Money Barb Sued by Discover Bank

[GV 998]

Do we know how much Barb gets from her pensions and SSI? If Im correct if the mortgage isnt paid off it may be rough for him at the start when Barb dies. The food bills will go down and so will the utilities but he will still need to get the hang of paying stuff he hasnt paid before.

Yep, that's a fact of life we all learn in early adulthood (i.e. expenses we didn't have to deal with before) We learn the true value of having a job that pays well, and the value of budgeting.

This is where two problems come in for Chris. One, he doesn't work, and because he has convinced himself he CAN'T get a job, I see that becoming a real problem for him, and possibly the thing that ruins his life for good, when Barb dies. Don't forget, the house won't be the only thing he inherits from Barb when she dies. He will inherit her debts (which they probably can't come after him for unless he co-signed something with her) But if she has any money she intended to leave him upon her passing, the debtors will be all over that like vultures

The second problem is budgeting. I'm aware that Chris will be able to adjust to having new bills, but the question is, will he be able to take all of that into account when he's surfing the internet and sees some new Lego set that he "REALLY WANTS THAT! MULTIPLES OF THAT!"

Sure, he could just beg for it online, but as we've seen with the PS4, when the begging fails (and it will), he will just buy it himself, and damn the expense!

Someone mentioned that Chris' Tugboat is $1300 a month. That's chump change in this economy, especially if you're a homeowner and it's your sole source of income. Sure, Chris could maybe make it work if he kept things to the bare essentials, but therein lies the major problem. Chris is not, and has never been the type of person to live by the bare necessities (and to be fair, I've never met anyone in this country that does) Chris, like his mother, needs things...Lots of things. Things cost money.

By the way, he might be able to save money now and still get some things he wants if he buys them used. But I'm guessing he's not willing to buy toys and video games that were touched by other people (yet he's willing to buy used clothes like it ain't no thing)

 

[Alec Benson Leary]

Chris is not, and has never been the type of person to live by the bare necessities

More than that, Chris actually believes he deserves to have whatever expensive toys he wants. It never enters his had that a ps4 or the new iPhone or whatever are not as important as things like food and bills.

 

[Marvin]

Then basically we can look forward to an influx of begging videos every six months starting when Barb dies.

I don't know about that. Even $1k isn't that much. Chris can magic that much money up in a pinch.

Do we know how much Barb gets from her pensions and SSI? If Im correct if the mortgage isnt paid off it may be rough for him at the start when Barb dies. The food bills will go down and so will the utilities but he will still need to get the hang of paying stuff he hasnt paid before.

Perhaps. But Barb's debts will also be gone too.

Maybe a few hundred bucks more. Chris will be pissy, but he'll get it done.

Like, Chris might have more or less money, depending on how often Barb's debtors come banging on the door. Even if he'll have less money though, what he'll get in exchange is stability. I think he'll "thrive" with the stability, after a transition period. It's just that he's going to be hopelessly impoverished and terribly miserable.

Yep, that's a fact of life we all learn in early adulthood (i.e. expenses we didn't have to deal with before) We learn the true value of having a job that pays well, and the value of budgeting.

This is where two problems come in for Chris. One, he doesn't work, and because he has convinced himself he CAN'T get a job, I see that becoming a real problem for him, and possibly the thing that ruins his life for good, when Barb dies. Don't forget, the house won't be the only thing he inherits from Barb when she dies. He will inherit her debts (which they probably can't come after him for unless he co-signed something with her) But if she has any money she intended to leave him upon her passing, the debtors will be all over that like vultures

The second problem is budgeting. I'm aware that Chris will be able to adjust to having new bills, but the question is, will he be able to take all of that into account when he's surfing the internet and sees some new Lego set that he "REALLY WANTS THAT! MULTIPLES OF THAT!"

Sure, he could just beg for it online, but as we've seen with the PS4, when the begging fails (and it will), he will just buy it himself, and damn the expense!

Spoiler: chris budgets, I don't think that's the problem

This is a common misconception.

People believe Chris spends money, willy nilly, on shit without thinking. This is false. Chris does budget currently. He's been getting the same amount of money every month, he knows bills just don't go away, and he knows he has to pay them. He grudgingly does so.

When he buys a few thousand dollars worth of legos over the course of a few months, it's because he truly can pull it off. He's a lot more aware of his finances than you'd think.

Chris didn't try to beg for the PS4 because he couldn't afford it. It wasn't a "damn the expense" purchase. It was "I can comfortably afford this, but goddamnit, I shouldn't have to! it's my birthday "

He begged for it because: 1) he felt he deserved it for free 2) he thought he had a solid chance of getting it for free.

The biggest hurdle Chris will face isn't his incompetence. Paying bills and budgeting is child's play that even Chris performs adequately right now. The biggest issue is that Chris will just be exceedingly poor if he lives only on his tugboat. He's going to be horribly miserable because he won't be able to afford all the luxuries he's accustomed to.

He's going to flail about and try desperately to find an enemy to blame. But there will be none. I don't know, maybe he'll get pissy at the government for giving him such a small tugboat?

If his therapist / Rocky is still around, after a few months of poverty, watch Chris start getting them to help him apply for every government program under the sun. Like food stamps. Heh, I don't suppose you can buy mcdonalds with food stamps, can you?

 

[SOINCHU]

He's going to be horribly miserable because he won't be able to afford all the luxuries he's accustomed to.

Do you suppose he'd sell off things during the transition to attempt to maintain his current level of monthly toy/game buying? I know he has a hard time selling his vidja but I wonder if he'd try to sell off anything else he could get his hands on to stave off stable poverty.

 

[Marvin]

Do you suppose he'd sell off things during the transition to attempt to maintain his current level of monthly toy/game buying? I know he has a hard time selling his vidja but I wonder if he'd try to sell off anything else he could get his hands on to stave off stable poverty.

Oh, he's fine with selling stuff off if he needs to. That's part of how he bought his second PS3 days after we made him smash his first one.

He's gonna sell everything that isn't nailed down. Of course, starting with the hoard and only, reluctantly, dipping into his own possessions as things get particularly dire.

Edit: Heh, I just realized that if Chris can't buy mcdonalds with food stamps, I could see him trying to wheel and deal by buying food with food stamps, and then trying to sell the food for mcdonalds money.

 

[Alec Benson Leary]

He's going to flail about and try desperately to find an enemy to blame. But there will be none

He'll find one, don't you worry.

watch Chris start getting them to help him apply for every government program under the sun. Like food stamps. Heh, I don't suppose you can buy mcdonalds with food stamps, can you?

Don't people use those things for shit like cigarettes and lottery tickets anyway?

 

[zap2theextreme]

Wow, i never thought of it really but is McDonalds/fastfood the only stuff Chris eats? Can he really not cook for himself?

 

[Trilby]

Wow, i never thought of it really but is McDonalds/fastfood the only stuff Chris eats? Can he really not cook for himself?

That is really sad.

 

[Jerkop In Training]

Oh, he's fine with selling stuff off if he needs to. That's part of how he bought his second PS3 days after we made him smash his first one.

He's gonna sell everything that isn't nailed down. Of course, starting with the hoard and only, reluctantly, dipping into his own possessions as things get particularly dire.

Edit: Heh, I just realized that if Chris can't buy mcdonalds with food stamps, I could see him trying to wheel and deal by buying food with food stamps, and then trying to sell the food for mcdonalds money.

Oh, he's fine with selling stuff off if he needs to. That's part of how he bought his second PS3 days after we made him smash his first one.

He's gonna sell everything that isn't nailed down. Of course, starting with the hoard and only, reluctantly, dipping into his own possessions as things get particularly dire.

Edit: Heh, I just realized that if Chris can't buy mcdonalds with food stamps, I could see him trying to wheel and deal by buying food with food stamps, and then trying to sell the food for mcdonalds money.

hasn't he been given a warning for wheeling and dealing?

 

[MG 620]

Wow, i never thought of it really but is McDonalds/fastfood the only stuff Chris eats? Can he really not cook for himself?

He should start out by making something easy, by using whatever they already have in the house.

May I then perhaps recommend the book "Natural Harvest: A collection of semen-based recipes"?

 

[Marvin]

He'll find one, don't you worry.

This is true. This is the man who blames god for every other problem he has.

Don't people use those things for shit like cigarettes and lottery tickets anyway?

I would imagine that's illegal. I do remember there's people getting cranky about people buying luxury items with their food stamps. But I don't know either way.

Wow, i never thought of it really but is McDonalds/fastfood the only stuff Chris eats? Can he really not cook for himself?

Well, he can microwave things...

hasn't he been given a warning for wheeling and dealing?

I mean, maybe he's gotten turned down once. But no punishments or warnings or anything like that.

He gets off with that scot free.

 

[Picklemaker]

Don't people use those things for shit like cigarettes and lottery tickets anyway?

Ten kinds of Nope, in this state anyway. That's actually a Skeletons in The Closet style policy topic that I won't junk up the thread going into, but is a chronic argument in some places.

 

[Lipitor]

I would imagine that's illegal. I do remember there's people getting cranky about people buying luxury items with their food stamps. But I don't know either way.

Some but not all fast food places accept EBT, like KFC and taco bell do. I don't think mcdonalds does, poor fatty.

Also hehe, Chris could try applying for WIC.

 

[AnOminous]

He's gonna sell everything that isn't nailed down. Of course, starting with the hoard and only, reluctantly, dipping into his own possessions as things get particularly dire.

What does the hoard consist of at this point? I assume there's a certain amount of completely worthless garbage, but I'd also assume there's stuff like unopened Fingerhut packages and online purchases, unused appliances, and shit that could at worst be sold off on eBay for a reasonable fraction of its actual value.

 

[Marvin]

What does the hoard consist of at this point? I assume there's a certain amount of completely worthless garbage, but I'd also assume there's stuff like unopened Fingerhut packages and online purchases, unused appliances, and shit that could at worst be sold off on eBay for a reasonable fraction of its actual value.

Beats me. I think we've heard stories about Barb buying furniture and appliances that she didn't need, just because they were on "sale".

 

[timtommy]

Chris inheriting Barb's debts is a complicated situation.

The basic principle is that you cannot inherit a negative. If Barb dies owing more than her assets are worth, Chris can, at the very least, walk away from it.

But there are a few complicating factors. Any debt that they hold jointly will become Chris' responsibility. It is also Chris' responsibility to negotiate the estates dealings. If Barb's estate is negative, Chris can close it out, but does he know that and how to do it?

The big issue is the house. My guess would be that Barb's net worth is positive with the house and negative without it. Can Barb's creditors successfully press claims based on the fact that the house is part of the state? I don't actually know the answer to that question, it is complicated and jurisdiction dependent. Some places you can't claim on a family home. Some places you can claim, depending on the closeness of the relative it was passed to. Sometimes it is just spouses. Sometimes it includes children who are planning to inhabit the house. I don't know the Virginia law, but Chris doesn't either, so he could get fucked.

 

[Alec Benson Leary]

^ I've also heard that creditors' ability to put a lien on a house can be dependent on how much they're owed.

 

[Mashed Potato Grenade]

Don't people use those things for shit like cigarettes and lottery tickets anyway?

No. Not even certain food items (like vitamin supplements or beer) are allowed.
Of course you can use it and then exchange it for whatever (i.e. buy food then trade it for smack with the junkie's baby mama), but I don't think Chris is that street savvy.

 

[anephric]

Don't people use those things for shit like cigarettes and lottery tickets anyway?

A lot of times, people will pay more in food stamps to get what they want. You can't buy that six pack of beer for its actual price of $8 with your stamps... but you can if you give the dude at the corner store $12 in food stamps.

 

[Tennis-Ball-Tony]

Not even that. The company could run a background check on him and learn of his criminal record and "colorful" Internet history. I simply can't see any company wanting to hire him based off of that alone. There are many younger, more docile spergs that are far more desirable than Chris. He'd be far more trouble than he's worth for the company.

Plus, the area he lives in would really limit his job potential.

The bigger companies would probably limit his prospects due to your point about the past criminal history, despite the diversity benefits he would automatically receive.

Once Barb passes on to the great hoard in the sky, there will be changes.

Barb is really the last human contact Chris has on a regular basis, which I think will cause him to lash out in some way. Right now he has a "woman's presence" around, but once that is exhausted, he'll get desperate.

The best I can come up with is that he goes to his church (the only accepting place in his real-world life) and they somehow put him onto some sort of path. I could see him working at a Salvation Army or some sort of charity organization.

Exceptional Individual or not, he'll still inherit the house and land, which is worth some money. So he has some tangible value at least.