I’m in an office sou-sou. This is when a group of people put in a certain amount of money per week and draw numbers to figure out in what order each individual gets the weekly pot. It’s kinda like an enforced savings plan or a lotto where you are sure to draw even.
My questions are: Has anyone outside of NYC ever heard of this? and Where does the name sou-sou come from?
Got me there. I live right across the river from you and I’ve never heard of this before.
I live and work in NYC and I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. Sounds kinda illegal. I want in.
Why would it be illegal? Everyone gets exactly what they put in, every time. The only question is when they get it.
Like Q.E.D says, nobody makes money. No one loses any money either.
The first time I ran into one of these was when I worked for Empire Blue Cross & Shield a good 15 years ago. Every office I’ve worked in since then has had a sou-sou.
I now work for a middling to large accounting firm and, sure enough, some employees run sou-sous. These are not run by the companies. It’s kinda like an office football pool type thingy. I gotta tell you, the partners come up with some big dollar sou-sous. Hundreds of dollars per turn.
Are you sure of the spelling? I’m all curious now and Googling like crazy, but nothing.
Not sure of the spelling at all. I’ve never seen it spelled out. It’s pronounced suesue. It could be a Carribean thing.
Oooo…I found this Google-translated french page.
I thought you were talking about drugs for a minute there.:smack:
I haven’t heard of sou-sou nor am I familiar with the concept that it represents.
According to this forum the practice comes from Trinidad:
Found this
Thank you MC M C. That’s exactly what I was looking for.
I’m not Trinidadian and neither are any of the partners in the company where I work and, although some of the other participants in the other sou-sous I was in were from the islands, in no case were they all (or even mostly) from there.
But. . . it was probably started by one or two Trinis and caught on with everyone else in the offices where I worked.
Thanks again. This place is great.
You know what? Now that I think about it, this reminds me of the practice mentioned in an old Cecil column: How can Korean-Americans afford to start so many grocery stores?
So there you have it. Susu. Whodathunkit?
I live in New York for 25 years, and never heard of this. But what’s the point? Why can’t you just save that amount of money by yourself?
I was thinking the same thing panache45. It’s great if your at the top of the list, you virtually have a nice interest free loan you pay back month by month, but it sure sucks if you’re at the bottom of the list. Does anyone know how it is determined when it’s your turn to collect?
We call 'em “tandas” in the Mexican-American communities.
Basically they work is that a group of ten, twenty, or what not will be organized by the “tanda” organizer. Let’s say it’s a group of 20. The organizer will draw up a list as follows:
etc.
S/he will go to the 20 people, tell 'em that it’s a “tanda” of let’s say $20 per pay period (usually a “quincena”). So, $20X20=$400 per turn (a total of 8,000 will have been collected by the end of the tanda). The leader will ask the participant to sign up at which ever position in the list they prefer. So, as "tanda" leader, they are responsible for collecting the money and delivering the money. In some instances, it's customary to have an extra number in the list and that "extra number" being the payment for being the tanda organizer. So, using our example, there would be a "21" and that collection would be paid for the tanda organizer as profit plus the organizer’s regular take. That person would bring in, using our example, $800.00
XicanoreX
I’ve never been in one, but I think the point is that it forces you to save the money. People on a tight budget will have a hard time saving $20 a pay period. Not so much because they can’t afford it (obviously they can afford to put it in the bank or a shoebox if they can put it in the su-su) , but because it’s just too easy to spend an extra twenty bucks a week, or tap into the kitty when a minor crisis comes up. Kind of like the holiday and vacation clubs my credit union has. The only difference between them and the regular savings account is that money can’t be withdrawn from the club accounts until the end of the club.
As I said in the OP, it’s enforced savings. There are birthday sou-sous and big money sou-sous. A lowly co-worker got into a partner sou-sou and requested to be as near as the bottom as possible, then bought himself a car with the $15000.
There are a few things that can go wrong-- the worst and most frequent is when someone at the top stops putting in. These people are usually found headfirst in a dumpster. Me, I figure I can take my 25$ and buy beer and cigarettes or take my $500 and buy me a whole stack of clothes.
ok, ok, here is the real link