Author Topic: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns  (Read 80359 times)

pdxbator

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Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« on: November 13, 2015, 10:44:10 AM »
Michelle Singletary, the financial columnist for the Washington Post has an interesting read on Debbie Thomas, the Olympic skater.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2015/11/12/olympic-medalist-debi-thomas-is-broke-and-begging/

Short of it all is she is broke and has asked via GoFundMe essentially just hand over some money to her. The article is interesting because it sounds like Ms. Thomas, a doctor no less, has made some poor decisions and obviously has some issues.

I'm wondering if other people have heard of some GoFundMe campaigns like this. It is kind of wacky to just put it all out there and ask for cash to help fund ones lifestyle.

golden1

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #1 on: November 13, 2015, 01:21:22 PM »
SOme Gofundmes are legit bad luck, and while that would be the last place I would go for help, I don't begrudge people trying it if they are truly in need.  A lot are just a result of poor decisions and planning. 

Bobberth

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #2 on: November 13, 2015, 01:27:00 PM »
I thought I was weird as I had never seen any gofundme request on my FB. But that changed recently when I got two at once. One was a classmate from high school that purchased a house that needed extensive repairs. She had posted about buying the place this summer and talked about the repairs. Ok, a rehab project. I respect that, I have done several of them. Then, after the first cold night she posts a gofundme asking for $25k as they need a new boiler and they had ripped out walls but didn't have any money to put up insulation or drywall so the house not only didn't have heat, it was drafty as well. Damn. She is in a small town where you can buy a house for less than $25k so I'm not sure why she needs so much. Only clicked on it once and she had $0 of $25k funded.

The other one was just a week after the above. Again, someone from high school needed money to divorce her husband and she wrote a long story about how she was abused and that she came home to find he changed the locks and wouldn't let her get any of her things so she needed $2500 to get a new place, start over and pay for a lawyer. Really sad story. What is sadder to me is that she is still in the area of the small town we grew up in. She has 3 siblings and her parents and she has to beg for what seems like not that much money in a situation where most would gladly come up with money to help out a child/sibling. When I clicked, I think she was up to $70.

pdxbator

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #3 on: November 13, 2015, 01:55:41 PM »
Since I started this here's a personal GoFundMe plea. Someone I work with had a child about 2 years ago. All is good with child and parents. Well, mom actually has some sort of medical problem (non life threatening) that won't allow her to have more children.

I get a facebook plea for GoFundMe. They are looking for $25k - to hire a surrogate - to have a second child. Srrrrrsly? One child and you aren't satisfied? You have to request money from facebook friends to fund the birth of a second child?
« Last Edit: November 13, 2015, 04:21:35 PM by pdxbator »

JetBlast

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #4 on: November 13, 2015, 03:00:10 PM »
I saw a gofundme request on Facebook earlier this year to hike the John Muir Trail.

I have sympathy if people encounter unexpected major expenses (major home repair, serious illness, unexpected death in the family, etc..) but I find requests simply because somebody wants something and doesn't have the money for it to be distasteful. I'd never have thought it a good idea to ask my friends to fund my vacation.

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #5 on: November 13, 2015, 03:34:57 PM »
My only anywhere-near-personal experience with GoFundMe was when a friend of my girlfriend had her dog hospitalized in an ICU for over a month.  Her vet bills were mid-five-figures, and everything ended up covered by the money raised, in addition to raising awareness of the MDR1 gene mutation, which causes certain medication to be nearly lethal.

It's truly the only GoFundMe campaign I've seen that didn't make me want to vomit.

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #6 on: November 13, 2015, 06:47:34 PM »
I don't support requests to fund what I consider luxuries, nor do I ever give money to subsidize people with a higher standard of living and/or more earning power than myself. If they can't manage what they've got despite having more than enough to get by, giving them more will not improve the situation.

An orthopedic surgeon who can supposedly make a week's pay in just one speaking engagement has the wherewithal to get a new job and money very easily. But she's not willing to work as a surgeon, and she's not willing to hit the lecture circuit. Instead, she wants to do nothing while waiting for her big break on reality TV? Really?

That kind of bad decision making has to be due to some sort of illness or injury. Either that or she's just trying to drum up buzz for the reality TV show. Reality TV stars aren't supposed to demonstrate character, good judgment, or good taste.

Homey The Clown

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #7 on: November 13, 2015, 07:33:51 PM »
My wife did a RAGNAR (200 mile running relay) through the Florida Keys last February. They had two vans and the second van (not hers) was broken into. There was about $1000 worth of stuff stolen, between 6 women in the van. They set up a gofundme page to ask others to help them pay for what they lost. These are, by and large, professional, working women, or the spouses of professional, working men. They paid roughly $4-500 each (yes not mustachian at all) to do this event, and they are crying poor about losing <$200/woman worth of stuff. It caused a huge rift when they implied that was about the whole team on the gofundme page, when the majority of the women in my wife's van would have just sucked it up.

Merrie

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #8 on: November 14, 2015, 10:35:01 AM »
A friend is an underpaid single mom who's been having more financial issues than usual lately due to some issues with her son meaning she is not able to work very frequently. She posted a GFM because she's behind on her bills. Okay, I feel bad for her. But when she does get extra money she's always posting all over Facebook about getting new furniture, new clothes, going out to eat, etc. Her emergency fund is nonexistent. She gets money, she spends it. I'm sure she will actually spend this money to pay her electric bill like she says, but I don't get the impression she's learned anything from this whole fiasco.

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #9 on: November 15, 2015, 06:44:44 AM »
Michelle Singletary, the financial columnist for the Washington Post has an interesting read on Debbie Thomas, the Olympic skater.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2015/11/12/olympic-medalist-debi-thomas-is-broke-and-begging/

Short of it all is she is broke and has asked via GoFundMe essentially just hand over some money to her. The article is interesting because it sounds like Ms. Thomas, a doctor no less, has made some poor decisions and obviously has some issues.

I'm wondering if other people have heard of some GoFundMe campaigns like this. It is kind of wacky to just put it all out there and ask for cash to help fund ones lifestyle.

Olympians typically don't make any money from the Olympics. A precious few (Like Thomas) can and do make money from advertisers and/or lectures.

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #10 on: November 15, 2015, 07:06:15 AM »
I was hounded by a gofundme page for someone that wanted to start their business.  If you need to beg for money to get the business started, it probably isn't viable.   I had to subtly and bluntly suggest that they take traditional action, borrowing or selling equity, to raise capital, just like a real business does.  I was finally removed from their list after I told them to step away from the kids table =)


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arebelspy

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #11 on: November 15, 2015, 11:13:50 AM »
You guys often don't see the requests here the mods delete.  They come every few months.  Deleted two from the same person yesterday.

Somehow they think by saying "Help me get on the Mustachian path!" Mustachians will give them a bunch of money so they can get out of their debt.
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Frankies Girl

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #12 on: November 15, 2015, 11:32:29 AM »
A family friend's wife was diagnosed with a pretty serious and rare medical condition that has forced her to quit her job (she has seizures and loss of limb control). She started her own GFM page to help with medical bills.

Thing is, I know the husband had just gotten a huge windfall in the last year, and had enough left over after paying off all of their (really stupid credit card) debts to create a great emergency fund and still cover some fun stuff besides. They blew it all on clothes, eating out and fancy vacations and then ran up all their cards back in serious debt again. They are absolutely stupid with money and don't see any issues with begging for more after blowing well over $20K and bragging about it on Facebook. They saved absolutely nothing for emergencies.

And there was in the middle of the GFM updates some photos showing off one of the daughter's prom pics and how they spent BIG $$$ on her dress, shoes, purse, hair and makeup and all that stuff... likely $500 at least. All while mom is suffering with this condition and knowing she won't be able to work probably ever. They just blew all that money on a school dance after asking for help paying for utilities and car repairs. Not that the poor kid shouldn't have gone to prom, but a dress and other necessities for a high school dance could be had for less than $100 and the kid should have a job by now to help pay for stuff otherwise (just my opinion obviously).

And the wife's GFM is now asking for $6K to fund a lavish family vacation that happens to include a 1 day stop at a conference regarding her medical condition.

Sigh.
« Last Edit: November 05, 2017, 12:46:29 PM by Frankies Girl »

MayDay

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #13 on: November 15, 2015, 11:36:49 AM »
They make me crazy.  I have never donated to one.

Best example of horrible one:  local farm is non-viable for some reason (needs barn?  tax issue?  like I said, I don't read them) and is asking for ~10K so they can continue to be a farm adn not go under.  YOU ARE A BUSINESS.  NOOOOOO.

I do find medical expense and/or dead parents ones tolerable.  Not tolerable enough to donate, but I can handle them being posted on FB. 

greenmimama

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #14 on: November 15, 2015, 06:19:53 PM »
A family friend's wife was diagnosed with a pretty serious and rare medical condition that has forced her to quit her job (she has seizures and loss of limb control). She started her own GFM page to help with medical bills.

Thing is, I know the husband had just gotten a huge windfall in the last year, and had enough left over after paying off all of their (really stupid credit card) debts to create a great emergency fund and still cover some fun stuff besides. They blew it all on clothes, eating out and fancy vacations and then ran up all their cards back in serious debt again. They are absolutely stupid with money and don't see any issues with begging for more after blowing well over $20K and bragging about it on Facebook. They saved absolutely nothing for emergencies.

And there was in the middle of the GFM updates some photos showing off one of the daughter's prom pics and how they spent $$$ on her dress, shoes, purse, hair and makeup and all that stuff... while mom is suffering with this condition and knowing she won't be able to work probably ever. They just blew all that money after asking for help paying for utilities and car repairs. Not that the poor kid shouldn't have gone to prom, but a dress and other necessities for a high school dance could be had for less than $100 and the kid should have a job by now to help pay for stuff otherwise (just my opinion obviously).

And the wife's GFM is now asking for $6K to fund a lavish family vacation that happens to include a 1 day stop at a conference regarding her medical condition.

Sigh.

They sound like they know exactly what they are doing! milking everyone for whatever they can get.

Most GFM pages are ridiculous. I.Can't.Even.

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #15 on: November 17, 2015, 07:48:25 AM »
You guys often don't see the requests here the mods delete.  They come every few months.  Deleted two from the same person yesterday.

Somehow they think by saying "Help me get on the Mustachian path!" Mustachians will give them a bunch of money so they can get out of their debt.

Might we have just one please, in the Shame and Comedy section? Solely for educational purposes of course.

  • There's a chance the poster might learn something (as in, you don't solve a cash flow problem by making it bigger)
  • The rest of us could practice and refine our facepunching technique (kind of like how baby velociraptors do when Mommy or Daddy bring living prey back to the nest), and
  • The thread could live on forever as a reminder  of why it's a bad idea to solicit Mustachians.

The entertainment value, of course, would not be a factor in our decision making.

Sibley

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #16 on: November 17, 2015, 01:12:02 PM »
You guys often don't see the requests here the mods delete.  They come every few months.  Deleted two from the same person yesterday.

Somehow they think by saying "Help me get on the Mustachian path!" Mustachians will give them a bunch of money so they can get out of their debt.

Might we have just one please, in the Shame and Comedy section? Solely for educational purposes of course.

  • There's a chance the poster might learn something (as in, you don't solve a cash flow problem by making it bigger)
  • The rest of us could practice and refine our facepunching technique (kind of like how baby velociraptors do when Mommy or Daddy bring living prey back to the nest), and
  • The thread could live on forever as a reminder  of why it's a bad idea to solicit Mustachians.

The entertainment value, of course, would not be a factor in our decision making.

Grim, you're my hero today.

Come on, mods, please?

justajane

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #17 on: November 17, 2015, 02:10:55 PM »
Then there's the classic Go Fund Me pyramid scheme from Get Rich Slowly. In essence the spiel was: Help me pay off my mortgage and then I'll pay it forward! It's appalling that they published it, but not surprisingly he got raked over the coals in the comments.

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2014/08/03/crowd-funding-pay-off-mortgage/

GRS had removed the link to his Go Fund Me page, so I wasn't able to find out how much he ended up raising.

Gin1984

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #18 on: November 17, 2015, 02:27:06 PM »
I did find a couple I was willing to donate to.  A woman came home to find her animals harmed by a human (the damage and the fact that the duck cages required thumbs to open were a clue).  She is selling things to try to raise the money to pay for x-rays etc.  This was in the UK and because of one of the things she is selling is decorative eggs, she can't sell overseas (aka here).  When this was mentioned someone held up gofundme as an option.  I'd rather just send paypal money myself but some people preferred gofundme.  Honestly this was one of the few times it did not bother me.

arebelspy

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #19 on: November 17, 2015, 09:36:42 PM »
GRS had removed the link to his Go Fund Me page, so I wasn't able to find out how much he ended up raising.

GRS didn't remove any link, I found it right in the middle of the article: https://www.gofundme.com/onedollaratatime

You give them too much credit.  :)

It looks like GoFundMe did remove it though.
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justajane

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #20 on: November 18, 2015, 05:49:01 AM »
GRS had removed the link to his Go Fund Me page, so I wasn't able to find out how much he ended up raising.

GRS didn't remove any link, I found it right in the middle of the article: https://www.gofundme.com/onedollaratatime

You give them too much credit.  :)

It looks like GoFundMe did remove it though.

Haha. Thanks. My scanning abilities are apparently not up to par. I thought I remembered that they removed it, but I guess I was thinking about the long disclaimer at the top that essentially came to, "We know this is offensive, but we're going to publish it anyway."

Gone Fishing

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #21 on: November 20, 2015, 12:59:40 PM »
I've never looked at GFM before today, but couldn't help thinking that many were probably outright fraud.  Not quite sure how they would do it, but do they have any method of verification?

arebelspy

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #22 on: November 20, 2015, 02:52:59 PM »
I've never looked at GFM before today, but couldn't help thinking that many were probably outright fraud.  Not quite sure how they would do it, but do they have any method of verification?

Nope.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
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MgoSam

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #23 on: November 23, 2015, 01:27:03 PM »
I've never looked at GFM before today, but couldn't help thinking that many were probably outright fraud.  Not quite sure how they would do it, but do they have any method of verification?

Nope.

There have been numerous cases where GFM were setup to help someone but they never received the money. Oftentimes person A will get hurt, person B will set up the GFM and then just pocket the money.

http://gizmodo.com/gofundme-is-a-great-way-to-scam-people-1681401839?utm_expid=66866090-67.e9PWeE2DSnKObFD7vNEoqg.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

galliver

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #24 on: November 23, 2015, 01:58:41 PM »
I think I've seen two decent ones...

One was absolutely heart-wrenching; no one I knew but I think a friend of a friend of a friend or similar. The lady's husband emptied their bank accounts and vanished...right after the birth of their third child, leaving her with: no money, hospital bills, mortgage/rent, childcare to arrange/pay for, and of course food and other living expenses. By all accounts, she was a stay at home mom, too, so getting back to work was a long-term/tricky proposition...

The other was that, allegedly, an acquaintance's brother was falsely accused of a crime and they were fundraising for legal help and support for the wife and (3?) kids.  I'm not really sure of the details but they were fairly young (late 20s-early 30s) and this is definitely an expensive and stressful situation you don't really foresee.  I believe he was lower-ranking military so not a great salary (not comparable to MMM having $100k's or being retired by the same age...)

These two make me grudgingly justify the existence of the site to myself.

Then I see someone trying to raise $5k for their dog's surgery, and as much as I sympathize with the poor dog, if I can procure $5k in an emergency situation, any of my single, college-graduate, professionally-employed friends should be able to do the same...

aceyou

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #25 on: November 23, 2015, 07:55:36 PM »
I've made one donation to a coworker whom I have great respect for.  He and his wife are struggling to have their first child, and IVF treatments have sucked their savings.  They needed a loan for the subsequent round.  They have no children yet and badly want a family.  Outside of a long work commute, both are frugal people and terrific human beings. 

Other than that one, all gofundme's have made me want to gag:)

MrsPete

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #26 on: November 23, 2015, 07:58:57 PM »
You guys often don't see the requests here the mods delete.  They come every few months.  Deleted two from the same person yesterday.

Somehow they think by saying "Help me get on the Mustachian path!" Mustachians will give them a bunch of money so they can get out of their debt.
No clue that they're begging from the wrong crowd, huh?

The silliest one I've heard of lately:  A local business -- a restaurant -- burned.  Very sad.  Now they're asking the community to give them money to rebuild.  That's why you have insurance!  After all, you were cooking burgers over an open flame.  Did no one stop to think fire was a possibility?
« Last Edit: November 23, 2015, 08:02:27 PM by MrsPete »

justajane

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #27 on: November 23, 2015, 08:25:19 PM »
You guys often don't see the requests here the mods delete.  They come every few months.  Deleted two from the same person yesterday.

Somehow they think by saying "Help me get on the Mustachian path!" Mustachians will give them a bunch of money so they can get out of their debt.
No clue that they're begging from the wrong crowd, huh?

The silliest one I've heard of lately:  A local business -- a restaurant -- burned.  Very sad.  Now they're asking the community to give them money to rebuild.  That's why you have insurance!  After all, you were cooking burgers over an open flame.  Did no one stop to think fire was a possibility?

We regularly get GFMs for local businesses. The most recent one was a local coffee drive thru that a family had bought. Apparently the equipment was ancient, so a year after they bought it they wanted to raise 15K or something to buy new equipment. Um didn't you factor that in when you bought the business? And they, of course, appealed to the "we're a locally family owned business" thing. But that just irks me. Not surprisingly, most of the time these campaigns don't bring more than a couple hundred dollars.

MgoSam

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #28 on: November 23, 2015, 09:35:35 PM »
You guys often don't see the requests here the mods delete.  They come every few months.  Deleted two from the same person yesterday.

Somehow they think by saying "Help me get on the Mustachian path!" Mustachians will give them a bunch of money so they can get out of their debt.
No clue that they're begging from the wrong crowd, huh?

The silliest one I've heard of lately:  A local business -- a restaurant -- burned.  Very sad.  Now they're asking the community to give them money to rebuild.  That's why you have insurance!  After all, you were cooking burgers over an open flame.  Did no one stop to think fire was a possibility?

We regularly get GFMs for local businesses. The most recent one was a local coffee drive thru that a family had bought. Apparently the equipment was ancient, so a year after they bought it they wanted to raise 15K or something to buy new equipment. Um didn't you factor that in when you bought the business? And they, of course, appealed to the "we're a locally family owned business" thing. But that just irks me. Not surprisingly, most of the time these campaigns don't bring more than a couple hundred dollars.

That sounds like severe lack of operating funds, which indicates poor planning.

dude

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #29 on: November 24, 2015, 06:51:29 AM »
A FB "friend" (really, she's someone I don't even remember from high school who friended me) apparently lost her job a while back, has run out of unemployment benefits, and spent her savings.  She is reportedly facing eviction.  Her rent is $700/month.  She's trying to raise $1400 to cover her rent for two months.  I feel a bit sorry for her, but it just seems weird to me for a 51-year old woman to basically come begging to a bunch of people she doesn't know that well, if at all.  I just have to wonder whether or why her circle of friends and family is so small or non-existent as to not be available to help her out here.  I mean, seriously, if any friend or family member of mine really needed $1400, I'd simply give it to them.  That being said, I'm still contemplating giving her a small donation.  She's reportedly raised about $700 so far.

A FB friend of my wife's posted a GFM request to pay for her son's private schooling!!!  Here's the kicker though - about a month later, she announced she was having a second kid.  WTF???!!  You can't afford the one you have and you're having another one?  Yeah, wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first.

horsepoor

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #30 on: November 24, 2015, 07:03:34 AM »
You guys often don't see the requests here the mods delete.  They come every few months.  Deleted two from the same person yesterday.

Somehow they think by saying "Help me get on the Mustachian path!" Mustachians will give them a bunch of money so they can get out of their debt.
No clue that they're begging from the wrong crowd, huh?

The silliest one I've heard of lately:  A local business -- a restaurant -- burned.  Very sad.  Now they're asking the community to give them money to rebuild.  That's why you have insurance!  After all, you were cooking burgers over an open flame.  Did no one stop to think fire was a possibility?

That's one I don't get.  Someone recently posted a very sad GFM story of an animal shelter burning down and needing money for vet bills, etc. for the surviving animals.  But then they mention the loss of the building as well.  Surely it was insured, and wouldn't insurance provide temporary housing during rebuilding?

Papa Mustache

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #31 on: November 24, 2015, 07:34:57 AM »
These GFM stories are similar to the reasons I quit Freecycle. At first it was about needs and then it became about wants.

Started seeing people asking for what I consider luxury items like performance tires for their ultra-wide, aluminum wheels on their car. (Literally saw that one). Or toys for their kids - like go carts.

I figure if a person is poor then they can be thirfty like my family - and we are a long way from poor. Wear the off brand clothes and shoes. Take care of what you have. Keep the itty-bitty skinny wheels/tires on your grocery getter car so replacement tires are cheap.

The older I get the more clear it is why some people are poor. Its all about long term choices.

Whatever happened to developing friendships and sharing chores instead of asking for money? Hey let's work together on my project and I'll help you with your project. Hey you've had a tough episode and I'll help you, and you'd do the same for me.
« Last Edit: November 24, 2015, 07:53:46 AM by Joe Average »

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #32 on: November 24, 2015, 07:51:46 AM »
You guys often don't see the requests here the mods delete.  They come every few months.  Deleted two from the same person yesterday.

Somehow they think by saying "Help me get on the Mustachian path!" Mustachians will give them a bunch of money so they can get out of their debt.
No clue that they're begging from the wrong crowd, huh?

The silliest one I've heard of lately:  A local business -- a restaurant -- burned.  Very sad.  Now they're asking the community to give them money to rebuild.  That's why you have insurance!  After all, you were cooking burgers over an open flame.  Did no one stop to think fire was a possibility?

That's one I don't get.  Someone recently posted a very sad GFM story of an animal shelter burning down and needing money for vet bills, etc. for the surviving animals.  But then they mention the loss of the building as well.  Surely it was insured, and wouldn't insurance provide temporary housing during rebuilding?

Not if they rented. Loss of use coverage also isn't automatic.

Jenni

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #33 on: November 25, 2015, 09:02:30 AM »
I feel like I have finally found the right place for my rant. Why is it that every time someone dies there's a GFM campaign? At least tell me if there was life insurance. I have $400,000 of Life insurance for $21/month. It seems like it s the go-to now and I don't get it.

Also to my cousin with a GFM for his treecutting business, I'm glad you are clean and sober and haven't been in nail for 2+ years, but you're not getting any of my money.

Rollin

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #34 on: November 25, 2015, 09:08:19 AM »
Since I started this here's a personal GoFundMe plea. Someone I work with had a child about 2 years ago. All is good with child and parents. Well, mom actually has some sort of medical problem (non life threatening) that won't allow her to have more children.

I get a facebook plea for GoFundMe. They are looking for $25k - to hire a surrogate - to have a second child. Srrrrrsly? One child and you aren't satisfied? You have to request money from facebook friends to fund the birth of a second child?

If you need $25K to fund a second child you cannot afford the child even if the child was free.

Cromacster

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #35 on: November 25, 2015, 09:36:42 AM »
I don't see to many of them anymore.  I've seen a few people on FB put them up for auto repairs, job loss, medical expenses, and only one trying to fund a vacation.

The only one I have personally given to was a friend who just had a baby, a few weeks later had an appendectomy, and shortly after he had a hernia.  All said and done, 2 surgeries, a newborn, and a bunch of unpaid time off.  Hard not to feel for a person in such a situation.  Once he recovered and was back at it he hosted a nice party for his friends.  Was a good reason to celebrate.

You guys often don't see the requests here the mods delete.  They come every few months.  Deleted two from the same person yesterday.

Somehow they think by saying "Help me get on the Mustachian path!" Mustachians will give them a bunch of money so they can get out of their debt.

I never considered people posting such things here.  Makes sense that they would try.  Glad we have good mods around here.  Thanks ARS.

arebelspy

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #36 on: November 25, 2015, 09:43:20 AM »

You guys often don't see the requests here the mods delete.  They come every few months.  Deleted two from the same person yesterday.

Somehow they think by saying "Help me get on the Mustachian path!" Mustachians will give them a bunch of money so they can get out of their debt.

I never considered people posting such things here.  Makes sense that they would try.  Glad we have good mods around here.  Thanks ARS.

Of course!

Now I hope you'll consider contributing to my GoFundMe campaign to benefit the moderators of the MMM forum!
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

Cromacster

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #37 on: November 25, 2015, 09:47:52 AM »

You guys often don't see the requests here the mods delete.  They come every few months.  Deleted two from the same person yesterday.

Somehow they think by saying "Help me get on the Mustachian path!" Mustachians will give them a bunch of money so they can get out of their debt.

I never considered people posting such things here.  Makes sense that they would try.  Glad we have good mods around here.  Thanks ARS.

Of course!

Now I hope you'll consider contributing to my GoFundMe campaign to benefit the moderators of the MMM forum!

Ahhh Just got rick rolled!  Made my day haha.

horsepoor

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #38 on: November 25, 2015, 10:35:26 AM »
You guys often don't see the requests here the mods delete.  They come every few months.  Deleted two from the same person yesterday.

Somehow they think by saying "Help me get on the Mustachian path!" Mustachians will give them a bunch of money so they can get out of their debt.
No clue that they're begging from the wrong crowd, huh?

The silliest one I've heard of lately:  A local business -- a restaurant -- burned.  Very sad.  Now they're asking the community to give them money to rebuild.  That's why you have insurance!  After all, you were cooking burgers over an open flame.  Did no one stop to think fire was a possibility?

That's one I don't get.  Someone recently posted a very sad GFM story of an animal shelter burning down and needing money for vet bills, etc. for the surviving animals.  But then they mention the loss of the building as well.  Surely it was insured, and wouldn't insurance provide temporary housing during rebuilding?

Not if they rented. Loss of use coverage also isn't automatic.

True - I can see needing some funds for temporary situations for the remaining animals if they can't find foster homes.  However, if they were renting, they should be off the hook for any future rent and can use those funds for another location.  I just wish these types of things provided more info, rather than just insinuating that they need all the money to buy/build a new building.

justajane

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #39 on: November 25, 2015, 10:40:27 AM »
I feel like I have finally found the right place for my rant. Why is it that every time someone dies there's a GFM campaign? At least tell me if there was life insurance. I have $400,000 of Life insurance for $21/month. It seems like it s the go-to now and I don't get it.

Yeah, the funeral requests make me sad more than anything, although they are likely the least offensive GFM requests out there other than health catastrophes. My thought is, do you live so close to edge that you can't afford a simple funeral? What about your family? Can't they just rally around you without GFM? It doesn't have to cost 15K or whatever the going rate is now.

For the family of the little girl who was murdered in Kentucky a little over a week ago, the small community mobilized and managed to raise almost 50K on GFM in only a few days. I thought that was pretty impressive and didn't really have a problem with it. These parents are so traumatized that they likely won't be able to work for quite a while. And for everyone who just feel so helplessly sad for them (as would anyone), this is just a concrete way to express your grief. The usual casseroles and deli meat trays can only really be done by a select few who know them. That's usually how people support a grieving family - through food and flowers.

trailrated

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #40 on: November 25, 2015, 11:18:34 AM »
A close friend passed away about a month ago. I had dinner with his parents recently and they said 3 weeks after the funeral the mortuary sent a coupon for 20% off "their next funeral". Needless to say they were pissed and are almost expecting a black Friday deal to arrive in the mail as well.

justajane

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #41 on: November 25, 2015, 11:26:50 AM »
A close friend passed away about a month ago. I had dinner with his parents recently and they said 3 weeks after the funeral the mortuary sent a coupon for 20% off "their next funeral". Needless to say they were pissed and are almost expecting a black Friday deal to arrive in the mail as well.

So sorry for your loss. How tone deaf of the mortuary. You'd think the people who specialize in death would be more sensitive. I'm annoyed by how they upsell caskets. Talk about preying on the vulnerable. Cremation and a later memorial at a church is my preference, at least financially it would be.

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #42 on: November 25, 2015, 03:39:28 PM »
I feel like I have finally found the right place for my rant. Why is it that every time someone dies there's a GFM campaign? At least tell me if there was life insurance. I have $400,000 of Life insurance for $21/month. It seems like it s the go-to now and I don't get it.

Also to my cousin with a GFM for his treecutting business, I'm glad you are clean and sober and haven't been in nail for 2+ years, but you're not getting any of my money.

The saddest GFMs are for murder victims who died at an early age such as the 4-year-old shot on the freeway by a repeat road-rage offender, or for police officers injured or killed in the line of duty. Although there are literally billions of dollars socked away in federal crime victim aid money, there's no way for the victims to get access to any of it. Most of it simply isn't spent, although a small amount goes to charities that purport to distribute the money to victims but tend to spend more on their own staff and administrators. Actual victims very seldom get a cent, while federal politicians feel free to raid the "unused" and "unneeded" victim aid money at will. Victim aid money was a cute idea that looked good on paper, but it's not helping actual crime victims.

Police officers in my city don't get their full pay for the time they spend in the hospital or rehabilitating, and when the spouse has to quit work in order to care for the injured person (because there's no money available for home aid), there's simply no money coming in for the family. One officer, who was shot repeatedly by his superior during a botched undercover operation almost a year ago, has needed multiple surgeries and still might not make it. He receives only partial pay, and his wife had to quit her job to care for him, but the man who shot him is on full pay during his "administrative leave". That's why funding has to come from the community.

Most families don't plan for a funeral of a very young person. Of course, in some communities and traditions it's verboten to plan for a funeral at all.

In an extreme enabler culture, people are raised to be either moochers or enablers. The enablers work very hard, but they never accumulate much because they, or the family members around them, live in a constant state of emergency. It's not considered socially acceptable to spend money on anything that isn't immediately useful. People believe they are morally obligated to get the maximum possible value for their money "now", or else to give it to a family member who "needs it more" due to being sick, out of work, addicted, or whatever. In fact, children are taught that it's morally wrong to have savings or investments of any kind if a family member is in need. Need always expands to consume and then exceed all available resources, so families like this invariably produce people who are nursing an addiction, or out of work, or just released from prison, or depressed/ill to the point where he or she "can't" work but is "too proud" to go on disability. It's deemed "selfish" if an able-bodied family member decides to pursue advanced education instead of dropping out of school to care for a sick, addicted, or injured elder member of the family, so there aren't many legal paths to a professional-class income.

When a person grows up in an extreme enabler culture, instead of accumulating money it's considered better to have things: clothing, electronics, furniture, or other stuff that could be exchanged for cash. So, it's hard for a person raised in such a tradition to understand the benefit of buying a prepaid cremation plan. They also don't like to buy insurance of any sort, since they consider it an unnecessary expense.

An elderly friend of mine passed away a year and a half ago. She and her family were part of an enabler culture. Despite the fact she'd been very sick for three full years, none of her six children had set aside so much as a cent to bury her. But the requirements of their religion were such that cremation wasn't acceptable, and even the cheapest coffin and service set them back about $5,000. I did chip in, but only because this old lady had been a friend of mine.

Trudie

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #43 on: December 09, 2015, 02:59:25 PM »
My favorite restaurant -- now closed -- started a GoFund me last year when they were having trouble making their bills.  The whole story got trotted out, but I was like, "No, this is a business, I'm not giving them money for bills."  I wrote to the chef telling him I would encourage all my friends who loved the restaurant to frequent it more regularly and I did as well.  He raised several thousand bucks, but as predicted, the restaurant still went under.  It was a wonderful place -- the food and the atmosphere were way above average and the prices weren't bad.  But the owner clearly made some mis-steps in managing the business and location was always a problem (too far out of the way).

In a similar vein, some locals (who come from monied families) started a GoFundMe campaign to start a music club/bar.  It's a for profit enterprise?  Isn't that what banks and rich uncles are for?

I'm often critical of governments for privatizing gains and subsidizing losses, but this smacks of the same.  If you're in business, you're in business and bear the risks that go with that.  I'll vote with my feet, or not.

serpentstooth

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #44 on: December 09, 2015, 03:15:11 PM »
They make me crazy.  I have never donated to one.

Best example of horrible one:  local farm is non-viable for some reason (needs barn?  tax issue?  like I said, I don't read them) and is asking for ~10K so they can continue to be a farm adn not go under.  YOU ARE A BUSINESS.  NOOOOOO.

I do find medical expense and/or dead parents ones tolerable.  Not tolerable enough to donate, but I can handle them being posted on FB.

The local "indie" coffee place had a GFM to expand.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/espresso-77-jackson-heights-store-expansion#/

It failed.

Trudie

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #45 on: December 15, 2015, 07:08:14 PM »
They make me crazy.  I have never donated to one.

Best example of horrible one:  local farm is non-viable for some reason (needs barn?  tax issue?  like I said, I don't read them) and is asking for ~10K so they can continue to be a farm adn not go under.  YOU ARE A BUSINESS.  NOOOOOO.

I do find medical expense and/or dead parents ones tolerable.  Not tolerable enough to donate, but I can handle them being posted on FB.

The local "indie" coffee place had a GFM to expand.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/espresso-77-jackson-heights-store-expansion#/

It failed.

Yup.  There's bad luck (sick parents; random acts of violence; bad stuff that happens and is totally out of your control) and then there's bad business planning.  The latter is rampant and GoFundMe campaigns only enable some businesses that shouldn't be in business.

Papa Mustache

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #46 on: December 17, 2015, 07:29:30 AM »
You guys often don't see the requests here the mods delete.  They come every few months.  Deleted two from the same person yesterday.

Somehow they think by saying "Help me get on the Mustachian path!" Mustachians will give them a bunch of money so they can get out of their debt.
No clue that they're begging from the wrong crowd, huh?

The silliest one I've heard of lately:  A local business -- a restaurant -- burned.  Very sad.  Now they're asking the community to give them money to rebuild.  That's why you have insurance!  After all, you were cooking burgers over an open flame.  Did no one stop to think fire was a possibility?

We regularly get GFMs for local businesses. The most recent one was a local coffee drive thru that a family had bought. Apparently the equipment was ancient, so a year after they bought it they wanted to raise 15K or something to buy new equipment. Um didn't you factor that in when you bought the business? And they, of course, appealed to the "we're a locally family owned business" thing. But that just irks me. Not surprisingly, most of the time these campaigns don't bring more than a couple hundred dollars.

That sounds like severe lack of operating funds, which indicates poor planning.

Or someone is not reinvesting enough into their business. I used to work for a real cheapskate. Everything was falling apart b/c she put too much into her own pocket. Eventually it impacted the business and she closed. Lots of other contributing factors too.

partgypsy

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #47 on: December 17, 2015, 08:48:30 AM »
You guys often don't see the requests here the mods delete.  They come every few months.  Deleted two from the same person yesterday.

Somehow they think by saying "Help me get on the Mustachian path!" Mustachians will give them a bunch of money so they can get out of their debt.
No clue that they're begging from the wrong crowd, huh?

The silliest one I've heard of lately:  A local business -- a restaurant -- burned.  Very sad.  Now they're asking the community to give them money to rebuild.  That's why you have insurance!  After all, you were cooking burgers over an open flame.  Did no one stop to think fire was a possibility?

Yes, there was an article in our local paper, a local and beloved bar/nightclub owed 80K in back taxes, because I guess they forgot to pay taxes the first 6 years they were open? It gets worse. They recently had a kickstarter to raise 15K not for the taxes, but for a new sound system. But said that the new sound system actually cost 40K so they are still paying off the rest of that loan. Third, the original group of investors still owes 400K for the original loan. They only gave this information to explain why they could not get a traditional loan to pay off back taxes. I'm sure their hearts are in the right places, but they sound like terrible businesspeople, because it was a popular and busy venue.

iris lily

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Re: Give me Money: GoFundMe Campaigns
« Reply #48 on: December 17, 2015, 11:24:05 AM »
Glad I noticed this thread. I've got one that is driving me crazy and I'm glad to have a place to vent about it. It's a funeral GoFundMe, sort of.

Back story is that there were 40 some messages on Next Door, our city's online forum for neighborhood chat, about a woman who was searching for the body of her dead dog. This small dog had jumped out of her car window and escaped. Later someone saw the little dog be hit by a car. The dog's owner didn't see the event and learned of the dog's death when trying to find the dog.

So far, so good. But my annoyance  comes in when the owner starts complaining about the dog's missing body. She complains about where it might be. Is it in a dumpster? That is horrifying! How could anyone be so cruel!!! Then multiple other voices chime in about the cruelty of disposing of a pet into a dumpster. Other than one practical voice pointing out that's illegal, all other posts quack on about how anyone touching this dead dog is evil.

The voices go on to urge the owner to check one more time with a nearby church where the dead dog was said to be. She talked to,church personnel and discovered that they had placed dead dog body into a dumpster. Oh, the Humanity! How could,they even consider themselves Christian!?? The messages went on and on.

This dog owner did retrieve the dead body of her dog from a dumpster.

Someone on the list wrote in to say that they had made arrangements for a pet crematory service to take the dog's body as a way to ease the pain of the owner.

I thought "well, that's nice, good for you!" Unti ,the poster went on to say that he/she was setting up a Go Fund Me effort for this.

And that's when I stepped out of reading subsequent posts.

Some of you might wonder why this rubbed me so much the wrong way. I have to wonder too. I guess it's because this hits all of my buttons

* Exaggerated, hysterical reaction out of proportion to the event

* The dog is already DEAD, we are not talking about cruelty  to a live animal

* blaming others for a role in a saga that started with the owner, she made the initial mistake of not containing her dog

*pile on of many people promoting the hysteria and blame laying

* Go Fund Me account for something that is easily affordable --why crowd source this do-gooder effort if the initial do-gooder thinks it should be done? Cremations remains of a little dog is $100. Or maybe they are going to do the whole burial thing with a plot, etc. then, see my first point

Tl; dr. Some people thrive on being upset and in using GoFundMe as their platform to show the world how emo they are, where emo=good in their tiny minds








« Last Edit: December 17, 2015, 11:38:53 AM by iris lily »

Miss Prim

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Go fund me!
« Reply #49 on: January 09, 2016, 06:33:24 AM »
I have contributed to Go fund me accounts before when there has been a real need in someone's life, such as the person died young and the family was having a hard time paying for a funeral, or medical expenses.  But, lately in my extended family I have been seeing ridiculous accounts being set up.

One cousin's son-in-law set up an account so he could fund a kayak for a birthday present for his wife.  Of course, I did not contribute to this.  Now another cousin has died and right away, a family member posted a go fund me account to pay for the funeral AND living expenses for the surviving spouse.  This couple made way more than my husband and I in their working years, and the spouse is retired with a big union pension from an auto company.  My cousin was still working at 63 because they couldn't make ends meet on her husband's pension and SS. 

I ended up giving them a card with $50.00 in it, but this stuff just makes me mad!  When their children thanked everyone who gave to the go fund me, they then added that they still needed money to pay for everyday expenses and would appreciate people donating more.  Really, my cousin is probably rolling in her grave because I know she would never have wanted this.

Do people not have any shame anymore about having to ask people for money for things that they should be paying for themselves?  I am thinking mostly about the kayak!

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