How many vacations will Hope take this month?
How often is Tori Dunlap/Her First 100K going to keep posting about her college boyfriend who didn’t believe in her and how being NYT bestseller is karma?? Girl you graduated in 2016..
she makes content about 3 things:
ex boyfriend and his mom didn't believe in me- look at me now!
i'm rich, look at my money
you're a hater and a misgynist if you don't love me and my content
Maybe he just wasn't that into her.
Sam at Financial Samurai thinks that people ignore him at fundraising events and don't reply to his e-mails because he retired early and doesn't have a professional job.
Or, here's a thought, maybe it's because he's just a very unlikeable person. 🤷♂️
Hope has honestly left me speechless with her investing. Like, good for her but also she so desperately needs focus.
I don't think that someone who's drowning in credit card debt and has been behind on all her bills has any business investing even $5 a week.
Anyone else think she's hoping a lot of readers sign up via her referral link and that's pretty much the entire point of the post?
I am torn. Part of me is glad she is actually saving something, anything. $35 a week sounds like something much more sustainable for her than having a lofty monthly goal that she can never meet.
I wish she would just focus on saving and in a savings account for her immediate future. Her current contract is only for six months, if I recall. Then she is back to just the catering gig.
Something tells me she doesn’t understand that if she has to pull this money out in a few months that there is a risk it will be less than what she put in. Or that she could be subject to short-term capital gains tax. Or that the brokerage could withhold taxes for her when she withdraws.
I would love for her to write a post where she uses the SSA website and figures out how much she will get in SS when she retires. At least that would give me some peace of mind that she won’t be living in one of the twins living rooms (being charged a ‘reasonable rent’) in her old age.
I don’t understand? Did she make like 6 bucks between those two accounts while paying $3 a month in fees for that service?? I must be misunderstanding. Because those rates are criminal for an “investment” service at her level of financial knowledge and wealth.
“I don’t know Jack shit, but I’m gonna yammer on about it anyway!”
I've never heard of that app but it looks like they charge a monthly fee. She's just totally incapable of saving money in a normal way.
Everything has to be a game
Hope's idea of "elevated" business casual is something else. They should have provided her proper clothing at a fast food restaurant, but the fact they had to say something to her is kind of telling.
Now there's a commenter telling her that her outfit looks bad but then suggesting the most J Crew circa 2008 alternatives (a "nice" t shirt, pencil skirt, and ballet flats). Just throw in a bobble necklace and she'll nail the 15 years out of fashion look.
still better than what she has now!
Something tells me Hope wouldn't even know what a pencil skirt is.
If she thinks that dress is work appropriate (let alone "elevated") then it's nearly hopeless that she will be able to distinguish a "nice" t shirt from a crummy one.
I also get the impression from the way she dresses that she is a pear shape that is uncomfortable with the way her midsection looks, or just has trouble finding things that she likes the fit of in that area. Given that, I can't think that a pencil skirt would be high on the list for her.
Some people can dress themselves for work just fine and some people just don't get it. I seen to recall her mentioning being spoken to before about her wardrobe not being work appropriate so I think she's just the type that doesn't get it and needs a uniform (either employer issued or a capsule wardrobe of collared shirts and pants/skirts that may not be fashionable but nobody would object to).
Right, she doesn't need to be fashionable. Black pants and an ill fitting collared shirt would do the job. She seems so uncomfortable with herself. The poor woman has such deep deep issues.
Agreed. But I just have to say it's the main problem with that mindset. It's always an outside force, never something they just won't buckle down and do. And she'll never get the help she needs.
I just don’t understand her thinking. A shawl will get in the way of her movement and will look sloppy.
She is constantly maliciously compliant and needs to grow up.
I think she means a shrug, since the "shawl" should have sleeves. Remember, she's extremely smart and well educated!
That makes more sense, but I don’t know why she just doesn’t go for a cardigan as someone else said-unless she is acting 14 and doing the bare minimum to comply. Then she’ll act all oh I don’t know why I was let go but it’s all good because I have a trip planned anyway!
unless she is acting 14 and doing the bare minimum to comply.
I think you nailed it. I have read her post a few times and it rubs me the wrong way. There is nothing about her that comes across as professional. She doesn't take pride in her appearance. Why not use this as an opportunity to get a couple of nice tops so she is ready to go for the next part of her career.
It's God's will.
Why isn’t she wearing a uniform? In pre-Covid days I ordered a lot of catering and all corporate places showed up in uniform.
But also. Hope, no. I was in WalMart to grab some cleaning stuff and they had some cute dresses! That’s not what Hope chose.
I often deal with catering for my job, and they either have a uniform a lot of time, or are just casual so I’m surprised chick fil a is asking for her to be more dressed, over just giving her a uniform
She should just buy a few short sleeved lightweight sweaters from Kohls or something. That dress already looks worn out and messy. She did this years ago too—showed up to an office job in leggings and a plaid flannel. Commenters told her to just buy a nice pair of black pants and wear them every day but she refused and said leggings could be professional.
Oh god I remember the leggings
Hey, I know a 10 year old with a dress almost like Hope’s dress. It looks very appropriate on the 10 year old.
I'm sure the purse with the dog paw would look nicer on the 10 year old.
She wants top dollar salary but dresses so casually even the fast food place is saying get more professional.
That has me curious. Is she really so clueless that being told by your employer to dress better doesn't register as a giant red flag? Like she just thinks it's an opinion she can choose to take or not and not like... humiliating?
Ohhhh... the second-hand embarrassment for the outfit - that is not even close to business casual, let alone "elevated". It looks like it's straight from Walmart in a town full of trailer parks. There are endless stores that sell decent business clothes for $20-30 and they would last a lot longer than that frumpy, cheap-looking thing. I wear sundresses and cardigans to work all spring and summer and manage to look considerably more polished, despite my office being decidedly casual.
Her idea of getting a "shawl" to wear over her tank tops is just... yeah, I'm cringing too. Just get a cardigan, oh my god. And you're right about the Walmart outfit. It might be barely passable in a dark color over leggings?
And again, not to bring up age because we're very close in age, but she acts/talks 20+ years older than she is. Slacks? Shawl?
I was stunned to find out she’s like five years older than me. I would have guessed much older.
Yet that dress looks more appropriate for someone 20+ years younger.
She is so hopeless. Just hopeless. A too short, cheap looking Walmart dress and a shawl over tank tops is "elevated business casual"? How on earth does she manage to stumble through life like this?
Wait, I take all of this back. She posted a photo not long ago of herself in a uniform shirt with a name tag on. So why is she saying she needed to buy clothing for work. I should have known better.
We got a mini dating update from Abby at Ipickuppennies. She already had 2 failed goes with MBG and she's taking him back again?!? Casual sex is not that hard to come by, why bother with a 3rd attempt with this dude?
I can't figure her out. She claims not to want relationships. Yet, it's clear she sees some of these guys she 'dates' as, on some level, actual relationships. One sentence, she's pushing some guy away, and the next sentence, she's trying to pull someone else closer. That has to be exhausting, especially for someone who is already exhausted most of the time anyway.
Maybe this whole thing of hers gives her the physical satisfaction she desires, but there seems a cost on the emotional side that I'm not sure she actually knows how to manage.
I can't imagine the exhaustion. These guys are hearing that somehow precisely 2 times a week is the perfect not a relationshIp? We know one isn't enough, but is three too many?
Yeah same. Seems like too much effort/discussion/negotiation for casual hook ups. I understand why she would want ‘regulars’ rather than one-offs but she doesn’t seem able to deal with uncertainty and that seems part and parcel of these arrangements.
Her entire dating lineup is screaming "he's just not that into you".
I read her posts and part of me feels bad for her but gf open your eyes. These men seem to be telling her the same thing over and over and she's just not taking the hint.
I am not surprised that no one wants to see her often. She is always complaining, stuck in her ways, abrasive, opinionated, and has no real friends other than her meetup groups. She doesn’t cook or go out for any great food. She doesn’t travel. She has no real hobbies beyond trivia and tv. She also seeks out young, muscular guys while not being a fitness buff herself. I mean… yikes.
She drains the energy from whatever room she's in. It's no surprise that every guy ends up hightailing it. It's impossible to tolerate someone like that for very long.
A couple of weeks ago, HPG told me he needed to take another mental health break. His life is in major upheaval
What, got back together with his wife?
Isn't he the one who has a partner who "needs lots of space?" In general, demanding more time from someone who is already polyamorous seems like whacking your head with a shovel. I know some people in this lifestyle but am certainly not clear on some of it. Is she pushing to be like the primary second?
I can't keep them straight.
How many serving dishes does the Prudent Homemaker need? Every time she goes to a yard sale day she picks up at least 2-3 serving dishes. How much room does she have to store them?
Brandy is leading a much different life now that her husband travels for work. I wonder if he can home for the winter since his work is seasonal.
I dont understand how Hope thinks that her plan of "multiple areas with standing garden beds and pathways with pavers" is going to be easier to maintain than just freaking mowing her damn lawn. Is she attempting to kill the grass with the cardboard/mulch combo? And what about all the massive flooding and probable sinkhole? It's also so annoying when she talks about her age and being unable to do things because she's getting older - she's in her 40's and acts like she's elderly.
Good point about the garden plans. It’s still going to be a lot of work and now there’s far less area for her 5 dogs to do their business. And re her age complaints - It’s so annoying! My 71 year old mother in law cares for 2 acres of gardens and lawn by herself on top of volunteering 30-40 hours a week. Get it together, Hope!
Is it just me or did this post disappear? I can see it in my blog reader (Feedly) but not at the blogging away debt website.
I can't see it anymore either.
The cardboard/mulch is for the garden beds. And if the beds are "standing"--someone's gonna have to mow under them.
and what about the poop/pee from 5 dogs?
Then we'll hear about what a great use of money it was when she pays to re-sod the entire area in a year or two.
I think she does think if she doesn’t have grass it’s less work. What she’s describing is a landscaped yard that is a lot more work, and also expensive to set up. Garden beds need weeded. Pavers will still have grass and weeds growing around them. It’s a lot easier to just run a lawnmower over grass. I can see her running out of motivation and money halfway way through and having more of a mess than when she started.
Just like her kitchen…
She says the kitchen is just how she wants it. Gymnast designed it. I agree it’s impractical.
Show the before and after picture to the host of any show on HGTV, and their head would explode.
She is going to spend a crap load of money if she does it right but she won't.
Absolutely! We put in 2 small boxed-in vegetable gardens last year and I couldn't believe how much maintenance they required. I'm admittedly not a gardener but it's definitely a lot more maintenance than just mowing. We also have a handful of fruit trees in our yard and it's constant picking up of fallen fruit so it doesn't rot, etc. And like you said, these plants are not cheap
Is Ashley in the room with us? What are these random posts she's putting out for BAD? The latest one seems conspiracy-theory adjacent, though I admittedly didn't even look at her recommendation. It just reeks of "deep state" and "illuminati".
i just skimmed. it looked crazy. I'd like to be spared the Qanon.
Was reading up on a frugality blogger called Six Figures Under. Her recipes are insanely bad. She has a family of eight, including six children, and a 6'7" husband, and she routinely makes dinners that call for two chicken breasts or a half pound of hamburger, which she then "frugalizes" with lentils. Check out Creamy Tacos Caserole, which involves 24-30 tortillas, 2-4 cans of cream soup, 1lb hamburger, cheese, 1/2 can green chilis (because a whole can might be dangerously flavorful, I guess) and a can of corn. This is under "Cooking from scratch." If you're in a hurry, leave out the ground beef! Mmm, eat up kids!
I always think of that blog as Six Feet Under, which sounds like a plausible outcome to cooking that bad.
I followed her for a while. Last I remember she and her giant family were living in her in-laws' unfinished (or semi-finished) basement while they were trying to pay off her husband's law school debt on a minuscule salary because he only wanted to work for a certain sort of firm, and it didn't pay very well.
I followed her at this point too. It was CRAZY.
I will give her credit--she took in a Ukrainian refugee family and is housing them in her Aibnb, and has been helping them to live in America, which is very kind.
Hope is back today explaining she’s going to Texas next month for free with points. She mentions the trip to charlotte but doesn’t count that as travel (surely she didn’t drive 6 hours in one day?).
And of course, taking time off work ($$$) for the trip. Brilliant!
No mention of the trip to New Orleans either.
She said those were older trips. You can't make this stuff up.
“Travelled extensively” is not how I would describe her travel history. Has she even left the country? Of her travels, I’ve seen really boring trips around the US. No great food or inspiring itineraries.
She is really not addressing her recent “travels”. Ok, then.
I think to her a wide variety of airport area Holiday Inns counts as a diverse cultural experience.
Never forget her goal of attending all 50 state fairs.
I'm waiting for the "largest ball of twine" post as a 7th wonder of the world.
Was the show she posted about the other day an older one too? She is so full of it.
"I just use whatever image seems to fit the post, they aren’t always recent. Never thought I needed to clarify that. I felt those images were a good representation of the message (copy) I was writing."
Anyone believe this nonsense?
No one is that stupid, Hope.
She must have a really low opinion of her readers if that's seriously what she's putting out there. Awful.
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She can't even keep her lies straight. "Did you read the captions?"
Or Atlanta, admittedly a closer trip.
I think Atlanta was just the end of New Orleans. She lands in Atlanta and goes and shacks up in a hotel with high school boyfriend.
Yeah guessing this is the same "friend" helping her with the garden beds. At least he's not in prison for murder!
Of course it's "free", paid for by her dad, with points, blah, blah, rinse and repeat. She's so full of it.
Daddy's points <3
Isn’t it convenient there is always someone else paying when she’s traveling while broke?
Hope claiming in comments she’s never been more than a couple weeks late on her mortgage, maybe a month once. Didn’t she say before she had a foreclosure notice, and that was somehow tied in to why the payment went up? You don’t get threatened with foreclosure after missing one payment.
I don't think so. I seem to recall that she admitted missing a payment or two. Then the monthly amount that she owed changed, but she glossed over how that came to pass.
I think the biggest thing was that she wanted to pre-pay a few months worth of payments, not realizing that with most mortgages, they'll basically take those payments off the end of your term, not skip the next ones in line. Like usual with her, no idea how that worked out.
I must be misremembering then, I thought she got something from her mortgage company. I do remember the payments ahead.
She just put on Instagram that there is a tiny home that she needs. No mention in her budget about food, mortgage, gas, electric, the day to day stuff we all have to pay.
I’m not usually super picky about language, but Hope saying she “receives” income rather than “earns” it is so telling. It’s not something she has responsibility for. There’s no cause and effect. It’s like a blessing, ya’ll! /s
Also, keeping a credit card that charges 29.99% interest is madness.
It drives me crazy that she will likely end up getting some kind of student loan forgiveness since they seem to be throwing out new kinds willy-nilly every other week. Of course, when it does happen, she'll just consider it a well deserved blessing and go buy a hot tub or something to celebrate. Even though she hasn't made payments on it in years at this point.
I'm 100% on board for student loan forgiveness but I also imagine Hope blaming everything in her life on "Bidenomics" and "Sleepy Joe" so it's still annoying that she's letting it sit there. I don't blame her - but still annoying.
I'm not. Why should taxpayers enable her fecklessness?
Am I just confused or does Hope's debt update not actually have current amounts on it?
She's still "forecasting" and not actually making a budget. And being weird about her yard despite her alleged love of gardening.
The most non-update update ever. No clues as to what she’s been up to or with who, no indication of whether she spent the money for all those trips.
What happened to keeping a daily spending journal for accountability? Hahahaha
How is "paying everything at the beginning of the month and not having money at the end of the month" a LESSON?! This is basic mathematics and physics. Also classic Hope for posting Oct 2023 totals when it's now April 2024 lol
Yeah it's also really telling about her attitude about repaying things. The dollars are the same, but prioritizing paying debt at the beginning of the month feels bad to her because it leaves her less fun money at the end of the month. But she doesn't feel bad at all when she freely spends money on non-essentials or even adds to her debt and then, whoops, doesn't have enough to pay down debts at the end of the month. Yeah, paying debt is probably the least fun way to spend money, but in her case a lot of it is paying for the fun that she already had earlier on credit!
Truly, like.... ACTUALLY MAKE A BUDGET, HOPE, AND YOU WOULD NOT HAVE THAT PROBLEM
but at this point nobody's gonna ever get through to her
There is a column for current total, I missed it at first too
That’s hilarious she says even a little splurge feels like too much when she’s shown several little splurges on her Instagram.
She also needs to stop depending on her daughters boyfriends doing her yard work for her. Buy a mower, mow the grass. Her yards isn’t that big, she doesn’t need elaborate landscaping, just mow the grass every week or two.
I want to know what happened to the push mower she bought a while back.
She should have the credit cards and the two non-Dad personal loans paid off before she does any kind of splurging. The credit cards because those interest rates are outrageous, and the personal loans because it's a slap in the face to those who provided you 0% loans to be going out and dropping money on hotel stays.
Ah, that column did not show up at all on my phone but I see it on my laptop!
Yes little splurges feel too weird so luckily she's only doing sensible things like buying a mower she won't use and letting fish eat her feet.
That’s hilarious she says even a little splurge feels like too much when she’s shown several little splurges on her Instagram.
Yeah that's one of the least believable things she's ever written. If they're to much, why does she keep doing them? "Just had to take this trip to New Orleans, had to see if indulging myself still felt weird. It did, so then I went to a tiny house show (even though I already own a home and have no money to buy another property) and even splurged on a pedicure to see if indulging myself still felt weird. It did! Going to have to keep checking to see when it no longer feels strange, so next week I'm <insert frivolous trip or purchase> just to see if anything has changed."
She sure has done a lot of traveling for someone who is supposedly working 48 hours a week. Why even blog if you're going to just straight up lie?
I read her posts purely for entertainment purposes at this point. I kinda wish she did marry that guy in jail because the content would just be SO unhinged lol
Abby is letting us know how to make a purple drink using flowers! Just $15 for the flowers via Amazon. Or, spend $5 on food coloring at the supermarket.
Apparently the latest party was "whimsical"? Guess we'll never hear about the mental health party, if it happened.
I almost barfed when she said she used a pair of pantyhose she had lying around to steep the flowers in the drink. Blech
Also not to miss is her mom's linked article on how to shop your office's potluck and take home all the leftover food. Dont forget to bring tinfoil and zip lock bags!
The most fun was in the comments when someone "claimed" the ham bone at an office potluck and yelled at someone else who took it first.
Is that so awful, though? A place I worked at for a year had a holiday potluck with a turkey paid for by the boss. It was late afternoon so everyone figured the evening shift workers would finish up the leftovers. A lot of the turkey was left, plus stuff like bread, a cheese plate, a vegetable tray, and desserts. Pretty much all of it was still sitting there in the morning, so it had to be thrown in the garbage can. It was a shame to have all that food just thrown away.
Divide up food to avoid it being thrown away? Sure. Planning to "grocery shop" at the office pot luck by bringing storage containers with you is a different story.
True! At that workplace I think people would have been pretty good about dividing it up, because none of us were making much money.
But bringing storage containers or plastic bags with you would make sense, so you had a way to get some of the turkey, some of the cheese, and so on. Otherwise we would have had to wrap it up in typing paper or paper towels.
Listen, some of us have barely recovered from the pic of the ill-fitting red corset. An image of the ill-fitting green corset might send fragile people over the edge.
Well Hope went to her tiny house thing and treated herself to a pedicure.
The picture with those fish makes me sick. Why would anyone do that and how expensive is it?
It started as a fad in Japan years ago. The fish nibble on your calluses, supposedly.
Not seeing this on Blogging Away Debt. Does she have her own blog, or is this on Instagram -- and if the latter, how can I find it? TIA.
Instagram. Eternallyhope
Yikes.
Frugalwoods is back! She was just on 'martinis and your money podcast', which is one of my favorite podcasts - I really like the host.
The theme was frugality, and over the hour long podcast Liz shared earth shattering revelations like:
-It is ok to buy expensive things, just not all the time. This was in reference to a $5,000 couch Liz recently bought from crate and barrel. -Cooking at home saves money. -It's good to save earlier... because compounding. - if you save money on stuff you don't care about, you have more money to spend on stuff you do care about. Liz bought her couch from crate and barrel and not Versace, and she is taking her kids skiing in France next winter with the savings* -automate financial transactions. - her next expensive purchase is likely to be a rug, since she doesn't spend money eating out.
I was actually really disappointed in the content of the podcast. There was no mention of Liz's absence on the blog or future plans. I was also hoping they might talk about Liz's move from super frugal to more normal spending, why, benefits of spending more, does Liz consider herself frugal still, etc. I know the host and Liz are friends, which might be why all the questions were softball.
*the verace couch refernce was artistic license, the skiing trip to France was not
Five THOUSAND dollars????
That reaction is why she won't blog anymore, lol.
Well, I would like to know why the couch is worth it!
Ha im with you, I would never pay that for a couch - especially with kids. But she always had such a judgy attitude about money and she could always dish it out and not take it.
Ha im with you, I would never pay that for a couch - especially with kids. But she always had such a judgy attitude
about moneyand she could always dish it out and not take it.
Fixed that right up for ya.
She saves a lot of money on not eating out because they hate taking their kids out to eat and Nickle and dime the kids on ordering deserts.
I feel like Liz is not interested in publicly interrogating anything they do because she knows she does not take criticism well and wants to avoid those conversations.
spending money to go skiing in France when you have local skiing available sounds like something Frugalwoods would have absolutely been on her high horse about - but i guess it's okay when she does it?
Guess curb picking furniture doesn't work for rural VT the way it does in urban Boston!
Yeah, I wonder if this is part of it. Also, as you get older, MOVING furniture from curb or someone else's house becomes harder and so I could see some value in buying a new piece that will be delivered just for that. I would also (if I were buying new) shell out for something durable, but don't know enough about Crate and Barrel to know if it's a really good brand for that (plus it seems even good mass market brands are not the same quality as they used to be...).
Nice to know she’s ok at least, but would have been nice to hear if she’s ever coming back to her own social media and blog.
Agree that I am happy to hear that everything is going okay. I think with what she is sharing in the podcast though, what we are hearing was that it was never really about being frugal to retire early. We all know they were making way more money than they implied. This now seems like all their years of furniture picking and never eating out or finding ways to do your expensive hobby for low or no cost was not living a life of value-based frugality but rather it seems it was all deferred spending.
Sure, values can change. But as an example they went from never eating out cause they didn’t value it to weekly dates and monthly girls nights out and regular one on one with kids at a restaurant, etc. That’s quite a swing of the pendulum.
Yeah, I find their then and now spending to be quite something. I would say my husband and I were VERY like FW previously, we earned high incomes and really scrimped and found ways to save like crazy and the result was that we're now in our 40s, semi-retired, and have a very healthy investment portfolio. And our spending has gone up...a bit, but nothing like what FW shows. We still get a lot of stuff used, rarely eat out, consider whether or not we really need to buy XYZ. Basically it's not just about saving money but also that our values (mainly keeping environmental impact low) don't lend themselves to loads of spending. It's just not a big effort to keep our spending relatively low, it's how we are and we're happy with itm I would say what we've loosened up on most is that we are now much more firmly in the "buy it for life" camp when we do buy something new, so will spend more on individual items but are buying fewer items overall.
Abby's back with the most shocking of revelations... All of you must have been dying to know who spilled alcohol at her party. (Spoiler alert: it was Abby)
And today we have an entire post about purple drinks, but still no updates on how that strange party went. And now we have an completely unnamed "friend" who doesn't even have a a nickname.
Why doesn't she ever hire help? Yes, I know, she's too cheap. But seriously, she has the money, hire a handyman, hire a cleaning crew, etc. It's not that expensive.
I am not unsympathetic to chronic pain, mental health issues, whatever else she has going on. I'm also not downplaying the difficulty of upkeep on a home as a single person. But like you said, hire someone once in awhile if you need to! Leaving a drink spilled on the floor for days and days because using the swiffer makes you too weary is gross. Hire someone to help you clean instead of acting like your mom enjoys cleaning for you when she visits.
And too tired to swifter and too tired to prepare for party but not too tired to plan ahead for a party with strangers in your house. I don’t have chronic fatigue but the thought of that is just exhausting.
As do hookups, but I guess that is energizing?
Endorphin release, maybe?
I guess that's what makes me less sympathetic to her specifically? She has lots of energy for the fun things she wants to do but not for cooking and cleaning. It just comes across as lazy tbh.
I thought she attempted to address this once. Something like the limitations from her physical disability make it like her feel like her limbs have 100 lb. weights if she doesn't have the mental motivation to do the task. Sort of a mind over matter type thing, and she can't fake the motivation.
I don't think she's making it up as far as her fatigue goes, but it is completely exasperating that so many things don't get done unless her mom files 3,600 miles and spends a week in town to do them. Maybe she thinks her mom wouldn't come as often if she didn't have to take care of her, but I'm pretty sure she'd be there anyways.
I too have chronic fatigue and pain. So, I have a cleaning crew and a handyman. Obviously not everyone can afford that, but she can.
Plus I just don't understand her DIY stuff. Does she honestly think that retiling a bath herself is going to add to the house's value? She always does the cheapest crap possible and it probably looks worse after rather than before.
I absolutely get it too - I have a form of narcolepsy among other health issues. I just don't understand having energy for throwing parties and going out for trivia but then saying she's too tired to drag a rag across the countertop.
On one hand, I totally understand that motivation when dealing with any chronic illness is key to a lot of things. But I think I'd have a hard time admitting that the only things that motivate me are stranger parties and random hookups. 
But I'm a weirdo who likes many aspects of adulting. Every time I send in that mortgage payment, it means no one can ever make me go back home again!
I know this might be a lifestyle choice, but i can't imagine having a completely flexible remote job with a high salary, and never ever ever ever ever going anywhere more interesting than Phoenix.
Truly, Phoenix is just awful. But like, there's an airport. Go somewhere. Go stare at the ocean or a forest or something, at least.
(I can't believe she finds it relaxing just to sit around and watch TV with her mom for 9 days straight. I am lazy and enjoy relaxing but even I would lose my fucking mind.)
I don't understand why she never goes to Alaska and why they don't meet somewhere else in the middle, like maybe the Bay Area or Vancouver or something. Go on a winery tour! whatever.
Yeah, I don't get not visiting Alaska. But did she maybe mention breathing issues along with chronic fatigue? Like she can't be anywhere not perpetually warm/boring?
Her mom is frugal too. They used to meet up at Fincon together pre-Covid.
I see my mother 3-4 times a year, and sure, we watch tv and cook for each other. But we also plan novel activities! And we take trips together! I do not get their relationship. I guess it works for them, but what a small and lonely life.
People who live long, healthy lives have deep, supportive, constant friendships and she just does not.
Yeah, as a home owner I know things pile up, but I'm wondering how good of a deal the house is at this point. I lost track of how many thousands in random things have happened. And maybe I missed it, but how are the property taxes? Mortgage or no, those come due.
She did buy at an excellent time and from what I’ve gathered it’s a boring little ranch on the west side of town. It’s not been particularly improved and her reports of repairs don’t strike me as anything too crazy. Property taxes are low out here. Even with the repairs, it’s better own if you do have to live in this hellhole.
Interesting. I just became remote so looking at warm places for a second home, but I grew up in warm and boring. maybe I just don't want to admit it does make financial sense.
Check out Tucson, it's also warm but actually beautiful.
Phoenix has become ridiculously expensive ($90k wage to rent the median 2 bedroom place), annd wages were never great. Abby does give her her renter a screaming deal with her casita.
That is nice to see that she's giving someone a break. Many people in the PF world seem to have the mindset that they aren't doing it right if they don't put every nickel in their pocket that they possibly can. For example, Sam over at Financial Samurai, who bitches to no end about how much he hates being a landlord, yet spends countless hours of his time crunching the numbers to make sure he's getting every cent possible from his pesky tenants.
Honestly, it's gotten to the point where some of the posts read like Mr. Money Mustache's annual April Fools post. In the comments people arent't even sure.
She's going leave a lot of money to her cat one day.
And we hear the excitement of errands, but nothing about the weird dude who wouldn't leave her last party and had RSVP'd about this one?
As someone who has a giant slobbery dog and spends all her time cleaning so my house doesn’t smell like said dog, Hope’s inspirational meme thingy about how great it is to have a house smell like a dog made me think… 1) her house must reek given its very tiny and has 5 dogs and 2) who the heck is watching these FIVE DOGS during all these excursions?
She can’t afford anything right now. I feel so bad for these dogs as they get older.
Oh god, if someone’s house smells overwhelmingly like stinky dog I am so grossed out.
Same ya
The foster daughter of sorts is out on bail and can’t travel so she watches the dog.
That’s not a long term solution.
5 dogs.
I'm sure my house stinks of dog (I have three) but I can't smell it. And if you're visiting love me, love my dog.
Then again I don't post inspirational memes about dogs either. Gosh! It's not a couch if it's not covered with dog hair!
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She claims the tiny house one is a day trip. Sure……
It’s about a 3 hour drive from where she lives. You could do it in a day, but that’s a long day.
Even if she does it in one day, add up the cost of the ticket ($42), gas and food. To see tiny homes she claims she's not really interested in buying. It's comical at this point.
Can’t wait to see a post from her about how her next goal is to buy land and build a tiny house (acting as if all her debt doesn’t exist)
Last night I was reading her older posts from 2014 and she was literally talking about buying land and building her dream house. It is crazy how much history is repeating itself here.
Her plan will be bartering website work for it.
Back in 2014 it was Data Entry she was going to barter.
In today's episode of #adventureawaits, Hope is planning a trip to Charlotte next week to check out tiny homes!
This has to be high school reunion guy. She didn’t leave her house other than to hang with her kids for years. And now all of a sudden it’s constant little trips and new projects
She also got new glasses. She’s spending money like water.
Glasses after brunch with the girls!
The glasses may have been needed, the brunch wasn’t. I’ve been in tight spots financially before, and travel was the last thing on my mind. Not even cheap weekend road trips. This contract is going to end and she will have nothing to show for it, and be on the edge of disaster again.
She could have ordered glasses through Zenni.
That wouldn't be an #adventure though
What do I know. I love a good BBQ joint but have never described eating there as brunch. 🤷
And I bet she'll pay for her trip AND the tiny house "with points"!!!
Well she is about to lose her current home at this rate.
Continuing with Hope. I think I find her so frustrating because she seemingly can’t decide what she wants and then plan her life around that.
She wants to travel and have adventures, but has multiple dogs.
She wants to travel and have adventures, but is also spending money to have an edible garden.
She wants to be debt free, but will always find a way to spend money on something.
Even more than the Hokas, I can’t imagine being in such debt to everyone and blowing money to build a garden.
I like to travel. When my beloved soul dog died I didn’t get another because I wanted to be able to travel with no guilt and cheaper. I have one cat who is happy as long as he can get to his patio and someone comes along every night to feed him.
Because I like to travel and do stuff, my yard is as low maintenance as a I can get it.
You can’t have all the things in life even if you ask Jesus really nicely.
If anyone gardens like she will they will tell you it isn't cheap. Between the wood, soil, plants and all the crap you buy it is cheaper to buy her organic veggies. We do it for fresh tomatoes and save nothing. Your one smart person Another person who helps Hope.
I have a little urban farm and the only area in which we "save money" are on the herbs. That stuff is expensive at the store, and goes bad quickly. Otherwise it's purely for enjoyment. The only way we can afford our garden/chickens/bee habit is because we work full time 😂
Same. Gardening is a fun hobby for us. We do it because the veggies usually taste better than store bought and nothing beats fresh herbs, but it doesn’t save us any money.
New thread
https://www.reddit.com/r/blogsnark/comments/1cl1cwy/financial_bloggers/