Counting Pennies

For somebody who talks about her personal finances online, I’m still incredibly reserved about money issues. The internet allows certain grade of anonymity, which makes it easier to talk about my mistakes and goals and struggles. But sharing my finances with friends and family members? I’m not so sure. Lately, I’ve been faced with lots of questions from coworkers. See, I’m currently in Russia, where asking others how much they make is perfectly acceptable. This is not a question I’m comfortable with, though. For one, I know I’m making about 3 times what the locals make for the exact same job. This is a perk of being a foreigner, so I’m not going to get into an argument about the fairness of it. Still, my money is mine. I’m not sure I want to be telling others how much I earn or what I do with it.

I had a similar experience with a friend back home. We had agreed to do something together, but as the time grew near, I told her I needed to bow out because I simply didn’t have the money for it. She then went into this long speech about how I had told her just the week before that I landed a nice publishing contract and what had I wasted the money on. I was immediately taken aback by the comment. Yes, I had just signed a contract for an article, and yes, the money was good. That doesn’t mean I actually could spend the money on something frivolous (or, by the same account, that I even had the money yet, as anybody who works in this business knows it takes months between a signed contract and an actual paycheck).

Do people have a right to ask you what you do with your money? Your husband/wife does, but anybody else?

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