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

[ducklite]

Ditto.

Plus, our $3,198.25 mortgage is a 20 year term. A big monthly nut doesn't have to mean one's drowning. It might be a wise long-term plan.

You've got that number down pat, eh? Mine's actually in the low $3300's, but I hate odd numbers so I round it up. As soon as my car is PIF, I'll be sending that payment in towards the principle as well, so it will be $4000 a month. Is making extra principle payments budget minded with a mortgage that high?

Anne

 

[disneyeveryyear]

My DH bought a house with his mother and grandmother before we were married, contributing over $11,000 to the down-payment. It was later sold and MIL and GMIL moved into GMIL's parents house after they passed. This house was owned free and clear. DH didn't get any money from the sale of the jointly owned home. He wanted to make sure there was enough cash after closing to replace furnace in new house, etc. He just wanted out of that financial mess.

11 years later both MIL and GMIL die within 3 months of each other. We find out that the house they owned free and clear now has a $77,000 mortgage. MIL worked until about 3 months before her death, GMIL had both SS and pension. These two women should have been abel to live comfortably, but they were constantly buying new furniture, a different car, etc. Luckily the house was sold for more than the mortgage, but not much since it has problems with flooding in the basement.

Thank goodness my DH doesn't take after his mother in financial matters!

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Had a tenant many years ago who stopped paying rent within ONE month of moving in. Said that she and her husband separated and had his name removed from the lease. Then proceeded to have 4 of HIS kids in 5 years. She got public assistance to pay off some of the back rent and part of her monthly rent. She NEVER paid her portion of the rent. We just wrote it off as in our minds as a loss.

She travelled by car service everywhere. I ride the buses or walk. She ran the air conditioner 24/7. I suffer with fans and only use the ac during the worst heatwaves. She had premium cable tv service with a hook up in every room. I have basic family cable on one tv. She had every type of aid - food stamps, public assistance for housing, free medical care for the kids.

Basically, she didn't have to work and she lived better than I did. She just had to keep churning out those kids for her husband who no longer lived with her. Kids that WE paid for. Kids riding in $500 strollers. And since she owed money on the rent, I feel like we directly subsidized her lifestyle.

I did complain to her that she was running her ac 24/7 while she still owed us rent. And she had the gall to tell me that she doesn't pay the electricity bills herself - some gov't agency pays for it!

The straw that broke the camel's back - she started selling Mary Kay from her home. She started dressing really nicely with lots of new furniture and gadgets. One day I saw her parking her beautiful new Mary Kay CAR!!!!!!!

We have taken her to housing court numerous times over the years to try to evict her - spending lots of $$ for attorneys fees. Of course, she gets FREE legal aid. There are numerous delays and stays and then public assistance kicks in for a bit.

She FINALLY was evicted FIVE years and 4 children later. The only reason I think she didn't fight it in the end was probably because she upgraded to a bigger and better place somewhere else. She was in a one bedroom in our building.

Otherwise, she would never have been evicted in NYC. As a "single" mother with 4 small children, she could have stayed indefinitely. Every time, she gets an eviction notice, legal aid and public assistance comes to her rescue.

She either bought her own place with all her Mary Kay loot - maybe under her "estranged" husband's name. Or she managed to rent a 2 bedroom or larger apartment elsewhere and will stop paying rent there too within a month of moving in.

 

[Kay1]

I just heard of one last night that broke my hear

He lingered for several days and then died, leaving behind a wife and three young children. What he didn't leave behind was life insurance other than the 1X salary coverage provided by his employer. There is a small retirement fund and mortgage insurance - so the house will be paid for but virtually nothing else. His wife hasn't worked in nine years and now has only slightly more than their annual income with which to raise her three children.

I swear, I could weep.

It's sure not ideal but they may be all right because the house will be paid off and they'll receive SS benefits.

On edit: I posted this before I read Anne's post. I didn't mean to copy you that way, Anne!

 

[poptoone]

My dad has a guy that works part-time for him (26 years old, married, one kid and works only part-time). Gets two cars repoed. His parents buy him a new accord and pay 1/2 down. He takes two weeks later and trades it on a new Audi (how he got financed I'll never know). Wife then goes and buys a new Tahoe (one again how they got financed I'll never know). Audi got repoed out of the parking lot of my dads shop last month and the finance company called last week looking for the Tahoe!

 

[Mkrop]

My BIL owes tons of money in back taxes and student loans (college, grad school, dental school) He works 2 jobs both as a dentist (I thought dentist would get paid well but I guess not) They have one child who has all the latest things, he pays for SILand DN to go to FL to visit her mother. SIL refuses to work at all even though DN is in school all day. Theyare self insured which costs a fortune. Oh yeah and she drank so much that she wound up with liver failure but she has the nerve to threaten to take the child and leave for FL even though she almost died from this. She hangs it over BIL's head that he will never see his daughter again, which he feels bc he is in debt and works 2 jobs that she has the upper hand so he stays with her. First we think he should divorce and take custody of his daughter (although he is too wimpy)but I really dont know why she couldnt work some PT job so she is home for my niece and get them at least health inusrance!

 

[stitchlovestink]

I just heard of one last night that broke my heart.

The cousin of a friend's husband died last week suddenly - a heart attack at age 45. He wasn't overweight, ate well and exercised and it was a shock to everyone.

He lingered for several days and then died, leaving behind a wife and three young children. What he didn't leave behind was life insurance other than the 1X salary coverage provided by his employer. There is a small retirement fund and mortgage insurance - so the house will be paid for but virtually nothing else. His wife hasn't worked in nine years and now has only slightly more than their annual income with which to raise her three children.

I swear, I could weep.

I agree that this is terribly sad, but very fortunate that house will be paid for. I have an acquantance (sp?) whose hubby was killed in a car accident. Owned his own co, had NO life ins, NO health ins (b/c she couldn't afford the cobra premiums), NO savings, and appearantly quite a bit of debt personally in their names b/c the business wasn't incorporated. She was left w/ 2 young boys to raise and absolutely no financial resources. Fortunately (for her), his accident involved no one else so that she couldn't be sued. She is in a very bad situation. I feel for people left in situations such as this. It is very sad.

 

[CarolA]

I agree that this is terribly sad, but very fortunate that house will be paid for. I have an acquantance (sp?) whose hubby was killed in a car accident. Owned his own co, had NO life ins, NO health ins (b/c she couldn't afford the cobra premiums), NO savings, and appearantly quite a bit of debt personally in their names b/c the business wasn't incorporated. She was left w/ 2 young boys to raise and absolutely no financial resources. Fortunately (for her), his accident involved no one else so that she couldn't be sued. She is in a very bad situation. I feel for people left in situations such as this. It is very sad.

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????

 

[mumom95]

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????

I'm a SAHM and yes, we have a $100,000 policy term life insurance out on me. It will expire when my youngest child is 21 (it is a 20 year guaranteed policy, we took it out when she was 1).

We figured if something happened to me we would need money to cover child care expenses for our two kids. My younges will start 1st grade this fall, so child care isn't as important as it used to be. But if something were to happen to me, it would at least cover the small amount of child care, a house keeper and anything else my dh and kids might need to make their life easier for the first couple of years.

 

[limace]

These are great (and make me feel verrry superior LOL)
my two faves:
-My friend who was single, no kids, good salary in her late 20s, but decided she had to declare bankruptcy because she had so much credit card debt. She met w/an attorney, made a plan, then met me for a drink AFTER STOPPING TO BUY A NEW COMPUTER ON CREDIT ON THE WAY. She said, in all seriousness, that she had to buy it because she wouldn't be able to after she declared bankruptcy. I told her that was kind of like stealing-buying something you have no intention of paying for.
-My MIL. I can't even go there. In her early 60s, makes great money, owns a nice home and several rental properties-and money flows through fingers like water. She takes every cent of equity out of her properties that she can-and then when there is a crisis (she loses a job, which happens frequently) they are in absolute crisis. Spends thousands and thousands on her garden and things like convenience food and weird home improvements and subsidizing her youngest son. Didn't acknowledge DH's 40th bday.

 

[reginaastralis]

Oo, I think I have a good one.

I work with a girl, who will remain nameless ... who MILKS the gov't for everything it's worth. She is on WIC, medicaid, food stamps, and more than likely welfare. She has two daughter's from two different fathers, neither of them who pay her child support *one father occasionally buys the girls toys and such* This girl has a $600 car payment and $800 in rent.

Now, I'm a single mom myself. I've worked two jobs almost ever since I've had my daughter, I think I've been down to one job four months at most. I'm struggling, I'm not afraid to admit it ... so we're talking about work and hours being cut, and I was talking about all that I sell online and do on the computer, and possibly getting a second job ... and she turns to me and says "You don't know how to milk the system. You need to get the benefits since your taxes pay for them!" SIGH

I love my daughter, and she has more than she'll ever need. I bought her Christmas gifts from yardsales and such at a fraction of a price, from half.com and such. I spent $300 for Christmas and about $75 on her birthday (a week later). Coworker is shocked, she paid over $1000 for the girl's Christmas .... And when she found out some of Julie's presents were used ... she almost fell over.

SIGH! My dream is to buy a car next year, buy a house in two, and then have another child in four. I know what I want, and I know how to work for it. And no offense, and I wouldn't, but seeing her lifestyle ... I'm almost jealous. ALMOST

 

[Karenj2]

Ok, I know I can't top any of the previous stories, but this one irks me to no end...

It's my sister and her live-in BF. Now, my sister on her own isn't the wisest when it comes to money, but she was doing ok. Then she met her BF, and they started getting serious, and decided to move in together. Since then they have furnished their 3 bedroom apartment with mostly new furnishings & accessories, two laptops, bought a plasma TV, direct TV w/ESPN zone something or other, buy whatever DVD, CD, etc. they want, yadda yadda yadda. The bottom line is that my sister is at least 40K in the hole. So she starts to try to dig out of that hole (not very well, mind you), but he still is on a spending kick.

He has two guns (for when he goes to the shooting range), had purchased one of those X boxes when they first came out, but then sold it for a quarter of it's value 'cause none of his friends had one so he couldn't play with them. Then his friends started getting one, so he got a second one (plus the games, of course). He has a car, a truck, and his work vehicle, and he recently went motorcycling with a friend, and now wants one of those. For work once, he traveled out of state, and according to him (and I quote) "they didn't have the business center in the hotel I was staying at" (or he didn't check), he purchased a THIRD laptop, with the intention of returning it at the end of his stay. Except that the maid threw out the box and receipt, so he kept the laptop.

I could go on, but what kills me is that my sister is assuming some of his debt - they have a joint account, and a joint credit card (in addition to their separate cards). Oh, and did I tell you that the weekend that the BF was raving about the plasma tv they had, he also told my family that he WANTED to marry my sister, but he couldn't afford to get her an engagement ring yet. Oh, and did I also tell you that when he and I (and my sister) had a talk about finances once (I'm kinda blunt that way), he said the reason that he was in debt was because he had to pay alimony for his two kids.

ARGH. In some ways I'm glad she hasn't married him yet. I just wish she could be financially stable and happy at the same time.

 

[Belle5]

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????

Yep. Obviously there is a lot more on DH.

 

[geetey]

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????

We are good to go! Sufficient life insurance on myself and ample on my DH.

Some of these posts are jaw-dropping!

 

[ducklite]

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????

My BIL and sister have more life insurance on her than him! They figured that wil four kids that range from two to 11, it would cost more to replace her and everything she does than to replace him.

Anne

 

[cglaura]

My ex-husband quit his pretty well paying job w/ benefits & matching 401K to be a professional poker player in LV. Needless to say I'm now facing child support enforcement issues. Now, I'm all for people living out their passion, but with 3 years left of cs & 4 years of college coming up and NO savings to speak of to fund this venture....

 

[Mono~rail]

My ex-husband quit his pretty well paying job w/ benefits & matching 401K to be a professional poker player in LV. Needless to say I'm now facing child support enforcement issues. Now, I'm all for people living out their passion, but with 3 years left of cs & 4 years of college coming up and NO savings to speak of to fund this venture....

A friend of a friend of mine is currently hooked up with a wanna-be professional poker player. She suddenly divorced her husband, and the next day she was hooked up with this guy. He's not yet a "professional", but so far he has quit his job and is playing poker with the bankroll that she gave him.

How can someone be so naive?

 

[AnnaS]

I work for a law office that does a lot of real estate transactions. I see a lot of refinances where people are taking the equity out of their house to pay off over $100,000.00 (yes that figure is right) in CREDIT CARD DEBT! The sad thing is you see them back a year or too later doing the same thing. These are usually people that make really good money too. I'd love to see the actual charge bills to see what they could have bought to come up with that much credit card debt.

It sounds exactly like someone I work with. Every few years he refinances to pay off his credit card debt. A few years later, they are right back in the same financial situation. His wife refuses to give up her "lifestyle". I don't even comment anymore. I just lister and shake my head . They have no children and both have a nice income.

 

[ducklite]

A friend of a friend of mine is currently hooked up with a wanna-be professional poker player. She suddenly divorced her husband, and the next day she was hooked up with this guy. He's not yet a "professional", but so far he has quit his job and is playing poker with the bankroll that she gave him.

How can someone be so naive?

Stupid is as stupid does.

25 years ago, a friend of my at the time boyfriend was a professional poker player. He supported his wife and two kids in a nice middle-class suburban neighborhood, they had savings college funds, etc. She worked as a school nurse to get their health insurance.

The husband didn't particularly enjoy playing poker, he was just good at it. It was a job to him. The nice thing was that he "worked" four days a month and was home with his kids the rest of the time.

I think the key is that he considered it a job, and was realistic about it. When he wasn't winning, he just walked away and tried again later.

Anne

 

[ElizaB39]

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, ample coverage for me.