Has anyone lied to you about their finances

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Have you ever been aware of someone having lied to you about their money situation?

Do you know why they lied? To brag? To cover shame? To prevent you from worrying about them? To convince you of their reliability? To cover that they really had more money than they wanted you to believe? To persuade you to pay for something that they would otherwise have paid for?

[Marcymox]

Re: Has anyone lied to you about their finances

I wouldn't say lied- more like " implied" My MIL likes to imply that she is well off- she only buys the finer things, wouldn't dare step foot at a garage sale or thrift store and likes to show off her fancy schmancy things the buys. What she leaves out of the story is that she has 10 credit cards, uses them voraciously,and doesn't have nearly enough saved up for retirement.

I pretend I don't know these details.

[aurielle]

Re: Has anyone lied to you about their finances

DH and I know a married couple, the husband is a doctor. They're good friends of ours. Several years ago, the doctor and I got into a conversation about money, we were both talking about how tight money was for us, bills to pay, unexpected expenses, yada yada.

A WEEK later, after all that crying poor mouth, he and his wife had TWO his n' hers brand new motorcycles, with custom paint jobs and custom paint jobs on the matching helmets. I was like 'WTF???' This guy was just complaining the week before how high his food bill was.

Now, I have no idea if they were financed or not. But still. I can laugh about it now but at the time it was quite annoying.

To answer the OP's question, why did he do it? No clue. But we're still good friends.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Re: Has anyone lied to you about their finances

Sounds like you may be offering other possible reasons such as---Just to make conversation. Or to try to try show empathy with a friend.

[PRICEPLUS]

Re: Has anyone lied to you about their finances

My wife. It happens that a great many people have their spouse tell them untruths. What can you do it happens!

[cschin4]

Re: Has anyone lied to you about their finances

I have been known to change the subject or give vague answers if someone asks me about my finances. I don't discuss my finances with others and frankly it is nobody's business how much I paid for my house, car, etc. It is surprising that some people will ask you these things. I usually just give a vague answer. I used to discuss this but then found that no matter what price I paid, someone will always tell me I paid too much, they could have got a better deal, yada, yada!

[PrincessPerky]

Re: Has anyone lied to you about their finances

Many many lies or implications at least from many.

After wards I usually wonder at what I did to bring it on, but in general it is just them, nothing can be done.

[Ima saver]

Re: Has anyone lied to you about their finances

I never lie about my fianances and I do not mind discussing them with anyone. That is one of the reasons that I like this forum so much, we are all pretty open about our finances.

[disneysteve]

Re: Has anyone lied to you about their finances

I never lie about my fianances and I do not mind discussing them with anyone. That is one of the reasons that I like this forum so much, we are all pretty open about our finances.

Same here. I never understand why people feel discussing money is such a taboo subject. I think the whole "keeping up with the Jones" problem wouldn't occur nearly as often if people were more open. For example, if you knew the Jones earned twice as much as you (or had tens of thousands in credit card debt), would you still want to try and keep up with them?

Offhand, I can't think of anyone who has lied to me about their finances. I'm sure it has probably happened, but nothing comes to mind.

aurielle - It doesn't sound like your friend was lying at all. He probably believes that money is really tight. The reason it is tight is because they go out and blow it on things like custom motorcycles. I know a lot of people like that.

[Ima saver]

Re: Has anyone lied to you about their finances

I am glad that someone else feels the same way. I think people would learn how to handle their money a lot better if it was not such a taboo subject. I have a friend who insists they cannot save one penny, but if you saw how they constantly spend money on junk, you see that could save plenty.
We went with them a few days on vacation. They bought gifts for everyone that they knew and all their family. When they come to visit us, they bring us about 10 gifts that we don't need.

[kealina]

Re: Has anyone lied to you about their finances

i'm sure plenty of people have at least stretched the truth a little... i know we can sometimes be a little vague (more about how much money we have saved than anything else) depending on who we are talking to... sometimes people don't want to know and sometimes they just shouldn't...we've actually had family members (DH's side) get angry with us because they are very sensitive to the fact that we have some money put away and they are paycheck to paycheck... then they tell us we need to spend a little more and get a life...then go back to complaining about how they don't have enough...back and forth... you all know the story...
my own family doesn't know how much we have...we are all doing ok so there's no pressure there... we simply tell them that we have enough and continue to do our own thing... it's worked pretty well so far....
our friends know we're not broke but that's about it and co-worrkers don't know much besides the fact that we save and don't spend, don't buy lunch, etc...
we are quite proud of our frugal ways and our garage sale finds and don't mind telling people about cost-cutting measures if they are interested... but we try not to discuss how much we actually have as it seems to simply put up mental roadblocks... as in "if you have the money, why don't you spend it?"...

[Daylily]

Re: Has anyone lied to you about their finances

One of my former coworkers used to completely divulge his entire pathetic financial situation to me. At some point later, he quit doing it and tried to make his situation look more rosy. I knew he couldn't have turned things around that quickly. I think he lied because he was ashamed of the situation and it had finally sunk in that he was in over his head.

[Snoopy2645]

Re: Has anyone lied to you about their finances

I have known lots & lots of people who imply they are one way & are actually the other way. I am probably the best known person to my friends to be the up & down person one day I feel so broke & the next I feel like things are going to be ok really & I think that drives my dh crazy as I am in charge of the bills. He says I am just a screwge I say we are flat broke all the time & he hates that. Well if he thought we had $100 extra he wants to spend $1k on something suddendly.

[Gruntina]

Re: Has anyone lied to you about their finances

Regarding a couple friends I know, I would not call it "lying" but perhaps denial. They would argue, make excuses, or justify bad purchases. For an example, one friend must buy a laptop on credit card in order for her to keep up with her finances if she had an online program. She would not wait until she could afford it. Or they work so hard that they deserve to spend it all on toys but yet can't afford to pay all of the bills. That sort of thing I see in people I know.

I also know people who make good income often saay they don’t earn enough to live on.

[BCHGRL]

Re: Has anyone lied to you about their finances

Perhaps they lied because it is none of your business? This is just like when I was in 6th grade and I, so high and mighty, asked a friend who was having trouble what her grade was on a test. She lied and I found out.

Now that I am an adult, I realize that it was none of my business to start with. If someone is inquiring about a topic that is none of their business, the best way is to change the topic. But sometimes changing the topic is not an option, and if so, I do not fault those who lie to when they have exhausted other options.