How is income necessarily “public record”?
^When you work for a government entity. For example, I can go to my local municipal website and pull up an Excel file that lists the salary and benefit information for any employee of the city from the Mayor and City Council Members, Police and Fire, on down to the Staff Assistants at City Hall. Transparency in Government and all that…
Civil service salaries are a matter of public record. Because of DH’s job responsibilities, he also has to file a separate financial disclosure form that lists assets and debts (with some exclusions, such as cars and primary residence). All of my retirement funds are included in that disclosure, though his gov’t 401(k) is not! We are also limited in what sectors we can invest in, since he does a lot of regulatory work. However, we are not into that particular corner of the market anyway, so it is not a big deal to us. To keep things above reproach, we stick to mutual funds, with the exception of a small number of PECO shares we bought 30+ years ago, which later merged into Exelon.
Just noticed this thread, and as a financial advisor I thought I would chime in. Turns out all the good advice has already been posted. Nice work, folks.
I will relay one tidbit I share with young clients. Two twins graduate and start working. One twin saves $1000 per year, the other twin does not. Ten years later, the saving twin stops adding money and leaves the account alone. The other twin then starts saving his own $1000 every year at the same interest rate. 30 years later, as they’re ready to retire, they will have the same amount. One twin saved 3x the other, but they end up the same. The power of compound interest. Start saving as early as possible.
Just thought of something else – explaining to young adults the importance of disability coverage, life insurance, etc. They all think they are invincible…one car crash or medical diagnosis and it can all go to h— in a handbasket quickly. And be kind to the people who co-signed student loans for you – get insurance that will cover the payoff if something happens to you. Grieving parents don’t need to worry about that kind of stuff.
Yeah, my sister is dealing with fallout after her 20-year-old son ended his life last August. It’s not pretty. 
I told my 18-year-old daughter that I wouldn’t charge her for the gas she’s using this summer to get to her job, but I want her to save 10% of her take-home pay. I was going to put it in a Roth IRA, but my financial advisor said to wait until she has a more substantial amount to contribute. The minimum yearly fee he thought I could find, even not using his firm, would be $25. That would eat up any interest she earns. So I will sock it in a savings account for her and she can put it into a Roth IRA in a couple of years.
@MaineLonghorn Open the Roth IRA. Your FA is wrong on this. Here’s Fidelity as an example. Today would be a good day to invest in a no load index fund.
@MaineLonghorn, one of my kids made less than 1500 last year, and I was able to open a ROTH IRA for free, I believe.
I’m repeating what others have said, but maybe a different way.
I tell my step daughter to think about how much things cost - 50 a month for cell phone, 10 bucks for a glass of wine when she goes out, 5 bucks for the Starbucks stop, 10 bucks in magazines a week, insurance for the car, etc. Then take a look at your paycheck, and see how much you would have left to pay for rent, etc.
Then go home and thank her mom, A Lot, for paying for all those things for her.
It’s funny how some things become less important to young adults when they are footing the bill.
I told her to make sure she puts at least what her employer matches in retirement. That was the one “non-negotiable” piece of advice. But to also realize how much those little “treats” she gets add up and can become budget busters.
We are not secretive with our income and investment information with our daughter. We want her to see what it takes to earn at certain levels and what it takes to support certain levels of lifestyle. We talk a lot about being involved in a profession that is fulfilling but also enables her to create the life she would wish to financially. Ultimately these are her choices to make and she knows that at a certain point in her life she will be expected to be self sufficient.
Outside of our home the only person that is aware of our income is our accountant.