Debt: $186,542.33 [it's up $3,000 due to the copay for the gallbladder operation that I just had]
Income: $0
Days Until We Move: 17
Whatever the "point" of this blog - this post is about my personal life. Currently my husband Josef and I are in the process of selling all of our things before moving to "the Big City" on July 15th. We bought some really shitty furniture six months ago, and we figured it would be a lot easier to sell all of this furniture on craigslist and buy new stuff there then to pay a bunch of money to move furniture that isn't worth much that we don't particularly like [we're moving about 850 miles]. We still owe $1200 on the furniture, so we're hoping to at least get that much for all of it. I would really hate to owe money on furniture I no longer even have. We made inroads toward that today when we got $500 for our television. Considering that we paid only $545 for it originally, I was quite happy about that.
Making all of our moving preparations more complicated is that we are leaving tomorrow for a week to go to my husband's family's timeshare in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Attending will be Josef's grandmother, mother, father, brother, sister, and sister's boyfriend. Last year while we were studying for the first bar exam we decided not to go since it was two weeks before we were to take the bar. Since then they've been in full guilt trip mode. For a year whenever we tell them about potential job opportunities or health matters [i.e. "Addy needs surgery because she has a polyp that could be cancerous"], their first follow up question is unwaveringly, "But you'll be able to go to Hilton Head this year, right?" My in-laws are, hands down, the most self-involved people I've ever known.
After law school I agreed with my husband to move to where he's from so that we could be near his family. I figured that this was fair because most of my family had moved away from the Northeast, and we both wanted to live near some family. As much as I'm frustrated that we couldn't find jobs in his hometown [especially considering that his parents are both lawyers and have political connections that they refuse to use to get us jobs all the while bitching about how my husband should be using more connections - but I digress], I am so glad that we will no longer be living near his family.
Now, on the one hand I am annoyed by those in my generation who have a sense of entitlement to things without working for them. I don't believe that parents should allow their children to sponge off of them for the rest of their lives. However, I also believe that parents should help out their children if they're being responsible and in a time of need.
My husband's parents are the WORST on both counts. They allow his 28 year old sister to sponge off of them with no end in sight. She lives with them, paying no rent. They've given her their old car [which she complains isn't nice enough, but continues to use]. Oh, and did I mention that she hasn't finished college yet, has been working at Outback Steakhouse for the last 5 years, and has no plans for the future?
My husband on the other hand graduated Magna Cum Laude from NYU undergrad, and Summa Cum Laude [second in our class] from our law school, and what has been his reward? No monetary help during law school. No help with our wedding. Oh, and now that we're destitute and we need help with the break lease fee for our old apartment and the deposit, fees, and first month's rent on our new place, are they going to help us? Yes - by giving us a loan - that they expect to be paid back promptly. The way they see it, we have good jobs now, so why should they give us any money? The way I see it, in their world if you're lazy you're handsomely rewarded.
Oh, and did I mention that they're rich? The two of them bring in at least a combined $400,000 a year, they've paid off their home, and they have no other major expenses. I have no idea what they do with their money. Their house is in disrepair: one of their showers doesn't work, their refrigerator's door hasn't closed properly in five years, and their dishwasher hasn't worked for about 15 [I am NOT exaggerating]. Neither of them ever buys new clothing. The only vacation they go on is this trip to Hilton Head each year. They have no expensive collections or drug habits [that I'm aware of]. When they die, based on my calculations, they should be leaving us millions of dollars. The problem is that we won't need any money in a few years - we need help now. If it were me, I'd want the joy of seeing my money being put to good use. At least we'll have the satisfaction of knowing we've done everything on our own. The problem is that I've had quite about enough of that satisfaction.
Both Josef's mother and grandmother are the queens of passive aggression and it seems that at least one of them has a problem with me at all times. His father is just sort of a self-involved doofus who does whatever his wife or mother-in-law tell him to do. This week really ought to be interesting. I'll update you throughout the week to let you know how it's going.
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