Why we do what we do...

[vern]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxhdJNJYq-M

[Cinder]

Q: Was this an excessive life style? 
A: I don't really think so... My huband made good money
Q: You deserved the pool, the outdoor BBQ
A: Yea, He worked hard for it, I worked hard for it.. no I don't think it was excessive

It's all about what they 'deserved' ..

[oldladystache]

That was so sad. I noticed they were still drinking bottled water and driving a shiny car when things were at their worst.

[amyable]

That was so sad. I noticed they were still drinking bottled water and driving a shiny car when things were at their worst.

I noticed that as well.  The kids were the saddest, because they didn't seem to care much about all the trappings of their parents "success."

[Cinder]

At the very end, when they are sharing the one bedroom apartment, they look at each other and say 'Where do you want to go out to eat?'.   

[CU Tiger]

I kept thinking that if at the very beginning they had gone into crisis mode, sold the toys, sold the house , taken any work they could find, they might have made it work.

But they were focused on saving that house until the stress killed the marriage, and they lost the house anyway.

This was sad, sad, sad. Those poor kids.

[tariskat]

They needed some nutrition advice, too. Using food stamps to buy Pringles seems stupid to me.

[randymarsh]

What's sad is that, honestly, they really could afford a pretty luxurious lifestyle. 180K in the late 90s/early 2000s? Even now... Wow.

They went too far though. I don't think a Mercedes at that income level is horrible. You might not retire early, but not everyone wants to. But they did Mercedes/custom pool/ATVs/RV/boat/motorcycles/classic cars/etc. I think they mentioned how the house tripled in value to 800K. So they bought it for around 250K? They could have easily paid it off in the first 11 years but instead they used all the equity for toys!

[golden1]

That is very sad...and a great reminder for the new year to live well within our means.   I know 160k seems like a lot, and it is! but in a high cost of living area like California, it is pretty easy to see how having that house and that lifestyle would get them in trouble fast.  I would be interested to see what they were spending on, because a house in OC would be a huge asset but they must have used it like an ATM, like a lot of people did sadly. 

In retrospect, the husband had substantial skills and experience running a business.  They should have sold and moved to a lower COL area where construction had better prospects.  Then maybe the stress of trying to hold on to that albatross of an asset wouldn't have caused the downward spiral that caused his accident. 

I know they are responsible for a lot of their suffering, but they have paid, and I wish them a better future.