Gransnet forums

Chat

Would you ask?

(109 Posts)
Willow10 Tue 05-Feb-19 11:22:57

I'm expecting someone to call to give a quote for a roof repair today. I'm also waiting for a call from the gas man about a boiler leak. My neighbour calls in for coffee occasionally and I know exactly what her first question will be - 'how much did that cost you?' She has been asking personal questions about finances ever since I moved in almost six years ago. Is it just me or would others find it extremely rude? I would never dream of asking anyone that question, I don't even ask my grown up children - it's no one else's business as far as I'm concerned. But somehow I've never found the right response that won't sound offensive or rude, so I just blurt out the cost! How do other people deal with this and what would your response be?

Riggie Thu 07-Feb-19 12:22:21

I wouldnt have any compunction about being rude to a question about how much my pension was. The question in itself is very rude so I'd either resort to "did you mean to be so rude and nosey" or "none of your business".

Eloethan Thu 07-Feb-19 12:27:17

I don't see it as particularly personal or offensive to ask someone how much a particular job cost. If I was getting some work done on the house and wasn't sure how much I should be paying and someone I knew fairly well was having the same work done, I might ask them.

antheacarol55 Thu 07-Feb-19 12:44:32

My mum always said money and fair words if someone asked her questions about money

ExaltedWombat Thu 07-Feb-19 12:50:50

It's interesting and useful to know what things cost, particularly things that you might need yourself in the future. If people don't know the 'going price' for a job, it's hard to negotiate with tradesmen. Share!

(It's OK to be coy about what a dress cost I suppose, unless you want to boast about how much your partner spent on you or about finding a bargin!)

Lancslass1 Thu 07-Feb-19 13:00:22

How amazing .
I posted exactly the same comment as antheacarol at about the same time but it didn't appear.

Boosgran Thu 07-Feb-19 13:03:45

Good grief what a rude person! I’m afraid I wouldn’t tell her anything related to my personal finances. A quote for a boiler etc is fine for information but anything else- no!!

Tillybelle Thu 07-Feb-19 13:11:03

Oscar Wilde, in Lady Windermere's Fan (1892); often paraphrased : "A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing."

Chocolatenoodle8 Thu 07-Feb-19 13:36:10

My friends used to ask me what I’d paid for things too. When our windows were replaced it was easy to reply, “You have a different number of windows to me and they won’t be the same size, so the cost will be different.”
I’ve learned over the years to say, “Oh it wasn’t too bad.” Or, “It was very reasonable!”

grandtanteJE65 Thu 07-Feb-19 13:37:14

I personally don't mind telling anyone what a repair to our house cost, as those who ask would be considering having work done to their home.

I agree it is no-one's business how much your pension is.

If anyone was cheeky enough to ask me, I would say that I have the standard pension from OAP for a married woman and a little extra from the two unions I belonged to, but not state the amount.
If the person then asked me how much that amounted to, I would probably say, "Sorry, I don't like discussing money." and change the subject. If that didn't work, I would make no bones about saying, "Well, that is none of your business, is it, dear?" thereby making it clear that I had taken offence.

llizzie2 Thu 07-Feb-19 13:48:43

Why not tell her that you pay monthly for repairs? It may not be true all the time, but that doesn't matter in the scheme of things. Sometimes 'a little white lie' is necessary. There is nothing to gain from telling people your business. Volunteer if you like, but if she asks then she is just being nosey and before you know where you are it will be all over the street.

I have had a contract to have my boiler serviced and any repairs that arise and the electricity and plumbing likewise. I have no idea how much the services and repairs are in the 30+ years I have had the contract.

sharon103 Thu 07-Feb-19 13:56:25

I'd just say to her that you don't know the price of anything because husband deals with the finances.

anitamp1 Thu 07-Feb-19 13:57:14

The old expression my mother used to use springs to mind. 'Money in fair words'. Perhaps that might make her take the hint.

Gaggi3 Thu 07-Feb-19 14:15:19

I don't mind telling people about the price of work done etc. but draw the line at personal finances. My grandmother, (born 1888), was very secretive about money, not that she had much, and wouldn't put any in a P.O. account because the women on the counter would know her' business'. I have no idea where she kept her cash.

GreenGran78 Thu 07-Feb-19 14:16:49

I wish that my friend HAD asked me how much I paid to have my bathroom refitted, and who had done the work. She chose someone advertising in the local paper to tidy up her driveway., last November. When she mentioned that she wanted to have her bathroom modernised, next April, he made her an offer. "If you put down £250 now, I will do the job, and give you a 25% discount". She accepted!
The price he gave her is much higher than I paid, and I just hope that a) he turns up to do the job and b) he really can fit bathrooms, and isn't just a 'bodger'.
Her late husband always used to see to everything, and she is very naive

Willow10 Thu 07-Feb-19 14:44:12

Gosh - I didn't expect to get such a big response to this! Reading through your replies there seems to be a splitbetween those who don't really care and those who, like me, find it offensive. Maybe, as someone suggested, it is the way we are brought up. My neighbour has no qualms about discussing her own personal finances or those of her adult children. So maybe that's how she was brought up and that is her choice. I, on the other hand have never known any of my family's finances and wouldn't dream of asking! The furthest I will go with my children if I suspect they are struggling is to say 'Are you managing ok financially - do you need any help?'

For those who suggest trying to pass it over to the husband, there hasn't been one of those around for over 30 years.grin Thank you all for your suggestions.

sheilann734 Thu 07-Feb-19 16:35:35

My late mum always used to reply'Money and fair words' to any queries like that.!

sheilann734 Thu 07-Feb-19 16:38:56

My late mum always used to reply 'Money and fair words' to any nosy questions about the cost of things.

sarahellenwhitney Thu 07-Feb-19 16:44:17

Personal and not her business. She has been doing this, it appears, since she became your neighbour which you have allowed to go on.
Do you really need to divulge any of your plans?
'How much?I'll cross that bridge when I come to it'

bikergran Thu 07-Feb-19 16:55:40

" Money in fair words" I think my mum would say

bikergran Thu 07-Feb-19 16:56:47

oh gosh sheilann hadnt seen your post soz lol spooky ...lol

MagicWriter2016 Thu 07-Feb-19 18:59:12

I would never ask, or tell, anyone about personal finances, but I don’t see why you need to keep a secret of how much you pay for things like jobs getting done on your home. She might be wondering if she could afford to get her roof done and so on.

Maybe she doesn’t have much to converse about. You don’t say what sort of age she is or if she gets out much, although, thinking about it more, I did have an auntie who was very fixated on money and always told you how much something cost or how much someone had given her. We would just try and brush over it and change the subject ASAP.

moggie57 Thu 07-Feb-19 19:28:29

ask her if she knows someone better than the quote you was given today.

Kernowflock Thu 07-Feb-19 19:29:57

Just ask 'why'

ayokunmi1 Thu 07-Feb-19 20:03:09

But OP does not feel.comfortable
Its rude to continually ask
Say not telling and laugh it off .she is very nosey and if one doesnt stop this horrid habit she might become resentful.

Pepine Thu 07-Feb-19 20:12:31

I think I’d comment something along the lines of ‘I wouldn’t like to say - discussing money or comparing costs is always awkward isn’t it? Either it’s too much which makes me feel bad or too little which makes you feel bad!’