Ivy League student claims he got a job at NASA making $600K after graduation, friend questions his honesty: 'The highest paid position I've seen posted at NASA was $225K.'

22-year-olds love to tell tall tales about their postgrad salaries.

It's a well-known social rule not to ask people how much money they make. It's even frowned upon in many circles to tell people how much money you make unprompted! This rule is in place for a reason. Nobody wants to incur envy upon their family, and telling a friend exactly how much money you take home each year could make them covet your house. Similarly, nobody wants to put themselves in a position where their friends and neighbors are asking them for financial favors. Maybe you inherited a couple of hundred thousand dollars from your uncle's estate, but that doesn't mean you want to share it with everyone in your social circle. If you are being pressured to give money to everyone you know, and you give in, you won't have any left for yourself.

Depending on where you live and how old you are, it might be much more common for people to discuss financial matters openly. In NYC, people often ask others how much they pay in rent. It's a more subtle way to ask someone about their income, because someone paying $1900 in rent must be earning at least 40 times that amount to qualify for the apartment. I've also found that young people are more willing to discuss the details of their salaries than older people. Older people are more aware of the risks of revealing exactly how much money they make, and they know that it's socially advantageous for others to think they aren't rich.