Author Topic: Tragic...didn't realize being bad with money could cost this much.  (Read 7398 times)

medstudent

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My friend  recently told me that a close family member was dying and he had to wait to get paid before he could buy a flight back home. (probably a $300 flight, he is not an international student.) We are both getting free schooling and a $27k stipend per year on top of that.

He waited to buy the ticket. The relative died while he was on the plane, hours before he got home. I usually come to this board a lot to laugh at people's stupidity but this is just tragic...being bad with money deprived my friend and his dying relative of the chance to see each other one last time.

I didn't realize all the random stuff that having a huge cushion (for a student) has given me - MMM once said something about how, like clean water, it fades into the background when it's there but is a massive catastrophe when it's not. So true.

Edit: I found out about all this after we had been paid and my friend bought the ticket! I would totally have lent him a few hundred dollars for a couple of weeks (or longer) for something this serious if I had known. As for credit cards, I know he has them so I'm sort of figuring that they were probably maxed out.
« Last Edit: March 15, 2015, 06:13:41 AM by medstudent »

Zamboni

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Re: Tragic...didn't realize being bad with money could cost this much.
« Reply #1 on: March 10, 2015, 08:00:59 PM »
That is sad :-(

No credit either, I guess?

justjenn

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Re: Tragic...didn't realize being bad with money could cost this much.
« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2015, 03:27:25 PM »
This is really tragic. I feel bad for your friend.

Something similar happened to me when I was in high school. My friend committed suicide over Christmas break and his funeral was in his home state. My parents couldn't afford to send me, and I didn't have enough money either, so I didn't get to go. It was one of the turning points that convinced me I wasn't going to mismanage my money the way my parents did.

zoltani

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Re: Tragic...didn't realize being bad with money could cost this much.
« Reply #3 on: March 12, 2015, 04:02:26 PM »
If it were my friend I would have loaned him the $300.

WildJager

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Re: Tragic...didn't realize being bad with money could cost this much.
« Reply #4 on: March 12, 2015, 09:48:51 PM »
If it were my friend I would have loaned him the $300.

Cool story.

From the way I interpreted the situation from medstudent, the details came to light after the incident had concluded. 

But I'm glad there are omnipotent people like you out there who are able to cure all the potential ails of society.

MOD EDIT: Please keep in mind forum rule #1: Don't be a jerk.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2015, 07:54:20 AM by arebelspy »

randymarsh

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Re: Tragic...didn't realize being bad with money could cost this much.
« Reply #5 on: March 12, 2015, 10:45:00 PM »
Today was payday which I had forgotten about until I logged into my checking account and saw the higher available balance. I thought how awesome it is I don't worry about the next payday.

I tell myself I'm willing to quit a job/be fired if I need to attend a funeral or other important event. My goal is to make sure my finances allow this. I never want to compromise those pieces of life.

Adventine

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Re: Tragic...didn't realize being bad with money could cost this much.
« Reply #6 on: March 13, 2015, 03:07:33 AM »
If it were my friend I would have loaned him the $300.

Cool story.

From the way I interpreted the situation from medstudent, the details came to light after the incident had concluded. 

But I'm glad there are omnipotent people like you out there who are able to cure all the potential ails of society.

This was my interpretation as well: that the OP first learned about that friend's problem after the relative died and after the ticket had been purchased.

KiloRomeo

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Re: Tragic...didn't realize being bad with money could cost this much.
« Reply #7 on: March 13, 2015, 06:58:17 AM »
Same situation happened to me a couple of years ago. Close friend and brother to one of my best friends passed away and the funeral happened while I was away for work. It meant a lot to him for me to show up on a red eye $600 flight from NY and ever since he's held a grudge against some of our other friends that couldn't make the 1 hour drive because of money/work.

former player

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Re: Tragic...didn't realize being bad with money could cost this much.
« Reply #8 on: March 13, 2015, 10:34:34 AM »
Sad story.

I am beginning to think that the phrase "bad with money" is an all-purpose socially acceptable statement which in fact slides over a constellation of other issues in the way people live.

MgoSam

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Re: Tragic...didn't realize being bad with money could cost this much.
« Reply #9 on: March 13, 2015, 12:19:58 PM »
If it were my friend I would have loaned him the $300.

Cool story.

From the way I interpreted the situation from medstudent, the details came to light after the incident had concluded. 

But I'm glad there are omnipotent people like you out there who are able to cure all the potential ails of society.

I highly doubt that this is what zoltani meant to convey. I don't know zoltani, nor do I recall any of his posts, so of course I may be wrong, but I suspect what he/she meant to convey was, "Had a friend came to me with this circumstance, I would have given him the money to fly home." I don't think he meant to criticize the OP.

zoltani

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Re: Tragic...didn't realize being bad with money could cost this much.
« Reply #10 on: March 13, 2015, 12:52:30 PM »
Yeah, I don't care much for society or its problems, but I like to help a friend in need. It is a shame that he did not feel like he could come to you and ask for a little help. To me, that is the real tragedy.

mtn

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Re: Tragic...didn't realize being bad with money could cost this much.
« Reply #11 on: March 13, 2015, 02:35:14 PM »
Good chance he didn't realize Medstudent was in a position to help, or didn't feel close enough to ask.

MissMoneyBags

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Re: Tragic...didn't realize being bad with money could cost this much.
« Reply #12 on: March 13, 2015, 04:42:59 PM »
My friend was in the same situation a few years back. Her sister was dying of cancer, and she couldn't afford to fly home. She is really bad with money, so I knew she had put herself in that situation. Still, I gave her the money, even though I myself had a negative net worth. I wouldn't hesitate to do the same again.. However, that is the only situation, where I would lend or give money to a friend or relative. Enabling bad financial habits is really no help at all in the long run.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!