<prompt> Human: it strikes me that the majority of users that post here are: 1. passionate about their financial health -- either in terms of ongoing maintenance or improvement.2. interested in learning best-practices from others.3. also generally curious about how well they are doing compared to others. that said, i often see folks creating throwaway accounts when posting to get feedback on their personal finance situations. i completely understand this - i think weve made personal finance a borderline taboo subject to discuss publicly. people often dont want others to know how much they make, how much debt theyre in, what their net worth is, etc... i often like to come here because i too feel uncomfortable discussing financial issues with friendsrelatives. but i also find myself feeling some level of concern for my friendsfamily -- i think i know more about personal finance than the average person and want to help impart some of that knowledge to my circle without the feeling of awkwardness or making it seem like im bragging. my question for other PFers: how private are you about your personal finance? do you feel comfortable sharing details about finance with friendsextended family, or is it strictly relegated to yourselfspouse? if less comfortable, what are you reasons for being so private?  <response>: Ill tell you pretty much anything except our annual income and out net worth. I figure nothing good can come of that. I figure I have a very healthy view of success, and one thats not common. I know success is more than just money, your success or failure has nothing to do with my success or failure, and I want my friends to be successful. I still think I would have a hard time finding out someone makes more than me. I dont want that to go the other way, especially if that person doesnt have a healthy view of success like I do. Jealousy can come from sharing. I honestly cant think of anything positive that can come from it.The only exception is my parents, my wifes parents, and her sister. I dont exactly go out with the intent of telling them info but I wont hide it from them either. If I was to help someone with their finances I wouldnt talk about my numbers. I would say weve worked hard and that weve sacrificed. Ill talk about what weve given up. Ill probably mention how cheap our apartment is. Ill talk percentages, we invest X, give Y. 