Money Matters
hoffse
member
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
MM Pet peeves
What are yours?
One of mine came up today... I'm in the process of buying books for my next round of classes only to discover that one professor has 1) assigned his own book that 2) costs $653 to get in print version. It's just been published so there are no used copies. Oh but I can save money by getting the Kindle version (that I can't make notes in) for... wait for it... only $452.
Ummm, no.
I emailed the dean and was like, "Are you aware of this? Also, I'm going to take something else." I'm not going to participate in that racket.
What is your MM pet peeve?
Re: MM Pet peeves
Apples and oranges people. And saving thousands meant you spent thousands. And I feel that the neighbor with the new car is being a little dismissive of the early morning shopping neighbor. Getting up early for black Friday sales may not be for everyone but it is a legit way to be MM.
I hear ya. I was probably being over sensitive. My preference would have been "please send a check by _____." I'll try to hear these things differently in the future. I actually like BPs in general. This one will be awesome-hiking and kayaking by a big house in the woods. I have politely declined invites when it's way too pricy for me or not workable with my job schedule, but usually I enjoy them.
Yikes, that's freaking ridiculous! Napa? Yikes. For the wedding I'm in two BMs can't even go to the BP because of work and travel reasons and nobody minds. I just declined a very good friend's because it was in Austin and just the flights would have been around $600 RT. I don't begrudge her for having it-her bridal party is all over the country-but I just couldn't swing that much on a trip that H couldn't also be part of. Life insurance really needs to become more of a given and less of a luxury. I think expensive whole life policies have given it such a bad rap that many middle class families don't even consider it as an option.
Gofundme, doesn't make me as mad as some of you have stated. At least it's a choice. You don't have to give anything. If someone wants to give, who are you to tell them how to spend their money? Would you like anyone telling you how to spend your money? My guess is No. Why haven't they planned? Maybe they never had anyone to teach them. Some of my greatest learning experiences were through mistakes.
This x 1000. You don't know what you don't know, right? I think it's true for most people that they learn the most from mistakes and failures, financial or otherwise.
As far as pet peeves, my biggest one is when people take zero ownership for poor financial decisions. This is fueled by my job, and I know that. But it's not the bank's fault that you're in foreclosure. It's not the bank's fault that you were charged an overdraft fee. It is not the bank's fault that you were turned down for a loan. Take responsibility for your financial decisions. Pay your mortgage and don't spend more than is available in your account. Sure, mistakes happen to even the most meticulous record keepers. But that doesn't absolve you from ownership of them.
Yes, I agree a boob job or a wedding Gofundme is absolutely ridiculous. But, as for people that die unexpectedly, you have to remember not everyone qualifies for life insurance.
I will say this, and yes this does make me sound a little bit hypocritical, because I don't like people telling me what to do with my money (yes, I own that) But, it drives me nuts when I see parents enabling and bailing out their 30+ year old children time and time again financially. Their kids aren't learning anything from this.
(If I were the Black Friday shopping neighbor after the car comment) "Neat! Congrats on your new car. I saved $15K by buying mine a couple years used."
Of course, that attitude is the opposite of what any car company is trying to advertise, lol.
Can you tell how much that car buying person in the commercial annoys me?!
I've got an employer based policy that covers me to $200k and another $50k through the place where I get my home/auto insurance, but that's really about it. However, it would pay off the house, and college is already taken care of due to my son's great grandmother being very generous.
Like some of you have mentioned, my biggest pet peeve is people who perpetually complain about money but do nothing to change their situation. Like frivolously spending and/or not taking opportunities to earn more money.
For example, I was talking to one of my coworkers and mentioned in passing one of my tenants is on Section 8 (housing assistance). She told me her mother had mentioned she (my coworker) should look into Section 8 because she earns a low income and then asked me about it. But here's the thing. late last year, I gave her a golden opportunity to earn an easy extra $400/month working a flexible 4 hours/week that she could do outside her f/t job. Taking pictures of hotel event boards in the city she lives in. Totally legit, not commissions/sales. Plus she knows I've been working for the company in NOLA for the last three years. Nope. She wasn't interested. I also sent her (after telling her about it) the link to sign up for a mystery shopping company that had 15-minute jobs for a $25 fee. I would have grabbed them up myself, except the shopper needed to be under the age of 24. Nope, she never signed up.
(Warning, snarky) Or like my last horror tenants. Husband didn't work because he could "only work 9-4" so he could take care of their kids before/after school. Ummm...millions of two-income families with kids seem to be able to overcome that obstacle. Couldn't pay their rent/bills...yet seemed to be able to come up with enough money every week to buy most of their meals from fast food places. Because apparently he was much too busy streaming movies all day to ever clean the house or prepare nutritious meals for their, growing young children. The wife had even run her own business before they moved to NOLA and he was supposed to take that over after she unexpectedly got a f/t job. But he couldn't even be bothered to do that.
As an aside, and granted this is more my personal opinion, but it also bothered me that they receive SSI disability payments for two of their children and basically use all of it for their living expenses...not for the specific needs of those children. For example, they (twins) really needed speech lessons due to being born hard of hearing (which had been surgically corrected at the age of 4 or 5). I didn't inquire but, in chit-chat, they'd mentioned wanting to take them to a speech therapist once they "got on their feet". Um, excuse me? I doubt a speech therapist would come anywhere close to being more than what you all receive from SSI. But I could see (too late) that they never thought of that money as being for their children's benefit. It was just magical, bonus money they got from the government.
@formerlyGDaisy09 would know better than me and I'm not completely familiar with the state of LA, but regarding the kids' speech therapy, I'm guessing that's sheer laziness. If they qualify for section 8 housing, SSI disability, I'm guessing their children qualify for SCHIP (essentially Medicaid) and that care should be available for either free or at a very low cost. Again, even if they don't qualify, most children's hospitals offer some sort of charity care.
@als1982, these particular tenants didn't get housing assistance (those are different tenants I currently have), but you make a good point about Medicaid. I know their kids were on Medicaid because mail from that program came after they bailed.
Hah! The plot thickens. I'm sure they knew full well they could get free/low cost speech therapy and probably just made the "poor us" comment for my benefit.
Granted, I'm not a parent, but of all things in people's lives that they should show the least laziness about and most responsibility with...it's their children. It was really sad. Although they were 6-year-olds, they sounded more like toddlers because they couldn't pronounce words very well. Obviously not a fan of their parents, but the kids were so sweet and polite. I hated knowing they weren't getting the care they need, especially during such formative years.
I'm with you! I always love a girls night out. And, while I wouldn't even be opposed to a destination bachelorette party, I can see where that can sometimes get a little too crazy cost-wise.
I still laugh (not in a bad way) that...despite NOLA being a classic destination bach party locale...one of my friends had her bach party at the MS Gulf Coast. I guess, even when you live in a party town, it's fun to have a girl's trip elsewhere.