Post the most financially outrageous things you've ever heard of...

[mickeyfan2]

He's probably going to sell them on ebay.

I heard they are selling for twice the amount paid. Not a bad profit margin.

 

[writersblock42]

My opinion is that there is a difference between spending money on different things than somebody else would and making really silly financial decisions. If somebody is paying all their bills without needing the assistance of somebody else be it the gov't or friends so what if they have a beat up chair, no cable, live in a tiny house and eat hotdogs every night but then spend tons of money on vacations. Everybody is different about how they handle money to-like I will never, ever understand the purpose of layaway. If I can not afford to purchase it right now, then I do not need it. Besides I must not need it right now because I don't get it right then anyway.
I always get angry about bankruptcy-I don't think it is fair that people can just not pay off their debt.

 

[OnourwaytoWDW]

Oh, I agree with you 100%! I'd say you're

And if I had ever had a boyfriend that hit me up for money, he would ahve quickly been an ex-boyfriend.

Anne

Ohh...a long time ago, the guy I was dating before DH asked me that once.
I met him through the mail while he was in the military.
We had a summer fling and at the end of summer he was leaving to go back to Washington and I was still in MI.
I had loaned him already about $250.00 and never saw that again. But once we were at a Renessiance Festival and he saw this really nice white shirt and said "Wow, that looks nice..I would like great in that..but I don't have any money."
I said "That's to bad..that is nice"
and then he said "Welll...you have your credit card."
I quickly changed the subject and that was the beginning of the end!

GAyle

 

[ducklite]

I always get angry about bankruptcy-I don't think it is fair that people can just not pay off their debt.

I have no problem with people who have to declare BK due to a devastating medical situation. What frustrates me is the people who spend, spend, spend on clothes, vacations, jewelry, electronics, eating out, etc., and then go bankrupt. I worked for awhile as a BK paralegal, and 90% of our clients were just financially irresponsible and my guess is that half of them wouldn't learn from their mistakes.

Anne

 

[Merriwind]

Where do I begin---

--my college friend who had more credit cards than I could count, including several she forged her new DH's (With good credit) signature to get. Her minimum payments alone were staggering. Sure, her wardrobe was great, but still...

--another friend who really had a tough lot in life--married and baby very young, divorce, 2nd DH (many years later)drug addict who dies of an overdose. Her dad had to co-sign on their house (thank goodness) and it was on LI and appreciated a lot. Dfriend was out of work on disability (phantom neck/back pain, really I think she just didn't like her job), convinced dad to sell house. She walked away with $100K for her share of the equity. Last I talked to her, she had given or frittered away most of the money! She gave thousands to her very gainfully employed son, brother (who she despises), sister (for letting her stay with her, but she pays market rent), friends, co-workers--I was horrified that any of these people would take her money. Shopping too, she can't stay out of the mall. Other than $20K she put in a CD, there wasn't a lot left. I almost blew a gasket! I have tried making suggestions classes, career changes, budgeting, all to deaf ears. I haven't heard from her in about a year. She disappears for a while when she thinks she's really messed, but I hope she resurfaces soon.

--our neighbor has not paid his mortgage or HOA dues in over year. Thanks to the people's republic of FL, since he homesteaded and then claimed bankrupcy, foreclosure takes forever and a lien is all but impossible. He couldn't sell because he cashed out every nickel in equity--plus some. Our HOA is out thousands of dollars. He and his daughter live in a hovel now.

--another friend used her business's line of credit to fund therapeutic shopping when her lousy excuse for a husband left three years ago. Almost $50K later, she is trying to dig her way out of debt.

Not to say we always make the greatest financial decisions, we definitely don't. But, with people like these in my life, it helps me really evaluate what we are doing.

PS - We are another family with a nearly $3K mortgage payment (bought in the height of the SW FL real estate boom). It is our only debt however and our household budget is quite healthy.

 

[DisneyMomJen]

.

 

[OnourwaytoWDW]

Where do I begin---

--another friend used her business's line of credit to fund therapeutic shopping when her lousy excuse for a husband left three years ago. Almost $50K later, she is trying to dig her way out of debt.
.

This irks me to no end.
I have a small business and every penny we make goes back into this business. I am not "rolling in it" as other people would think once they hear I have a business. It's the opposite. I work 60-80 hours a week, haven't been able to pay myself a penny yet, and get taxed right and left.
Thank GOD I LOVE what I do or I would have given up years ago!
All the debt I have in business. Nothing is personal.

Gayle

 

[HOGFAN]

I know of a family that didnt pay their bills for a month so they could go to WDW. Mom and 2 teenage boy drove down in a Ford Escort. They SLEPT in the car for several nights, no showers . Ate in the car on cookies and cokes. When they had no money for gas to go home, the mom had her sister wire them some money. Instead of buying gas, they went BACK into the park for a day. She contacted another sister(word had gotten around by now) who only wired her enough money to get home. Of course, their electricity got cut off, but who cares, they got to go to WDW.

 

[ArmandXG]

Many years ago DH and I (we have no kids) ended up on welfare. It started with temporary unemployment. I fought hard but ended up swallowing my pride to file. We were only on welfare for a few months, but it was the longest few months of my life. Then, just into our second year of marriage, we filed for bankruptcy, not for credit debt because we had no credit, but for Bills from a surgeon who butchered me and kept me from working for over three months. We managed to pay off the hospital and other medical expenses. We tried to sue the Dr but no lawyer would touch it due to the low ($2,500.) amount. Hence the bankruptcy.
We both went back to school to earn degrees and get better jobs. My family complained that we made poor choices by going back to school at the same time. My husband actually got paid to go back to school and all books and supplies were paid for. I took alot of the same classes the following semester, so I used his books and saved $$$.
My family complains alot about our lifestyle because we go on vacations. We save up and go only every other year. My sister complains that we bought a house we couldn't afford. We got it half price because it was a fixer-upper and we are doing all the work ourselves, and we are currently supporting two households. She, in the meantime is renting a house that she can't afford and is paying off a $30,000 debt on a home the bank now owns. She works two full time jobs to pay the bills while her 20 year old son works min. wage (just started working this year and still doesn't drive) but manages to buy games and sports equipment that he NEEDS! She also supports 6 animals (3 cats, 3 dogs) she has no time to pay attention to. She SAVES money by shopping at Goodwill and other discount shops, but shops there at least once a week, making purchases for other people because she couldn't resist the bargain. She has clothes that still has the tags on them, four drawers each for bras and underwear (over 70 bras).
I have three sisters, 1, 2 and 3 years away from age 50, none married, high school educations, supporting their children (only 1 out of 6 is a minor) working paycheck to paycheck, complaining all the way and telling me how to save or spend my money. I tried to advise them but they would do just the opposite, so why bother.
In the meantime, I am saving for and planning my next Dis cruise and remodeling new home while they are trying to 1. find a job for one recently unemployed sis, 2. sharing a car with another who can't afford to renew expired tag and 3. carrying bottles of water in trunk of car to fill radiator because it has a leak they can't afford to fix.
Thanks for letting me rant! I feel much better now

 

[grumpyvet]

I had a friend growing up that always made the most ridiculous personal and financial decisions. The final one that kind of fisnished off the friendship was remarrying the loser ex-husband who beat her once and then deciding to lease a very fancy trans-am since she always wanted to drive one. She figured if she went back to paying minimums on her credit cards( she had 5 maxxed) she could just afford it. I was done at that point.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

What he didn't leave behind was life insurance other than the 1X salary coverage provided by his employer.

I can never understand why someone with minor children isn't insured to the max with term life insurance.

So here is a question for all you SAHMs on the board. Do YOU have life insurance? NOT on DH, but on YOU?

I have always had life insurance, when I was employed and when I was a SAHM. I still do, even though my kids are now adults (I have been thinking about dropping some of my coverage).

 

[vanyel]

My bil takes week long trips to Vegas because he just has to get away, at least 2x a year. And don't even ask him whether he won or not because he's always mad when he comes home. Then he complains to everyone that he can't afford to pay his bills. He also went to Orlando several time in the last few years, not to go to wdw, but to rent a condo with a pool.

The other thing that amazes me is that in my area, it's legal to set up off fireworks. People spends hundreds to thousands on fireworks yet are being evicted or can't pay bills. I can't understand it. The funniest story about it though came from a friend who worked at a fireworks store. She had a family come in, spend $900+ on fireworks. Their landlord also worked in the store and she was trying to have them evicted as they hadn't paid their $525 rent for several months. We have a neighbor who doesn't have a job yet they've been setting fireworks off for the last month.

 

[disykat]

I don't get why SAHMs would need life insurance any more than any other woman. I think working moms probably need it MORE because the family would face a loss of income while incurring more expenses.

My dh and I chose NOT to insure me beyond the 10K benefit we have that would take care of funeral expenses etc. DH has the income to be able to function as a single parent, including the extra expenses that would involve.

The key is looking at your individual circumstance. For us, that means insuring dh (life and disability) and not me.

 

[PatsGirl]

Oh, I think I could go on forever here so I'll try to limit myself to personal experiences: My ex-husband (and DS17's father) who I was married to for all of one year (my DS born on our 1-year anniversary for those counting -- but don't ask about my mid-life crisis/love child) decided to quit his job when he received his first child support "statement" about 6 months after the divorce became final. He then started working under the table and to this day has not worked legally. He has never been able to purchase a decent car, health insurance, or even rent a home himself. He could not even get a video rental card! Unfortunately, I have never been able to collect the child support he should be paying, instead the courts order him to pay based on what he tells them he is making. That is a whole nother thread

For my own part in irresponsible financial planning, in my first year of college (1979) I applied for grants and loans and was awarded a student loan for much more than I needed for my tuition and books. What did I do with this? Well, what 18 year old cannot use a new (used) car, new stereo, new clothes, etc? I took out loans for both years of school and spent the cash on things I cannot even remember. What I do remember is that it was $76/month for I think 9 years It doesn't sound like much now but in the early 80's it was a lot of $$ for me to be paying and it wasn't paid of until I was almost 30 years old.

Now I pride myself on my financial stability. I am a single mother of two, own my own home with less than $60K due at this point, drive a reasonable car, can afford to give my kids everything they need (and alot of what they want, lol). I have two college degrees and have classes towards my masters degree. Okay, enough patting myself on the back now What I guess I'm trying to say is that with hard work and a sensible budget things can work out.

 

[MrsPete]

I don't get why SAHMs would need life insurance any more than any other woman . . . My dh and I chose NOT to insure me beyond the 10K benefit we have that would take care of funeral expenses etc. DH has the income to be able to function as a single parent, including the extra expenses that would involve.

I don't think SAHMs need more insurance than working moms -- but families do need to insure both parents IF a death would cause financial difficulty for the remaining spouse. In your case, however, the key word is CHOSE. You looked at the situation and decided that the cost of the insurance outweighed the risk of you dying. The people who'll be in trouble are the people who never stopped to make a decision on this topic.

*For two years she didn't put any money into her company 401k (even though they match 120% of 6% of your salary) because she "seriously had no extra cash to spare." I told her that it was before taxes and would likely not affect her that much, but to no avai . . . Now they want to buy a house . But she doesn't want a starter house, make equity, and move up step by step. They want their first home to be GORGEOUS, with all the amenities, yet don't have a savings plan to make a down payment on this mystery house. She keeps saying "the money will come from somewhere". Arrrggh!

I know someone who behaves exactly like this! She started putting money in a 401K, but after six months she quit because "it just wasn't adding up to anything". Same thing on the house too: she claims she's desperate for a house, but ONLY if it can have custom cabinets and granite countertops, a two-car garage, a SWIMMING POOL, and other niceties! Her excuse: Some people grew up with nice things and are used to them! Yeah, but she's been saying that since we were in our early 20s -- we're past 40 now, and she's still in an apartment! She really poo-pooed my starter house, and she can't see WHY she is still renting!

Didn't everyone see the videos of people buying the $500 Iphones?

Most of them were kids, 18 to 25 range. I never had $500 to burn
on something like that! How did they do it? Credit Cards........

I'm amazed at how much money -- and how many expensive toys -- my high school seniors have. Seriously, it's a rare kid who doesn't have a cell phone and a car of his own, and that's just scratching the surface. MANY of today's high schoolers are really going to hit a brick wall when -- if -- they move out of their parents houses and find out they can't afford to buy everything flashy and fun.

Okay, I poked around commenting on other people's "most outrageous" things. Here's mine -- it's rather generic, rather than being about one specific person. I think the most outrageous financial decision I see people make is having a child they KNOW they cannot support. Not only are they putting their own financial lives at risk, they're shortchanging a child . . . and these aren't temporary setbacks, they're decisions that're going to impact the rest of their lives.

 

[NMW]

So here is a question for all you SAHMs on the board. Do YOU have life insurance? NOT on DH, but on YOU? If something happens to you, who is going to do what you do? I have a male friend who lost his wife to cancer. It has been a financial struggle since "we don't need life insurance on Suzy" (Name changed to protect the innocent) Well, now it's a one man shop and some of the things Suzy did for "free" have to be paid for. Things like child care????

Yes, I have a 30 year 250,000 policy plus mortagage insurance (also 30 years) for whatever our mortgage was 3 years ago-maybe 235,000 I think. I remember when we got the 250,000 policy a few years ago and our agent asked if I wanted to go to 500,000 on that one. I told him I thought the $250k, plus the 235K in mortgage insurance was plenty. I mean, I want the kids taken care of and all that...but how much money would he need. He still has a job for God's sake!

 

[Mrs.Reese]

A very dear friend's now ex-husband did this: They re-financed their house. They were expecting their first child. After paying all their debt, they had about 10,000 left. Rather than putting some away for when the little one arrived and/or paying some back. He goes out on his own and buys A BOAT!! Of course, they have complications and she can't go back to work right away and they end up having to borrow more money. To be honest, they really shouldn't have been having a kid. She was still in school and stopping to have a baby made her 30,000 in student loans come due. Today, she still hasn't finished school and their house has now been foreclosed on as well as their cars and the boat.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

The other thing that amazes me is that in my area, it's legal to set up off fireworks. People spends hundreds to thousands on fireworks yet are being evicted or can't pay bills. I can't understand it. The funniest story about it though came from a friend who worked at a fireworks store. She had a family come in, spend $900+ on fireworks. Their landlord also worked in the store and she was trying to have them evicted as they hadn't paid their $525 rent for several months. We have a neighbor who doesn't have a job yet they've been setting fireworks off for the last month.

The key is that some people don't want to pay rent or pay their bills. To them it is like "giving" their money away to someone else.

Their money is theirs to spend on themselves such as to buy gadgets and toys and luxuries and in this case fireworks.

 

[Forevryoung]

DBF has been married twice. 1st time he sat down with said woman and formed a plan. He was going to get a college education (he was in the marines for 7 years) and then work for a few years before they had children. She needed to support them with her very nice job as a police officer. A bit later she got home from work one day, and told him that she quit. And a bit after that (while DBF was still in school AND working 2 jobs because she stopped) she informed him that she stopped taking her birth control pills and was pregnant. Let's say it went down hill from there.

Forget about the 2nd wife... she was worse than the first (thankfully no children)

 

[Forevryoung]

To make you smile:

I have a "good" one among all these negatives. My great uncle was permanently disabled from WWII. He was in a tank throughout the war and a strange switch must have flipped in his brain. Everyone has a crazy relative but he takes the cake. He never married. He has no children that we know of . He has never truly worked for any length of time. He has always been (rightfully) taken care of by the government. He doesn't spend a dime. Still wears my (now deceased) grandfather's clothing from the early 80's. He lives in a very small apartment in Brooklyn and eats food that few others would eat (anything super cheap because it's old)... But he has QUITE a bit of money in banks and CDs. He just doesn't spend it.

My mom and grandma are trying to dispurse the money so the government doesn't get it if/when he needs to go into an assisted care facility/nursing home. He's too out there for any of us to live with him (he washes his clothes in the bathtub because he doesn't trust the washing machine/dryer in the basement etc.). He's finally realizing that he has "nothing" to show for his life and it unfortunately drags him further into depression.