Sister Wives

[minkydog]

Cody mentioned that only 2 of the wives are working. Which ones? I figured Janelle is working--she was never much for childcare. How many kids is Christine actually watching? Robyn? I'd say they could combine their kids at one home, but Christine is uber-jealous of Robyn, so I can't see that ever happening.

I thought their counseling sessions were quite telling. Janelle came right out with it--she's done with this and it wouldn't surprise me at all if she left at some point. Christine seems really lost and confused about where her place is. Robyn is clearly the favorite wife--she's always sitting right by Cody. And Merry is just a big baby, always wanting her way regardless of anyone else's feelings.

I am really floored that nobody thought about how they're going to pay for college for 17 kids. Mariah seems bent on going to the swanky private school, no matter what. Maybe they have a money tree out back. She needs a good dose of reality.

 

[nicolita3]

Honestly if I were one of their kids (thank God I'm not) I would be upset that I was part of this TV show where they made a big chunk of money and they couldn't save or set aside a portion for each kid? I think on John and Kate plus 8 they set aside trusts for each kid. I know there are more kids but wth...

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I watched last night too and even the reruns in the afternoon. I was pretty annoyed by Kody's take on the kids not getting financial aid. I did and entered the career of my choice and paid the money back. What is his issue with that?

Meri is constantly unhappy. I feel bad for her as she was the first wife. Was she expecting to get into a plural marriage? I can't remember that far back. I agree that Jenelle is on her way out though. It seems like a lot of this unhappiness came when Robyn joined the family. That's a problem in itself.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

I thought it was part interesting part ridiculous that one of Cody's suggestions for how the kids can help pay for their own school was "good paying jobs" How exactly do they plan on finding an 18 year old kid a "good paying job" There are barely good paying jobs for adults with degrees. I think they need to be realistic and factor in some of that TV show money into paying for the kids education.

I don't think they should pay 3 times more for Mariah's school as the other kids. But there sat Marry still telling Mariah we will find a way to do this I am not giving up on this dream for you.

I personally think the prices they quoted for UNLV were fantastically cheap if that is considering room and board and food plan and books etc. Just for a state school here if you stay in a dorm and get a meal plan and carry a full load it runs about $20,000 a year. About $10k per semester. So if they are only paying around $7k per year for UNLV they should be thrilled.

I am also curious who works and what they do because they are having to pay mortgages on 4 massive houses.

Cody talks about not being in debt and they are severely in debt for those houses.

Also I do not think it is fair that Merry gets the same amount of money as the other moms when Janelle and Christine each have 6 kids and Merry only has 1. She needs to pay for Mariah's college out of her own money if state school is not good enough for her.

 

[ilovemk76]

I thought it was part interesting part ridiculous that one of Cody's suggestions for how the kids can help pay for their own school was "good paying jobs" How exactly do they plan on finding an 18 year old kid a "good paying job" There are barely good paying jobs for adults with degrees. I think they need to be realistic and factor in some of that TV show money into paying for the kids education.

I don't think they should pay 3 times more for Mariah's school as the other kids. But there sat Marry still telling Mariah we will find a way to do this I am not giving up on this dream for you.

I personally think the prices they quoted for UNLV were fantastically cheap if that is considering room and board and food plan and books etc. Just for a state school here if you stay in a dorm and get a meal plan and carry a full load it runs about $20,000 a year. About $10k per semester. So if they are only paying around $7k per year for UNLV they should be thrilled.

I am also curious who works and what they do because they are having to pay mortgages on 4 massive houses.

Cody talks about not being in debt and they are severely in debt for those houses.

Also I do not think it is fair that Merry gets the same amount of money as the other moms when Janelle and Christine each have 6 kids and Merry only has 1. She needs to pay for Mariah's college out of her own money if state school is not good enough for her.

The wives are suppose to be equal, so they should be equal assets/income from Kody. The number of kids you pop out for Kody should not make you worthy of more money.

Kody needs to pay equally for all of his 14 bio-kids. The moms need to pay for their kid and help the others, if possible.

Robyn and her Ex need to educate the other 3 kids. They are not Meri, Janelle or Christine's kids to educate.

 

[MSLRAC]

I felt like Mariah was being a spoiled brat (hmmm wonder where she got that from?) No I won't even consider a smaller school I want this one, I want, I want!

And what about the gifts? Did Janelle really only get that that little plaque? meri got the picture frames and another little bag, Robyn the clock and I missed what Christine got.

I just started watching yesterday during the marathon and it blew my mind how Mariah was allowed to behave but she acts just like Mery. They are both spoiled, whiny, brats.

I also don't really think that any of the wives are happy other than Robyn and she's the obvious favorite.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

The wives are suppose to be equal, so they should be equal assets/income from Kody. The number of kids you pop out for Kody should not make you worthy of more money.

Kody needs to pay equally for all of his 14 bio-kids. The moms need to pay for their kid and help the others, if possible.

Robyn and her Ex need to educate the other 3 kids. They are not Meri, Janelle or Christine's kids to educate.

The number of kids they have to raise and support should absolutely determine how much money they get from Cody. It costs extraordinarily more to raise 6 kids than it does to raise 1.

And as for Robyn's other kids Cody now considers them his kids and he will also be paying for their education. They made it very clear they have 17 kids education to pay for, not 14.

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

I wonder if the drama this season will be in regards to the "re-commitment" ceremony they are planning.

I found it interesting that Kody thinks that the family unit with the 4 wives should continue just the way it is if something happened to him. So he basically expects none of them to want to remarry and must assume that all of the wives love each other so much they want to be together without him.

Maybe Janelle will tell him to stuff it and go off on her own...

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I missed a few episodes last season. Anyone know where I can find them online for free? TLC doesn't seem to have full episodes uploaded, only clips.

 

[barkley]

I thought it was part interesting part ridiculous that one of Cody's suggestions for how the kids can help pay for their own school was "good paying jobs" How exactly do they plan on finding an 18 year old kid a "good paying job" There are barely good paying jobs for adults with degrees. I think they need to be realistic and factor in some of that TV show money into paying for the kids education.

I don't think they should pay 3 times more for Mariah's school as the other kids. But there sat Marry still telling Mariah we will find a way to do this I am not giving up on this dream for you.

I personally think the prices they quoted for UNLV were fantastically cheap if that is considering room and board and food plan and books etc. Just for a state school here if you stay in a dorm and get a meal plan and carry a full load it runs about $20,000 a year. About $10k per semester. So if they are only paying around $7k per year for UNLV they should be thrilled.

I am also curious who works and what they do because they are having to pay mortgages on 4 massive houses.

Cody talks about not being in debt and they are severely in debt for those houses.

Also I do not think it is fair that Merry gets the same amount of money as the other moms when Janelle and Christine each have 6 kids and Merry only has 1. She needs to pay for Mariah's college out of her own money if state school is not good enough for her.

per the unlv website tonight-in state tuition and fees (and they've lived there a year so they qualify for in state status) $2677.64 for 12 units (full time student load) per semester. for dorm living it's a few thousand more per semester BUT residents of clark county (which is vegas where the family lives) can qualify for $2000 offset of dorm fees freshman year (increased to $3000 sophomore year), dining plans are additional (and as they are at our dd's university-INSANELY OVERPRICED as compared to what it costs for a non dormed student to eat).

given those numbers I suspect that the unlv child is receiving financial aide and offsets, and while they are not using 'scholarships' when considering the private college for meri's dd they are using the net figure (after financial aide, offsets and scholarships) for the comparison with their unlv student.

I don't agree with paying 'out the wazoo' for one kid to go to their dream college vs. another to attend a different, but I also don't agree with the concept of a paying several thousands of dollars for one or more kids to dorm at a college that is within minutes of your home when they could either (1) live at home with those additional monies set aside for subsequent sibling's attendance OR (2) AS MANY OF THE COLLEGE STUDENTS DD WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL WITH WHO ATTEND WITHIN A 15 MINUTE COMMUTE FROM THEIR HOMES TO THE COLLEGE THEY ATTEND (but 'want the college dorming "live independently" experience' sorry, I have to laugh b/c they come home every weekend to do laundry, eat home cooking, grab some toiletires/pantry items....) and GET A JOB (that is, unless their parents have 'the system' figured out and know that if their kid works it reduces their free financial aid).

they can say what they want publicly, I suspect the reality is VERY DIFFERENT.

 

[CdnCarrie]

I watched last night too and even the reruns in the afternoon. I was pretty annoyed by Kody's take on the kids not getting financial aid. I did and entered the career of my choice and paid the money back. What is his issue with that?

Meri is constantly unhappy. I feel bad for her as she was the first wife. Was she expecting to get into a plural marriage? I can't remember that far back. I agree that Jenelle is on her way out though. It seems like a lot of this unhappiness came when Robyn joined the family. That's a problem in itself.

Meri was raised in a plural family and always planned on being in a plural marriage. She even encouraged Kody to marry Robyn.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm trying to get through this most recent episode. I might be done with this series. Although I'm afraid it might be the train wreck I just can't look away from.......

With 2 of our own in college, I found the whole conversation about college laughable. Ditto the cavalier discussion about cars. Did it not occur to them that whatever they do for the older ones should be what they feel they will be capable of doing for EACH of the younger kids? I get this funny feeling that by the time they get to the youngest ones, there just isn't going to be anything left.

And to hear them discussing all of this while sitting in one of FOUR expensive new homes on their very own cul-de-sac just makes me want to vomit.

 

[Kimberle]

Meri was raised in a plural family and always planned on being in a plural marriage. She even encouraged Kody to marry Robyn.

If I remember correctly, Meri introduced Robyn to Kody.

 

[thedonduck]

per the unlv website tonight-in state tuition and fees (and they've lived there a year so they qualify for in state status) $2677.64 for 12 units (full time student load) per semester. for dorm living it's a few thousand more per semester BUT residents of clark county (which is vegas where the family lives) can qualify for $2000 offset of dorm fees freshman year (increased to $3000 sophomore year), dining plans are additional (and as they are at our dd's university-INSANELY OVERPRICED as compared to what it costs for a non dormed student to eat). given those numbers I suspect that the unlv child is receiving financial aide and offsets, and while they are not using 'scholarships' when considering the private college for meri's dd they are using the net figure (after financial aide, offsets and scholarships) for the comparison with their unlv student. I don't agree with paying 'out the wazoo' for one kid to go to their dream college vs. another to attend a different, but I also don't agree with the concept of a paying several thousands of dollars for one or more kids to dorm at a college that is within minutes of your home when they could either (1) live at home with those additional monies set aside for subsequent sibling's attendance OR (2) AS MANY OF THE COLLEGE STUDENTS DD WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL WITH WHO ATTEND WITHIN A 15 MINUTE COMMUTE FROM THEIR HOMES TO THE COLLEGE THEY ATTEND (but 'want the college dorming "live independently" experience' sorry, I have to laugh b/c they come home every weekend to do laundry, eat home cooking, grab some toiletires/pantry items....) and GET A JOB (that is, unless their parents have 'the system' figured out and know that if their kid works it reduces their free financial aid). they can say what they want publicly, I suspect the reality is VERY DIFFERENT.

The other thing to think about is that Janelle said she covered X amount of Logan's tuition. He does have a job on campus (remember the episode he gave his sisters a tour of the campus). He may be covering some of the expensive himself.

 

[jdb in AZ]

If they're worried about finances now, what will they do when (not if, but when) their "reality" show gets canceled?

 

[KiKi Mouse]

I wonder how much the kids get paid for being on the show. You would think that would cover their college tuition.

 

[mom2rtk]

If they're worried about finances now, what will they do when (not if, but when) their "reality" show gets canceled?

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. Sheesh.

I wonder how much the kids get paid for being on the show. You would think that would cover their college tuition.

Even if it's not much, I would think it would be a lot more than they could make working part time at some minimum wage job. I hope that money is being put aside for their college and not being funneled into paying for their cul-de-sac.

 

[barkley]

I wonder how much the kids get paid for being on the show. You would think that would cover their college tuition.

I doubt it's much. it seems like reality show 'performers' are paid based on a sliding scale depending on the popularity of their show. really popular shows like the housewives have some long term participants raking in good money, while the newer ones get comparatively much less.

I read an article recently that the family in 'honey boo-boo' gets a total of $20,000 per episode FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY. that show has been a much bigger hit than sister wives, so even if they are taking down half that amount that would only work out to about $454 each BEFORE taxes per episode.

Nevada doesn't regulate child performers so there's no requirement that any of the funds be set aside. even in the 4 states (Nevada is not one) that have the coogan law in place only 15% of a kid's earnings have to be set aside.



they way the browns continually complain about finances, yet seemingly spend on new business ventures, homes and such I wouldn't be surprised if their attitude is that ALL the money that comes in is 'family money' and gets split up in that odd 'every household is equal despite the number of people it supports' budget methodology they seem to use.

 

[HannaBelle]

The wives are suppose to be equal, so they should be equal assets/income from Kody. The number of kids you pop out for Kody should not make you worthy of more money.

Kody needs to pay equally for all of his 14 bio-kids. The moms need to pay for their kid and help the others, if possible.

Robyn and her Ex need to educate the other 3 kids. They are not Meri, Janelle or Christine's kids to educate.

I find their family dynamic fascinating and that is why I watch!

IMHO, here is what would be a more fair division of the cash:

Each wife is allotted "x" of the family income. Each child is allotted "y" of the family income. Each mom then has to pay for their own child's wants and needs, including cars and college. This makes the kids equal and the moms equal.

Obviously, no one asked me about this 20 years ago when they created this happy little family.

On a serious note though, I am not sure what I think about who should pay for the the stepkids education. I do not have stepkids, and DH and I pool 100% of our income as "family" money. But if i were in a situation where there were step children, I don't think I would/could exclude them from what I was giving to my natural born children.

Is common with blended families that the children are treated differently?

I do have a friend that has 2 sons with her ex and a daughter with her current hubby. She would buy the daughter 2x more presents than her sons because they would get gifts from her ex whereas the daughter only received gifts from her and hubby. I didn't agree with this, but I didn't share that opinion with her. I would not have even contemplated doing that.

 

[ilovemk76]

I find their family dynamic fascinating and that is why I watch!

IMHO, here is what would be a more fair division of the cash:

Each wife is allotted "x" of the family income. Each child is allotted "y" of the family income. Each mom then has to pay for their own child's wants and needs, including cars and college. This makes the kids equal and the moms equal.

Obviously, no one asked me about this 20 years ago when they created this happy little family.

On a serious note though, I am not sure what I think about who should pay for the the stepkids education. I do not have stepkids, and DH and I pool 100% of our income as "family" money. But if i were in a situation where there were step children, I don't think I would/could exclude them from what I was giving to my natural born children.

Is common with blended families that the children are treated differently?

I do have a friend that has 2 sons with her ex and a daughter with her current hubby. She would buy the daughter 2x more presents than her sons because they would get gifts from her ex whereas the daughter only received gifts from her and hubby. I didn't agree with this, but I didn't share that opinion with her. I would not have even contemplated doing that.

If they really are a "big" family, then each woman would have their own bedroom and the kids would share, regardless of who is their bio-mom. No need to keep separate households for each wife. Once you segregate by wife, as in each gets their own home, you have to treat each as equal.

I would agree on the step kids, if there were not 14 other kids to educate and the step kids are only his step kids and not the other wives.