"Downsized": anyone watch this show???

[DawnM]

Yeah, I am not sure I can watch any more of this circus. I agree with you.

Dawn

After this past episode, I lost any sympathy for them.

The financial planner thing was just crazy. $500/month EATING OUT???? A Starbucks addiction that cannot be curbed because she has MS???? $145/mo for cheerleading when you cannot pay your rent????? And you getting food stamps????

If you can spend $500/mo eating out - figure at least $200/mo on your starbucks addiction and spend $145/mo on cheerleading, then you should not be receiving government assistance.

Cook supper, make your own coffee and sorry, you cannot afford cheerleading.

I don't care if the kids like eating out.....that mom is behaving like a spoiled brat. I can understand that in a 16 year old, not in the mother.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.......

 

[graygables]

OK, so the boys can't do baseball, the youngest can't do cheer, Bailey can't go to her prom and flippin' MOM has had a bad week?!?!? WTHeck is WRONG with these people??? I mean, I'm glad that someone finally had the wherewithal to figure out poor mommy's "coffee drinks" (so much for the "energy" provided from the eensy teensy amount of caffeine in that nonsense, but that's another story), but really? REALLY???

And then for her to sit there boo-hooing b/c the kids are suffering so for not having a perfect childhood like her own? My girls were ready to smack her through the TV. OK, chica, I grew up in Europe and have been privileged to visit over 30 countries in my lifetime. My children live in different circumstances. Do I boo-hoo b/c they aren't world travellers??? DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES. Different life experiences. We cheered Dad when he said it was about the kind of people they are raising. I do think a few of the kids will come through stronger and better for it, but not all of the kids. One of the boys recommended they find a way to earn their own money for baseball, but the others would just rather quit rather than work? Just goes to show exactly how important baseball was to them in the first place.

Something else DDs pointed out was how activities "defined" the kids in the mom's opinion. They said, "How about letting what's INSIDE define the kids?" I'm glad my girls are already smarter than this crew.

 

[dreamin_disney]

after watching todays show or rerun i see the mom is the BIG PROBLEM. She is sneaking coffee, making promises to the lil about cheerleading. I also caught something about she spent $1000 on clothing for the kids. SHe called it guilt spending. She needs a reality check! She needs her moeny and cards taken away and have her dh be inchraged of the money. I sure hope starbucks doesnt accept the food stamp card.

Another thing that bothered me was the kids giving up stuff and the mom isnt willing to. She keeps making excuses. Her 10 yr dd even said a house is more important when she had to give up cheer. If anyone deserved a treat it was the kids not her getting stuff to make her coffee. minus points for her dh for that but it might save him money.

BTW- anyone have a recipe for the blended coffee?????

 

[graygables]

after watching todays show or rerun i see the mom is the BIG PROBLEM. She is sneaking coffee, making promises to the lil about cheerleading. I also caught something about she spent $1000 on clothing for the kids. SHe called it guilt spending.

Oh, YEAH, I forgot about that one!!! How about putting that $1000 into an emergency fund account? I can't imagine that anyone in that family was suffering for new clothes and she could have done a lot better at a thrift store than $1K.

 

[angwill]

From what she said her problem is that she was raised like a princess and never told no so she wants her kids to be raised the same. She has never wanted for anything in her life so that makes this hard on her.

I laughed when I realized she was drinking frozen coffee and not regular coffee. I think she is addicted to the sugar high not the caffein high. I think it's funny that she could not google the recipie to make the drinks herself. She should buy a bag of sugar and eat a table spoon for her boost it would be much cheaper. lol

I also noticed on the finance board they made that the parents are spending $360 a month on cell phones which means the kids are not paying for their own cell phones as the boys said they were. Then when they were cutting the costs of things the cell phones were not one to get cut.

I too forgot about the guilt spending $1000 on clothing she said she got that as a bonus. I doubt she added that to her yearly take home pay at the financial planner. On their board it also showed that they also allow several hundred a month for clothing. After seeing their spending it really amazes me that they qualify for food stamps.

I did rewatch the episode where they talked about what they made and the $3000 was what they owe the kids so now I am wondering how much they left off for the child support they recieve?

I really think this show is all set up for TV it just doesn't add up.

 

[dclfun]

I just watched two BTB episodes tonight and cannot be more disgusted. I agree with the above poster- Mom cries over DD having to give up her cheerleading at $145 a month yet she's not willing to give up her Starbucks at $300 a month. Then she blames that on her MS? Get real! There's hardly any caffeine in those frozen drinks anyway. How can she cry about how deprived her kids are when they live in a very nice home in a very nice area and have plenty of food on the table. Boo hoo- they had to give up extracurricular activities, yet of course they keep their cell phones and laptops. I don't call that deprivation or sacrifice. Try living in a car like some children do! I'd love to know how they qualify for food stamps with almost 5K in income unless they lied about Dad's under-the-table income and the child support. Wonder if the state of AZ will now go after them for assistance fraud if they did. Reality show? There's no reality to it and I don't feel sorry for this family at all...nor are they learning or teaching anyone a lesson.---Kathy

 

[Disneyluvr]

I think the mom is just addicted to the prestige of carrying the designer coffee cup! Did you hear her say how it tastes so much better in the designer cup and the straw? She wasn't gushing about the coffee itself, it was the designer cup she was concerned about!

 

[mhsjax]

I don't think this family is that bad. The mom is a little off especially with the coffee. I don't know why some people think that just because they aren't living in a car that they aren't bad off. It is all a matter of perspective. As far as the phones that the kids have, didn't I hear the one boy saying that they worked to pay for those phones? I don't see a problem with that.

These people just didn't believe(like a lot of people) that the economy was going to tank like it did, they were holding out for the best. They got caught and I believe that now they are learning something.


I do think the mom should give up the coffee, she could make it at home. I also would have been way more upset at having to get my kids to give up their activities. I don't see a problem with her car, it was a gift and is old. It is most likely a diesel engine and they last forever.

I am holding out hope for this family and I think they may all learn something, well maybe all but the mom. She is a real piece of work, I would never spend $1000.00 in my kids when we couldn't pay rent.

OH and by the way, I would be glad to take her $39,000.00 teaching job. I know teachers work hard but to me she is insulting teachers.

 

[angwill]

I don't think this family is that bad. The mom is a little off especially with the coffee. I don't know why some people think that just because they aren't living in a car that they aren't bad off. It is all a matter of perspective. As far as the phones that the kids have, didn't I hear the one boy saying that they worked to pay for those phones? I don't see a problem with that.

These people just didn't believe(like a lot of people) that the economy was going to tank like it did, they were holding out for the best. They got caught and I believe that now they are learning something.


I do think the mom should give up the coffee, she could make it at home. I also would have been way more upset at having to get my kids to give up their activities. I don't see a problem with her car, it was a gift and is old. It is most likely a diesel engine and they last forever.

I am holding out hope for this family and I think they may all learn something, well maybe all but the mom. She is a real piece of work, I would never spend $1000.00 in my kids when we couldn't pay rent.

OH and by the way, I would be glad to take her $39,000.00 teaching job. I know teachers work hard but to me she is insulting teachers.

Sure the boys said they pay for their cell phones but last night on their finance board it said the parents pay $360 a month for the cell phone bill. There is no plan I know of that cost that much for 2 phones or even three if they pay for the youngest daughters phone. At that cost the parents are paying for all the cell phones but I guess to make it look better the kids say they are paying for them.


In the newest episode dad helps mom figure out how to make her frozen coffee drinks at home so unless mom gets lazy or gets her high off spending money to carry the starbucks cup that took care of that issue. Her Mercedes is not a diesel because it did not have the diesel sound the only sound was the belt squeek that needs to be replaced.

 

[mhsjax]

Sure the boys said they pay for their cell phones but last night on their finance board it said the parents pay $360 a month for the cell phone bill. There is no plan I know of that cost that much for 2 phones or even three if they pay for the youngest daughters phone. At that cost the parents are paying for all the cell phones but I guess to make it look better the kids say they are paying for them.


In the newest episode dad helps mom figure out how to make her frozen coffee drinks at home so unless mom gets lazy or gets her high off spending money to carry the starbucks cup that took care of that issue. Her Mercedes is not a diesel because it did not have the diesel sound the only sound was the belt squeek that needs to be replaced.

That must have been the part where I fell asleep. lol/ that is a huge bill for cell phones. I just assumed that because of the age of the car that is was a diesel.

Anyway, I do think that most of them will learn something, the mom, can't be sure. I have a feeling that she would go back to her old ways. Time will tell.

The Starbucks, it is a status symbol. Just look at the rag mags, all the start carry starbucks cups. It is almost like carrying a designer purse or wearing designer clothes. I didn't know that MS knew the difference between Starbucks and just plain old grocery store coffee.

Oh well, I do enjoy the show. I feel bad for the kids really, they seem to be doing pretty well with all of this.

 

[disykat]

I'm watching and find it interesting. In some ways I'm very sympathetic to their situation, in others it's hard to be.

We're three episodes in and it seems like dad has figured it out, but mom hasn't. I've always felt it's important not to spend more than you bring in so it's hard for me to see why that's such a hard concept for some.

Mom is still focused on the "sacrifices" and what she or her kids "deserve," not what they can afford.

 

[graygables]

Something else I remembered from last night where it hit me that maybe Dad isn't getting it, either (besides buying mom the "designer" cup rather than reward the kids) was the budget meeting. He was talking about how much money they could have put in SAVINGS with everything they moved to the right-hand column without considering the income at all. If he listened to the advisor, they were OVER-spending by at least that much, so it's not as though they could have put $9K in savings, they just would have been finally matching their income to their outgo.

 

[kinntj]

Last night was the first time I watched and I was shocked by the mom. I don't know where to start with her. Spending $1,000 on clothes for the kids. When is cheerleading more important than making rent or fixing the car?

At least she's learned to make her own frozen coffee drinks. She really is into status things. My friend has MS and she drinks those fancy frozen drinks too, but she also doesn't have any kids.

 

[disneychrista]

If she is drinking Frappacinos (frozen coffee drinks) from Starbucks she is getting more sugar than caffiene.

 

[MEM]

Something else I remembered from last night where it hit me that maybe Dad isn't getting it, either (besides buying mom the "designer" cup rather than reward the kids) was the budget meeting. He was talking about how much money they could have put in SAVINGS with everything they moved to the right-hand column without considering the income at all. If he listened to the advisor, they were OVER-spending by at least that much, so it's not as though they could have put $9K in savings, they just would have been finally matching their income to their outgo.

I noticed that too and it made no sense. The kids are giving up baseball, proms, cheering, etc. in order that the family can pay their RENT. The Dad also said that this $9K could go towards buying a house?!? How in the heck could they get a mortgage with their credit history? Also, I noticed that their monthly credit card payments are $125.00. I recall the financial advisor said they had maxed-out their credit cards. Who believes that the $125 a month is even the minimum payment? Finally, the Dad's reaction to the Mom blowing her $1,000 bonus on clothes for the family seemed a little tame to me - that whole scene seemed highly staged to me. My DH would have been livid.

I guess I watch the show only to make myself feel superior plus I love the Arizona scenery.

 

[MEM]

I think the mom is just addicted to the prestige of carrying the designer coffee cup! Did you hear her say how it tastes so much better in the designer cup and the straw? She wasn't gushing about the coffee itself, it was the designer cup she was concerned about!

The Mom would totally drive me crazy. First, she and the kids tried making the iced coffee (without a recipe!!! easily found on the internet) based on what they think is in the drink. She's a teacher, for crying out loud, yet doesn't do the research? Then the Mom gives up, saying the drink tastes like cereal and its just too much trouble to make it herself. Later on, when her DH does the sensible thing and brings home a recipe and the right ingredients, somehow what's in the cup is not as important as the straw and the reusable cup. She said its "all about the straw." Weird.

 

[angwill]

I noticed that too and it made no sense. The kids are giving up baseball, proms, cheering, etc. in order that the family can pay their RENT. The Dad also said that this $9K could go towards buying a house?!? How in the heck could they get a mortgage with their credit history? Also, I noticed that their monthly credit card payments are $125.00. I recall the financial advisor said they had maxed-out their credit cards. Who believes that the $125 a month is even the minimum payment? Finally, the Dad's reaction to the Mom blowing her $1,000 bonus on clothes for the family seemed a little tame to me - that whole scene seemed highly staged to me. My DH would have been livid.

I guess I watch the show only to make myself feel superior plus I love the Arizona scenery.

LOL on feeling superior. It makes me feel superior that I am not stupid enough that I would sign to do a reality show that sets me up to look like a complete idiot especially if I were a teacher. No amount of money and fame is worth that.

 

[threecrazykids]

Something else I remembered from last night where it hit me that maybe Dad isn't getting it, either (besides buying mom the "designer" cup rather than reward the kids) was the budget meeting. He was talking about how much money they could have put in SAVINGS with everything they moved to the right-hand column without considering the income at all. If he listened to the advisor, they were OVER-spending by at least that much, so it's not as though they could have put $9K in savings, they just would have been finally matching their income to their outgo.

I was thinking the same thing...you're not SAVING 9k...you're just not SHORT 9k!

 

[MEM]

I still think the writers/directors are exaggerating how clueless this family is just so that by the end of the series they can show just "how far" the family has come. In an upcoming episode the Mom is shown cleaning toilets to earn money. Surely there's some gainful employment in between teaching first grade and tutoring and cleaning toilets?!?

 

[DawnM]

Did they ever say where the wife's ex-husband is? I see the husband's kids getting stuff from their mom and wonder why the other kids can't get stuff from their dad?

Dawn