How this fun little thread where we were discussing our little luxuries in life of manis, pedis and bags turned so hateful and insulting I'll never know.......

because someone posted with complete DISRESPECT.

Any day i could wake up and have my dz. take a turn for the worse-to the point were am not physically able to do my job-its happened to me before for a 6 month period and thank god there was a "somewhat safety net" ie disability-that kept me (barely) from losing my studio apt(did get electric cut off-had to go to food banks,no phone)..I had no apprehension/guilt for taking that $$.I've been working since I was 15yo -and have paid into the system for a long time.I have every intention to take my soc.security/medicare when I can...I just know, that almost being homeless scared the crap out of me-and I vowed at that time when i got back on my feet that i would somehow find the $$ to but aside and make it a priority in case this happened again-(even if just a couple dollars a week) Fear and being that close to the edge and looking down is what did it for me-changing my attitude about saving for that "rainy day" as they call it..

Im not here to ever disrespect or judge-and certainly not to fan the flame-..I just tell MY story and how I get by in MY life...what works for me may not work or be someone elses cup-of-tea...and vice versa...

Is it DISRESPECT to have an opinion? If so none of us would ever post. It is not neccasary to fan the flame. PLEASE.

PLEASE is RIGHT. I don't need instruction thank you. Did you SEE and comprehend what was written and then 'edited' ? Cause I sure did.

whatever....good night Doc. I'll be taking a break as I'm not into rose coloured glasses. Carry on.

Suzen, I do own a condo and pay a mortgage and property taxes. But, if for any reason I could no longer pay the mortgage and/or taxes, because I do own it, I have the option to sell it. Then I wouldn't have to pay a mortgage and/or taxes anymore. And, if the mortgage was already paid off, I'd make a nice little profit to boot! Or, another option available because I own it... I could rent it and use the rent money to pay the mortgage and/or taxes. Or, if I still had a mortgage bigger than it was worth, I could give it back to the back and contribute to the bad economy. Thankfully because of my personal ethics and money managment skills I haven't put myself in that kind of position though.

As for saving for vacation... I'm planning two JA trips this year so have had to tighten my belt more than usual. I created a budget spreadsheet, figured out how much I could have for "spending money" each week (which includes all food, groceries, entertainment, and misc. shopping). Everything else from utilities to gasoline was in the budget. I put away my credit cards, take out my "spending money" in cash from the bank every Friday and that's it. Once it's gone it's gone. Have only had one week so far when I was completely out of money before the end of the week. Brought lunch to work and ate what I had left at home. I can splurge or scrimp as I see fit depending on what is left in the wallet. If I have a scrimp week one week, the xtra cash rolls over into the next week and I might have enough to splurge on something else. But I'm always within budget knowing I'm saving enough to pay for the two trips.

OK, this was a nice discussion, Ras you keep putting your foot in your mouth but I do understand your point of view even if I don't always agree with it.

Bren - you rock. We all make choices in our lives. The best choice I ever made was buying my house and if I had to sell it today even with the money I owe I'd turn a nice profit. That was luck - luck and the tenacity to save up that down payment, work with my seller and get my credit back on track...in other words, I grew up.

So many people these days are going the foreclosure route. Making a choice to do so - they were sold a bag of crap from a shady lender, they are underwater in a serious way and they are losing even their pot to piss in. F*ck it they say, let the bank have it. And they walk away. They are contributing to the bad economy because they are victims of crimes that were never punished.

A dear friend of mine had to do just that recently. Not because they were underwater or couldn't make their payments - but because a county that collects HUGE amounts of money in building permits neglected to fix a culvert in an area prone to landslides and after a particulary heavy rainy week in late March the hill behind their house slid down and they were yellow tagged. The house that they tended, cared for, spent money on fixing up - that sweet 1920's bungalo can no longer be lived in. What else could they do? Their credit will suck for 7 years...but their new landlord did not have a single compunction in renting to them. This was not an irresponsible act, quite the opposite really. They have two small boys that need a stable life and a stable home. Suing the county will do no good, will cost a fortune and would eat their souls. So - hard as a decision as it was they walked away. Have fun with your new property Skank of America. Now the bank can go after the county. Yeah...right.

My friend has a condo in Brentwood she is trying to sublet, btw. Between the property taxes and the maintenance fees on her condo she needs a certain amount of $$ just to break even. Even the rental market is sucking in LA, at least for her - her rent price is undercut AND those lower rents come with parking. Its frustrating for her as she is competing with condo owners in less desireable neighborhoods or who's taxes and maintenance fees are lower due to when they bought or what building they are in...and they have a parking spot to offer up to boot!

Life can suck out there in the big world.

"no one has pointed a finger at you for living on the government dole..............Did you not do your time?"
OK, foot in the mouth statement #1. Government "dole"??? I object to that terminology. Medi is getting the VET BENEFITS she has earned. She didn't "do her time" - she served our country. God bless you girl, this is not something most of us would even consider.

When a mother can't identify the father of her children for welfare benefits and continues to keep repeating the process to gain......that would be milking the system"
There are welfare scammers out there, in the guise of mothers who actually "collect" kids for the big check. But you know what - there are more out there who simply got unlucky or made bad choices. And they need help. All those folks that are wanting to overturn Roe v. Wade - well, you gotta serve SOMEBODY - because a woman without choices can easily end up just like this.

".....or someone who would rather be a lazy ass and sit at home and collect......."
How do you know my best friend's husband???? lol, even him - he's collecting disability. Since he was such a lazy f*ck all his life, living off his woman to the point where they don't have a pot to piss in his disability check doesn't even cover the rent. Because, the way SSI works is you get what you put in. Spending your life on the couch drinking beer and watching the Rockford Files doesn't contribute to your own personal government assistance. She works two jobs, he collects a meager disability check...and she could qualify for food stamps but won't - she qualifies for Healthy Families and she does take advantage of that - that's the health insurance for the kids. Does she have health insurance? Nah, they don't give that to part time employees in clothing boutique stores.

"At least in Jamaica people know how to survive.....albiet wrong in ways"
OK, now THIS is probably the most aggregious foot in the mouth statement I've read. I don't know the "Jamaica people" you know - the ones I know survive by working hard, working 6 days a week, 10 hours a day. There are plenty more of them than the thieves and drug dealers that I'm sure you are referring to. Jamaica does not have a safety net at all -no food stamps, no welfare, no government health care...(that I know of?) and desperate people can do desperate things but to condemn an entire country of "surviving in the wrong way" - oh no, that's just not fair. Dude, if you are planning to retire there, spend more that a few days in a house you've devoted to building there - you might want to rethink that plan if this is how you TRULY feel about Jamaicans - my guess is that its not.

"If a child grows up in a house that the parents demonstrate over time a life style of getting over....the children posses the qualities on a larger scale."
True in some cases - generational welfare is a reality. In the case I know (the lazy schlep on the couch) the kids are both very ambitious - the lesson they take away is that they do not want to struggle as their parents have. They want to overcome the poverty mentality as opposed to "embracing" it.

I like Jitter's change jar idea. I actually have a change ammo case - I never spend coin, it all gets dropped in there and every couple of years we cash it in and get a few hundred bucks to take with Jamaica. Maybe I can stash in under my mattress and that can be my retirement plan.

Nah. I'd rather take it to Jamaica.
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PS: Sorry for the novel. I deleted three posts last night cause I couldn't get the words out. I mean no disrespect to anyone, including Ras. Everyone has a right to their opinion. We are surrounded with opinions such as Ras' all over the United States.

I'll part on this thought: There but for the grace of God go I. Life has a funny way of turning upside down on us. And, if heaven forbid someone like Ras gets seriously ill or injured, or their investments in their home(s) burn down, get covered in mud or flooded...or if they lose their job and find out their 401K is worth the money that I've collected in my ammo jar - these same people that condemn those that go for help might find themselves on a food stamp line or filling out an application for state medical insurance...and might look at "entitlements" under a completely different light.

Let's all have a great and GRATEFUL day.

Two comments- Rastapher, to me your comments clearly were aimed at Macy, pretty low blow IMO; 2nd RG777777, you are married, correct? Just wondering if "your" house belongs to the both of you or are you truly the king of your castle because it sure sounds that way. Although I bought my house before I got married (and paid it off) it is OUR house now, and our new house is also ours even though I basically paid for it. That is what being married means, being a couple and a complete partnership.

Macyoder you are living your life your way and do not need to let someone put a halt to it. So keep on doing it, it works for you. I applaud you for enjoying your life.

"RG777777, you are married, correct? Just wondering if "your" house belongs to the both of you or are you truly the king of your castle because it sure sounds that way. "

Tim - I'm so done with you. I'm not sure what I ever did to you to make you so hateful towards me, so spiteful, jealous? I don't know. There are words I want to say here that I can't say due to my respect for Tammy and what she works hard for in regards to this board.

I don't see where you question has any bearing on this discussion or is any of your business. For the record though what's mine is his and what's his is mine - when we married 23 years ago neither of us had much of anything so what we have we have together.

Get over it and leave me alone.