This girl I've been dating is 33 and didn't know what a 401k was. Break it off?

don't be so judgmental wrote:

I lived most of my working life outside the US, the 401k is an American concept, and only one of many sorts of retirement plans. Most of my former colleagues make well into the 6 figures and are financially stable, and at best would be only vaguely familiar with a 401k.

Btw, do you know what a SEP is? If a girl was talking about it on a date, would you know what it is? And if you didn't, would you want her questioning your maturity on some online forum? (For those of you who don't know, it's a retirement plan for self-employed people or business owners - not everyone is a corporate drone.)

LOOK AT THE BIG BRAINS ON BRAD

She most likely also has borderline personality disorder and will drain you of your life savings within 3 years...

I swear to god some iteration of this thread appears once a month. Find someone who you care about and who cares about you.

I suggest to the OP that you seek some kind of therapy. You are not emotionally mature enough to be pursuing a life long commitment with another human being.

Maybe she's testing you.

If so, you've failed. Run for the hills from anyone that throws around terms like "ignorant" and "airhead" - bound to be controlling, coercive and quite likely abusive.

Good luck in finding someone to put up with you who has enough money for you. Hope you're really good looking and your PRs are fast, as theres not a lot else going for you! You're obviously going to end up divorced at least once so any girl who has a reasonable amount of money better make sure its protected.

My mom is 70 and doesn't understand a 401k isn't an investment. A conversation with her might go something like this:

What is your money invested in, mom?

Oh, I have some in my 401k and some in my checking account.

Right, but how is it invested in the 401k?

What do you mean?

She's not unintelligent, but she's my gauge of the financial literacy of the average American. Surprisingly, most people seem to just lack interest in the topic and think if they avoid learning about it they'll be ok. You'll find similar results if you talk to most people about taxes (e.g. I think the average person is convinced giving to a charity 'saves you money' disregarding the fact that you spend more than the corresponding reduction in taxes). If you end up marrying this person, you'll either have to keep your accounts separate or completely bank on her having $0 when you hit retirement age.

Side note for the trolls: I'm not suggesting you should date my mom, but she is single at the moment.

If she's financially illiterate, but frugal with her money, that's a plus. She'll let you make all the financial decisions and won't spend you into the poorhouse.

My wife is an idiot with money but doesn't spend a lot. I like it that way. I just have to outlive her, she is screwed if I die first.

33? lol at anyone who dates a post-wall roastie. Any decent woman is married by this age.

259 miles is a pretty long race. I've never neard of one either. Trail or road?

Where is this 401k? wrote:

259 miles is a pretty long race. I've never neard of one either. Trail or road?

249 miles.

Pics of your mom?

It takes about 15 minutes to make someone financially literate. If you love someone, or are at least interested in her long-term, why would you not invest those 15 minutes in them?

For my niece's college graduation, I wrote down 10 tips for being financially independent on a note card and said, this is pretty much all you need to know. She took the money I gifted her for graduation and started a Roth IRA.

Sadly, there's several high school curriculums and college degrees that never really address retirement savings.

Where is this 401k? wrote:

259 miles is a pretty long race. I've never neard of one either. Trail or road?

You are taking this thread in the correct direction.

Not knowing what a 401k is doesn't mean anything. Maybe she's a teacher or public employee. Do you know what a 403b and 457 are? A lot of people who work in the private sector have no clue what those are. So does that make them stupid? Nope. Others just know all of these as "retirement accounts."

Get over it.

It seems ridiculous to ask this question as if her other attributes were not important. Are you a male 'gold-digger'? Seriously, probably at least half of the general US population of thirty something males don't know either. A lot of jobs and industries don't even offer it or have some alternative version instead, e.g. 403b or 457b. Maybe she deserves better.

And they both saved their money, when they came home from work.

i didn't see anything about your income vs hers but if you get married just count on managing all of it. Bring all her assets and collateral into the community property fold and manage them.

I would be concerned if she didn't have savings or was spending a lot of money

hart crane wrote:

I swear to god some iteration of this thread appears once a month.

It's almost like there's a consistent stream of people on here who are (1) obsessed with money and (2) enjoy belittling people (bonus points for women and minorities) for no tangible reason.

OP can enjoy his retirement fund alone, knowing he never had to waste his time or precious money on someone inferior to him.

Not really a surprise here, when you consider the level of support for the insane economic programs offered by the democratic party.

I bet she plans to vote for Bernie and worships AOC too.

It is your job to make money and save. Her job to spend it. As long as you know what a 401k is you will be fine.

yup. wrote:

hart crane wrote:

I swear to god some iteration of this thread appears once a month.

It's almost like there's a consistent stream of people on here who are (1) obsessed with money and (2) enjoy belittling people (bonus points for women and minorities) for no tangible reason.

OP can enjoy his retirement fund alone, knowing he never had to waste his time or precious money on someone inferior to him.

Ever considered that maybe you are the eyeballs and that stuff is the bait?

Could it be your being played? Just maybe? And you took the bait?