Thursday, August 25, 2011

A Fool and His Money

"The truest characters of ignorance are vanity and pride and arrogance." -Samuel Butler

You have GOT to be kidding me.

I have a new group of people who need a punch in the face. No... they don't need a punch in the face. They need a punch in the stomach, the two clenched fists in the back while they are bending over in pain, and a kick to the ribs while they're laying on the ground screaming in agony.

You know who deserves this treatment? Rich a$$holes who not only shell out exorbitant amounts of money for boutique, private school day cares, but have the unmitigated nerve to complain about the cost and the hassle of filling out the applications and going through the interviews.

In the past two months, I have overheard two people at work doing this. And it makes me sick. They mention it casually, then humble brag. You know what humble brag is, right? Complaining about something while you're really bragging about it?. Like saying, "Ugh I have to do all this packing for my two week trip to Paris... such a pain."

F*ck. You.

And f*ck these stupid rich a$$holes who burn their money on $40,000 a year DAY CARE. Not school. Day. Care. 40 grand.  Makes me sick.

Please don't get me wrong... I do not begrudge the rich. I am a capitalist at heart who believes that most people earn what they have and deserve to keep as much of it as possible.

But I also think WASTING money is a disgrace. A sin even. And spending that kind of money on daycare is a waste and a disgrace. It makes me so angry my sternum hurts.

My wife and I spend about $1,500 a MONTH on daycare. That's a lot of money... and Peanut is only in for three days a week. But if you do the math, it's a reasonable hourly rate.

This year, the price goes up because she is required to go five days a week for pre-K. It is, in our opinion, the best daycare around. The one where we felt she was safest and would receive the most attention and have the most fun. Is it worth it? Who the hell knows? That's the going rate for good, convenient child care in my town. Once again, capitalism wins.

But don't you dare sit there, and shake your head in annoyance and tell ME how ridiculous it is to fill out the applications and jump through the hoops of these interviews for a day care... for an 18 MONTH OLD child. You. F*cking. Stupid. Rich. A$$hole. This is your choice. Your arrogant, dumba$$ choice.

A co-worker of mine who was ranting with me about this said it best: These people do this not because they have to, but because they want to. They are blinded by the status of living in New York (or any other trendy metropolitan area). They feel maintaining that status and lifestyle is more important than what truly is best for their children. Having multiple kids and being able to live in New York is a sign of wealth. And these shallow d-bags will do anything to keep up that appearance.

I truly believe the care the Peanut is getting at a fraction of the cost is just as good if not better than what these rich a$$holes are buying for their kids.

Folks, we are raising a generation of d-bags, and this is one example of how we're doing it. What do you say to a child who eventually finds out his or her parents are shelling out that kind of money for daycare? For a status symbol?

Money isn't child's play
What next? A Bentley Big Wheel? Flying the kid and all of his snot-nosed daycare friends to Disney World for his fourth birthday?

How about giving me the 40 grand? I'll pay off this year's daycare bill and put the rest away for ALMOST a semester of college for the Peanut. You jerkoff. I WISH I had your problems.

My wife and I both make very good salaries. We both work because we want to, but more because we both HAVE to. While we chose to live in a town that is expensive, because of the schools and the commutability to the city, we recognize that was our choice. That doesn't mean we don't second guess our decision every time a problem pops up in the house and we have no disposable money to pay for it. (Hello, home equity line!)

We're looking forward to next year when the Peanut starts Kindergarten - in public schools (Hello, high property taxes) - so we can be rid of the day care bill.

Then again, we're planning on having a second by then...

8 comments:

  1. You are right, the "child industry" is crazy. I'd love to hear your take on the ridiculous world of club sports for kids.

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  2. Hahah i couldn't agree more with you mate, rich people make me sick not because they are rich cause i think it's great that they are christ i would love to be that rich that i didn't have to worry about anything but the fact of the matter is with us only having one income atm things are tough that we just about cover everything every month.
    But to hear rich people complain, oh yes i would certainly be willing to be the one to give them a good kick in the gut - so the next time your planning on giving a rich whining d-bag a good kick in then give me a shout, i'll save up the money and fly to the US to help you!

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  3. Love. This.

    All those parents are doing (in my opinion) is adding to the entitlement attitude that kids these days are growing up with. They don't have to EARN anything because Mommy and Daddy will GIVE it to them. Pisses me off to no end.

    But then again, I've had a really craptastic day. Although I'm pretty sure that if I was my chipper and cheerful self, I'd still agree with you.

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  4. @laughingmom: I haven't had any experience with that personally. But I can image the parents, kids and coaches are all "difficult" to deal with.

    @non stop: You hit the nailon the head with the word ENTITLEMENT. That is a dangerous thing no matter your economic standing. Breeds laziness.

    @Ben: I want you on my side when the zombie apocalypse strikes!

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  5. You have hit a sore point with me. The "humble brag" is my biggest effing pet peeve. I thought it was a southern thing, didn't realize it was a nationwide epidemic. I get this from my fellow mommies "my kids are just so spoiled. I don't know what to do with them. Katie asked for a $200 tampon so I got it for her...*sigh* where does she learn this stuff?"
    Okay, a) You just want me to know that you bought your daughter a $200 tampon and b) STOP BUYING HER STUPID CRAP AND SHE WON"T BE SO SPOILED

    I loved working, I worked the whole time my boy was little, but in the current economy, with my lack of education/skills, and three kids, working would actually COST us money. We'd pay more in day care than I'd make. I'm going to use this as an example to make sure my girls get some marketable skills. I'm good at a lot of things, but most of them I'd get arrested for trying to make money with.

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  6. Ummm.
    Wait until your child gets a little older and you see what passes for 'normal' for so many in this town.

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  7. My husband and I struggle everyday to make ends meet. We live in a small town in Wisconsin and have "small town jobs." Just two years ago, we lived in the city with a high income. Neither of us were happy. Due to the economy, we downsized our entire lives. We now have time together and time with our beautiful daughter who is 6 months. Just yesterday we got to see her crawl for the first time! Those people who waste so much of there time worried about their status will never understand the joy we feel knowing our daughter. They have everything they want because they have no idea what they're missing.

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  8. I know I'm a little late on commenting on this post, but I just had to.
    When my Ladybug was just learning to crawl, I went to work for a premier top-notch "preschool" (read: Daycare). I got 50% off of her tuition there, because I was an employee. The parents of the children I cared for were pilots, professional golfers, business executives, and Heaven knows what else.
    I paid about $600 a month for Ladybug's daycare. This is half off.
    The only reason I could afford it (which, honestly, I couldn't afford it but I did) was because of my discount.

    However- My daughter was learning sign language before she could talk. The 2 year olds in my classroom knew their colors, they knew their abc's, they knew their letters by flash card, same with numbers and animals. they knew sign language, they could talk more fluently with their hands AND mouths than most kindergartners could with just their words. I truly saw the benefit of where my money was going. Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I would not have imagined that there was that much of a difference between the education she was getting in daycare compared to the baby-sitting she was getting for cheaper, elsewhere.

    What I'm TRYING to say (in way too many words as usual) is that sometimes, you really do get more bang for your buck.
    *Disclaimer: I'm from a small town, a rural area where people just aren't used to spending that kind of money on anything. I worked there while living in The Woodlands, an upperclass suburb of Houston, Texas.

    ReplyDelete

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