Author Topic: worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?  (Read 10069 times)

The Money Monk

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worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?
« on: May 13, 2015, 09:49:57 PM »
I sell a lot of used goods online, so I am subscribed to a local facebook group/feed for buying/selling in my area.

I see a lot of 'wall of shame' type stuff pop up there, but today I witnessed something particularly amazing.

A woman posted an item for sale, and another woman posted,

"I want this but I don't get paid til later"

This may not seem that strange of a response, but the item in question was a $4 TV tray!

Four fucking dollars!!!


Hunny156

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Re: worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?
« Reply #1 on: May 14, 2015, 01:09:44 PM »
Yes, I'm on some of the FB Yard Sale pages so I can sell stuff I no longer use, & I often see people asking to put holds on stuff for less than $10, until they get paid.

Ebay has gotten better w/enforcing rules for buyers over the years, but I used to get so annoyed that people would bid on stuff, and then wait a week or two to pay for it, once their paycheck came in.

MgoSam

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Re: worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?
« Reply #2 on: May 14, 2015, 01:42:13 PM »

Ebay has gotten better w/enforcing rules for buyers over the years, but I used to get so annoyed that people would bid on stuff, and then wait a week or two to pay for it, once their paycheck came in.

I'm loved on Ebay, it's been a few times since I've purchased anything but in each case, I paid within a day of winning. In some cases, within seconds..and my reviews indicate as such.

Hunny156

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Re: worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?
« Reply #3 on: May 14, 2015, 01:54:26 PM »

Ebay has gotten better w/enforcing rules for buyers over the years, but I used to get so annoyed that people would bid on stuff, and then wait a week or two to pay for it, once their paycheck came in.

I'm loved on Ebay, it's been a few times since I've purchased anything but in each case, I paid within a day of winning. In some cases, within seconds..and my reviews indicate as such.

Yup, that's me too!  If I can be around for the auction to end, I insist on putting my bid in w/in seconds of the auction closing, and at that point, might as well complete the transaction, right?  :)

mm1970

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Re: worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?
« Reply #4 on: May 14, 2015, 01:59:41 PM »
I sell a lot of used goods online, so I am subscribed to a local facebook group/feed for buying/selling in my area.

I see a lot of 'wall of shame' type stuff pop up there, but today I witnessed something particularly amazing.

A woman posted an item for sale, and another woman posted,

"I want this but I don't get paid til later"

This may not seem that strange of a response, but the item in question was a $4 TV tray!

Four fucking dollars!!!
I belong to one of those FB pages also.  Oh, the craziness. People calling out others lately - one for renting a house or condo and not paying rent and then "squatting" when served with an eviction notice  (it was interesting to go back and search that name and find the thread where the renter was looking for legal advice).

The most recent one was - woman A PM'd woman B, asking for baby items for a friend who was in dire need.  Like a crib and a few other items.  Woman B really wanted the items to go to someone in need.  So she gave them to her.

THE VERY  NEXT DAY she walks into a used kid store and sees her items for sale on consignment - asks the name of the woman who left them - yep.  And the shady woman A won't admit it! 

I can see needing money, but so much that you will scam someone else??

Sorry that was a little OT.

Kaspian

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Re: worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?
« Reply #5 on: May 14, 2015, 02:02:04 PM »
Yes, I'm on some of the FB Yard Sale pages so I can sell stuff I no longer use, & I often see people asking to put holds on stuff for less than $10, until they get paid.

Ebay has gotten better w/enforcing rules for buyers over the years, but I used to get so annoyed that people would bid on stuff, and then wait a week or two to pay for it, once their paycheck came in.

^^ This!!  I had a guy last month buy $24 worth of comic books.  I couldn't figure out why he wouldn't pay up.  I didn't really want to go after him because he had 100% rating.  He finally begged me to wait until his payday.  [*Sigh*] 10 days, but he finally paid.  (On his Friday payday.)

Hunny156

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Re: worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?
« Reply #6 on: May 14, 2015, 02:18:51 PM »
I sell a lot of used goods online, so I am subscribed to a local facebook group/feed for buying/selling in my area.

I see a lot of 'wall of shame' type stuff pop up there, but today I witnessed something particularly amazing.

A woman posted an item for sale, and another woman posted,

"I want this but I don't get paid til later"

This may not seem that strange of a response, but the item in question was a $4 TV tray!

Four fucking dollars!!!
I belong to one of those FB pages also.  Oh, the craziness. People calling out others lately - one for renting a house or condo and not paying rent and then "squatting" when served with an eviction notice  (it was interesting to go back and search that name and find the thread where the renter was looking for legal advice).

The most recent one was - woman A PM'd woman B, asking for baby items for a friend who was in dire need.  Like a crib and a few other items.  Woman B really wanted the items to go to someone in need.  So she gave them to her.

THE VERY  NEXT DAY she walks into a used kid store and sees her items for sale on consignment - asks the name of the woman who left them - yep.  And the shady woman A won't admit it! 

I can see needing money, but so much that you will scam someone else??

Sorry that was a little OT.

Sadly, I've heard of a lot of people who do the needy new mom schtick and then post the stuff for sale in another FB for sale page.  The proof is right there, and even when called out, they don't admit it or it gets too nasty and the mods block people before it gets out of hand.

But yeah, those pages are fun.  Probably the craziest thing I saw was what looked like a stone outdoor kitchen setup, the ones w/the built in grill.  The original poster said it wasn't in the greatest condition, and she used the magical word "Free".  People were falling over each other over who was first in line, and by the time the post was pulled, people were calling other people racists!

The Money Monk

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Re: worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?
« Reply #7 on: May 16, 2015, 01:17:28 PM »

Sadly, I've heard of a lot of people who do the needy new mom schtick and then post the stuff for sale in another FB for sale page.  The proof is right there, and even when called out, they don't admit it or it gets too nasty and the mods block people before it gets out of hand.

But yeah, those pages are fun.  Probably the craziest thing I saw was what looked like a stone outdoor kitchen setup, the ones w/the built in grill.  The original poster said it wasn't in the greatest condition, and she used the magical word "Free".  People were falling over each other over who was first in line, and by the time the post was pulled, people were calling other people racists!

Yeah those groups provide me some free entertainment that's for sure. People calling others out and saying "don't buy from So and so!" etc. I actually couldn't help myself and had some good-natured fun with somebody selling a goofy painting lately:

http://englishandenglish.rulethewasteland.com/2015/05/13/how-i-entertain-myself-online-2/




Joggernot

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Re: worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?
« Reply #8 on: May 16, 2015, 05:16:10 PM »
I sell a lot of used goods online, so I am subscribed to a local facebook group/feed for buying/selling in my area.

I see a lot of 'wall of shame' type stuff pop up there, but today I witnessed something particularly amazing.

A woman posted an item for sale, and another woman posted,

"I want this but I don't get paid til later"

This may not seem that strange of a response, but the item in question was a $4 TV tray!

Four fucking dollars!!!
I belong to one of those FB pages also.  Oh, the craziness. People calling out others lately - one for renting a house or condo and not paying rent and then "squatting" when served with an eviction notice  (it was interesting to go back and search that name and find the thread where the renter was looking for legal advice).

The most recent one was - woman A PM'd woman B, asking for baby items for a friend who was in dire need.  Like a crib and a few other items.  Woman B really wanted the items to go to someone in need.  So she gave them to her.

THE VERY  NEXT DAY she walks into a used kid store and sees her items for sale on consignment - asks the name of the woman who left them - yep.  And the shady woman A won't admit it! 

I can see needing money, but so much that you will scam someone else??

Sorry that was a little OT.
O
I've seen all this on our FBs, too.  One woman begged a refrigerator only to turn around and post it on the FB page for $700!  She was called out, but the admin took down the call out and banned the poster.  Doesn't stop her from creating a new FB identity and doing it all over again.

AlexK

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Re: worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?
« Reply #9 on: May 16, 2015, 05:51:58 PM »
My coworker is so bad with money he is always broke. If he happens upon a windfall like a bonus or tax return there are a steady stream of eBay and Amazon boxes delivered to the office until he is quickly broke again. Stupid stuff too like Bluetooth motorcycle helmets and ultra high end ski bindings. I always hear tales of rent getting paid late and can't afford the latest emergency. BTW he is married with kids.

Last week the family car was totaled and he is expecting a $5k check from insurance. Insurance offered a rental car but he couldn't get it because it required a $50 deposit. I was showing him reliable cars on Craigslist in the $3k range. Yesterday he tells me they went to a dealership and bought a Jeep Commander 4x4 V8 on payments. Mpg is 13/19. Insurance went up by $100/mo. This will not end well.
« Last Edit: May 16, 2015, 11:26:30 PM by AlexK »

Laura

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Re: worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?
« Reply #10 on: May 16, 2015, 06:39:04 PM »
My parents own a condo in Florida and we just went down there in April. They bought all new furniture for the living room and my mom posted it on the yard sale Facebook group down there cause we needed the old furniture out ASAP before the new furniture came. My mom put that she wanted $20 for the entire living room set (couch, two arm chairs, coffee table, two end tables, and TV stand). She only put $20 cause she wanted to avoid having weirdos coming to the condo if she said the items were Free.

She immediately got a woman who posted saying she was interested but who said she didn't get paid until Friday or whatever. And I must admit that I was truly shocked. I was just like, "who the hell doesn't have 20 bucks??" I was genuinely confused. I've honestly never been in that type of situation myself, so it's so odd to me to realize how many people truly do live paycheck to paycheck. I just couldn't believe that this woman couldn't scrape together 20 bucks for an entire living room set. And the truth is that my mom was about to give it to the woman for free, but then my grandparent's had friends in our same condo complex who were interested in taking the old furniture, so my mom just let them take it for free.

The Money Monk

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Re: worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?
« Reply #11 on: May 16, 2015, 06:43:51 PM »

She immediately got a woman who posted saying she was interested but who said she didn't get paid until Friday or whatever. And I must admit that I was truly shocked. I was just like, "who the hell doesn't have 20 bucks??" I was genuinely confused. I've honestly never been in that type of situation myself, so it's so odd to me to realize how many people truly do live paycheck to paycheck. I just couldn't believe that this woman couldn't scrape together 20 bucks for an entire living room set.

Yeah its wild. Although I do understand not even having an extra $20 (been there before as a broke student), I certainly wasn't trying to buy random stuff while in that condition. Certainly not stuff that wasn't absolutely essential.

if you don't even have 20 bucks to your name why are earth are you looking to buy furniture and TV trays?!

Laura

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Re: worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?
« Reply #12 on: May 16, 2015, 06:54:09 PM »

She immediately got a woman who posted saying she was interested but who said she didn't get paid until Friday or whatever. And I must admit that I was truly shocked. I was just like, "who the hell doesn't have 20 bucks??" I was genuinely confused. I've honestly never been in that type of situation myself, so it's so odd to me to realize how many people truly do live paycheck to paycheck. I just couldn't believe that this woman couldn't scrape together 20 bucks for an entire living room set.

Yeah its wild. Although I do understand not even having an extra $20 (been there before as a broke student), I certainly wasn't trying to buy random stuff while in that condition. Certainly not stuff that wasn't absolutely essential.

if you don't even have 20 bucks to your name why are earth are you looking to buy furniture and TV trays?!

This woman did say something about her just moving there and pretty much having no furniture yet, but I mean, $20 to get you furniture for your whole living room is pretty good. Maybe she was only looking on the yard sale page hoping for free stuff? Maybe people use the "I don't get paid till Friday" technique in hopes that the seller will just tell them that they can have the item for free? Or, I suppose it truly is just much more likely that they honestly are living paycheck to paycheck and just don't have the money right now.

Norrie

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Re: worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?
« Reply #13 on: May 16, 2015, 07:07:22 PM »
We've been that poor, and it was a dreadful, terrifying feeling. Those days of juggling the utilities getting shut off, counting down the minutes until payday, etc. were among the worst in my life. There are lots of reasons that people can end up in that situation, and not all of them relate to the fact that the people involved must be idiots.

We recently gave our furniture to a woman who was starting over due to leaving a domestic abuse situation. She had enough to get a roof over their heads, but literally could not afford even $20 towards a sofa.

I know that most of the folks in the Facebook sale groups are a bunch of doofuses, but I also know what poverty feels like, and no one ever wants to be in that situation.

Miamoo

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Re: worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?
« Reply #14 on: May 17, 2015, 11:14:08 AM »
We've been that poor, and it was a dreadful, terrifying feeling. Those days of juggling the utilities getting shut off, counting down the minutes until payday, etc. were among the worst in my life. There are lots of reasons that people can end up in that situation, and not all of them relate to the fact that the people involved must be idiots.

We recently gave our furniture to a woman who was starting over due to leaving a domestic abuse situation. She had enough to get a roof over their heads, but literally could not afford even $20 towards a sofa.

I know that most of the folks in the Facebook sale groups are a bunch of doofuses, but I also know what poverty feels like, and no one ever wants to be in that situation.

Likewise Norrie.  Throw the utility bills in the air and the one that sticks to the ceiling gets paid first. (Okay, the one that lands face up - the ceiling wasn't that grungy)  Tuff times, glad it's over but $20?  For all that surely one could come up with $20 somehow someway???  (In the FB case - she could afford to get on the internet somehow - maybe the library for free? - probably another doofus/scammer tho in that case.  Not the domestic abuse lady tho.  I totally get that.  You're a good person Norrie.)

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?
« Reply #15 on: May 17, 2015, 10:19:47 PM »
We've been that poor, and it was a dreadful, terrifying feeling. Those days of juggling the utilities getting shut off, counting down the minutes until payday, etc. were among the worst in my life. There are lots of reasons that people can end up in that situation, and not all of them relate to the fact that the people involved must be idiots.

We recently gave our furniture to a woman who was starting over due to leaving a domestic abuse situation. She had enough to get a roof over their heads, but literally could not afford even $20 towards a sofa.

I know that most of the folks in the Facebook sale groups are a bunch of doofuses, but I also know what poverty feels like, and no one ever wants to be in that situation.

Indeed. Starving students come to mind, as do disabled or elderly people living on a pension in a high cost of living area. Same goes for people caring for a disabled family member such as an autistic child, disabled spouse, or aging parent who requires 24x7 supervision. It really is possible to live frugally but still have too much month at the end of the money.

Hunny156

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Re: worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?
« Reply #16 on: May 18, 2015, 01:44:27 PM »

She immediately got a woman who posted saying she was interested but who said she didn't get paid until Friday or whatever. And I must admit that I was truly shocked. I was just like, "who the hell doesn't have 20 bucks??" I was genuinely confused. I've honestly never been in that type of situation myself, so it's so odd to me to realize how many people truly do live paycheck to paycheck. I just couldn't believe that this woman couldn't scrape together 20 bucks for an entire living room set.

Yeah its wild. Although I do understand not even having an extra $20 (been there before as a broke student), I certainly wasn't trying to buy random stuff while in that condition. Certainly not stuff that wasn't absolutely essential.

if you don't even have 20 bucks to your name why are earth are you looking to buy furniture and TV trays?!


This woman did say something about her just moving there and pretty much having no furniture yet, but I mean, $20 to get you furniture for your whole living room is pretty good. Maybe she was only looking on the yard sale page hoping for free stuff? Maybe people use the "I don't get paid till Friday" technique in hopes that the seller will just tell them that they can have the item for free? Or, I suppose it truly is just much more likely that they honestly are living paycheck to paycheck and just don't have the money right now.

It really does depend on the person.  I downsized last year and was selling a bunch of furniture.  One woman was interested in a bed frame/headboard set I had, and seriously lowballed me, b/c she didn't have any more money.  I just wanted to get the stuff out of the house, so I agreed, on the condition that she show up the same day.

She agreed, and I was surprised to see that she was planning a 90 minute drive one way.  That's a lot of fuel for a pickup truck!  A few hours later, she showed up w/her parents in tow, and the fun began.  None of them were physically fit enough to dismantle the simple set, they had no tools or even blankets with them to protect their purchase, and the back of the pickup had a bunch of shattered glass in it!  Talk about being unprepared...

Anyhow, they loved my house, and proceeded to walk through several rooms, exclaiming that they wanted this or that.  I hadn't planned on selling a lot of the stuff, but I had no attachment to any of it, so we negotiated on each piece, and they literally took stuff off the wall once they handed over the cash, all the while talking about how they needed to save some of their cash to buy gas to get back home!

In the end, I sold a lot of little crap and they handed over 5x the original asking price of the bed frame, along with the desire to come back w/more money to buy more stuff.  They never called back, and I never expected them to.  But they clearly were lying about how much money they had in their pocket.

cripzychiken

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Re: worst ever case of living paycheck to paycheck?
« Reply #17 on: May 20, 2015, 07:40:23 AM »
Whenever I sell stuff on CL or a yard sale or similar, I have a strict "cash in my hand = sold; no cash = still for sale." I get people asking all the time to hold an item for a week or two until they can afford to pay for it.  My response is always the same - "sorry, but no.  I'd be happy to let you know if it is still available at that time though."  So many people think that I just want to become a storage shed for junk until they can 'get around to it'.  I have such better sales to people that know the reason I'm selling this washer cheap is it is old and I want it gone now.  No I won't hold it for 3 week, I want it gone now.

The best was someone offered to pay me $20 more (on a $45 video game) if I held their check for 14 days before cashing it.  I asked if I looked like a payday lender.  They told me that they had too many outstanding bills at 3 different payday lenders and couldn't do that anymore.  Then why would I risk it?  Honestly, you just told me that I couldn't get money from you, so why would I?