Historically, money and coworkers were suggested to remain separate entities, and while in some regard this will always hold some truth, in some ways the two definitely can stand to be blended. While you may draw the line at discussing your salary, others think of this as a modern way to empower themselves and work towards closing any wage gap issues that live within their company. Below are a few topics to broach with your coworkers that you can keep as detailed or as vague as you want, so that you can engage, and learn, without violating your boundaries or anyone else’s, or even worse, company policy.
The Stock Market
Trading stocks is something that some people make an entire career out of, and others simply enjoy the stock market and a point of interest and conversation but never involve one single cent of their own money into it. Since there is not a major element of personal competition involved in investing in the stock market you can have convos about this at work without getting in too deep with anyone.
However, if you are finding yourself involved in a conversation that you believe is materializing into something that could provide more depth and value as it pertains to your investing strategy, feel free to flesh that out a bit. Penny stocks are something that are typically associated with being a beginner. If you are looking to get started you can review a penny stock trading guide for beginners and take your findings to the interested parties to continue the conversation now that your money is also involved.
Side Hustles
So many people have a side hustle these days, and the ways in which people accomplish this vary greatly as well. Some people walk dogs around their neighborhood for pocket money while others have service industry jobs evenings and weekends to create a significant amount of secondary cash flow. You can learn much about the surprising habits of coworkers by opening up the discussion to what everyone does for a side hustle, if anything. While some employers would not be thrilled to learn that their employees are dedicating time elsewhere to be able to make some extra money, the more modern companies that exist realize that this is a fact of life and have adopted an ‘as long as it does not affect your work here’ attitude.
Money Saving Tips
Even conversations that have nothing to do with money directly, might lead you to gain some new insights on how to better manage your finances. One good example here would be the role that apps play in our financial lives. For example, meal delivery services are awesome for convenience, but their fees and high rates are notorious for sucking money out of your pocket just a few dollars at a time. A simple conversation with a coworker about how they spent an additional $15 in fees on their takeout from Saturday night can shed light for you on which apps to avoid in an effort to save your own cash.
