I am having trouble answering these questions because they are close friends or family asking. They are around my age 20-22 ish and so I am thinking that they are asking because they are curious on how much others make and are fairly new.
As a general rule though, is it good to answer a lower range? I was thinking that a good answer would be to give a range that is lower than what you make.
Ex. If I make 50k, I would say I make around 40-50k.
One of my cousins kept asking me , kept on asking that I got fed up and gave him a figure... I never gave 100% certainty so I said around xxx or between xx-xx
What is the best answer?
My standard answer used to be "It's never a good idea to tell your friends how much money you make". Just tell people it's a good salary with good benefits, and that you enjoy the work you are doing, which is more important than money.
I'm not a fan on discussing salary with others, unless they are involved in your financial life (like a spouse would be). If you make good money, they may be more inclined to come to you for loans when they are short on money, and that can start to cause problems in the relationship. You give them the money, and they forget to pay you back, or something else keeps coming up they need money for, so can't pay you back. But since you are such a "good friend", they tell you that they figured you would "understand". You could dent to give them the money, but then they get upset that you won't help a friend out when he needs it. Or you could get him to sign a IOU, but then they get upset because you don't trust them to pay you back. It can be a "no win" situation.
I just tell them that it's private information and that I make enough to support myself.
Just tell them what they want to know...why would you lie about this ? If you say you earn less than you actually do you'll only be thought of as an idiot who allows themself to be exploited.
Tell them it is none of their business. You may think that is rude. Don't. How rude are they to even ask?
