Originally Posted by Welshgator (Post 10557199)

One of my pet peeves is parents on our not for profit kids swim team who claim hardship and don't pay any monthly dues or swim meet fees.
Yet, one family flies out to Austria 2 or 3 times a year and can afford to stay a few weeks ,rent a car etc., both their kids have iPhones and iPads and pay for extra, private swim tuition. Own their $400k house outright. Mom does piano lessons on the side so they don't claim tax.
2nd family, one week after filing hardship, bought a new Mercedes SUV (monthly payments $600+ for 5 years), kid also has iPhone.
3rd family facebooks eating out at restaurants 3x a day and have new cars for each of 3 kids.
4th family - 6 kids, all on swim hardship program,mom doesn't work, oldest teen has own car....more of a hardship case but just have less kids if you can't afford them.....

What makes me mad is that we and other honest working parents are really paying from our dues so that these other folk can have their luxuries. In effect, I feel like my wife and I are paying for someone to have a free trip to Austria or dine out every day. We decided to put off extras last year, like a trip to UK because it's too expensive with my son coming up to college age. I don't mind helping people who really need it and their kids have talent and work hard but c'mon folks...
Commitee members don't ask for evidence of hardship or W2s, seem to know what's going but don't want to stir things up, I guess.
Anyway, that's my vent...my daughter has changed swim team this year so I don't have to think about that stuff as much. I hope I don't come across as a meanie, be interested if everybody has similar experiences.

Originally Posted by jeffreyhy (Post 10557330)

Sounds like the bar to establish hardship is set rather low, so why not apply yourself? Use the money you save to buy a car or take a vacation. Definitely use some of it to buy an iThing.

Regards, JEff

Originally Posted by Bink (Post 10557371)

I'm with you on this, it's not fair to pay for other people's luxuries. Sadly, it seems to be the way here that you're 'expected' to 'work' the system (I'm talking more generally than the hardship programme). I really hate that. You shouldn't have to worm and lie to get fair treatment and/or fair prices for things (having to threaten to leave your cable company to get anything close to a reasonable rate).

Originally Posted by Welshgator (Post 10557736)

There is certainly a very different view of things here. Some I still find hard to get past.

I remember as a kid, if you bought some cheap toy from Woolworths or a market stall, when it broke, as they almost all did it seems, there was no thought it seems of taking it back and asking for a replacement. I think you just expected it or blamed yourself for buying such a cheap thing in the first place. When we were first married and Mrs Welshgator took things back to Kmart or Target I was really surprised, kept thinking "they'll never take that back" but sure enough.... maybe it was just me though, guess I looked like a gullible kid.....:lol:

Originally Posted by cindyabs (Post 10568408)

You've just been saving these up haven't you Boberino? :lol:

Originally Posted by cindyabs (Post 10568408)

You've just been saving these up haven't you Boberino? :lol:

Originally Posted by Bob (Post 10568211)

Can shove that up your urethra.

Originally Posted by Bob (Post 10568211)

... the door isn't a flip down but to the side, so it's a mare to get the laundry basket up to it and then the hole is below the top of the basket and it's tiny, so filling the thing is a bit of a chore.

Originally Posted by jeffreyhy (Post 10569432)

Put it on a pedestal.

Regards, JEff

Originally Posted by Bob (Post 10569552)

People who moan about the cost of the heating bills, yet keep the place at 78+ and walk around their homes in t's and shorts....

Originally Posted by jeffreyhy (Post 10569737)

And in summer those same people set the thermostat to 68 and complain about the air conditioning bills. ....

Originally Posted by Pulaski (Post 10571560)

That drives me nuts too, we usually run a 14°F positive difference between winter heating of 62°F and summer cooling of 76°F. Sometimes on a Saturday evening the temperature gets bumped up as high as 68°F, and sometimes in the evening in summer I'll knock the thermostat down a few degrees to cool the house down before bed, when I push it back to the high 70's. But we have never had a negative difference - that is insanity!

Originally Posted by paranoidandroid (Post 10571574)

HowTF can 76F be regarded as cooling?