with his friends now..I say that because those are the same people that we had a problem about paying the phone bill before. They came over for Christmas and they stayed for about a week. I manage somehow to smile and get through it. When they came over they have these eragant look or that I'm-better-than-you attitude and I didn't know why. I mean when they came over for Christmas they were pulling out euros left and right and spent $1500 for their kids Christmas gifts. He bought himself and Xbox 360 and she bought herself a BlackBerry. Along with other things games, new video camera, they rented a Mercedes for $700 a week. They paid for the phone bill though thank GOD. I was curious though of how they had so much money all of the sudden to just waste and when I open the computer the husband left an open message from his email and it was a loan for $4,900 with 23.9% interest rate . I know its their problem about paying the money back but it makes me really angry knowing that they have all these I'm better than you attitude because I got all the high speed stuff IN MY HOUSE and in front of my son. She can have that attitude somewhere but not in my house. What's really sad the wife said that she was worried about Christmas before because they didn't have the money and she was happy when God answered her prayers and the money came when it was suppose to come before Christmas and she said "Now I can buy the things that my girls NEEDED" and they bought them toys, Mp3 Players, DVD's etc.. Now DH feels like he needs to compete with these idiots about getting a Blackberry and an Xbox. DS saw what the girls had for CHristmas and now he wants this and that just because someone else have them. What really hurts me the most when DS asked me and said "mama why owie we so pooh?" I don't need to compete because for one we have two vehicles that runs and I'm happy I got my family together for Christmas. The husband first sergeant already said before that instead of buying all these stuff that "won't last a lifetime" he needs to fix their van and another vehicle that park in their house because they don't have a transportation at all whatsover. I don't mind telling DS that if we can't afford Christmas this year then we won't have anything. As long we got food to eat ,clothes and warm place to stay that should be good enough.

First of all , congrats on them paying back your money!!


It sounds like it won't be long until They are right Back to where they were before though
If your DH agrees with their Lifestyle, I don't know what to say ... I still Wonder how Dh and I Are ever going to get anywhere financially Until we are on the same page.

As far as your son goes , That is the way kids are, from My experience. They Don't know how Anyone gets anything . They Just see that their Friends it and they don't. That will be an on going Struggle , as your son will probably always be around other Kids.
Just Keep firm in your Beliefs and raise him to know things do not really matter.
When he is older he will realize that who may seem " rich" really always will be poor, cause they will never be able to pay off all they owe.

Oh my!! That breaks my heart just reading it. How do you answer that?
Well, my thoughts are this, if DH feels the need to compete then he's going to be teaching that to DS. A friendly competition is okay, but not when its based on material things, otherwise DS will grow up wanting EVERYTHING around him.
Im relived to hear that they paid back your $$$! Things could have been worse ...

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Taylyn's right; they are going to be broke very quickly, and even worse than before. They've already shown they aren't trustworthy.

And your dh has already shown he doesn't understand money. Hold on tight, and keep it in your arena. He needs to look out for his own family. Your son should know that you are not poor. How do you define it in your home? Some people simply choose to waste money.

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Seriously, how OLD is your husband? If he feels the need to "compete" with people who LOOK like they have money, he's acting like a 4 year old.
He needs to get a grip on what you can and can not afford financially, and not want things just because someone else has it. Ridiculous.

I just feel so bad for you in this situation, I know you have posted before about the problems you have had w/this couple. They don't sound like true friends to me, and your husband needs to realize that "things" don't matter and stop trying to compete w/them. I agree w/the others, that they will be in even worse financial shape when all is said and done. Hang in there.

I grew up in a lower-middle class family. My parents didn't shield me from the fact that we didn't have a lot. And that's ok.

I tried harder in school, hung out with sensible friends, and didn't grow up with a sense of entitlement. It is ok to expose your kids to the fact that different families have different spending habits and income levels. Kids are actually a lot more sensible than we sometimes give them credit for.

My dad taught me that being a man means:

* Protecting the people you love.
* Doing the right thing even when no one is looking.
* Treating everyone the same, prince or pauper.

I don't recall anything about Xboxes or iPods.

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I don't understand why you guys would have them over for Christmas Day, let alone a whole week after the way they acted the last time!? I thought you weren't going to be friends with them any longer?

This made me think of a friend of my son's. His mother is a single mom. From day one between her and her parents she spoiled the kid rotten. Bought him everything he has ever asked for. They felt sorry for him because he didn't have a father in the picture. Well eventually her parents passed and she was left with everything. Another spending spree. We met up with them one day in Walmart and she just spent over $500 on a mp3 player and video games. Just because he wanted it.
My son never really said much about it and I wondered what he always thought because although my children are no where near deprived. I don't just spend hundreds of dollars just because. But one day my ds said "Mom do you know that as soon as he starts complaining of not having a dad his mom buys him stuff." I asked him what he thought about that and his response was " I would much rather have a dad than have everything in the world plus he doesn't take care of what his mom buys him because if he breaks it she will buy him another one and when he gets older he will think he can buy anything he wants and you can't do that if you don't have a good job and I don't know if he will because he doesn't like to work." I was so proud of his response. Although I know sometimes it does have to bother him that the friend has everything. Well the mom has since gotten engaged and this man has two boys. My son's first response "he won't be getting everything with brothers now." LOL.

Well, look at it this way - you ARE competing with the friends and YOU ARE WINNING!

Tell hubby about the loan. You don't have a 25% interest loan, do you? If not, you're far ahead of the so-called-friends.

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