…

Once this guy had this kid’s attention, he started dropping all his nuggets of wisdom on him:

• “Start now while you’re young!” (yup)
• “It’s better to put *something* in there every month, even if it’s not a lot.” (double yup)
• “Let compounding do all the rest.” (you’re on fire, sir!)
• And then the whopper of them all which we’ve already touched on twice – “just don’t touch it!“

It really doesn’t get any easier than that… I considered chasing the kid down and asking for his email so I can follow up with him over the years and see if he acted on his advice, but I figured that would come off a bit too creepy :) Plus, do 13 year olds even have emails? (What am I saying, they all have like 10 iPhones and computers these days – those bastards… I could barely get my hands on a Gameboy at that age!)

Anyways, that’s how you get a young person’s attention right there. Or *anyone’s* attention for that matter. Everyone wants to know how to become a millionaire, but none of them want to “learn” about finance! You gotta lure them in first and THEN hit them with the knowledge! It’s trickery 101.

Millionaire stuff aside, here are some other fun convos I’ve overheard lately. Why stop there, right? :)

“I got 8 homes… pairing down to 3”

At first I thought this guy was a baller or something, but turns out he was actually retired and wanted to offload some of his real estate to better enjoy his time and money! And good for him! He looked about 70 or 75 so if you’re not going to enjoy it then, when are you??

“I’m not as materialistic as my mom!”

Haha.. I wish I could have heard the rest of that convo, but unfortunately I got caught looking and had to turn straight ahead while of course minimizing the screen in case she were to come over and confront me :) It’s hard work sleuthing sometimes!

Then this one was as sad as it was surprising:

Me to an elder friend of mine: “Well you’re looking sharp today, sir!”
My elder friend back to me: “I’m going to my 4th funeral this week.”

Ugh… Just another reminder of how precious life is!! Turns out one of his friends had a brain hemorrhage out of nowhere and was dead 10 minutes later. At 55 :(

I’ve blogged about this before, but MAN does my tune change anytime I’m round these guys here at my local coffee shop. They’re a group of about 4-5 guys in their 70s and 80s, and all they do is talk about life and what’s important to them without all the b.s. and petty crap we’re so used to hearing. It’s like I get a shot of reality every time I sit next to them. No one’s afraid to be themselves 100%!

(What I also find fascinating is that they pass around the obituaries every morning taking turns reading it. I asked them if they do it to look for friends, and they said that yes – it is one of the reasons – but the main one was to LEARN about all the cool stuff people have done in their lives! Said you never get to hear anyone’s stories until they’re gone, and its quite a shame since everyone has led pretty interesting (and different) lives. Now I check the obituaries myself whenever I come cross a paper :))

But we’re not going to leave here on a sad note, no sirree… So let me hit you with my favorite line of all recently. Cracks me up!!

“Stay away from those amoebas!”

(A teacher saying goodbye to his students)

Haha… Have a great week everyone. Stay away from those amoebas AND from touching your money! They need some time to multiply :)

*****
For more overheard stories, check out this juicy post by Mr. Money. Who apparently likes to talk about himself in 3rd person now.

[Cute little meerkat pic by Jans Canon]

[This post, “The Challenge Is Not To Touch It!” (And Other Things I Recently Overheard), was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

For three months now I’ve been blogging at different coffee shops almost every day of the week. Most times I’m head down paying attention to my own stuff, but every now and then I get bored and “accidentally” listen to what others are discussing around me ;)

I wouldn’t call it eaves-dropping necessarily because people are so loud!, but I also don’t go out of my way to put on my ear phones all the time either… And perhaps, just perhaps, I may even pretend to be listening to music when in truth I’m following along your weirdo lives and jotting down some notes for a future blog post.

Okay, so I guess that is eaves dropping :)

Anyways, today I thought I’d share some of these findings I’ve so sleuthly recorded over the months to give you an inside scoop on what people are really talking about in the middle of the work day instead of, *ahem*, working. Maybe I’ve caught one of your own conversations?

And for your own sanity, I’ve sorted through all the drivel and only included the money-related gems for your enjoyment… Though I’m now thinking of starting NonsensePeopleTalkAboutAtCoffeeShops.com too – you wouldn’t believe some of the stuff people regurgitate to each other! I often times need to take a quick shower afterwards, haha…

Here’s stuff I’ve overheard recently:

“You need to be selling more to the 14 year olds”

Ummm….

“Saying you believe in God vs. having a relationship with him is like paying me to be your friend. I’ll sit here and listen to you but you won’t be getting anything out of it”

Haha… I had to stop from spitting out my coffee on this one :) And even funnier was the fact this conversation happened at the *same* table the line above w/the 14  year olds occurred, only 30 minutes later. Talk about a difference in conversation topic!

“Wet suits cost over $100, and bikinis a lot too, yet cover hardly anything?”

Hah! So true! :)

“I haven’t launched my dream business because of my girlfriend”

Long story short, this guy put his business on pause to marry his girlfriend so he could be more stable, but it’s now been over a year and they’re still not married. Nor engaged, from what I could gather (he got kinda quiet so was hard for me to hear at times ;)). I was trying to make out what type of business he wanted to do,  and by the end I came away thinking it had something to do with the mountains and the outdoors – like maybe giving group tours?

“She’s working at a coffee shop instead of using her degree”

Ouch! This was said by a wealthier looking woman talking about her very own 20-something daughter. She went on to say she’s “so much smarter than that” and needs to be doing something more in her field of art… A half an hour the women of the group went to go play tennis and the men of the group golf. Which was what led me to believe they were wealthy – who does that in the middle of the week?

“You only need to sell 120 of them to get your 20%”

I was trying to figure out *what* it was they were trying to sell, then later in the conversation I heard “book fair” and “cheesecakes.” Seem to go pretty well together, eh? (Though what  happens if you only sell 119 of them? 0%?)

“My rates are $200/hour if we have to go back and forth. But if she accepts right away it’s only $500.”

This one was a sad one – all about divorce :( I literally had to blast the music in my years every now and then just to force myself to stop listening… This guy loved his wife and his kids so much but for whatever reason they were splitting up and his attorney needed to ask him 1,001 questions which just deflated him even more as time went on…  And for $200 an hour I’m sure it stung even more!

Here were other snippets by his attorney to give you an idea of how miserable it all sounded:

“If you guys get sentimental and end up hooking up, it doesn’t start the clock over”
“You don’t want to be paying $25 for the rest of your life to her.”
“The thing saving you is not having kids in daycare. I have clients that use up all their paychecks for child support mainly due to daycare”
“You should probably pay that off now before we present this agreement to her”

And this was the kicker, and when I tuned out completely: “Also, turns out I have cancer but should be gone now…” Ugh, poor guy.

And here’s what people have said to ME while sitting there “minding my own business” ;)

“All you do is write and drink coffee?”

On me being a self-employed blogger, of course… Yup, that’s all I do!

“Do you want to buy my CD?”

No, haha… I probably would have if I was approached differently and learned more about this guy’s back story (it was a self-produced album that looked religiousy?), but he was going table to table trying to hawk it without even a smile on  his face so I was turned off before I could even get interested…

“Can my friend practice her pitch on you for her charity?”

This was by two complete strangers but incredibly fascinating because 1) I’ve ran a charity before and I’m very familiar with how that game goes!, and 2) It was on the same Friday I wrote the post on how no one can ever take things way from you that you’ve accomplished. Which specifically mentioned that same charity of Love Drop – what timing!

I told her she needed to get her *story* across as simply and easily as she could – because that’s what’s going to connect with the person on the other end, not necessarily what the charity is doing. I asked her to re-pitch me including her story in it, and 30 seconds later we both had tears in our eyes! It was amazing!! So hopefully she re-works it into her organization to affect a LOT more people.

And that ends this round of coffee shop confessions! If you liked it, maybe we’ll do it again sometime… There’s never any shortage of juicy convos going around town, I’ll tell you that much.

Happy weekend, peeps… Be careful of what you’re saying out there ;)

——
PS: On another financially-related note, it’s pretty interesting how drastic the prices for coffee are across the different shops too. I can order roughly the same thing (“large coffee with cream”) and it’ll cost anywhere from $1.50 to $3.50 a cup, then $0.00 to $3.50 for a refill. With the most expensive places being the mom and pop shops, and the cheaper (less-potent) coffees coming from the chain stores. At the end of the day though what you’re really paying for is the atmosphere of it all.  I don’t go out of my way to pay for coffee when I can drink it for free at home, but I do go out to be around people and grab that free wifi. So a small price to pay for an extended work office in my opinion.

[“Coffee Addict” pic by dadevoti]

[This post, Overheard at The Coffee Shop, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]