Author Topic: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt  (Read 9513 times)

RapmasterD

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Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« on: April 14, 2014, 08:27:54 PM »
I want to empathize. I don't want to be smug or snarky. But....come on man! So, what would YOU suggest to this guy?

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304179704579459490735740318#printMode

swiper

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #1 on: April 14, 2014, 08:41:17 PM »
Buy more stocks, including Intel

oldtoyota

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #2 on: April 14, 2014, 08:46:29 PM »
It's strange that the other half of the couple is not pictured. They have the baby and Mark and the dog....and not the other half of the couple??

horsepoor

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #3 on: April 14, 2014, 08:55:19 PM »
Going into debt to buy life insurance seems so bassackwards.

Good for him on getting those $2 teas instead of $5 lattes, even though he WORKS AT HOME though.

imustachemystash

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #4 on: April 14, 2014, 09:00:13 PM »
That was an odd article.  I was expecting more from the financial advisor.  Mark would get way better advice by posting his details in the "Ask A Mustachian" category.

HappierAtHome

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #5 on: April 14, 2014, 09:35:08 PM »
Good for him on getting those $2 teas instead of $5 lattes, even though he WORKS AT HOME though.

That's what stood out to me... why on earth would you not cut out that kind of crap as soon as you realise you're treading water (or worse, drowning!) financially??

galliver

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #6 on: April 14, 2014, 09:50:16 PM »
It's strange that the other half of the couple is not pictured. They have the baby and Mark and the dog....and not the other half of the couple??

She was ashamed.

sleepyguy

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #7 on: April 15, 2014, 05:33:23 AM »
I envision, ONLY THE BEST private schools, dance lessons, etc, etc for their kid.

Can't even feel sorry for the guy... he admits he's a fancy pants and does nothing about it... clearly he makes more than enough money.  Oh i'll drop to $2 drinks... lol.  I actually think he's quite lucky he's ONLY 20k in debt, guess it's the worst debt at 17% cc... why on earth does he even have stocks... clearly it's not beating 17%.

ZERO empathy.

Going into debt to buy life insurance seems so bassackwards.

Good for him on getting those $2 teas instead of $5 lattes, even though he WORKS AT HOME though.

kite

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #8 on: April 15, 2014, 06:22:17 AM »
20, 000 in cc debt to set up a business?  So,  I checked out his business and the supplements he is selling.   PT Barnum vastly underestimated.

Anyway,  my advice is to grow up and find a new religion;  one that is compatible with genuine science and accepted medical and nutritional advice.  Nobody needs that much protein.  The supplement supplier is deeply entwined with anti-vaccination crackpots.   Their ethics and scientific credibility are zero. 
All the usual advice on getting out of the timeshare, cutting out high priced drinks entirely,  downsize,  get frugal, etc all apply.   But none will take root in someone who falls for quackery and pyramid schemes.   

If you're familiar with the Freakonomics guys and their research on the economics of gangs and drug dealers,  you may recognize the parallel here.  In the inner city,  the conventional wisdom was that joining a gang and selling drugs is a rational act because it is more lucrative than a minimum wage job.  However,  the research shows that it isn't.   Gang members,  even up to the highest level of their organization are propped up and housed by a woman,  either a mother, grandmother or partner.  Their income is closer to minimum wage or even less.

What he's selling isn't crack, but the benefits of supplements are dubious . And it's absolutely wrapped up with people who have enabled genuine harm.   It's doubtful to me that whatever income he's making could ever grow to support himself,  let alone a family.   He's able to dabble in this endeavor and keep up the pricey diet only because someone else is paying the rent.



trailrated

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #9 on: April 15, 2014, 01:30:06 PM »
This guy is delusional at best... Someone needs to get facepunched... Still talking about snowboard trips, paying for a timeshare and dining out and 3 insurance policies when all his credit cards are maxed out. Maybe he can start a crowdsourced income stream to support his lifestyle....

La Bibliotecaria Feroz

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #10 on: April 15, 2014, 02:42:42 PM »
Maybe the wife is not pictured because she's ashamed of the situation! Anyway, seems like they don't need a lot of life insurance on HIM--he's not exactly an economic powerhouse for the family.

Travis

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #11 on: April 15, 2014, 09:44:47 PM »
Dude needs a face punch just for stating he needs $1000 in groceries for a high protein diet that he "requires."  For a guy who owns a health and fitness company (and looking at his company's website I'm not impressed) he should know how to get a high protein diet without breaking the bank.  His goal to getting rid of his debt in six months(!) is to get more clients - not fix his stupid spending habits. 

RapmasterD

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #12 on: April 15, 2014, 10:20:35 PM »
Thank you people. So my inner anger wasn't misplaced. Honestly, this guy needs to drop the fancy groceries....and just buy MMM a gold plated new server for hosting the blog! (I'm not going to stop this).

LowER

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #13 on: April 15, 2014, 10:25:48 PM »
So delusional on so many levels, it isn't even worth the typing I just did.....

Entitlementiasis is the only way I can rationalize ANY of what I read so far.  Wow!!

MrsPete

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #14 on: April 16, 2014, 05:55:23 AM »
He's spending $1000 a month on groceries -- and that's for two people, since his kid is still an infant.  Yet the thing he's looking at cutting out is one of his three life-insurance policies?  With a small child and two working parents, that's not where I'd make cuts. 

At least the "pro" was right when he said the guy's spending is the problem and that he's using credit cards as a "high interest loan" to support a lifestyle he cannot afford. 

Squirrel away

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #15 on: April 16, 2014, 06:49:57 AM »
Ridiculous!

mnstachian

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #16 on: April 16, 2014, 08:16:24 AM »
You know you're in trouble when the comments section of the WSJ provides better advice than the "expert." Sell your stocks and pay off your revolving debt!!

GuitarStv

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #17 on: April 16, 2014, 09:08:47 AM »
It's strange that the other half of the couple is not pictured. They have the baby and Mark and the dog....and not the other half of the couple??

She was ashamed.

I'm guessing off camera setting up a plausible scenario to remove the overspending husband and cash in on one of the life insurance policies.

galliver

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #18 on: April 16, 2014, 09:23:03 AM »
It's strange that the other half of the couple is not pictured. They have the baby and Mark and the dog....and not the other half of the couple??

She was ashamed.

I'm guessing off camera setting up a plausible scenario to remove the overspending husband and cash in on one of the life insurance policies.

Hahaha love it.

eil

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #19 on: April 16, 2014, 10:32:18 AM »
What really got me was that he's trying to run a startup and be a stay-at-home dad at the same time... As the father of two children, let me tell you that unless he's managed to clone himself, this is utterly impossible. Either he's not running the business, or he's not really raising his kid. (If I were a betting man, I'd speculate that the kid's babysitter has an LCD screen built in.)

Travis

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #20 on: April 16, 2014, 11:00:35 AM »
What really got me was that he's trying to run a startup and be a stay-at-home dad at the same time... As the father of two children, let me tell you that unless he's managed to clone himself, this is utterly impossible. Either he's not running the business, or he's not really raising his kid. (If I were a betting man, I'd speculate that the kid's babysitter has an LCD screen built in.)

Take a look at his website.  It looks like his business model is to be the middleman for someone else's products.

MountainFlower

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #21 on: April 16, 2014, 11:55:34 AM »
Does anyone else think that this was just a ploy to get his website published in the WSJ? 

sirdoug007

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #22 on: April 16, 2014, 02:42:32 PM »
Why would you need multiple life insurance when the income he is bringing in is coming from a restaurant he doesn't seem to be involved in?

You would think his uber-nutritious diet would get him a discount at least!  $500/month!

Ohio Teacher

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #23 on: April 16, 2014, 06:18:33 PM »
Sell the shares in the brokerage account and pay $16,000 on the CC debt.  Cancel the whole life policies and switch to term life.  Sell/burn the timeshare.  Stop going out to eat.  Stop spending $1000! a month! on groceries.  This is so easy and this guy is making it so hard.

YogiBritt

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Re: Oh lord -- today's WSJ (041414) profiles a couple in debt
« Reply #24 on: April 16, 2014, 06:37:39 PM »
Guys, you can't ask him to spend less on groceries, he'll probably wither and die if he doesn't eat a minimum 100 oz of grass fed bison every day.  Let's be reasonable here.   

Also, MountainFlower: I immediately thought the same thing.

Does anyone else think that this was just a ploy to get his website published in the WSJ? 

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!