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07-24-2007, 09:55 AM
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#1
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 68
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Visiting Relatives
When you live a LBYM lifestyle, there are always people who make derogatory comments on your lifestyle. When it is an aquaintance or someone you thought was a good friend, it's pretty easy to deal with.
I find it harder to cope with relatives who make these types of remarks, especially relatives who want to stay in your apartment (which lacks central air conditioning during a summer heat wave) rather than spend the money for a hotel. I have always felt that you can't say no to a family memer who requests temporary lodging, sorta of an unwritten code of family obligations. But after spending a week cleaning up the apartment, washing sheets/towels, and getting extra groceries, I don't want to hear someone ask "When are you going to move out of THIS apartment", "You're TOO cheap to get cable?", etc.
The obvious response to point out that you have XXX dollars in the bank because you LBYM , but I don't like talking/bragging about my net worth. It's also not a good long-term approach to make nasty comments back to relatives. I don't feel I should be required to explain the rationale for my financial decisions to a relative I see once or twice a year. Does anyone have any suggestions for gracefully dealing with this type of situation?
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07-24-2007, 10:02 AM
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#2
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Los Angeles area
Posts: 1,708
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My relatives are offered the choice between a spot on the couch in my house and the
Motel 6 right up the street. My 3 dogs with full house access and my extremely unusual
hours have managed to keep my record of no house guests clean since 1981.
__________________
learn, work, save, invest, fire
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07-24-2007, 10:07 AM
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#3
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,483
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sue
When you live a LBYM lifestyle, there are always people who make derogatory comments on your lifestyle. When it is an aquaintance or someone you thought was a good friend, it's pretty easy to deal with.
I find it harder to cope with relatives who make these types of remarks, especially relatives who want to stay in your apartment (which lacks central air conditioning during a summer heat wave) rather than spend the money for a hotel. I have always felt that you can't say no to a family memer who requests temporary lodging, sorta of an unwritten code of family obligations. But after spending a week cleaning up the apartment, washing sheets/towels, and getting extra groceries, I don't want to hear someone ask "When are you going to move out of THIS apartment", "You're TOO cheap to get cable?", etc.
The obvious response to point out that you have XXX dollars in the bank because you LBYM , but I don't like talking/bragging about my net worth. It's also not a good long-term approach to make nasty comments back to relatives. I don't feel I should be required to explain the rationale for my financial decisions to a relative I see once or twice a year. Does anyone have any suggestions for gracefully dealing with this type of situation?
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Just keep it light. I haven't had cable for 20 years, and when my relatives ask, I say something innoculous, like: "you know, I thought I would miss it, but I really don't. I guess I found other things to do", and then shrug your shoulders............
The home part is harder, since everyone is an "expert". However, my BIL has rented for 20 years, and can afford a house no problem, but has a GREAT reply:
"I have a problem,I call the landlord, and he fixes it. I'm out of town for a week, and I come home to a mowed lawn. Plus, the money I'm saving not paying property taxes and stuff, I put in investments. And, so far, I don't miss NOT having a house"..........
__________________
Consult with your own advisor or representative. My thoughts should not be construed as investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results (love that one).......:)
This Thread is USELESS without pics.........:)
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07-24-2007, 10:08 AM
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#4
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Pacific latitude 20/49
Posts: 7,677
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We offer to put them up in a nearby B&B or inexpensive hotel. We explain that our place is not suited to anything other than an overnight stay. So far, they have never accepted our offer. Either they sponge off of someone else, or they pay for the B&B themselves.
(We do welcome overnight stays. We have a guest room.)
__________________
For the fun of it...Keith
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07-24-2007, 10:08 AM
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#5
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,483
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__________________
Consult with your own advisor or representative. My thoughts should not be construed as investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results (love that one).......:)
This Thread is USELESS without pics.........:)
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07-24-2007, 10:25 AM
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#6
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 7,113
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"This works for us." For heavens sake don't tell them you have money in the bank. Consider this, if they aren't too comfortable the will move on sooner. If they remark about the lack of cable talk about the value of reading. With respect to the comment about air conditioning tell the truth (sorta), you rarely need it and if it gets to be too much you move to a hotel room (hint, hint).
Stop cleaning up for family member guests, after all they are family. Anyone you agree to house should have clean sheets and towels upon arrival but you don't need to make the bed up...
To keep them moving on, when agreeing to a visit limit it at that time, "My sorority sister is expected so the spare room is spoken for as of x."
If the stay is more than two days put together a neighborhood guide that includes the locations of restaurants they could patronize. Another option would be to hand them a grocery list.
__________________
Duck bjorn.
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07-24-2007, 10:31 AM
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#7
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: At The Cafe
Posts: 6,873
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Who has time to turn on the TV when travelling? I get them too tired from site-seeing.
I once overhead a comment about my place. I had invited several relatives over for lunch when they were in town for a wedding. A couple of years later my uncle's grandson was trying to figure out how he is related to me and said something about the stairs that went on forever and other negative comments, so that's the one! Yeah, I do live in a 4th floor walk-up, but unlike "grandson," a 35 year old still living with his mom, I've been on my own since age 17.
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07-24-2007, 11:14 AM
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#8
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 567
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When I was growing up, we'd all sleep in the living room and open the windows at both ends of the house and put a box fan on if it was really hot out.
a good plan for not having family bug you about not spending money is to just come from a poor family. Granted, it's hard to plan it that way, but it's worked well for me.
Well, that and the fact that everyone is really nice.
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07-24-2007, 11:21 AM
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#9
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Charleston, SC
Posts: 13,566
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Move to the country, add a couple more dogs to Cycling Investors herd, throw in some cats for the allergic...and voila! no more houseguests!
Sue, we've just become "those people" in our family, too. Don't even respond to the specific jibe, just say that your life suits you just fine. It does tend to hurt your feelings, I'll admit. Being gracious as a hostess is not always met with graciousness in your guests. But just keep being gracious anyway!
Sarah
__________________
“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching.”
Gerard Arthur Way
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07-24-2007, 12:47 PM
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#10
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 984
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Get rid of your furniture, get a couple of cats, blast italian music at 1 in the morning, have no food in the fridge except some iced tea and condiments....voila....no guests!
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07-24-2007, 01:12 PM
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#11
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,558
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I would have no qualms about refusing to put up with family members that didn't treat me with respect. I don't consider someone being family an unrestricted license to abuse my hospitality.
That said, I have very few family members who would ever be that impolite. I am lucky to have extremely top-notch relatives. I don't associate with the few exceptions. My wife's family is extraordinarily decent too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sue
When you live a LBYM lifestyle, there are always people who make derogatory comments on your lifestyle. When it is an aquaintance or someone you thought was a good friend, it's pretty easy to deal with.
I find it harder to cope with relatives who make these types of remarks, especially relatives who want to stay in your apartment (which lacks central air conditioning during a summer heat wave) rather than spend the money for a hotel. I have always felt that you can't say no to a family memer who requests temporary lodging, sorta of an unwritten code of family obligations. But after spending a week cleaning up the apartment, washing sheets/towels, and getting extra groceries, I don't want to hear someone ask "When are you going to move out of THIS apartment", "You're TOO cheap to get cable?", etc.
The obvious response to point out that you have XXX dollars in the bank because you LBYM , but I don't like talking/bragging about my net worth. It's also not a good long-term approach to make nasty comments back to relatives. I don't feel I should be required to explain the rationale for my financial decisions to a relative I see once or twice a year. Does anyone have any suggestions for gracefully dealing with this type of situation?
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07-24-2007, 03:50 PM
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#12
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Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 6,924
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Quote:
The obvious response to point out that you have XXX dollars in the bank because you LBYM , but I don't like talking/bragging about my net worth. It's also not a good long-term approach to make nasty comments back to relatives.
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What would be the downside?
Quote:
I don't feel I should be required to explain the rationale for my financial decisions to a relative I see once or twice a year. Does anyone have any suggestions for gracefully dealing with this type of situation?
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No.
I assure you I would deal with this ungracefully.
__________________
"Knowin' no one nowhere's gonna miss us when we're gone..."
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07-24-2007, 04:11 PM
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#13
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,450
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I had one extended family member that likes to use us as a hotel....they usually take us out to eat and bring some beverages so not that bad...but I think they like to stay at our place vs. closer relatives since it is remodeled and nice and clean....as others have said...cat and dog filth might be enough deterrence....
__________________
- Hurry! to the cliffs of insanity!
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07-24-2007, 04:57 PM
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#14
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,401
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Sell the bed in the spare bedroom and turn it into a gym.
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07-24-2007, 07:21 PM
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#15
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 12,901
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Quote:
"You're TOO cheap to get cable?",
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And they're too cheap to pay for a hotel room...
If I were to host some family member and they were to complain about the living arrangement in such blatant manner, I would politely suggest they go find other accomodations that suit them better.
My family bugs me all the time about not spending "enough" money. They think I should have a bigger car, a bigger house and go on vacation more often. I say yeah yeah yeah and I just ignore them. Quite frankly, the way I decide to spend my money is none of their business.
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07-24-2007, 10:22 PM
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#16
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,125
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We just stayed at a friends house for four nights at no change. I didn't complain when they didn't turn on the A/C or that they had two dogs who were attention hounds or that their cable was on the fritz because I know that I was a guest. We bought them some stuff they like (chocolate chip cookies) and made them promise to stay with us when they were in town.
You just need a better trained house guest.
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07-24-2007, 10:36 PM
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#17
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: North-Central Illinois
Posts: 3,228
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Thankfully, my Dad set the precedence many years ago by informing my siblings that they and their families were more than welcome to come and visit anytime they wanted to. And they could visit for as many days as they wanted to. However, he also informed them that he expected them to vacate by the time the 10 o'clock news came on, because that was his time to wind down and prepare for a nice peaceful night's sleep, and he really didn't care to see them before at least mid-morning so he could enjoy some peace and quiet.
When they were younger and just starting careers and families, he would pay for the hotel for them. When they were better established, he would book the hotel and use his CC to 'hold' the reservation, but they were responsible for pay the hotel for their stay there.
I think they were a little pissed off at first, because they wanted to stay at the house. But as time went on they decided that they preferred staying at the hotel, because there was a swimming pool and a jacuzzi, also the hotel prepared breakfast for them.
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07-24-2007, 11:22 PM
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#18
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 377
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I would tell your relatives, that you save that 50-100 bucks a month on cable, so that when you travel you can afford to stay at a hotel, instead of being a inconvenience to someone.
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07-24-2007, 11:24 PM
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#19
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,343
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kcowan
(We do welcome overnight stays. We have a guest room.)
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Do you have online reservations yet?
MJ
__________________
I look to the present moment because that's where I live my life.
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07-24-2007, 11:34 PM
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#20
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,343
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No problem.
I am currently a homeless vagabond constantly on the lookout for your a temporary home to stay in.
MJ
__________________
I look to the present moment because that's where I live my life.
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