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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,077
Registered: ‎05-11-2013

Do you have a relative that leaves you scratching....

your head?  One cousin not married, lives alone. parents are gone.  Dad left her with money as did another relative.  That's a good thing.  She is not dumb, odd, but not dumb.

 

She does not entertain but is spending $60,000.00 on landscaping for her small ranch house.  Fancy walls, patio w/fire pit, etc.  It's huge.  However, she wanted central air put in which was a good idea, but the furnance was decades old and for central air needed a new one. She balked at replacing the furnance. They told her you couldn't even get parts anymore. 

 

She needed a part for the toilet, less than $20.  She questioned if she needed it.  There is 1 bathroom in the house.

 

There is a 3 bay garage and she is paying big bucks to have 1 bay turned into a she shed with heat, skylights etc.  She lives alone and has a full finished basement.  Her whole house is a she shed.

 

Yes, her money, her choices.  I don't understand not blinking an eye over 60 grand for the yard but questioning fixing the only toilet.

 

She puts all her money in a checking account, no savings account, or investment account.  She showed my sister a 6 figure check going into her checking account. God knows how much she has in there. My sister explained FDIC but didn't want to get into her finances.

 

Do you have a relative that makes you say "Huh?"

Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,399
Registered: ‎07-15-2016

Re: Do you have a relative that leaves you scratching....

I'm probably the relative that everyone else is shaking their heads over!  My family knows that they should mind their own business.

 

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First of all .... I wouldn't put my money in an investment account.  Been there, done that .... and lost a small fortune in the fiasco in 2006/8 or so.  

 

Savings account interest is practically nothing.  

 

I don't blame her for keeping money in checking ..... so easy access. 

 

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As you said, her money, her business. 

 

The investment in her property will pay off if/when she sells it. 

 

I think it's always good to question whether something "has" to be replaced rather than just fixed.  

 

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,018
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Do you have a relative that leaves you scratching....

I suspect I'm the relative that makes all the others wonder.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 8,736
Registered: ‎02-19-2014

Re: Do you have a relative that leaves you scratching....

A three bay garage and only one bathroom?

When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.
"Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
Honored Contributor
Posts: 8,736
Registered: ‎02-19-2014

Re: Do you have a relative that leaves you scratching....


@deepwaterdotter wrote:

I suspect I'm the relative that makes all the others wonder.


You and me both! I know I'm that relative.

When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.
"Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,077
Registered: ‎05-11-2013

Re: Do you have a relative that leaves you scratching....

My sister's concern is the fact that she could live another 25 yrs. and has no one to care for her.  Put money aside in case you need live in help or can be cared for should you become unable to care for yourself.

 

Again it's her money but my main thing would be heat in the winter and a working bathroom.

 

If it's up to her she will never sell that house.

 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,910
Registered: ‎05-08-2017

Re: Do you have a relative that leaves you scratching....

It sounds like she is making a cozy, comfortable, beautiful home to enjoy. She has the funds to do it, so more power to her.

 

I don't call her odd. I identify with her. Bug off gossipy relatives!

 

😄

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,077
Registered: ‎05-11-2013

Re: Do you have a relative that leaves you scratching....

@Porcelain  Yep.  Her Dad had a some pricey cars.  He also hated to spend money, except on his cars.

 

He chopped wood until he was in his 80's and made her help. He was 90 when he died. She just retired.  He had her climb on the roof and clean out gutters.  She took care of him afterher  Mom died. No idea what the plan was if she fell off the roof and got hurt.

QVC Customer Care
Posts: 1,489
Registered: ‎10-12-2015

Re: Do you have a relative that leaves you scratching....

Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,604
Registered: ‎10-25-2010

Re: Do you have a relative that leaves you scratching....

[ Edited ]

I come from a big family and no odd people.

 

my husband has a friend that is quite odd.  He is a nice man, who has worked a mechanic most of his life.  He has amassed quite a lot of money and has made good investments.

 

He is always buying and selling things.  He will spend months looking for a new car, once he buys it, he might keep it for a few months,then sell it and spend months looking for another.

 

He does the same with household furniture, his house, RV's, boats...just about everything.  He loves to browse and buy things, always looking for the best deal, but then he is bored and the cycle starts all over again.

 

I have been in his car when he will suddenly stop and get out to pick up a aluminum can.  This can be dangerous on some highways.  You would think that can is worth a fortune. He cashes in on scrap metal for another way to make money.

 

He always dresses like a bum and looks homeless, but he is loaded.  He has taken us to the finest restaurants and wears his mechanic clothing, clean, but grungy looking.  His table manners are awful, but he will order the most expensive meal and pay cash.  He also will pay for strangers meals without them knowing and slips out before they have a clue.

 

He is married and I feel sorry for his poor wife.  She never knows when she will be moving and she comes home often to find all of the furniture gone, only to be replaced with something new.  He doesn't always have good taste...and one time replaced their DR furniture with a new set that had chairs made out of beer kegs.  Looked like man cave junk.

 

He never allows her any input, she seems to have no choice.  Funny, she doesn't seem to mind.  

 

He drives me crazy and I am glad I  am not married to him.  I tell him all of the time that is is controlling and nuts and that he only enjoys the hunt, not the rewards..he just laughs.