Broke people making more kids...

[MericoX]

I missed in the OP where it was said the mom was on welfare/assistance.

[Renee750il]

The OP didn't, Merico. That came later -- just not much later.

[~Jessie~]

Originally Posted by MericoX

I missed in the OP where it was said the mom was on welfare/assistance.

I'm just cynical!

But really, I don't think you should plan on having more children if you can't afford the ones you have. Obviously accidents can happen and then that's life.

[sassafras]

Originally Posted by eddieq

Interesting how everyone immediately assumed she was on welfare or some other assistance just because she's "broke". Having kids is expensive. Buying the basics for your family is enough to bankrupt the average American income. It doesn't mean they are milking the system or even on public assistance.

Also, just because she "can't afford" birthday presents doesn't mean she's broke. We roughly budget our money, so I might say I "can't afford" something even though overall financially we are fine. I might not be able to afford birthday presents for my twins if I was saving up for a hospital bill, for example.

[Doberluv]

Yes, that story doesn't spell out all the facts, for sure. I can say I can't afford such and such, but I could if I wanted to do without something else. But a birthday present for my children would be a top priority, even if it weren't something fantastic.

[Doberluv]

well....top priority after food, heat, shelter ect. But a person can do something else, like make a home made birthday present or do something special that doesn't cost that much money. I've known lots of super poor people who still were able to give their children some kind of present or something special to celebrate their day. They didn't drive fancy cars or have big houses. They didn't spend it on other frivolous things. You know....I saw someone paying for some food in an expensive Russian bakery with food stamps, then went into the parking lot and drove off in a BMW.

[release the hounds]

my brothers soon to be ex is broke and can't afford b-day presents for the kids, but she doesn't have a shortage of money when it comes to going to the spa for a 2 hour massage, or for when the weekend hits and she has to go out with friends. Being "broke" is a rather relative term.

Funny on the BMW story, I have a similar one. This is a collegue, has had the same girlfriend for 10 years now. They won't get married. He has a Maserati and is very well off by anyone's standards. He also owns properties. She lists her address as one of his vacant apts and collects state aid for herself and her children. We think they are his, but she must list them as no father or something. But they live together and live very very well. Coincidently he's as hardcore a Republican as you can find, or maybe I should say Ironically. That's much more fitting.

[Romy]

Originally Posted by release the hounds

my brothers soon to be ex is broke and can't afford b-day presents for the kids, but she doesn't have a shortage of money when it comes to going to the spa for a 2 hour massage, or for when the weekend hits and she has to go out with friends. Being "broke" is a rather relative term.

Funny on the BMW story, I have a similar one. This is a collegue, has had the same girlfriend for 10 years now. They won't get married. He has a Maserati and is very well off by anyone's standards. He also owns properties. She lists her address as one of his vacant apts and collects state aid for herself and her children. We think they are his, but she must list them as no father or something. But they live together and live very very well. Coincidently he's as hardcore a Republican as you can find, or maybe I should say Ironically. That's much more fitting.

Ugh. There was a parent who never paid their kid's tuition at the private preschool I worked at. The owner let the kid keep going though because the mom was her next door neighbor and, frankly, she was worried the kid was getting badly neglected whenever she wasn't at school.

Finally she confronted the mom about starting to make payments on the tuition she owed, even if it was only $20 a month. In retaliation, the mom reported my boss to the licensing office and police, saying that she was a drug addict and had pot in the house/school.

The social worker that came out checked everything out and it was fine. The whole time the mom was gloating over her shoulder. Then the social worker kind of looked at her funny and said, "Is that your house next door?"

The mom said yes.

The social worker looked at her paperwork, went "hmmm." And left. She came back later with some more folks. It turned out the mom had been committing welfare fraud for YEARS and was a homeowner, so they slapped her with a $30,000 fine. My boss was sooo happy. lol. We let the kid finish out their school year because they're an awesome kid, and my boss was so excited about the kharmic fine she said she didn't even care if she never got a penny in tuition.

[release the hounds]

nice. Stupid bitch Can I say that?

[CaliTerp07]

Down right irresponsible to plan to have children when you don't have a comfortable cushion. Accidents happen, sure. But accidents shouldn't be the norm, or else you need to change your plan.

It kills me how many of my students tell me they can't afford the $5 it would cost to go on a field trip, but then they tell stories of their 6+ siblings living at home. We all know kids are expensive--if money's tight, stop having them!