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

[mumom95]

Yep I got me one too, I know I know I'm very lucky but our marriage is truly a partnership in us splitting everything from house cleaning to child care 50/50. I thank God for him everyday, I'm truly blessed

It sounds like many of you have great husbands.

I do want to clarify though, so my husband doesn't look so bad Anytime I've asked him to help me clean, he is always willing. But I'm a SAHM with both my kids in school full time, and he has a very demanding job. So, I really don't ask him to do much around the house.

Now, for the cooking, well, he makes great breakfasts on the weekends for all of us, but as for dinners, he can't cook anything more complicated than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But he never complains when I don't feel like cooking and want to go out instead. So I guess I can't complain too much.

I always joke (and this is completely a joke, we are happily married) and say in my next life or my next marriage, whichever comes first, I'm going to marry a male massueus (sp? a person who gives massages) who's hobby is cooking.

 

[staley7580]

It sounds like many of you have great husbands.

I do want to clarify though, so my husband doesn't look so bad Anytime I've asked him to help me clean, he is always willing. But I'm a SAHM with both my kids in school full time, and he has a very demanding job. So, I really don't ask him to do much around the house.

Now, for the cooking, well, he makes great breakfasts on the weekends for all of us, but as for dinners, he can't cook anything more complicated than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But he never complains when I don't feel like cooking and want to go out instead. So I guess I can't complain too much.

I always joke (and this is completely a joke, we are happily married) and say in my next life or my next marriage, whichever comes first, I'm going to marry a male massueus (sp? a person who gives massages) who's hobby is cooking.

Me too!!!

 

[ccdoster]

OK, I didn't read ALL the posts on this thread but at least most of the stupidity here the children are spoiled. I just heard this one from a friend about another friend that I haven't talked to in a while.

The husband works as a salesman is paid by commision, wife just started new job but previously wasn't working. They couldn't make their house payments in the past and the wife's parents keep paying it for them as a "loan". She like the others in past threads is always buying new things for herself, kids, house, eating out, etc. Well the husband only brought home $175 last month as a paycheck and they can't afford groceries. They have 2 small children (3 and 7 I think) and have been eating dry cereal for the past couple days. Her parents as usual have been bringing groceries over. I was feeling a "little" sorry for them until I heard that a few weeks before she got a $6000 **** job. Are you kidding me? Who would get ****s before you feed your kids? AND if you thought you were finally making some money wouldn't you feel obligated to pay back your loans? I don't get it

 

[tonilea]

I haven't posted on here in years, but I just couldn't let this one pass me by...

My DH and I have made more than our share of financial mistakes, but then we took a class at our church by Dave Ramsey called Financial Peace University. Our finances have never been better. We should be debt free by the end of the year!

But, that really isn't my story. My adopted sister and her 4th husband live in some type of government housing. He changes jobs every couple of months so they don't have to pay rent. She doesn't work. They get all kinds of gov. assistance.. Medicaid, food stamps... the list goes on. Of course, you couldn't pay me to live in that place (and I am not a snob - no really), it is unsafe for my nephew.

The best use of gov. funds by her was getting her tubes tied after one baby. I wish the gov. would offer free sterilization to anyone who wanted it.

 

[runwad]

I always joke (and this is completely a joke, we are happily married) and say in my next life or my next marriage, whichever comes first, I'm going to marry a male massueus (sp? a person who gives massages) who's hobby is cooking.

My husband is also a great cook, far better then me. We rarely go out to eat because it would just be wasted money on a mediocre meal. Plus he gives me massages pretty frequently. My only complaint is he starts massaging when my alarm goes off to get up for work. So guess what? I turn it off and lay there another 1/2 hour to get my rub down, then I"m rushing around trying to get to work on time ....I wish I could get him to do it at night instead....I know I have it so rough don't I.

 

[MiniGirl]

I'll post one then go back and read all the horror stories!

Friend, single. Two years ago, she got fired (for maybe the fifth time..she does not like to work). Had 24 active credit cards and no savings. Close to upside down on her mortgage. While unemployed, somehow got a new car loan. New car loan had remnants of two previous car loans in it (she gets "bored" with each "must have it now" car after about two years). At the same time, she flew to London for a week for a Xena Warrior Princess convention.

Present day and another firing later, she still has nothing in the bank or saved for retirement, took out a home equity loan to re-do her kitchen (she NEVER cooks) has purchased yet another new car and had the nerve (or psychosis) to ask us to pay for half of the pool she wants to put in.

Oh, she's now working as a financial advisor.

Okay, this is scary. I can't imagine what advice she must be giving out, and that unsuspecting people who do want to better their financial situation are paying for this advice.

 

[ducklite]

Okay, this is scary. I can't imagine what advice she must be giving out, and that unsuspecting people who do want to better their financial situation are paying for this advice.

This isn't the first time I've heard of something like this. Years ago, a few years after DH and I had bought our first home, we had friend sin another state who were trying to buy a home. She had nothing but judgements and negative credit, he had some lates but would have qualified for an FHA loan. But they couldn't buy anything because between them they couldn't scrape together the $3000 cash they needed to buy a home. And they went and paid to take a class so they could work for this terrible pyramid type company as "financial advisors."

Now I'm not saying that DH and I were wealthy--far from it--but we had spotless credit, our bills were under control. We had 401K's and some savings. And these two who were a financial disaster--wanted us to hire them to be our financial advisors!!!

Needless to say we declined.

Anne

 

[barbeml]

And these two who were a financial disaster--wanted us to hire them to be our financial advisors!!!

Needless to say we declined.

Yes, our financial diaster friend is constantly hounding us to "invest" with her. Yet, she doesn't have a dime invested in the instruments she sells (or in any other retirement fund).

 

[MrsPete]

Okay, this is scary. I can't imagine what advice she must be giving out, and that unsuspecting people who do want to better their financial situation are paying for this advice.

Well, it's possible that she could actually be good at it. My father was a CPA -- in fact, he worked as an internal auditor for a national linen company, and he was very good at it. But on a personal level, he didn't have a grasp of why it's a bad idea to spend more than you earn, and that's one thing that led to my parents' divorce.

 

[disneysteve]

Does that kind of husband really exist?

Yes, but I'm taken.
Whenever DW is with friends or coworkers who are sitting around complaining about their husbands, she just keeps her mouth shut because they all get upset when she tells them that I cook dinner almost every night, clean the house, do laundry, take care of our daughter, etc. I know this thread is about money, but I'm amazed at the "incompetent men" stories I hear constantly. Guys who don't know how to change a diaper or prepare a meal that doesn't come out of the freezer or how to do laundry without turning everything pink just amaze me. I'm embarrassed to associate with guys like that.

Sorry for the OT comment.

 

[stego]

Some highlights:

*half brother who lives in a “large house” in the woodlands with his wife, DINC, I see him at the obligatory once a year xmas gathering at my mom’s house. The guy has nothing to say to me; doesn’t want a relationship and could care less about anyone. My mom on occasion has a sob story about him and I get to listen how he won’t give her the time of the day; and yet she goes through these pains to buy him expensive thoughtful gifts. Me? A card and $40.
Other brother takes the cake and here’s why:
*they live in a 4000+ sq. ft. home with 3 people total. We live in a 1750 sq. ft home and have 2 extra rooms. Go figure.
*he has a 88k M5 BMW. He also has a sports car that he’s blown the engine in twice, three motorcycles, two bikes and drives a beater Honda civic as his primary daily driver.
*his wife commented they can’t afford $10 a week for her to go to weight watchers. He grunted at that. My brother, who is 2 inches shorter than me, is twice the man I am at 350+ lbs. I keep my big fat mouth shut when I do see him.
*while we went on vacation last month, they came over and used my truck to take our treadmill that my mom had given us years ago. Yeah, right. My brother with the 88,000 bmw has to have a 100 dollar used treadmill. Guess I am good for something after all.
*you’ll love this: at xmas my mom thought it would be nice for us to have a nice lunch together. The bill came and she went to pay and I said no (my mom lives on a fixed income) My brother just grunted: let her pay. I asked my wife to distract my mom and I got the bill. And of course, my brother had the most expensive thing on the menu.
*I insisted that my mom to please not get us anything for xmas. (we put the kids on the xmas list) So when we got together I sat it out and did the dishes while I heard them exchanging gifts (and yes, both of my brothers who live in large houses absolutely got expensive gifts from my mom).
*about the same time my mom called and said my brother was looking at the washing machine so we showed up with a new one; and in the background, dearly beloved SIL: I want a new washer!
Years ago I was a single parent and had to get an attorney so I needed money: unemployed with no place to live my mom loaned me money and so I started to repay her. I give her 10% of my income and that is the way it will continue. I’ve paid her the money back with interest but she is on fixed income so we told her if you ever need anything…
I see my extended family and for the most part it is a vicious cycle: they purchase things to make themselves feel better and they are really miserable. (I can’t remember the last time I saw my brother and his wife show any kind of physical affection for one another)
I have personally taken baby steps with budgeting and finances. I have lots of materialistic things; but nothing too overboard if you don’t count my racing mountain bike.
*set up a 529 college savings plan for my son.
*life insurance for both my wife and I, short term and long term disability.
*401k individual accounts with a big nest egg my wife had that is in another 401k.
*refinanced the house to a 15 year note and there is 10 years left.
*truck is paid off in 1 year, then that payment goes towards the credit cards.

That’s been my Achilles heel and like most people I saved the hardest for the last; but have taken baby steps and can see the light of day in a few years. And that’s the key: to take baby steps; similar to weight loss: It doesn’t happen overnight. In our society there is some kind of indirect correlation with family/peer pressure and with the constant oversaturation of material goods it is overwhelming. Each day I strive to move forward despite these outside influences and make the right, positive financial choices.

 

[overthemoon4mickey]

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

Don't envy her for one minute!!! If you haven't ever had the chance to read Dave Ramsey you should rush to the library and check out his book Financial Peace. My favorite quote of his is that today you should "live like no one else so that later you can live like no one else". Keep up the good work!
Beck

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Well the first that comes to mind is MEEEE b/c let ye live in glass houses....well, I'd have no windows left.

However--anything that tops anything I have ever done....

My mother's move to the keys. She purchased a home that is zoned for income restriction--so when the time comes she needs to sell it before she loses it...it will either be A) at a HUGE loss or B) it'll just get foreclosed on b/c the insanely rediculous rules make it pretty darn near impossible for anyone to quailfy to purchase it let alone pay for it. She has non-taxable income that keeps them afloat. Oh and she has thrice declared bankruptcy and was successful only twice. I see her habits in me and am trying really darn hard to not repeat the same mistakes. But according to Dave Ramsey, I am still paying stupid tax.


And then--someone whom I know--shall remain nameless....

have gotten themselves in such a pickle...one part recognizes it and the other is content with paying "rent" for the rest of their lives. Their long term financial plan is to refinance and refinance some more every few years--making adjustments to their monthly mortgage payment...by (I presume) making new 30 year mortgages or something. And then taking out any equity to live off of that or something. It could make your head spin and I certainly don't understand it. I patiently await their house of cards to fall though.

In any case--their current pickle...if they didn't go and increase the size of their home...IOW remodel and do an addition, they would not be able to afford their home.

Ground is broken and stuff is all torn apart, so I hope for their sake, they can complete this monster project. I will say it is all a cool "idea"---their home will surely look purdy when it is done. I don't know if they will finish or for how long they will get to stay in it though. Not cool on the "logic" of how this will be achieved though.


And that should do it for a few more broken windows in my glass house.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Well, this thread has made me feel a little better about my own situation. Currently, our debt is so large I don't like thinking about it. Thankfully, only a very small (and shrinking) portion of that is "bad debt" DH racked up before we were married (and I took over the finances ). However, when you have...oh, let's say $350,000 in "good debt" (yes, that includes the mortgage)...you start wondering how "good" that can really be.

DH and I both supported ourselves through our professional degrees with loans, and neither of us got really well paying jobs out of college (hint to the rest of America, Michigan is not the best place to live right now). Our student loan payments pretty much equal our monthly mortgage payments (and one loan is still in total deferment). The only potentially good thing is that, because of our degrees, we have every expectation of moving up the food chain in the next few years. What savings I did have went into the down payment to our home. We pay our bills on time. Our credit (or mine at least) is excellent. We have one new but cheap car, and an old one approaching 300,000 miles. We've never been offered any help from our families (who have all but completely supported the other 'kids' in the family), and we wouldn't ask for any.

And yes, we take vacations. We live to travel.

 

[ducklite]

Well the first that comes to mind is MEEEE b/c let ye live in glass houses....well, I'd have no windows left.

However--anything that tops anything I have ever done....

My mother's move to the keys. She purchased a home that is zoned for income restriction--so when the time comes she needs to sell it before she loses it...it will either be A) at a HUGE loss or B) it'll just get foreclosed on b/c the insanely rediculous rules make it pretty darn near impossible for anyone to quailfy to purchase it let alone pay for it.

I'm not understanding this. Why would it be impossible for someone to qualify to purchase, let alone pay for it? Is it that you ahve to make a certain amount of money? Or not make over a certain amount of money?

I have a friend who owns a condo in KW that is income restricted. He and his wife have to sell it to someone who has a moderate income as defined by HUD at the time, and they can only make a certain set percentage of equity a year--I think every year the value goes up 3%. They were on a waiting list for several years to buy moderate income housing--there are always buyers waiting. Maybe what my friend has is something different than your mother?

Anne

 

[Hedy]

Another thread reminded me of a minor one(both ex coworker of mine...and textbook examples of millenials).
Co-Worker 1 moved cross country and bought all new stuff, including a mattress at Macy's. Since her brother's gf worked at Macy's, and she got 10% off on her mattress, she charged it on a new Macy's card...and then was paying20+% interest on said mattress she'd "saved" 10% on.

 

[MiniGirl]

But according to Dave Ramsey, I am still paying stupid tax.

I hate that stupid tax and have paid my fair share of it. When I was younger, I went to one of those seminars for the small business owner. You know the ones. All of these business opportunities are presented; and after each one, you get a chance to purchase the videos and workbooks to show you how it's all done. Well, not only did I purchase everything. I paid an extra $1000 to be in the presenters "Fast Track" club. For the next 7 months (or however long it was suppossed to be), I would receive special one and one support and assistance working the program. Also, it was out of this group of people that this guy picked the people to be the success stories on his infomercial.

Needless to say, I took the stuff home and it sat right where I set it down for the longest time. Finally, I moved it out of the way. I don't think I ever got past Step 2.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I'm not understanding this. Why would it be impossible for someone to qualify to purchase, let alone pay for it? Is it that you ahve to make a certain amount of money? Or not make over a certain amount of money?

I have a friend who owns a condo in KW that is income restricted. He and his wife have to sell it to someone who has a moderate income as defined by HUD at the time, and they can only make a certain set percentage of equity a year--I think every year the value goes up 3%. They were on a waiting list for several years to buy moderate income housing--there are always buyers waiting. Maybe what my friend has is something different than your mother?

Anne

Tell me what person earning the max $70K income can afford a $350K home?

Actually I think it was less than $70K--it is a ridiciculous amount that makes it IMPOSSIBLE for her to sell her home for what it is worth....and makes it LIKELY that in order to avoid a financial mess that is all but certain with her track record and current habits. But there ain't no way in heck that even with a MILD home appreciation over the years will the minimal income increases for the maximum allowed on her property--will ever match. Of course, maybe mortgages will catch up and it will be doable--but the house was on the market for a bit and got no bites.

It really is an illogical rule. B/c of the rule, the owner/builder--who foolishly agreed to that 99 year shackle, had to sell his home for 200K less than what it could have gone for. Of course he wouldn't have obtained a building permit and no home would have been built.

And sure if they had a monster down payment--they could do it...but it ain't likely. But with no buyers waiting--that is why they finally sold to my mom for the "deal" that she got--there was noone who could qualify.

In the end...my point was she probably could sell it--at a HUGE loss..at which point, foreclosure may be the better option she has most of the darn thing financed anyway.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

hurrying to put in a pool....a few months before you know you are going to file bankruptcy!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

hurrying to put in a pool....a few months before you know you are going to file bankruptcy!

Grumpy's Gal, I personally know someone who has filed for bankruptcy twice, once after they changed the rules, and they have went out and bought a new car right before doing so each and every time. I think this time the car had to be under a certain value to be able to keep it. He asked me for advice on bankruptcy last time. I just looked at him.

Financial advice I know, bankruptcy NOT!!

BTW, how are those folks gonna afford the water for the pool? (sigh) They never think that far ahead do they??

I avoid paying interest as we are debt free but I cringe to think of how much extra we pay when we shop to cover all those who do not pay their bills. I blame the companies more than the people though. If they could not write off all of their bad debts they would not offer it so readily to those who cannot afford to pay it back and are not capable of knowing that.

Slightly Goofy but pretty darned good with money