Do your mates know how much you earn?

[BrowneIssue]

You may as well add a survey to your question.


I don't tell anyone. If they ask, I explain the financial downsides first, and then not tell them anyway.

My wife's best friend has been bailed out financially when her life turned to muck a couple of times. We called it a 'loan' on each occasion but never referred to it again.

We also helped a very old friend of my wife's - she desparately needed some money (quite a bloody lot, actually). We'd known her for about 20 years; she wanted it for something weird to do with adopting a kid from overseas. As soon as she had the money, we never heard from her again.

My brother-in-law went on and on and on and on about how I must be loaded, raking it in and fiddling my tax so that I didn't pay any. When everything turned to rat-tulip in 2001 and we sold the house, he was sure we were up to some really clever tax evasion scheme.

A couple of years ago he started contracting. He has become the worst kind of loud mouthed, boasting contractor that makes me sick.

Telling people what you're on makes nobody happy in the long run.

[Pondlife]

One of my mates knows but only because he's the one that talked me into going contracting and is genuinely pleased for me. None of the others would think of asking as it's not the sort of superficial bulltulip that concerns them.

[AtW]

He has become the worst kind of loud mouthed, boasting contractor that makes me sick.

Did he register on here under sasguru nick?

[EternalOptimist]

Never tell no-one nothing. Anyways, they will work out how well you are doing when they see your holidays/car/clothes/bird/smile.

A lot of my erstwhile 'friends' have fallen by the wayside for one reason or another, but, as a contractor, I have zoomed past the lot of them

[cailin maith]

It's no one's business... even amongst my closest girlfriends, the only one who has a clue is my sister.

[Churchill]

It's no one's business... even amongst my closest girlfriends, the only one who has a clue is my sister.

<ahem>???

[cailin maith]

<ahem>???

Yeah well, you are different....

I just meant amongst friends and colleagues.

[Churchill]

Yeah well, you are different....

I just meant amongst friends and colleagues.

Sorry.

[d000hg]

It's just money. A few friends have asked how I'm doing after leaving a normal job to work from home, I don't hide my normal hourly rate but point out the lack of holidays etc and none of them ever seem jealous.
Of course in my friendship group, some are a little envious that others earn much more but there's very little bitterness and I never saw peoples' friendships suffer from it.

[Pickle66]

I have never told anyone what I earn apart from my now fiance. I would not dream of asking my friends and family what they earn, and have never asked another contractor what they are getting either, although I would if there was another person doing the same role as me at the same client.

I am not a contractor earning mega money, and some contracts I feel like I am being ripped off. I do it because I enjoy the freedom of the varying roles, each client different, meeting new people, on the job training so to speak and would not trade it for a permanent job.

I still get embarrassed that when I was contracting full time, I could do what I wanted when I wanted, and managed to save a cushion of money over the last 6 months (had done more before but bought a flat)
It has taken me 4 months to find another role and its only p/t...now feel like I am watching every penny which is something i havent done for years and years. A learning curb - maybe I had become a little complacent