Can someone truly be this innocent/clueless??

[jeepgirl30]

I have a coworker friend that constantly amazes me with her cluelessness! At first I honestly thought it was an act. We've been working together 6 years now and I am still going at some of her comments/questions.

Sometimes I know the work related questions are fake and her way of getting others to do her work for her! She grew up sheltered and spoiled but is really a sweet girl. Still very close to her family but is very immature overall. She got married this summer. She is late 20s.

When we first started working together (we started at the same time) she asked what a mortgage was, when we explained she asked why someone would have one and not just pay for the house. At the times she was in her early 20s and this was only her second job out of college so i sort of understood she just wasn't aware of financial things. Her father managed her checking account, paid her bills, etc. She is still on her family's phone plan.

Over the years she has made a lot of comments that I feel my 10 year old would know. At Christmas she made cookies for the first time and came in crying because they didn't turn out. She didn't know you could not put all the ingredients in at once. I asked if she read the recipe and she said yes but thought she could skip the steps.

OVer the years i've told her about ff miles, hotel rewards, credit card rewards, etc. I've shown her how to use coupon codes and printable coupons. Those things I get a lot of people don't know about.

However, today another co worker dropped off the coupon section from the paper for her for her favorite soup and something else i forget. She asked where she could use them. When the other co worker said anywhere she was in complete shock. She thought you could only use coupons if they came from the store and only at that store. She has gone around asking everyone if they knew you can use coupons in the grocery store that you can get in the paper.

She asked me if i thought it was weird she didn't know. I held my breath for a moment and said well, YES.

I mean seriously how can you not know about coupons? whether you use them or not you have to know they are out there. She goes to the grocery store every few days.

 

[HM]

Obviously her parents didn't spend any time getting her ready for the real world while she was in their house. What a shame. Never baked cookies? Wow.

 

[NYCDiane]

I've met many people like that in my lifetime --- some of them in their 30s and 40s!!! One young woman at my job (23?) had no idea what a "rain check" is. I had to explain it to her in detail.

It amazes me as well that there are people out there like this and wonder how they would survive without their enablers (parents who balance their checkbooks for them, etc). That's why I teach my daughter about everything. At 12, she's always on the lookout for coupons, sales, etc. She knows that you have to have $$ in the bank in order to use the ATM, she knows that once you write a check that money is no longer your, how to keep track of bills and what's due and when, how to follow cooking directions, recipes, etc etc etc.

 

[leadfootlevi]

At 12, she's always on the lookout for coupons, sales, etc.

My DS5 knows this! He knows we don't buy brand name cereal unless it's on sale and we have a coupon. It's hilarious to see and hear him running down the cereal aisle with his selection saying "mom, it's on sale and we have a coupon" Oh, the looks I get.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I think people act stupid to get attention sometimes. This person went to college so she should know those things, but she may be book smart & not have common sense.

 

[mrsklamc]

Some people are really bad parents, and some people are not naturally attentive/inquisitive. It's entirely possible it's genuine.

 

[lakelandgal70]

I think people act stupid to get attention sometimes. This person went to college so she should know those things, but she may be book smart & not have common sense.

This. And if she was sheltered and her parents never taught her these things than how would she know about them. It is good she works with someone who is patient with her and kind. I don't know if I could hold my tongue.

 

[FoundMyPrince]

I have a coworker friend that constantly amazes me with her cluelessness! At first I honestly thought it was an act. We've been working together 6 years now and I am still going at some of her comments/questions.

Sometimes I know the work related questions are fake and her way of getting others to do her work for her! She grew up sheltered and spoiled but is really a sweet girl. Still very close to her family but is very immature overall. She got married this summer. She is late 20s.

When we first started working together (we started at the same time) she asked what a mortgage was, when we explained she asked why someone would have one and not just pay for the house. At the times she was in her early 20s and this was only her second job out of college so i sort of understood she just wasn't aware of financial things. Her father managed her checking account, paid her bills, etc. She is still on her family's phone plan.

Over the years she has made a lot of comments that I feel my 10 year old would know. At Christmas she made cookies for the first time and came in crying because they didn't turn out. She didn't know you could not put all the ingredients in at once. I asked if she read the recipe and she said yes but thought she could skip the steps.

OVer the years i've told her about ff miles, hotel rewards, credit card rewards, etc. I've shown her how to use coupon codes and printable coupons. Those things I get a lot of people don't know about.

However, today another co worker dropped off the coupon section from the paper for her for her favorite soup and something else i forget. She asked where she could use them. When the other co worker said anywhere she was in complete shock. She thought you could only use coupons if they came from the store and only at that store. She has gone around asking everyone if they knew you can use coupons in the grocery store that you can get in the paper.

She asked me if i thought it was weird she didn't know. I held my breath for a moment and said well, YES.

I mean seriously how can you not know about coupons? whether you use them or not you have to know they are out there. She goes to the grocery store every few days.

Yes, some people are clueless. I once worked with a lady that was very clueless. We had vertical blinds in our office - the kind you twist a rod at the end to open or close the blinds. Sometimes the blinds get a little twisted and you just have to straighten them out and twist the little rod a bit more (not as confusing as the sentence I just wrote). Anyway, this lady didn't know that...she thought the blinds were just broken. I once opened the blinds and she was just amazed that I could fix them. She said the blinds in her apartment once did that and she had someone come over and put new blinds in her place since she thought they were broken. Seriously?

 

[2manypets]

Some people are really bad parents, and some people are not naturally attentive/inquisitive. It's entirely possible it's genuine.

Sorry, I've got to jump in on this one. Quit blaming the parents for so many things! She may have a learning disability for all you know.

My DD recently was in a car accident and has suffer a severe brain injury. She's now very innocent and "clueless" as some have said. That does not make us bad parents or her unattentive or inquisitive. SHAME ON YOU FOR JUDGING!!!!!!!!

 

[momxx5]

My oh my, my Grandma would have had a lot to say to about her......"She doesn't know enough to come in out of the rain", etc.

It does remind me of when my DD was around 2 yrs old, I would comment that a certain item was not on sale so we would not be purchasing it.

It took me a while to figure out that she was thinking if the item "was not on sale" that it meant that it was not available for purchase at all. Bless her heart....so took things so literal. Mind you, she was 2 yrs old.

 

[pearlieq]

Sorry, I've got to jump in on this one. Quit blaming the parents for so many things! She may have a learning disability for all you know.

My DD recently was in a car accident and has suffer a severe brain injury. She's now very innocent and "clueless" as some have said. That does not make us bad parents or her unattentive or inquisitive. SHAME ON YOU FOR JUDGING!!!!!!!!

Whoa! Simmer down there, friend.

You have a point, but a lot of people may miss that because you're going after a fly with a bazooka here!

I'm very sorry about your DD. That must be rough.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

I believe it. We were out with a few people the other afternoon. The dad got up to use the restroom, said "when the check comes, just put it on my credit card." Ok, so the waitress comes, picks up the card. She returns, the daughter looks at the slip and didn't know how to fill it out. She's in her 20's. Yeeah.

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, there was a class called Home Economics. I think this needs to be brought back and updated for modern times. That or offered as maybe an afternoon seminar or class in college. That's just my two cents.

 

[mrsklamc]

Sorry, I've got to jump in on this one. Quit blaming the parents for so many things! She may have a learning disability for all you know.

My DD recently was in a car accident and has suffer a severe brain injury. She's now very innocent and "clueless" as some have said. That does not make us bad parents or her unattentive or inquisitive. SHAME ON YOU FOR JUDGING!!!!!!!!

Excuse me? I said 'some' and 'some.' I said nothing about any specific person, and certainly not about your daughter.

OP has worked with this woman for 6 years and would certainly know whether or not the person she is referring to has a learning disability.

I am sorry you are experiencing this tough situation but I was in no way judgmental, I simply stated factual information.

 

[r1lissa]

My DD is 12 yo, in the 6th grade. She chose Life Skills for her elective class. For the first two semesters, they learned about personal care- how to take care of yourself, First Aide, CPR, etc.
This semester they are focusing on money skills- learning to write a check, how to balance an account, credit cards and interest.
Next they are going to research jobs and civil rights.

It has been a great class. I even think it should be required, not an optional class.

 

[Crystal824]

My DD is 12 yo, in the 6th grade. She chose Life Skills for her elective class. For the first two semesters, they learned about personal care- how to take care of yourself, First Aide, CPR, etc.
This semester they are focusing on money skills- learning to write a check, how to balance an account, credit cards and interest.
Next they are going to research jobs and civil rights.

It has been a great class. I even think it should be required, not an optional class.

This should defnitely be a required class. I'm an attorney and for the first three years of practice I practiced mainly consumer bankruptcy. It was amazing to me how many people go credit cards and just didn't know how they worked. They didn't understand interest, etc. I filed a number of bankruptcies for people in thier early 20s because they just didn't understand the system.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

I'm not surprised. If her parents took/take care of things for her there is no reason she has to know. There are certain things you just don't know if you don't see them. Rain checks would be one of these. I've never asked for one. I know what they are because my mother asked for them when I was a kid but I've never been motivated to get one. If her parents weren't motivated then she'd never know. A common mistake for first checking accounts is to assume if you have checks you must have money. I have no idea why people make this mistake but they do.

 

[Purseval]

Are lots of people clueless? Look at how many hundreds of millions of dollars each year are lost to Nigerian scam artists and that should give you an idea.

 

[worm761]

In a way I feel sorry for people like this. My mother didn't use coupons, didn't budget, and never talked about finances with us kids. If we said I want, she got it. We had no clue when we became adults. I was extremely shocked to find out you had to pay for water! Really, honestly. I took home ec in junior high. They taught us how to sew and how to bake cookies. that is about all I remember from it. Of course, that was over 20 years ago. I have since learned to not use credit cards, how to find a good deal, and how to use coupons to the best of my ability. One of my sisters on the other hand is not good at it. She has no clue and for some reason seems intent not to learn. But we did have a very bad role model when it came to finances. I remember a friend telling me to never buy medicine at the pharmacy. Go to Meijer, it is cheaper. I was absolutely floored. I mean you go the pharmacy for medicine so I thought you should buy your Tylenol there too. I am a fairly intelligent person and was in college at the time. I just did things the way I had been taught.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

My DD is 12 yo, in the 6th grade. She chose Life Skills for her elective class. For the first two semesters, they learned about personal care- how to take care of yourself, First Aide, CPR, etc.
This semester they are focusing on money skills- learning to write a check, how to balance an account, credit cards and interest.
Next they are going to research jobs and civil rights.

It has been a great class. I even think it should be required, not an optional class.

Excellent!!

 

[hffmnheidi]

I have a co-worker that I pick up every day(Mon-Fri) because she and her husband only have one car. He works thirds and isn't off until 7 and she has to be to work at 7. He's a nurse so he doesn't always get off at his scheduled time. It's not a problem for me to pick her up in the morning because she was paying me 10 a week for gas and my time since I have to leave 15 minutes early to get to her house and get to work on time.

Well, she hasn't paid me for about 6 weeks(60 dollars) and every time I bring up the money, she has some excuse why she doesn't have it(had to pay an unexpected bill/kid had a school expense/ect). When I mentioned the money and cost of gas going up in our area this week, she suddenly got her hours changed and wouldn't be NEEDING me anymore.

I am just so irritated with her because I did this for her as a favor because I could have just said 'no' to start with and left her in a pickle. I definitely feel like I got used and she doesn't get it. I'm sure she'll get it the next time she needs a ride and I tell her no. I just hope she learns to get it together.