Straight Dope Message Board

[romansperson]

Originally Posted by panache45

I received a call from my primary doctor's assistant, telling me I need to schedule a physical, and that it't urgent. I have no need for a physical, since I'm seeing so many specialists, and they take care of any problems I have. But I agreed to schedule a physical with my primary doc. It turns out, the next opening she has is January 24th. Yes, she can't see me until January 24th, 2020. I pointed out to the assistant that I wasn't the one requesting the physical, that it was her demand. So, anyway, I'm scheduled for an "urgent" physical next January 24th.

Classic.

I always wonder who these people are who say if we went to universal coverage that we would have to wait for appointments. People who have been lucky enough to not have to interface with our current medical system, I suspect. This shit has been going on for years now. In your case, I wonder if your PCP has to prove to whoever she works for that she's fully booked for every minute of her time to ensure that they're getting every dollar from her they can. 51

[Beckdawrek]

Oh, god! Not Abbey Lee Miller and the Dance Moms. A----gain. Wtf?
I can't believe it. 52

[digs]

Originally Posted by Beckdawrek

Oh, god! Not Abbey Lee Miller and the Dance Moms. A----gain. Wtf?
I can't believe it.

I know... I mean, when those Dance Moms show up, that's when we call Abbey by all her names, just like her mother did when she was little.

And what's with the Dance Moms bringing Juice Boxes as snacks? Hellooo, you're giving those future prima donnas High Fructose Corn Syrup? I thought Abbey and Katelyn at least would opt for organic cold-pressed cider.

I swear, I'm SO pulling little Juniper from dance and signing her up for Semaphore Squad. Junie's private career counselor claims that two years of flags will lock her into a scholarship to UPenn. So don't think I won't, Abbey Lee! 53

[digs]

Originally Posted by Beckdawrek

Oh, god! Not Abbey Lee Miller and the Dance Moms. A----gain. Wtf?
I can't believe it.

We need a little more from you, here.
So I googled this, and it's... a TV show? And you "can't believe it". Why not? Did you accidentally watch an episode? Or is its mere existence a shock? 54

[panache45]

Originally Posted by SurrenderDorothy

Maybe I should have a better attitude and wrap my walker in rainbow duct tape or attach flames or a bike bell or something and be a plucky optimist with a great sense of humor and an indomitable spirit...

My walker is bright iridescent purple with streamers and a bell. Thanks for suggesting flames. I might also add the rainbow duct tape for the Pride parade. 55

[Jeep's Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Beckdawrek

Oh, god! Not Abbey Lee Miller and the Dance Moms. A----gain. Wtf?
I can't believe it.

Is she in prison again? (I would do a search, but then Google will think I'm interested in following her, and start polluting my news feed.) 56

[Beckdawrek]

I was flipping through the channels and saw the show on Lifetime, an evening full of the drama dance show. 3 freaking hours of it. What a waste of the airwaves. About as informative as those Kardashians. Gah!!

ETA, I don't know what it's about. 57

[Little Nemo]

A mini-rant against KFC (because I just ate lunch there).

They have two distinct items on their menu: a three-piece chicken combo (with one side) and a three-piece big box (with two sides and which costs a dollar more).

I don't eat at KFC all that often but on at least three occasions I have specifically ordered a three-piece combo and had them ring it up as a three-piece big box. It's apparently a corporate policy to upsell orders like this because this has happened to me at different locations. 58

[minor7flat5]

My wife is sick (again), and when this has happened in the past we have spent weeks or months going to different doctors to try and figure things out.

This time I want to try a different primary care physician--I want her to have a physician who knows her and can tie all of the parts of the story together, and our current GP isn't doing this very well. So I asked my dad for recommendations, remembering the glowing reports he had given about his doctor. He immediately gave me the name and number. Nice!

When we called to set up an appointment a friendly gentleman explained to me that in order to be a patient of Dr. Smith, we would have to have a membership in their "concierge service" for an annual fee of $1,200.
With this membership, we would have same-day appointments, longer appointments, and so on.
I refrained from replying in a rude fashion, but let him know that we would go elsewhere.

Seriously? Paying an annual fee outside of the regular physician's fees, before we even met the doctor? This would not be covered by insurance.
I find this repugnant on multiple levels. It is classist, filtering their clientele into people who have the means to pay to come in the door. It is fee hiding, in an industry that already is a master of that game. And it feels downright sketchy to move charges that pay the doctor either directly or indirectly outside of the scope of insurance.

It's their business what they do, but that doesn't make it right.

I asked my dad about it, and he doesn't pay this. It seems he might be grandfathered in, but understandably doesn't want to ask any questions lest they say "Mr. Jones, we seem to have overlooked you, let me introduce you to our excellent new concierge program" 59

[kaylasdad99]

Originally Posted by panache45

My walker is bright iridescent purple with streamers and a bell. Thanks for suggesting flames. I might also add the rainbow duct tape for the Pride parade.

Why not rainbow streamers? Pretty sure they make those. 60

[kaylasdad99]

Originally Posted by minor7flat5

My wife is sick (again), and when this has happened in the past we have spent weeks or months going to different doctors to try and figure things out.

This time I want to try a different primary care physician--I want her to have a physician who knows her and can tie all of the parts of the story together, and our current GP isn't doing this very well. So I asked my dad for recommendations, remembering the glowing reports he had given about his doctor. He immediately gave me the name and number. Nice!

When we called to set up an appointment a friendly gentleman explained to me that in order to be a patient of Dr. Smith, we would have to have a membership in their "concierge service" for an annual fee of $1,200.
With this membership, we would have same-day appointments, longer appointments, and so on.
I refrained from replying in a rude fashion, but let him know that we would go elsewhere.

Seriously? Paying an annual fee outside of the regular physician's fees, before we even met the doctor? This would not be covered by insurance.
I find this repugnant on multiple levels. It is classist, filtering their clientele into people who have the means to pay to come in the door. It is fee hiding, in an industry that already is a master of that game. And it feels downright sketchy to move charges that pay the doctor either directly or indirectly outside of the scope of insurance.

It's their business what they do, but that doesn't make it right.

I asked my dad about it, and he doesn't pay this. It seems he might be grandfathered in, but understandably doesn't want to ask any questions lest they say "Mr. Jones, we seem to have overlooked you, let me introduce you to our excellent new concierge program"

Check back with them and see if you can get a legacy waiver.

It occurs to me that if your dad is over 65, the doctor might have HAD to waive the concierge fee, on account of Medicare rules (that's just a WAG). 61

[Unreconstructed Man]

My next door neighbour is a fucking deaf old cunt. I fucking hate him. Every night he plays news programs and comedy panel shows on his radio, and because he’s a deaf old cunt I can hear them through my wall. The volume is loud enough to disturb me, but not loud enough to complain about to a third party. It’s so goddamn fucking infuriating. I bang on the wall and the volume drops, but then it creeps back up again. I hate the motherfucker and I genuinely wish he was dead.

And yes, I’ve got ear plugs. But I shouldn’t have to wear them in my own house. Even when I do, they’re uncomfortable and I can still hear his fucking radio. God, I fucking hate him. 62

[digs]

Originally Posted by Unreconstructed Man

My next door neighbour is a fucking deaf old cunt. I fucking hate him. Every night he plays news programs and comedy panel shows on his radio, and because he’s a deaf old cunt I can hear them through my wall. The volume is loud enough to disturb me, but not loud enough to complain about to a third party. It’s so goddamn fucking infuriating. I bang on the wall and the volume drops, but then it creeps back up again. I hate the motherfucker and I genuinely wish he was dead.

And yes, I’ve got ear plugs. But I shouldn’t have to wear them in my own house. Even when I do, they’re uncomfortable and I can still hear his fucking radio. God, I fucking hate him.

I wear earbuds around the house. Keeps the kids, traffic, and the neighbor's dog at a tolerable level.

Does he have a wife (or kid who visits)? If you mention it to them, they should roll their eyes and say "Sorry. I'll remind him to keep it down." Then you ask them to put a red dot on his volume control and tell him "NO higher than this, dad, or your neighbors might call the landlord... or the brownshirts in the SWAT gear who'll drag you off to the gulag!" 63

[SurrenderDorothy]

Originally Posted by panache45

My walker is bright iridescent purple with streamers and a bell. Thanks for suggesting flames. I might also add the rainbow duct tape for the Pride parade.

I think I'm going to go with black duct tape and get metallic sharpies and have people sign it and/or draw on it myself. Then maybe add some nerdy stickers to it. I was considering chalkboard tape and chalk, but I think duct tape will hold up better.

More than decoration, I need a bag/caddy thing because both hands are occupied with the process of walking when I use it. And those... I've looked high and low and haven't found one I even remotely like. There are a few very basic kind of medical-looking black ones and I'll probably go with that option. The rest are aggressively geared toward cheerful old ladies and I... am not a cheerful old lady. Maybe I'll add a couple button pins or iron-on patches to make it look more... uh... punk rock? 64

[Jeep's Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Locrian

Leaving from NJ/PHI today, and as packing the car, text says my flight is CANCELLED!!

American Airlines. Evidently their mechanics strike may not be settled.

That happened to me on the same airline Memorial Day weekend! The incoming plane suffered a bird strike, and it took maintenance over an hour to show up. (This was at RDU...not exactly a massive airport.) Initially, the flight was delayed, so I just had to move my connecting flight to a later time. The app and the website both showed an available flight, but neither would allow me to change it on my own; I had to call the 800 number. Fine.

When the original flight was finally canceled, both the app and the website again acknowledged that a much later flight still had openings, but neither would allow me to change. This time, the 800 number told me I could expect a 2-hour wait, so I opted to stand in line for the gate agent. Yep, they had a single gate agent rescheduling flights for an Airbus 319 full of passengers. I finally got seats on a much, much later flight...once my boarding passes had printed, the gate agent announced that her shift was over, and wandered off. There were still other people in line behind me; I don't know what happened with them.

Oh, and while I was dealing with the gate agent, an extremely irate American Airlines employee wandered in from the jetway area. Apparently, someone forgot to finish relocating all the luggage when the damaged plane was emptied, and roughly half of it was stuffed in the little freight elevator at the end of the jetway. Another employee managed to reunite some passengers with their luggage, since they were still at the airport, but lots of people had already gotten on other flights.

Needless to say, I'm driving the next time I go on vacation. 65

[overlyverbose]

Miniest of min rants: my Samsung watch is driving me batshit crazy. I turned off most notifications, but not all of them and I feel like I'm being potty trained now. Every time I get up from my desk at work to pee I get a medal. "Good job, overly!" Fuck you, Samsung, and the horse you rode in on. 66

[slalexan]

Originally Posted by SurrenderDorothy

I think I'm going to go with black duct tape and get metallic sharpies and have people sign it and/or draw on it myself. Then maybe add some nerdy stickers to it. I was considering chalkboard tape and chalk, but I think duct tape will hold up better.

More than decoration, I need a bag/caddy thing because both hands are occupied with the process of walking when I use it. And those... I've looked high and low and haven't found one I even remotely like. There are a few very basic kind of medical-looking black ones and I'll probably go with that option. The rest are aggressively geared toward cheerful old ladies and I... am not a cheerful old lady. Maybe I'll add a couple button pins or iron-on patches to make it look more... uh... punk rock?

Even though this might be in the cheerful old lady category, would you take a crocheted one? Did a quick search and I did see patterns without lacy details and I bet I could make some skulls or lightning to make it a bit less old lady-ish. 67

[eenerms]

So the hubby decided we’re going to Reno, on the chance that we “could” Win a Tesla or the money. It was guaranteed we would get at least a 100 dollar gift card to Walmart. Off we go stay in the hotel where the event. sit though a blasted sales pitch for some travel club. Discounts galore , blah blah blah. Only $13,000. Okay then, now comes hard sell. Nope, nope nope..ok they’ll cut the price to 5,000 dollars. WTF. I want those two hours back. 68

[Unreconstructed Man]

Originally Posted by digs

I wear earbuds around the house. Keeps the kids, traffic, and the neighbor's dog at a tolerable level.

Does he have a wife (or kid who visits)? If you mention it to them, they should roll their eyes and say "Sorry. I'll remind him to keep it down." Then you ask them to put a red dot on his volume control and tell him "NO higher than this, dad, or your neighbors might call the landlord... or the brownshirts in the SWAT gear who'll drag you off to the gulag!"

Unfortunately, he doesn’t. He’s a classic central casting crazy old man. No family, no friends, no visitors, and I think he likes that just fine. I put a letter through his door today (he never answers it) politely asking him to keep it down. I don’t know if he’s trying to piss me off or if he just hasn’t read it yet, but the fucking thing seems louder than ever tonight. I’ll give him to tomorrow evening but if it’s no better I’ll tell him that if he doesn’t shut the fuck up I’ll be calling his landlord. Hopefully, he’ll do us all a favour and just drop dead. 69

[Tamerlane]

I'm the atheist son of atheist parents. But after decades of unyielding atheism I'm reconsidering. I now suspect God does exist and he hates me. Probably for being an atheist .

I got rear-ended the other night while stopping for a red light at the exact same intersection, in the exact same lane, at almost the exact same position in the road as I did just over a year ago.

Curse you, angry God!!! 70

[panache45]

Originally Posted by SurrenderDorothy

I think I'm going to go with black duct tape and get metallic sharpies and have people sign it and/or draw on it myself. Then maybe add some nerdy stickers to it. I was considering chalkboard tape and chalk, but I think duct tape will hold up better.

More than decoration, I need a bag/caddy thing because both hands are occupied with the process of walking when I use it. And those... I've looked high and low and haven't found one I even remotely like. There are a few very basic kind of medical-looking black ones and I'll probably go with that option. The rest are aggressively geared toward cheerful old ladies and I... am not a cheerful old lady. Maybe I'll add a couple button pins or iron-on patches to make it look more... uh... punk rock?

I'm so glad I got a walker with a seat that has a storage compartment underneath. Both the seat and the compartment have come in very handy. 71

[Ulf the Unwashed]

My grandson has a book I HATE.

The book in question is "The Berenstain Bears Love One Another." Or something like that. For those of you who may remember the Berenstain Bears as being rather preachy, somewhat sexist, but occasionally funny and generally inoffensive potato chip books, those days are over. The series has been commandeered by Stan and Jan's son Mike, who is a religious evangelical and has been writing books that meet this, um, theology. The results are...awful.

In this book Mama Bear is making muffins. The older two kids (there is now a younger bear, Honey) help out. "You all are good helpers," Mama tells them. The children say how much they are looking forward to getting muffins of their own, only Mama lowers the boom--they ain't getting any. The muffins are earmarked for Mrs. Grizzly, who just had twins. Nope, she can't even spare a single muffin for the kids to divide. And why? Because of the Bible verse they learned in Sunday School: "Love one another." Yes, "one another" extends to local married women who have just given birth, but not to your own flesh and blood. Just would Jesus would have said.

Later, Brother and Sister Bear help Papa do outside work, then play with Honey so Mama can make dinner, because God forbid that Papa learn to cook or Mama handle anything outside home and hearth. They all talk about how much they love one another. Then it's dinnertime (still no muffins) and Papa is allowed to say grace. That's pretty much it.

Sexist, way more than the originals. Preachy, way more than the originals. And boring, and insipid, and just plain mean. My grandson is almost three. I read him two books a night at bedtime. I'd say it's something he chooses once a week or so. I may have to disappear it. Either that or start doing some heavy-duty editorializing. Or maybe changing the story ("Of course, a muffin for each of you!" said Mama briskly.) Gaaah. 72

[Beckdawrek]

The lil'wrekker has been on an internship at another University for 3 weeks. Apparently it's a great honor to be chosen for this. Proud of her? Yes, of course. She ended it up Thursday. Called me to let me know she'd be in for the weekend. And "Couldn't I please put money in her account?" As the bank of Momma-money-bags I said "sure".
I go on line to look on her account. Holy-bejesus. She's over drawn by $17.00. How can you overdraw on a debit card?
Breakdown:
$17.00 od ammt.
$25.00 fee
$15.00 fee to post a deposit immediately
$100.00 deposit=
$157.00
So she could eat at Taco bell Wednesday evening.
She got home. I asked her about her bad decisions and the debacle. She, of course cried and made me feel bad. Promises made to do better. She had supper with family and was happy and chattering away. She really is the bright light of this bunch. Always a blessing to be around.
I swear to god, I couldn't believe it. She had the temerity to ask her Dad for money to go to town and go to the movie with her penniless boyfriend. Of course he gave her a crisp new $100 bill. Wth?
I will be giving this girl money when she 40yo.
I just know it. 73

[The Vorlon]

Originally Posted by Beckdawrek

The lil'wrekker has been on an internship at another University for 3 weeks. Apparently it's a great honor to be chosen for this. Proud of her? Yes, of course. She ended it up Thursday. Called me to let me know she'd be in for the weekend. And "Couldn't I please put money in her account?" As the bank of Momma-money-bags I said "sure".
I go on line to look on her account. Holy-bejesus. She's over drawn by $17.00. How can you overdraw on a debit card?
Breakdown:
$17.00 od ammt.
$25.00 fee
$15.00 fee to post a deposit immediately
$100.00 deposit=
$157.00
So she could eat at Taco bell Wednesday evening.
She got home. I asked her about her bad decisions and the debacle. She, of course cried and made me feel bad. Promises made to do better. She had supper with family and was happy and chattering away. She really is the bright light of this bunch. Always a blessing to be around.
I swear to god, I couldn't believe it. She had the temerity to ask her Dad for money to go to town and go to the movie with her penniless boyfriend. Of course he gave her a crisp new $100 bill. Wth?
I will be giving this girl money when she 40yo.
I just know it.

Beck, I know how you feel. Just shelled out $300 for Jr's tire/tie rod/alignment, told the rather shocked gentleman at the tire place it was cheaper than a funeral... 74

[cochrane]

Originally Posted by Beckdawrek

I go on line to look on her account. Holy-bejesus. She's over drawn by $17.00. How can you overdraw on a debit card?

Because the money comes from her checking account. Each transaction is essentially the same as a paperless check. If you don't keep track of your transactions, than it's easy to get overdrawn, the same as if you write a check you can't cover. 75

[cochrane]

Originally Posted by Tamerlane

I now suspect God does exist and he hates me. Probably for being an atheist .

Welcome to the club. I suspected that particular truth some time ago. 76

[Nava]

Originally Posted by Unreconstructed Man

My next door neighbour is a fucking deaf old cunt.

I always file my yearly income tax in person. I'm self-employed, so through the year I pay quarterly withdrawals as if I was exclusively a "corporate person" but come April my government discovers that, unlike corporations, I also eat, have a mortgage, go to the doctor and put money away towards retirement: so, my basic deduction, mortgage, Social Security and 401K-equivalent pop up and become deductibles, yay. I go file in person because that way if the kind civil servant helping me sees anything they find strange, they can ask me directly, I explain, and we all avoid the expense and stress of an inspection.

One year in which I'd had unusually low expenses, the kind civil servant pointed out "your deductions have been really low this year". I said "yeah: I haven't needed a new computer, got a couple contracts which didn't come with travel expenses as I could sleep in my home every night... biggest expense I had was my mother's hearing aids, can I count those as Industrial Safety?" "" "They keep her from being strangled and me from going crazy. -Er." "Ah. Sorry, no." "Pity." 77

[Nava]

Originally Posted by Ulf the Unwashed

My grandson has a book I HATE.

The book in question is "The Berenstain Bears Love One Another." Or something like that. For those of you who may remember the Berenstain Bears as being rather preachy, somewhat sexist, but occasionally funny and generally inoffensive potato chip books, those days are over. The series has been commandeered by Stan and Jan's son Mike, who is a religious evangelical and has been writing books that meet this, um, theology. The results are...awful.

[....]

Later, Brother and Sister Bear help Papa do outside work, then play with Honey so Mama can make dinner, because God forbid that Papa learn to cook or Mama handle anything outside home and hearth.

Oh NOES! Brother Bear is learning how to make muffins, and Sister Bear is seeing the sun! It is the beginning of the end I tell ya! THE END IS NIGH! 78

[Beckdawrek]

Originally Posted by cochrane

Because the money comes from her checking account. Each transaction is essentially the same as a paperless check. If you don't keep track of your transactions, than it's easy to get overdrawn, the same as if you write a check you can't cover.

I thought if there was no money the card would be declined. Foolish me. It's a miracle this hasn't happened dozens of times. She cuts it close to the knuckle. We will be discussing this. 79

[cochrane]

Originally Posted by Beckdawrek

I thought if there was no money the card would be declined. Foolish me. It's a miracle this hasn't happened dozens of times. She cuts it close to the knuckle. We will be discussing this.

This just happened to me. I accidentally bought an Amazon Prime membership for a year. (Is W surprisingly easy to do.) I didn't mean to do it, but my account became overdrawn. I promptly canceled the membership, but it would be a couple of days before Amazon returned the money. I called my bank's 800 number and explained what happened. They agreed not to charge me for the overdraft. Amazon returned the money to my account and all was well again. But it was a close thing. 80

[slumtrimpet]

Originally Posted by Beckdawrek

...
I will be giving this girl money when she 40yo.
I just know it.

Probably. ;-)

The youngest is turning 30 next week. He will hopefully manage his finances now (hahahaha) that he's finally graduated and has a proper degree and a proper job.

In the interim there was the "uh, dad, my car's been repo-ed so I can't come down to see you this weekend like I planned"
*several thousand in fines and back payments to retrieve said car*

And do you have insurance? "uh... no"
*paying the insurance for the past five years*

"Any chance you have a few bucks to spare? I don't have enough gas to drive home."
"We're having to move. Dog ate the apartment. No security deposit etc"
*send off $1000 again*
...and so on and so forth.

Not holding my breath.
But he's a lovely boy. Kind and giving and honorable and loved by all. I guess that's more important. 81

[Catamount]

I had to be in absolutely dire straits to ask my dad for money. I still feel guilty about the couple of times he had to bail me out. 82

[ZonexandScout]

I bought and installed a Sony XAV-AX1000 audio/video system unit for my car, primarily because I wanted to be able to use a USB stick to play my music collection. The unit reads the USB just fine and displays the content...but not in any discernible order. The folders (artist and album) are not in alphabetical order, in order of size, or in order of date of creation. It appears random. The folder "Eagles, The" can appear at any location at all when I try to scroll down the list of artists. This is extremely difficult to do when I'm driving.

I've tried different solutions, like experimenting with date of creation, and even posted to the Sony car audio forum. Nothing. The best I can do is have another level of folders (A-B, C-D, E-F, etc.) to get the list of subfolders as short as possible. Even then, the artists are not in alphabetical order in the subfolders. Strangely, the tracks themselves are in the proper track order once I find an album.

Of course, I discovered this after spending several hours getting everything installed and working. Drives me nuts whenever I use the unit. 83

[eenerms]

Originally Posted by Catamount

I had to be in absolutely dire straits to ask my dad for money. I still feel guilty about the couple of times he had to bail me out.

I almost had a nervous breakdown when I asked my folks for money to bail me out of a bit of a overdraft. ( university days) 84

[ZonexandScout]

Originally Posted by Beckdawrek

The lil'wrekker has been on an internship at another University for 3 weeks. Apparently it's a great honor to be chosen for this. Proud of her? Yes, of course. She ended it up Thursday. Called me to let me know she'd be in for the weekend. And "Couldn't I please put money in her account?" As the bank of Momma-money-bags I said "sure".
I go on line to look on her account. Holy-bejesus. She's over drawn by $17.00. How can you overdraw on a debit card?
Breakdown:
$17.00 od ammt.
$25.00 fee
$15.00 fee to post a deposit immediately
$100.00 deposit=
$157.00
So she could eat at Taco bell Wednesday evening.
She got home. I asked her about her bad decisions and the debacle. She, of course cried and made me feel bad. Promises made to do better. She had supper with family and was happy and chattering away. She really is the bright light of this bunch. Always a blessing to be around.
I swear to god, I couldn't believe it. She had the temerity to ask her Dad for money to go to town and go to the movie with her penniless boyfriend. Of course he gave her a crisp new $100 bill. Wth?
I will be giving this girl money when she 40yo.
I just know it.

I don't know about 40 YO, but my wife does it for her daughter (my stepdaughter) and the daughter is 32 YO...with an MA in education.

Need a deposit for a new apartment? Bank of Mom.

Upgrading her cell phone (we pay for her service on our family plan)? Bank of Mom.

Going to a music festival with friends? Bank of Mom.

New tires for her Saturn? Bank of Mom.

My wife doesn't exactly HIDE the fact that she does this, but she never mentions it voluntarily. The problem is that the daughter felt that the in-class practical training for being a teacher was too "oppressive," so she dropped that during her studies. Now she can't get a teaching license in her state. She does occasional work as a hostess or waitperson at local restaurants and brew-pubs. 85

[Beckdawrek]

The lil'wrekkers on a full ride at her University. She makes excellent marks. Deans list, yada, yada, yada. But the girl can't be trusted with $10. I blame myself. I neglected her practical training. She's spoiled rotten. 86

[The Vorlon]

Originally Posted by slumtrimpet

Probably. ;-)

The youngest is turning 30 next week. He will hopefully manage his finances now (hahahaha) that he's finally graduated and has a proper degree and a proper job.

In the interim there was the "uh, dad, my car's been repo-ed so I can't come down to see you this weekend like I planned"
*several thousand in fines and back payments to retrieve said car*

And do you have insurance? "uh... no"
*paying the insurance for the past five years*

"Any chance you have a few bucks to spare? I don't have enough gas to drive home."
"We're having to move. Dog ate the apartment. No security deposit etc"
*send off $1000 again*
...and so on and so forth.

Not holding my breath.
But he's a lovely boy. Kind and giving and honorable and loved by all. I guess that's more important.

This weeks child expenses: $300 for tire, fixed tie rod, and alignment. I figured it was cheaper than a funeral. 87

[The Vorlon]

Originally Posted by ZonexandScout

New tires for her Saturn? Bank of Mom.

She's driving a Saturn? Hate to tell you, but I see another withdraw coming soon from the Bank of Mom.... 88

[Yllaria]

Originally Posted by Ulf the Unwashed

My grandson has a book I HATE.

The book in question is "The Berenstain Bears Love One Another." . . . In this book Mama Bear is making muffins. The older two kids (there is now a younger bear, Honey) help out. "You all are good helpers," Mama tells them. The children say how much they are looking forward to getting muffins of their own, only Mama lowers the boom--they ain't getting any. . . . .

Gasp! But that goes against direct biblical requirements.

Deuteronomy 25:4
Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.

And it's reiterated in the New Testament.

1 Timothy 5:18
For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.

Pity he got that wrong. 89

[digs]

Originally Posted by Beckdawrek

The lil'wrekkers on a full ride at her University. She makes excellent marks. Deans list, yada, yada, yada. But the girl can't be trusted with $10. I blame myself. I neglected her practical training. She's spoiled rotten.

It's never too late.

And Lesson One of that "neglected practical training" is "Okay, no more handouts*. You plan ahead if you want to do things. And if you don't, you don't drive or eat out... and sure, maybe you have to sit home while your friends go to a music festival. Hell, I did that rather than ask my parents to pay for me.

Maybe she even sets up an automatic withdrawal from her paycheck right into an "Emergency Fund" bank account.

If not for her, do this for her future roommates/husband/partner. I'm so grateful that my wife is a financial adult.


*For everyone here, at the very least, make sure your child knows that your financial bailouts are LOANS. They get much better at handling their own finances if they know they'll have to pay them back.

Our daughter didn't have enough money for grad school and car repairs, so we lent her a couple thousand. She took it upon herself to write up a cute little contract, and she uses Venmo to automatically send us over a hundred each month. 90

[BrickBat]

Originally Posted by Beckdawrek

The lil'wrekker has been on an internship at another University for 3 weeks. Apparently it's a great honor to be chosen for this. Proud of her? Yes, of course. She ended it up Thursday. Called me to let me know she'd be in for the weekend. And "Couldn't I please put money in her account?" As the bank of Momma-money-bags I said "sure".
I go on line to look on her account. Holy-bejesus. She's over drawn by $17.00. How can you overdraw on a debit card?
Breakdown:
$17.00 od ammt.
$25.00 fee
$15.00 fee to post a deposit immediately
$100.00 deposit=
$157.00
So she could eat at Taco bell Wednesday evening.
She got home. I asked her about her bad decisions and the debacle. She, of course cried and made me feel bad. Promises made to do better. She had supper with family and was happy and chattering away. She really is the bright light of this bunch. Always a blessing to be around.
I swear to god, I couldn't believe it. She had the temerity to ask her Dad for money to go to town and go to the movie with her penniless boyfriend. Of course he gave her a crisp new $100 bill. Wth?
I will be giving this girl money when she 40yo.
I just know it.

My youngest sister to a "T". A delight to spend time with, and always was, as we get along super well, but an absolute airhead when it comes to money management. She's married w/kids and technically upper-middle class "on paper", but still sucking wind finance-wise: Dodged financial bullets through other's generosity, but thinks things always work out because "things always work out". 91

[Dung Beetle]

We've finally cut financial ties to my son, but I'm still able to log into the account at the realty company and see that he is not paying his rent. This is the tenth day of the month and I've been logging in every day, watching the late fees accumulate. 92

[Railer13]

Originally Posted by digs

*For everyone here, at the very least, make sure your child knows that your financial bailouts are LOANS. They get much better at handling their own finances if they know they'll have to pay them back.

Our daughter didn't have enough money for grad school and car repairs, so we lent her a couple thousand. She took it upon herself to write up a cute little contract, and she uses Venmo to automatically send us over a hundred each month.

Thanks to the generosity of grandparents (and a little help from their parents), all of my kids graduated from college with no student loans or debt. All of them asked us for money to aid in the purchase a car after graduation. We lent them the money, settling on an interest rate halfway between the going rate on our bank's saving account and the best rate that we found for an auto loan. We drew up a contract on each loan, and all of the loans have been paid back in full. 93

[Lightray]

Originally Posted by ZonexandScout

Of course, I discovered this after spending several hours getting everything installed and working. Drives me nuts whenever I use the unit.

I've had several models of an underwater mp3 player by Finis. After the first one, the songs never seemed to play in the same order as the previous model, no matter what I fiddled with on the mp3 file data. Turns out that Finis decided they need to be in order of the date they were uploaded, and neglected to mention this in any of their documentation. So now, every new model I have to carefully plan my upload order to avoid random low-intensity songs at the peak of my workout.

Might want to see if you can remember what order you uploaded those albums. 94

[Typo Negative]

If you want me to call you back, LEAVE YOUR FUCKING PHONE NUMBER!!

Its a common courtesy. Don't make me look up your phone number because you want to talk to me. 95

[digs]

Originally Posted by Typo Negative

If you want me to call you back...

And you've GOT to give me some kind of clue as to what this is about. Unless your signature is on my paychecks, I'll call you back after I've dealt with the ten people who called, or better yet emailed long before you did, with a clear request and even instructions.

Oh, don't think that if you sound harried, that's going to move you to the front of the line. You always sound that way. 96

[adhemar]

I got a phone call this morning from someone wanting me to confirm a bunch of personal information before telling me what they were calling about just that it was a business matter. I refused and she hung up on me. I suspect it was a law firm that recently sent me forms for them to represent me against a grocery store for an accident that has to either be from the grocery store or possibly my insurance. The letter didn't specify where they got my information from and I already have a law firm that I have contracted with to represent me.

She made me late for work arguing with her that I was not going to confirm anything until I knew what the call was about. she said it was about a letter they sent me which is why I think it is this law firm I never contacted. I am going to scan it to my lawyer and let him know.

In the related matter:
I think the grocery store should be liable for the fact that they should have known they had a hazard in their store, for not changing it after someone got hurt and trying to make it my fault (were you wearing flip-flops? were you wearing sunglasses? were you wearing prescription lenses? had you been drinking? etc) I have a permanent disability in my shoulder from the fall but I am also old and have arthritis in the joint so I am sure the grocery store will do everything to pay as little as possible which also ticks me off. 97

[Unreconstructed Man]

No class trashbag motherfucker talking about dealing weed at full volume in the quiet carriage on the train. People like that should be drowned in a bucket. 98

[digs]

Originally Posted by adhemar

...trying to make it my fault (were you wearing flip-flops? were you wearing sunglasses? were you wearing prescription lenses? had you been drinking? etc) I have a permanent disability in my shoulder from the fall but I am also old and have arthritis in the joint so I am sure the grocery store will do everything to pay as little as possible which also ticks me off.

It's probably the store's insurance company. They have no boundaries, no shame.

And apparently, no common sense. I recently had Physical Therapy for a torn tendon. My insurance company sent me a letter asking why... I replied that I twisted my ankle walking down the street. Then they sent me a form full of questions like "Was this the result of negligence on the part of a private party?" I answered the first one normally, but when they sent me a second questionnaire, ALL of my 25 answers were the same: "Twisted my ankle walking down the street."

That didn't sink in. They have now sent me four letters and four forms. Each one more desperately hoping they can sue someone for my $150 medical bill. Oh, and they've started referring to it as My Accident.

On the last one I scrawled diagonally across the form:

NO ACCIDENT!
Just twisted ankle.
Was walking down the street.
By myself.

99

[Typo Negative]

I hate, hate HATE the skinny suit for men.

When I see it, I cannot help but think that someone bought the suit before their last growth spurt. I used think that baggy pants that show the underwear was the worst. I was wrong. 100