Just recently, I shared my budget breakdown on my blog, but I didn’t reveal my income. Similarly, I haven’t written about my primary bank or who I invest with. This got me thinking about how much financial information we should all share and what everyone’s threshold is.
Sharing Income with the Public
I explained in that post that sharing my income on my blog was just too personal given how many friends and family members read it. Plus, I live on an island, and my income (as unglamorous as it is) could make for some good gossip, which tends to happen on an island when there’s not much else to do.
However, I admit that I love it when other bloggers share their numbers because it’s so incredibly motivating. Many bloggers share budgets, and most of us share our debt because it’s one of the biggest reasons we all started to blog.
Ultimately, I think it how much we share really depends on the blogger’s personality and how they were raised. My dad, for example, really stressed that I keep lots of financial information private growing up. He even wanted us to stay quiet about where we went on vacation, because he never wanted to make anyone feel badly. I think I’m still very influenced by that to this day, although I’m much more flexible about what I’m willing to share with my friends, which brings me to my next point:
Sharing Income with Friends
Personally, when it comes to sharing income with friends, I think it really depends on the friend. Some people will be legitimately excited for you if you get a raise. Others might get awkward about your income.
For example, if you make a lot less then they do, maybe that will affect what events you get invited to or what restaurants they choose for double dates. Even worse, if you make significantly more, maybe they’ll expect you to pick up the tab every time you go out. I know these don’t sound like great friends, but people can definitely act differently when they receive a new piece of information as juicy as your income.
I have one friend in particular who also owns a small business, and she gets legitimately excited for me when I get a big contract or have a great month. I feel the same about her and her work. However, I’ve encountered others who aren’t as nice about it, so you definitely have to go with your gut.
Sharing Income with Co-workers
Co-workers are another interesting level to consider in this. The only people who know my income at work are my bosses. However, some co-workers like to share this information because it helps when it comes to getting raises or realizing that they might deserve more income.
I definitely don’t want to know how much other people make at work. As long as I’m happy with my income and feel like I am fairly compensated, I’m satisfied.
So, what about you? Who have you told about your income? Your parents? Your kids? I’m interested to know, and I realize that there are many opinions out there other than mine, so please feel free to share.
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I have told family members. Usually just in a casual conversation where I am complaining I don’t make enough lol. I have also told my blog readers. What I make is not anything to be jealous of and I am on a journey to increase my income and I want my readers to be able to follow along.
SingleMomIncome I love your blog, and that’s definitely a great purpose to have!
I only share my extra income, and not our full monthly income. Even sharing my extra income sometimes has it’s negatives, but I don’t think I’ll ever change that :)
SenseofCents Haha yeah I think if everyone knew your total their brains might explode. Keep up on our toes. ;)
My parents know my income, and one friend, but that’s about it. I haven’t shared my personal numbers on my blog for a variety of reasons. At some point I may feel like it’s important, but so far I haven’t. I do like hearing other people’s numbers though. It gives me a good frame of reference.
Matt @ Mom and Dad Money Yeah my parents know my income too but I don’t think any of my friends do unless they have guessed. I love hearing other people’s numbers too! It’s so interesting!
I grew up with basically the same mentality. We were taught to never disclose our income or anything for that matter about our financial situation. Sometimes it can be awkward bc my friends openly talk about their income and that’s just something I still not comfortable sharing.
BudgetforMoreOnce I got my first full-time job after college I stopped sharing my income. I also pick and choose who to tell how much I make on the blog. I obviously make something because I have Cat writing once a week (unless I just take a loss! which also isn’t an impossible scenario haha). People can just look on glassdoor, though, and see approximately what I make based on my job title.
Do you have a website? I didn’t see it in your livefyre profile. I do plan on ditching livefyre with the redesign which is just starting now.
BudgetforMore Woops just saw your website in your profile, thanks!
DC @ Young Adult Money BudgetforMore Totally! People are definitely awkward when it comes to money!! I really love talking about money topics, but I stay away from specific #s as much as possible in day to day conversation!!
This is very much an individual call…there is no right or wrong answer. I’m of the mindset that some affairs are my own and there are only a few select people in my circle who know my financial situation. I don’t want people to judge me, react differently to me, or manipulate me based on knowing some detail about my finances. I’ve seen this happen too often. Sometimes too much honesty is not a good thing, IMO.
Brian @ Luke1428 Yes, it definitely depends on the person. People get so weird about money!
I don’t share my income or my budget with anyone. While I do share what services I might use or have used, I don’t think people need to know my income or my budget. As Brian said, this is very much an individual call, but it just isn’t for me.
DebtRoundUp I can definitely understand why! I was so nervous when I posted my budget!
I dont see a need to share it with co-workers, but i do share it with my family and close friends. Yeah it is motivating to see other bloggers sharing it and one must take inspiration and avoid comparison, which i do.
Samgill Oh for sure! Everyone is on a different journey with different skills so inspiration over comparison for sure!
My husband and I have this discussion a lot. He writes the blog Common Cents Wealth and always wants to give people actual numbers and examples that will make the concepts he’s talking about more clear. But I’ve never really been comfortable with people being “all up in my financial business”. We’ve come to a compromise and he usually tries to give examples using either a made up income (such as the average income of the US) or he tries to base his examples on percentage of income rather than set dollar amounts. This leaves room for interpretation and eases my worries about people knowing our business, but also gives good concrete examples for his readers. It’s all about what you’re comfortable with people knowing. Great post!
caralynerickson Great to hear the other side. I’ve also been told that percentages are a great way to get around it! Love Jake’s blog by the way!
I have no problem sharing my financial situation with just about anyone, but I try to keep the sharing to just close family and friends. I realize that some people get weird when finances are brought up. To me, it’s just another conversation and doesn’t phase me at all. Most of my close friends are totally fine with talking about everything without judging and that is exactly why they’re close friends.
CommonCentsWealth That sounds like a really nice group of friends!
I am not one to share that info either. At work we were always told that we shouldn’t discuss our income or raises, but I’m sure people did. I know if I brought it up with my friends they would feel uncomfortable and even give me that “its none of your business” look. All my friends and family are interested in is making sure everyone is okay. They are not really interested in the fine details, nor am I interested in theirs.
TacklingOurDebt That sounds perfect actually!
My parents know how much I make, and that’s about it. Everyone else in my family has a rough idea, but I don’t share concrete numbers with them. I am pretty open with my close friends as well, since we are all basically at the same stage in our lives. Sharing salaries at work can get too complicated though, with some people feeling jealous and then comparing themselves against each other. I think it makes perfect sense in your situation or in a small town where everyone knows each other.
JourneytoSaving Thanks! It sounds like you have a good handle on who to tell and who to keep it vague with!
I don’t mind sharing with friends and family if they ask and are transparent too. There is a good bit of info on the blog too so if they googled me they know it all, but I don’t share my blog’s address with everyone, mostly because I did with my travel blogs and people seemed to visit for obligation more than interest.
RFIndependence That’s so interesting. I feel like all my friends & family know about the blog!
I’m with you on not sharing salary information with most people. Extra income like from freelancing I can sort of see worth sharing (as a total, not what you get from each individual job), but I definitely wouldn’t share my current 9-5 salary with friends. I’ve shared with my parents and my siblings and significant other but I try not to with my friends. It’s too personal and cause friction I feel with some friends. I definitely would not share with coworkers! In my place of work that would create terrible tension, something I try to avoid at all costs.
tzoltek Yeah I’m not a huge fan of tension either!!! It’s probably for the best!
Cat, I think I might follow your lead and put up a regular budget post. The big question is whether to share income, which as you note here, is tricky. If you really want to share your whole financial picture, that means spending and saving/investing, which by deduction, means you’re sharing income, too.
I’m not sure if we’re willing to bare it all, but there’s something intriguing about being transparent. If I can’t be open while anonymous, when can I?
DonebyForty Do it! Do it! I seriously love seeing other people’s budgets. Yeah someone commented on mine saying they really couldn’t assess my financial situation without seeing my income, but I just couldn’t do it!!!
My parents don’t read blogs so that’s in my favor! I used to be very guarded about my blog in general because I felt weird about having friends know my money struggles, even though the close ones kind of already knew. But I felt like I was going to be judged if I wasn’t doing “well.” Well I’ve since gotten over that and although I’m not fully out of the blog closet, a LOT of people know. Taking it a step further with posting my budget and income, because I’m a freelancer that will always change. It doesn’t show what I charger per project, just the overall amount. I guess because it’s not suburb I don’t feel like anyone would get jealous, but I do know (and it’s worked in my favor) that friends have been a lot more understanding now when I say, “that’s not in my budget.” One look at my income and they’d know why. It’s scary to post, but I feel it makes me that much more accountable. But like everything it’s a very personal decision, and I totally respect why someone else might not want to do it.
Beachbudget It was so brave of you to post your income and budget, and everyone was so nice about it!! You rock, Tonya!
I don’t ever tell anyone my income, but I did put everything out there for I Heart Budgets Friday budget submission, but you’d have to look to find it if you were really that curious. My parents also taught us that you never ask someone how much things cost them or what they make, so I don’t generally share or ask. However, I have no problem sharing debt. I guess everyone can relate to that so it’s not as hard?
Eyesonthedollar Yeah my parents always stressed the same thing!!
My family knows my salary, but I don’t feel the need to share that information with my co-workers or friends. Some friends ask about my blog income and I’ll tell them about that because it’s just something I do for fun and on the side (and not that much money!).
Roger@lifelaidout Exactly! People are always interested in blog income I find. :D
I have heard it said that most Millennials are more willing to talk about finances than older generations. I think it is because of the internet and how freely we talk about things here. I don’t really have any problems with discussing my finances with any interested party, but I don’t just flaunt it in people’s faces.
ayoungpro That’s a really good point. I think we’re comfortable with chatting about a lot more things than the previous generation!