Careful!!
It’s good to see John Patterson has not fallen sway to some on-line computer accounting system for his personal accounts in today's For Better or For Worse. It is also interesting to see the way he lists money needs:
a. Michael and Elizabeth don’t need money from us. Let translate that one for you: Elizabeth is paying for her own wedding. All Elly and John put into Michael’s wedding was to pay for that dress, and Elizabeth already has a dress.
b. They are paying for April’s education? I had gotten the impression April was paying for herself, considering how she has continued to work for Lilliput’s even though Elly sold the place. Of course, we have never actually seen that happen.
c. John and Elly need the part-time work to live quite nicely? Things are more expensive in Canada than I thought. Hello? John, you are a dentist who owned his own private practise from 1979 to 2007 and you sold it. Unless you cut Dr. Everett Callahan a tremendous bargain, you should not only not need the part-time work, but you should be fairly rolling in the dough. This part is a matter of perspective. I have known pretty wealthy people before, who tried to maintain they were barely making enough to live.
d. “Careful.”? John is worried about an oops baby at their age? What was all that honking and flapping for then? I suspect John really means that they are careful and don’t get caught selling their illegal contraband.
a. Michael and Elizabeth don’t need money from us. Let translate that one for you: Elizabeth is paying for her own wedding. All Elly and John put into Michael’s wedding was to pay for that dress, and Elizabeth already has a dress.
b. They are paying for April’s education? I had gotten the impression April was paying for herself, considering how she has continued to work for Lilliput’s even though Elly sold the place. Of course, we have never actually seen that happen.
c. John and Elly need the part-time work to live quite nicely? Things are more expensive in Canada than I thought. Hello? John, you are a dentist who owned his own private practise from 1979 to 2007 and you sold it. Unless you cut Dr. Everett Callahan a tremendous bargain, you should not only not need the part-time work, but you should be fairly rolling in the dough. This part is a matter of perspective. I have known pretty wealthy people before, who tried to maintain they were barely making enough to live.
d. “Careful.”? John is worried about an oops baby at their age? What was all that honking and flapping for then? I suspect John really means that they are careful and don’t get caught selling their illegal contraband.
posted by howard at 11:27 PM
12 Comments:
Oh, yes. Even though they have quite enough money to live far better than they do now, John and Elly will always think that the wolf is at their door. The meory of the first frantic years of their married life has warped how they see the world. Worse, Mike looks at his finances through their panicky eyes.
They are paying for April’s education? I had gotten the impression April was paying for herself, considering how she has continued to work for Lilliput’s even though Elly sold the place
This at least is consistent with what they were saying back in July of 2003, when they were being the Ugly Canoe Twins in Mexico.dje
I hope they do make Elizabeth pay for her own wedding. She's a professional woman pushing 30. This also isn't Anthony's first time around. If they're really as grown up as they pretend to be, they should pick up their own tab. I was actually kind of disgusted that the first concern about retirement that John had was whether Liz and Mike needed them to support them. That's pathetic. It should be assumed as a matter of course that two able-bodied adults can support themselves.
I am also not surprised they will at least be helping April pay for her education. The picture on whether they were helping Liz and how much was always very mixed. When Liz talked about it, she made out like she was getting no help at all. But her parents always talked as though they were footing a hefty portion of the bills. It's a fair bet that Liz was just posturing for Candace and her other friends. It seems John and Elly at least pick up a large chunk of the tab.
Furthermore, the fact that a teenager works is no indication of whether or not they're paying for college. My friends and I always worked during high school, even though our parents paid for college. Some people are industrious and want extra money. I was saving for grad school, which is a consideration for April too.
...When I was a mere 21 years old, fresh out of 4 years of Uni and working my first 'real' job, and getting married for the first (and so far only-and-still-lasting!) time, my husband and I fronted all the expenses for our wedding (minus the backyard-reception food catering, which my mom paid for) , including eight round-trip tickets for my husband's parents and siblings and their spouses to fly in for the wedding. (Oh yeah, and I sewed my own wedding dress; it didn't come from some bogus 'heritage crawl space'. :p)
I don't see Liz being so damned self-sufficient now, though she still tries to put up a good "front". And now HER only 50-some parents talk like they're "old" and about to go on a limited fixed "senior citizen" income (poor teenager April...)
This comic has a lot of "false ring" to it.
dreadedcandiru2,
Worse, Mike looks at his finances through their panicky eyes.
I for one, can't wait to see the Anthony and Elizabeth strips where they complain about their finances in imitation of Elly, John, and Mike. Somehow I suspect it will be something like, "We would have money if it weren't for Therese taking it all during my divorce."
aprilp_katje,
This at least is consistent with what they were saying back in July of 2003.
True, although it kind of proves my point about them having a good deal of money already, since they already had April covered 6 years before she would need the money. I think I am remembering the monthly letters where April laments that her parents force her to save most of her Lilliput's earnings for school.
qnjones,
I was actually kind of disgusted that the first concern about retirement that John had was whether Liz and Mike needed them to support them. That's pathetic. It should be assumed as a matter of course that two able-bodied adults can support themselves.
Unfortunately, I know quite a few able-bodied adults who can't and I have a feeling that having children dependent on you for money after they reach adulthood is a topic near and dear to Lynn Johnston's heart. As far as the Pattersons are concerned, Mike and Deanna needed help to get into their house and they almost moved out of Lovey's apartments until she cut them a break on the rent. As for Elizabeth, she lived with them every summer after she graduated and she just spent a few months living with them to cut her monetary expenses. These concerns would not be out-of-character, given Mike and Elizabeth's behaviour.
Some people are industrious and want extra money. I was saving for grad school, which is a consideration for April too.
I suppose if the Who's Who of Carrie Patterson, which shows the monetary funding of John Patterson's education by his parents is any example, then Elly and John feel the obligation to pay for April's undergraduate degree, but she must pay for any graduate degree work. Vet school will not be cheap, so this savings does make sense.
Anonymous,
my husband and I fronted all the expenses for our wedding (minus the backyard-reception food catering, which my mom paid for) , including eight round-trip tickets for my husband's parents and siblings and their spouses to fly in for the wedding. (Oh yeah, and I sewed my own wedding dress; it didn't come from some bogus 'heritage crawl space'. :p)
My wedding was like the Mike and Deanna second fake wedding. It was more expensive and I could not afford it with what I had in savings at the time. My in-laws (and their daughter) had an expectation of hotel ballroom-reception catering for at least 200 people (the biggest expense of our wedding), my father-in-law (who does photography) would only respect a professional photographer who had better equipment than he had (the second biggest expense), and so on and so on. At the time I got married, Dallas-area weddings averaged $14K, and ours was close to that amount. So, the in-laws and my parents chipped in a few $K of that and my credit cards and savings chipped in the rest. My bride was fresh out of school and did not have her first "real" job yet.
Actually, John and Elly have good reason to be concerned about their finances. They have retired quite prematurely, in their 50s. Three of their four parents have lived into their 80s. Both Elly's parents had extended illnesses and required care; who knows what Carrie and Will will need in the future. We know that the TT Train House was of comparable price to their old house (so they didn't bank anything on the sale) and they helped Mike with the mortgage on the old house as well, meaning they came out with less money after that transition. They still have April to help with university and possibly vet school--we don't know how much they will support a kid who pursues a graduate education. They both drive big gas guzzling luxury SUVs. John is known for his expensive hobby and his habit of making extravagant purchases. Elly claims to have a yen for exotic travel and wants to return to university herself (supposedly).
Furthermore, we know Elly claimed they were "struggling" financially up until after Elizabeth was born. That would put John and Elly in their 30s when they began to make money. So they have been saving for retirement for, at most, 25 years.
They are looking at 30 more years on the planet, with a low income and high expenses. Their dreams of being rich and retired are actually quite foolish. People who are looking to retire even at a normal age typically downsize their expenses before doing so. Real people in John and Elly's situation would have altered their lifestyle to a significant degree already. That John and Elly are just now realizing this means they are idiots to the nth degree.
howtheduck:
I for one, can't wait to see the Anthony and Elizabeth strips where they complain about their finances in imitation of Elly, John, and Mike. Somehow I suspect it will be something like, "We would have money if it weren't for Therese taking it all during my divorce."
Of course he'll say that and of course it will go unchallenged. They don't want to see the truth about him at all.
qnjones,
People who are looking to retire even at a normal age typically downsize their expenses before doing so. Real people in John and Elly's situation would have altered their lifestyle to a significant degree already. That John and Elly are just now realizing this means they are idiots to the nth degree.
I am not so sure about the high expenses. Savings-wise the Pattersons apparently had enough to cover what they believed would be April’s university expenses back in 2003, which was shortly before Liz graduated from university. What we don’t know is the amount that they have saved or how much John got for his business from Everett, which could be a good chunk of change, considering the client list John would have built up over 30 years. After being in the same house since 1979 and longer, chances are they paid off that mortgage or were really close to it. Assuming the Stibbs’ house was of a comparable price, they may have lost a little money helping out Mike, but they probably have little-to-no house payment from the Stibbs’ house. The biggest expense for most families aside from a house payment is food, and I don’t see any relief in that from the Pattersons’ eating habits. The food expense could probably put them in the red.
My guess is that the "help Mike out with the mortgage" meant that John and Elly are holding the mortgage, and gave him a really good price/rate. Just a guess though.
All I know is, my parents made more money than John and Elly likely did, and saved for retirement longer, and almost certainly made more on their investments, and yet they are still downsizing as they prepare for double retirement. I'm confident that John and Elly have not done adequate planning. Especially if they are just now talking about the impact on their lifestyle.
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