re: Asking how much money someone makes

Just tell them your salary is used for spending cash its really the trust fund that you live off of. This will shut them up quickly.

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I find it tacky and trashy and yet people ask it so frequently. I’m beginning to think I’m in the minirotiy. Do you find it tacky when some asks how much money you make?

I never respond and try to play it off as not that much. What’s the best way to respond without being a jackass?

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It's a sensitive question for most people. Personally, I do not care how much someone earns as it isn't a measure of their value to society in my mind.

I'm very open about discussing finances but I can understand why most avoid it.

On the whole, most people aren't very good with finances so the majority of the population is not going to want to talk about the top line item (gross income).

I usually have no problem divulging the information if it’s someone who is curious in hopes of helping themselves with some sort of hypothetical financial decision. If they are random, then it’s usually answered with a polite form of gfy.

Moved into a new office space a couple of months back.

Met the business owner from next door. Second question out of the guys mouth: "What do y'all do?"

Third question: "Do you make much doing that?"

I just stared at him for a second. He then told me what he did (as if the giant sign on the front of his retail business wasn't a clue) and I said: "Do you make much doing that?" I think he got the message. Haven't spoken to him since.

There are only a few people that I discuss stuff like that with. Typically very close friends or family, and it's due to discussing opportunities, investments, or advice.

Something similar to that happened to my wife and I this weekend, not exactly the same situation, but still a bit uncomfortable. We were discussing real estate with a couple friends from out of town who slept over. My wife made the comment that we looked at this one house, and considered it but ultimately decided not to go through with the purchase because it was going to need considerable upgrades and we felt like the house wasn't necessarily worth what they were asking. One of the friends asked what the asking price for the house was. We both felt uncomfortable, and my wife just said that she didn't remember, because the house was pretty expensive and she didn't want to act like she was bragging or something.

ETA: if someone that I am friends with asked and they weren't being an a-hole or whatever, I wouldn't mind discussing it. When I was younger, one of my friends asked me that, then proceeded to be butthurt because I made more money than him and his degree was "better" than mine. This was when we were just a couple years out of undergrad.

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I never respond and try to play it off as not that much.

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you don't want your friends that work at McDonald's to know how much you get paid at Chick-fil-a cause you feel bad for them?

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Lickitty Split

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How much money do you make?

Never had this happen before, but several ears ago one of our neighbors asked us if we were renters or homeowners right after we moved in.

She excused herself from the conversation without answering.

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I usually have no problem divulging the information if it’s someone who is curious in hopes of helping themselves with some sort of hypothetical financial decision. If they are random, then it’s usually answered with a polite form of gfy.

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Pretty much this. If it's someone asking about career oppurtunity or a good friend asking for a legit reason I don't mind at all sharing. However, if it's some guy I went to high school with asking to then try to brag about how much he makes at the paper mill I tell him to frick off.