Author Topic: Rich people don't always like to pay bills...  (Read 6265 times)

Linea_Norway

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Rich people don't always like to pay bills...
« on: March 14, 2018, 06:02:11 AM »
Today my colleagues were telling me that they all know handyman or other service people who have trouble with rich people not wanting to pay their bills. Their conclusion: the richer people are, the less they want to pay bills. My colleagues concluded that maybe that was why these people had become so rich.

It is not the way for Mustachians to get things done. We would just have done the job ourselves instead of hiring someone, so there would not be any bill to pay. And we do pay the bills of the service men we hire.
« Last Edit: March 15, 2018, 12:19:22 AM by Linda_Norway »

littleweedontheprairie

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Re: Rich people don't always like to pay bills...
« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2018, 07:35:56 AM »
I babysat once for a wealthy relative who complained she could never find a babysitter and that teenagers were not willing to work for their money. She paid 4 bucks an hour for 3 kids (this was 10 years ago). So not great,  but doable. The breaking point for me was when she came back and checked her fridge to see what food I had eaten and should be deducted from my already meager pay. Haha.

Maenad

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Re: Rich people don't always like to pay bills...
« Reply #2 on: March 14, 2018, 07:47:32 AM »
There's some truth to that - we have a new neighbor as of last summer who has not paid a number of contractors (including his lawn guy who is a neighbor as well), and didn't pay his property taxes or utilities. I think once April hits and it's legal the utility companies will be shutting off the gas and electricity to the place. Since he doesn't actually live there he doesn't really care, but it's already obvious that the house is essentially abandoned and there will eventually be squatters/partiers that will require us to call the police. And this is an upscale neighborhood, so you know how well that will go over.

The worst part is the reason he ended up here was because another neighbor is a real estate agent who brokered a business deal for him, so now she feels guilty and like it's her fault we have this cheap jerk here.

meghan88

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Re: Rich people don't always like to pay bills...
« Reply #3 on: March 14, 2018, 08:28:09 AM »
Um, I heard that the president of some large industrialized country doesn't like to pay his contractors - is that what you mean?

So what happens is that those same contractors have to overcharge the unwashed masses because they took the prestige jobs for which they won't get paid.

Trickle-down economics at its finest and most ironic.

Just Joe

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Re: Rich people don't always like to pay bills...
« Reply #4 on: March 14, 2018, 08:41:02 AM »
Back when I was a teen I'd occasionally hear stories from friends of cheap skates trying to hire kids for chores - clean out a basement or clear brush/weeds/leaves off of the back of a lot, or whatever. These stories would feature an elderly person who thought wages were still in the dollar an hour range or a cheap skate who thought they'd get all the work they could out of a naive kid.

Minimum wage was $3.25 or so back then. Who wants to work for a dollar an hour? People were paying me $25 to mow a big yard or $20 to detail a car. Even babysitting was $5 an hour and eat whatever you wanted to. 

Sibley

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Re: Rich people don't always like to pay bills...
« Reply #5 on: March 14, 2018, 10:31:53 AM »
My mom always tells the story of her friend's parents, who made PLENTY of money. The wife would throw all the bills in the air and whatever landed upright got paid that month.

Me, I pay my bills timely. I'm getting various tradesmen recommended to me by ones I've already hired, so I think they're ok with me. There is one electrician who's slightly annoyed with me because I was honest about scheduling challenges upfront and won't budge (cause it's not possible!), but I consider that to be on him, not me.

MishMash

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Re: Rich people don't always like to pay bills...
« Reply #6 on: March 14, 2018, 10:43:19 AM »
Meet my FIL, who recently moved in with us.  If we'd had the whole situation he wouldn't be here.  He earned 300k minimum for the past 20 years, had a trophy wife that was 15 years younger that did a great job of helping him spend it (and he was JUST as bad), she divorced him last year, he's pretty much broke, 72, and has a large assortment of creditors coming after him due to six figure debt levels.

They should have been WAY rich, and all of the kids thought he was fine/comfortable, until he ended up living in an extended stay hotel that he was getting evicted from.

Sibley

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Re: Rich people don't always like to pay bills...
« Reply #7 on: March 15, 2018, 01:18:14 PM »
Meet my FIL, who recently moved in with us.  If we'd had the whole situation he wouldn't be here.  He earned 300k minimum for the past 20 years, had a trophy wife that was 15 years younger that did a great job of helping him spend it (and he was JUST as bad), she divorced him last year, he's pretty much broke, 72, and has a large assortment of creditors coming after him due to six figure debt levels.

They should have been WAY rich, and all of the kids thought he was fine/comfortable, until he ended up living in an extended stay hotel that he was getting evicted from.

Bankruptcy in progress I hope, followed by a simple life?

MissNancyPryor

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Re: Rich people don't always like to pay bills...
« Reply #8 on: March 15, 2018, 01:23:49 PM »
My mom always tells the story of her friend's parents, who made PLENTY of money. The wife would throw all the bills in the air and whatever landed upright got paid that month.

Me, I pay my bills timely. I'm getting various tradesmen recommended to me by ones I've already hired, so I think they're ok with me. There is one electrician who's slightly annoyed with me because I was honest about scheduling challenges upfront and won't budge (cause it's not possible!), but I consider that to be on him, not me.

HA!  I was imagining "upright" to mean on their edges.  LOL'd when I realized it was just face up.  More coffee. 

But, maybe that is the plan for them after the creditors are banging on the door. 

Sibley

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Re: Rich people don't always like to pay bills...
« Reply #9 on: March 21, 2018, 08:21:03 AM »
My mom always tells the story of her friend's parents, who made PLENTY of money. The wife would throw all the bills in the air and whatever landed upright got paid that month.

Me, I pay my bills timely. I'm getting various tradesmen recommended to me by ones I've already hired, so I think they're ok with me. There is one electrician who's slightly annoyed with me because I was honest about scheduling challenges upfront and won't budge (cause it's not possible!), but I consider that to be on him, not me.

HA!  I was imagining "upright" to mean on their edges.  LOL'd when I realized it was just face up.  More coffee. 

But, maybe that is the plan for them after the creditors are banging on the door.

That was in the 60s or 70s, so no idea what happened. I don't think the family ended up particularly happy - that happens sometimes when you prioritize money over relationships.

MishMash

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Re: Rich people don't always like to pay bills...
« Reply #10 on: March 22, 2018, 03:51:18 PM »
Meet my FIL, who recently moved in with us.  If we'd had the whole situation he wouldn't be here.  He earned 300k minimum for the past 20 years, had a trophy wife that was 15 years younger that did a great job of helping him spend it (and he was JUST as bad), she divorced him last year, he's pretty much broke, 72, and has a large assortment of creditors coming after him due to six figure debt levels.

They should have been WAY rich, and all of the kids thought he was fine/comfortable, until he ended up living in an extended stay hotel that he was getting evicted from.


Bankruptcy in progress I hope, followed by a simple life?

Nope, tried to convince him to do it but that's for "poor democrats" so instead he is leeching off of us and only paying just above minimums each month.  I literally got into a screaming match with him last week because I've been asking him to do his taxes since January 1 (he's going to owe and DH has a very high clearance level so we can't afford the IRS coming after him), and he didn't so I told him I wasn't going to buy him (out of our money) anymore beer until he did it.  He threw a hissy fit so I told him if he doesn't like it step up or GTFO.  Talked to DH and laid down the law that after his back surgery, he has one month to pay off his credit card bills totally or he's out on his own.  DH talked to his sisters and told them he was about to become their problem and both of them were like HELL NO.

So DH is starting to see the light that the entire family played him, knowing he wanted a relationship with a serial schmuck, and that schmuck will always be a schmuck. I feel bad for him, but he's seeing the true nature of his ratchet family now. 

Sibley

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Re: Rich people don't always like to pay bills...
« Reply #11 on: March 23, 2018, 02:22:56 PM »
Meet my FIL, who recently moved in with us.  If we'd had the whole situation he wouldn't be here.  He earned 300k minimum for the past 20 years, had a trophy wife that was 15 years younger that did a great job of helping him spend it (and he was JUST as bad), she divorced him last year, he's pretty much broke, 72, and has a large assortment of creditors coming after him due to six figure debt levels.

They should have been WAY rich, and all of the kids thought he was fine/comfortable, until he ended up living in an extended stay hotel that he was getting evicted from.


Bankruptcy in progress I hope, followed by a simple life?

Nope, tried to convince him to do it but that's for "poor democrats" so instead he is leeching off of us and only paying just above minimums each month.  I literally got into a screaming match with him last week because I've been asking him to do his taxes since January 1 (he's going to owe and DH has a very high clearance level so we can't afford the IRS coming after him), and he didn't so I told him I wasn't going to buy him (out of our money) anymore beer until he did it.  He threw a hissy fit so I told him if he doesn't like it step up or GTFO.  Talked to DH and laid down the law that after his back surgery, he has one month to pay off his credit card bills totally or he's out on his own.  DH talked to his sisters and told them he was about to become their problem and both of them were like HELL NO.

So DH is starting to see the light that the entire family played him, knowing he wanted a relationship with a serial schmuck, and that schmuck will always be a schmuck. I feel bad for him, but he's seeing the true nature of his ratchet family now.

May I recommend Reddit's JustNoFamily section?  And good luck.

Just Joe

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Re: Rich people don't always like to pay bills...
« Reply #12 on: March 26, 2018, 09:05:27 AM »
Those Reddit stories really redefine "family troubles". Every one I scanned made me think "run away!" aka get your stuff together and move out and away a safe distance. collectively those people are not benefiting from being close to one another.

Sibley

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Re: Rich people don't always like to pay bills...
« Reply #13 on: March 26, 2018, 02:56:35 PM »
Those Reddit stories really redefine "family troubles". Every one I scanned made me think "run away!" aka get your stuff together and move out and away a safe distance. collectively those people are not benefiting from being close to one another.

I'm fascinated by some of it. I'm mostly on JustNoMIL, and they've had people kidnapped and killed by the out of control person or their henchmen. It really shows you the depth of the crazy out there sometimes. My family has some issues, like everyone's, but nothing that bad. Though my grandmother maybe could have risen to that status, but when you live 6 hours drive away it really contains things.

Just Joe

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Re: Rich people don't always like to pay bills...
« Reply #14 on: March 27, 2018, 10:32:09 AM »
I used to think my extended family was CRAZY with a capital 'C'. Now after reading this forum and some of the Reddit stories I view them as a little weird, perhaps a bit annoying occasionally. You are right - distance helps contain things.

FIRE47

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Re: Rich people don't always like to pay bills...
« Reply #15 on: March 28, 2018, 02:56:42 PM »
Back when I was a teen I'd occasionally hear stories from friends of cheap skates trying to hire kids for chores - clean out a basement or clear brush/weeds/leaves off of the back of a lot, or whatever. These stories would feature an elderly person who thought wages were still in the dollar an hour range or a cheap skate who thought they'd get all the work they could out of a naive kid.

Minimum wage was $3.25 or so back then. Who wants to work for a dollar an hour? People were paying me $25 to mow a big yard or $20 to detail a car. Even babysitting was $5 an hour and eat whatever you wanted to.

This happened to me and my brother. A full day's labour in the hot sun (in addition my dad came to help us out for 1-2 hours to finally finish as we had to be somewhere and the old guy was working us to the bone).

The compensation for 15-20 man hours of hard labour? A $20 bill (to be divided amongst the two of us) and a glass each of lemonade. Then he wondered why we never came back. Minimum wage here at the time was about $7.50
« Last Edit: March 28, 2018, 02:59:47 PM by FIRE47 »

SwordGuy

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Re: Rich people don't always like to pay bills...
« Reply #16 on: March 28, 2018, 04:45:54 PM »
Poor people and middle class people don't always like to pay bills, either.

Assholes and selfish bastards come in all financial sizes.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!