This lady is from Oprah.. and she’s in debt.. BIG TIME.
Like millions of Americans, Felice and her husband, Phil, are heading toward financial catastrophe by living a life they cannot afford. Although Phil brings home $5,000 or $6,000 a month, their expenses are almost three times that amount per month. Felice says she starts each day at a popular coffee chain, which adds up to $300–$400 a month. Because her own six credit cards are maxed out, Felice secretly uses her husband’s credit card to get cash advances.
Felice spends nearly $60 a week on tanning and manicures. “I take care of the bills, so my husband doesn’t realize how much money I’ve spent on hair and nails and extensions. I know I’ve probably spent $3–4,000 just on the cost of the extensions in the last two years.”
At home, Felice says she’s spent around $5,000 on silk flowers. She also commissioned murals for almost every room of her house, which average $2,000 to $4,000 each.
FB:… *chokes a little*…
Felice also shops regularly—online and in stores. “When I do shop, I do kind of get a rush. It makes me feel good,” she says. “But afterwards, though, I get depressed. I’ll buy something even if I really don’t like it because I have to come out with something.” Felice says she hides the receipts from her husband underneath a baby blanket in a drawer.
Although she’s always shopping for herself and her children, their closets are nearly empty. “I love new clothes. However, I like getting rid of the clothes just as quickly to go buy new ones.” To make room for more clothes, Felice holds garage sales, which she says she likes doing almost as much as shopping. She says she’ll sell a $50 item for only $1—and has a great reputation for having the best stuff. “I usually have about four a year. I have six kids and I sell their toys sometimes just because I don’t like them,” she says.
FB:… That’s why you buy what you love, and only what you love.
…………..
Felice says she feels ashamed that she kept her spending habits from her husband, but she feels more ashamed that her children have no medical or dental coverage, which she says would only cost $1,000 a month. “My children have had things happen. We almost lost a daughter a couple years ago to a ruptured appendix and also I’ve had health problems. And I have a daughter who has a neurological disease,” she says. “It’s total selfishness. My kids mean the world to me and I should be putting them first, but I put myself first. … It’s shameful.”
FB: That is .. amazing to me. To not pay $1000 a month for her kids to have coverage, yet she blew how much on her self maintenance? This woman is self-absorbed like no other.
Her behavior really hit home, Felice says, when her daughter graduated from preschool. “She said on tape that what she wanted to be when she grew up was a mom because they like to shop a lot,” she says. “That’s the message I’m sending my children.”
…………
Felice says she doesn’t want to sell their house, but she also doesn’t want to go back to work. “I want to stay home with my kids and be a mom,” she says. “I’m totally scared. I don’t want to give up stuff. It’s the way I’ve lived my whole life. My whole life I’ve had stuff.”
FB: OMG. WHAT? She doesn’t want to go back to work and give up stuff?…. Does she even want to change?
Phil says he feels hurt and disrespected. “You give your wife responsibility to take care of the family with the funds that have been given to her and then she’s spending it frivolously on things that really are meaningless because she’s wanting to make an impression of what she looks like,” he says.
FB: You would’ve thought that he would’ve clued in… with all of the new stuff appearing all the time.
Read the entire story here.
I know it sounds awful and it makes me feel quite guilty when I say this, but I love reading about stories like this, only because it gives me a little kick in the butt and tells me to shut up, put away my wallet and stop craving things I cannot afford at the moment with how much debt I have.
And to remind me that people higher up from me sometimes have it much worse off than I do, and that I cannot judge them by just looking at their veneer…. I need that jolt every once in a while when I start feeling guilty and greedy.
- Desperate Housewives and Friendship
- "Single in the Suburbs" really makes me irritated
- The only way is the wrong way…via Waiter Rant
- Fitting my life into 3 suitcases
- A bank run by street kids
Mel
on Oct 28th, 2007
@ 5:04 PM:
Geez…how selfish can people be? It just boggles the mind. Fortunately, my husband and I are both savers not spenders. I’m a bona fide tightwad and sometimes have to force myself to spend money on things I actually need. However, I used to work with a girl that went out and bought a $550K house with her husband. They’re in their mid-20’s like we are without children as well and making about the same as we are (which isn’t even close to being able to afford a $3500 house payment). It wasn’t even that big of a house. It was just a regular house, but it was in the “It” part of town. She even admitted that they couldn’t afford it but said that they just couldn’t turn it down (sure you can…). WHY do people do stuff like that?
Rae
on Oct 28th, 2007
@ 5:42 PM:
Whoa. How completely self-absorbed do you have to BE to do that?! I could understand if her credit cards were all maxed out because of her children’s health problems, but for things like extensions?! Disgusting.
I enjoy stories like this too (shh! don’t tell!!) – seeing how deep others can get in their own crap sends a nice reality jolt, without the actual expense of one.
Alison
on Oct 28th, 2007
@ 6:56 PM:
i read that article too, and it made me throw up a little in my mouth. 6 kids?!?! that alone has got to be a lot of damage to the bank accounts..
Fabulously Broke in the City
on Oct 28th, 2007
@ 7:53 PM:
Mel: You’re telling me.. I mean that example with that $550k house… wow. That’s amazing. Image does mean a lot to people.
Rae: Ditto… it’s a guilty pleasure. I really do feel better in the end.
Alison: You’re telling me! 6 kids, no health insurance. Her kids should’ve been her #1 priority…
Soi
on Oct 28th, 2007
@ 9:53 PM:
….
i have nothing to say to that…
my parents r the complete opposite- we have the best health insurance and they never buy themselves clothes above like $20
yet they buy us $100 jeans.
i feel very fortunate and lucky
i feel bad for those kids…what if they broke a leg? or caught pneumonia? no health insurance? EEK!
Lady N
on Oct 28th, 2007
@ 10:16 PM:
FB – I have to admit, I do feel better about myself when I read stories like these – it is a good reminder that I do not need another pair of shoes and that the coat from last year is still very wearable this year.
Fabulously Broke in the City
on Oct 29th, 2007
@ 7:32 AM:
Soi: Oh did you read that part? She almost LOST A DAUGHTER because of her lack of health insurance. Esp in the States, that’s a no-no..!! (And so is writing ‘no-no’ as that is bad English
)
Lady N: Oh good. I feel less guilty now… but I think it’s human nature to hear stories like this so that you immediately feel better… I guess that’s why I love debt shows.
sophia
on Oct 29th, 2007
@ 10:53 AM:
i don’t know, she sounds pyschiatric help
Sophia
on Oct 29th, 2007
@ 10:57 AM:
i’m sleepy.
i meant she sounds like she needs help. lol
shall add a link
Fabulously Broke in the City
on Oct 30th, 2007
@ 9:09 PM:
SavingDiva: I never thought about it that way, but it makes sense. It’s like women doing plastic surgery to get attention from their husbands…
Sophia: LOL!!!! It’s okay, I immediately popped the word “needs” into your sentence when I was reading it, and it made sense to me… so when you wrote comment #2, I was confused for about 10 seconds about why you had to correct yourself LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Will go to link. Thanks!
Ms. MiniDucky
on Oct 30th, 2007
@ 10:11 PM:
So wait, the husband NEVER realized she was this bad even when the kids had health problems but no health insurance? How head in the sand IS this guy? There are just no words for that lady … at least no words that ought to be uttered aloud!
Fabulously Broke in the City
on Nov 1st, 2007
@ 9:38 PM:
Ms. Miniducky: My thoughts exactly…!!