I've been using a debt card for the longest time because it deducts from my checking account. I don't do the thing where I put in a pin at checkout, I always use it like a credit card.
I've stuck with this for many years because I figured credit cards wouldn't allow automatic bill pay, since the whole point of a credit card is to trick people into carrying over a debt from month to month. But it seems that some cards do allow this now?
Vanguard's Money Market account gives 4.7% APY, and supports automatic bill pay. So I was thinking about moving money out of my basically zero-interest checking account and putting it into that instead, and then getting a cash-back credit card as well. Since that seems to be how the world works.
So my questions are: does this make sense? Is there any risk associated with this that I'm missing? I've only ever had one proper credit card, a long time ago, and as a result I tend not to trust credit card providers.
And then there's the question of which card I should try and get. Difficulty: I never borrow money and so have no credit. It looks like Fidelity offers a simple card with no fees and 2% cash back. Except if you actually read the fine print it isn't 2% anything, it's "2 points per dollar." Although I guess the points are worth one cent each if you are willing to deposit that money into a Fidelity account. Which is fine, I have a Fidelity account already.
Maybe Fidelity also does a similar money market with bill pay thing that Vanguard does? I'd imagine they do. Could I auto pay from my Fidelity account to pay off my Fidelity credit card? That just seems like a debit card.
I also have an account with US Bank. and have had an account with them for a long time, and I've seen some people praising a particular US Bank card. Maybe I should get one of those instead? I imagine they'd give me one. I've had an account with them for so long that I think I'd get a pass on the no-credit thing. Except that one seems like a more complicated scheme. I'm not enthusiastic about that.

My spouse and I have been working in a small software business for a few years. The team I was on completed a multi-year project (on time). As part of this multiple year project, as an incentive, I was supposed to get a substantial bonus/payout next month, and then another moderate bonus in a year if I stayed and moved over to the new company. However, the agreement with the third-party company somehow collapsed. Though they were essentially paying us the entire time for the dev work, they decided they now want to throw it all away and are not going to go through with the acquisition leaving the software company I work for, which nearly exclusively relied on this client, essentially out of business.
My goal is to somehow figure out how to rework my entire financial position to see if any of this is salvageable with the time I have left.
I could find another role but I may have to take a substantial pay cut for a short time just so I can quickly ramp up on technology that is desirable in my area and get some skin on my very barren resume as I've been with one place for so long writing very niche software for a niche platform. I'm just worried about survivability even if it's 6 months. Also burning through any retirement is truly terrifying to me at this point in our lives and I just assume I'm working until at least 67.

The good:

• I have a paid-off cabin + property in a desirable location that I could sell for at least $60k+ (maybe a little more if I didn't want to sell it quickly). I could maybe rent the cabin but I'd want to do it long term, and that would maybe bring in $6k a year? Renting doesn't seem viable, but who knows. It's too far away to make AirBNB manageable.
• I have some pretty substantial physical assets that I know I could sell off quickly if I absolutely had to for another $50-60k.
• I have other smaller assets that I could liquidate that would take time, but I could maybe get another $20k+ out of them but not quickly. It would take a chunk of time.
• I could move the family member in the rental into our current home which has essentially a separate apartment in the basement at the same rate. Combined the rental could bring in $1.5k a month, the family member would add $500/mo for a few years while they're getting on their feet, that could add $2k a month to the income stream.
• We have about $360k in total retirement, $225k in stocks, $65k is in 401k/Roth/SEP, $40k in a VUL, and $30k left in a money market account for emergencies. Also about $20k in HSA.
• There is a slim possibility I might get at least $100k, but it's all conjecture at this point and I can't make big decisions on that or trust that it will happen. From what I understand I'd have to take a hit on taxes for this money as now it'd come in as cash income instead of a stock conversion.

The Bad:

Job market collapsed in my area in '09. BK in 2010. Lost everything including a house I had moderate equity in. Had to live off 100% of my 401k withdraws and lost 10 years of retirement and equity because where I lived at the time it was so bad I couldn't even get a job at a grocery store and I had two babies at the time. I wasn't just broke, I was super-broke for an extended period of time. I still feel the scars from this.
Eventually dug myself out, learned new skills, and moved to a different area with more job options but I was still behind both in salary and definitely in retirement for years after that. This bonus was supposed to help me recover my retirement and debt from the crash + BK. Now I'm in my mid 40s, my partner is in their early 50s and we've only recently gotten ourselves to a place that started to feel safe for retirement and back on track and started putting away in our Roth + HSA regularly and wanted to start maxing that out asap.
And now it feels like quicksand all over again.

The Ugly:

The stupidest thing I did was because we'd reached this milestone towards the end of last year and I stupidly assumed it was a done-deal -- I rewarded myself by going out and getting a vehicle I'd always wanted. I paid into it with some down payment to get me in it at 3%, but because of market conditions and other programs that reduced the value of the vehicle a few months later -- even if I sold it 3rd party I'm probably at least $25k upside down in if i tried to sell it outright.
We now live in a HCOL area so housing is kind of outrageous. Due to a medical emergency with my spouses parents we had to purchase a house quickly a couple years ago to accommodate her parent with pretty significant medical issues on very short notice so we took a bit of a bath to acquire it quickly. Because of the timing we had to float mortgage payments at two properties for almost a year which burned a lot of our emergency savings and then some of the profit from selling our previous house. Also lost the 2.75% rate 😭.
She also couldn't work during most of the year so she could take care of them which didn't help.
We were able to find our current home on short notice that met their needs at the time, but then her parent died less than a year later and now we are in a house that's way more expensive and way larger than we really need. Also we are now back to the beginning of the new mortgage where we're paying almost all interest even with 20% to avoid PMI. With the market going up and what I have in it, even with the couple years of almost all interest payments, I could maybe get $150-$175k out of it if I had to sell.
We have a rental property that is nearly paid off (maybe $60k left?). We had good tenants for quite a few years, but the last one was horrid and basically destroyed it. I just put a bunch of remodeling into the house to update it and make it easier to transition between tenants if we had to. But because I'd assumed I was going to be paying it off with the bonus, I'd paid for a lot of the first round of work with cash and put the materials on a CC. Also in the process another family member was struggling with a life change so to help them get on their feet and have a second set of eyes on the property while it was all happening -- we let them stay in the house for the last year at cost (only charged them the mortgage). With that all wrapped up, now I'm in the position where it's technically costing me money to have them in there even at cost. They can't afford regular rent. That agreement is technically up in July.
I have about 40k in misc high-interest debt from material costs from the remodel.
How:
I'm trying to determine what the best course of action is at this point. I'm concerned about keeping my head above water on monthly expenses as it's going to quickly snowball to an unmaintainable nightmare if I don't get things under control fast. But at the same time I do not want to jeopardize our retirement. But I absolutely have to reduce the monthly burn rate to make this work. If anyone has insights or suggestions, I'm all ears.

1. I have to get all the high interest debt paid off first ASAP. It's more than 15% of our income per month if I don't take care of it soon. Because I depleted most of my emergency savings, should I take the rest of the cash out of the emergency fund? I could spend a couple months selling the larger assets, and either replenish the MM or go ahead and max out Roth's for the year then replenish or switch to HYSA for a couple percentage points?
2. I really don't know what the best approach on the vehicle is. I could try and see what a dealership might do on a much more sustainable vehicle for 1/3 the payment, but at the cost of throwing away $30k in cash most likely. I don't want to finance the delta as it completely defeats the point. Should I just pay it off so it's not taking up 20% of the income per month and keep it until the wheels fall off?
3. From what I understand, I assume my VUL is completely pointless at this point. The whole purpose was to provide a vehicle for the large bonus. Should I move the value in it to a more traditional investment since all the benefits were reliant on the bonus lump sum? I didn't really like the VUL as it seems insanely complicated anyway. Not sure if this should be more of a financial advisor question or not.
4. Should I keep the rental property or sell it and put that towards my current mortgage to try and greatly reduce the monthly cost of my home? With maybe $1.5k a month in rental income -- paying off my current house would save me almost $2.5k a month. Even ideally, the rental income would take 10yrs before I got the same benefit. However one of the reasons I might want to keep this property is if things got truly dire over the next few years I could throw the bulk of my stuff in storage and we could move into it if absolutely necessary because it's only about $400/mo in taxes and insurance where our current home is more like $1.2k. If I had no other choice, that is at least someplace I could always live a few years and squirrel almost everything away.
5. The mortgage is the biggest expense in our budget and at nearly $4k/mo, it is almost 1/3 of our combined current income (if nothing changes). If I take a hit on salary in the short term it could be 1/2 or MORE of current income at least for some short period of time. Does it make sense to keep it for x years and then sell since I'm already a few years into the loan and just figure out how to accelerate the principal so we can stay in it long enough to not completely have wasted the last few years of payments? Then hopefully 1031 it into a more affordable home in prep for retirement?
6. In a world where I got the $100k or more, is it worth while to pay towards my current home & do a recast, or put that in an investment? I'm a little worried about binding it up in the house, but the long term benefits may be worth while in a few years if I can just bust my ass and get the delta covered and get it to a point where I'm not burning money only on interest.
7. Literally any other suggestions! Especially the most effective uses in the case of the much smaller bonus if it does come in and what I should do with that given the current scenarios.

An open letter to Benedictine College and Harrison Butker
I first came across the Harrison Butker’s 2025 commencement speech at Benedictine College on Twitter. It was a short snippet of the speech and I was in disbelief of what I heard. Intrigued, I went to YouTube to find a recording of the whole speech before drawing further conclusions. Now, I am nearly beyond words.
I grew up in the Catholic Church, attended a Catholic high school, and do still consider myself to be Catholic, although not without my own qualms with the church. However, this is not about that. I am also a more recent college graduate. I graduated from a large public university 5 years ago and am looking forward to obtaining my graduate degree next year, both degrees I have worked incredibly hard for and am immensely proud of. I don’t remember my own commencement speech, but if it was anything like this, I am glad I don’t- I loved my undergraduate experience and will be proud to have my diploma framed and hanging one day. Harrison Butker’s speech is condescending, out of touch, and against the very values of your school. You both, Benedictine College and Harrison Butker, owe these graduating students an apology.
As a proudly Catholic college, I do not hold issue you or your choice in speaker with promoting Catholicism and the beliefs of the Catholic Church, even in regard to politics; while I may not agree, that is your choice to do so and one that underlies the foundation of your school.
The class of 2025, as with many recent graduates and current students, have had to work through a unique set of hardships as a whole, beyond the personal hardships we all face. Mr. Butker is not a recent graduate, nor is he working directly with a school or university. College is a change for everyone from high school, with the course load, schedule, and independence, but beyond the nervousness and uncertainty that comes with this new phase, students are able to rely on the fact that since its inception, the college experience has been relatively stable, until the COVID-19 pandemic. Students, and faculty, were forced to rapidly adapt to a situation that we knew very little about and had no history to guide us. To minimize that, say that “it is not unique,” especially as someone who was not experiencing it from an educational aspect, is disrespectful to students and faculty, regardless of beliefs on the issue. Pandemics are not new, nor are controversial policies, but what these students faced, was new. I know of no other time during our history, where thousands of students were nearly overnight told to immediately leave their housing and worry about their finances and shelter as not everyone has the means to find new housing or go back to their parents, have food outside of the dinings halls, or access to a computer and internet to complete their coursework where they had planned on attending in person or using university resources, when these things are apart of what students pay thousands of dollars for or take loans to afford as part of their college expenses. Whether or not you support these policies and changes, that does not lessen the unique hardships faced or make a student wrong for adhering to them when failure to do so could result in greater consequences. If there is another time where this has happened, I am happy to be referred so that I can learn. It is one thing to say that the feelings of uncertainty and anxiety around new policies and adapting to them are not unique, but another to say that the challenges these students faced as a result of policy is not unique, it is disrespectful, condescending, and completely out of place as someone who did not experience it.
Beyond this, it is even more disrespectful to diminish the accomplishments of particularly the female graduates of your university by allowing your speaker to advocate forgoing using their degree and instead, choose being a wife and mother. To Benedictine College, if this is what your school advocates, then why charge tuition to your female students? How will they pay for it or pay off their loans for it? Do you expect your female graduates to marry a man who will pay off their debts? What happens if they don’t or if they choose a vocation in religious life, are their debts forgiven? To take it a step further, why admit female students at all if their degree is not meant to be used? A yearly tuition of $35,000 seems a greedy ask to attain what becomes a useless degree. Maybe this is not something you support, but I have yet to see any statement indicating dissent with this position. The Benedictine sisterhood and St. Scholastica, its founder, take pride in education and she herself do not choose the vocation of marriage. How would St. Scholastica be able to attend your college when she found her vocation to be in the religious life? To Harrison Butker, how dare you? I am happy for you and your family that your wife can be a homemaker if that’s what she wants to do, but that is completely out of touch for what nearly all of these students will face as they graduate. Your family can comfortably live on just your salary of over $4 million per year, but you are a minority in this situation. You speak of not allowing cost of living to prohibiting where you live, but with your salary, I’m sure there are few areas you cannot find suitable housing and access to food. Is one supposed to choose to live in circumstances where they do not have a stable shelter in favor of a more traditional priest? Earlier in your speech you mention “accepting your lane and staying in it,” I believe you should have taken your own advice, because your lane is far wealthier than mine and likely all of the graduates you are speaking to. Most families will need two salaries to live in even a fraction of the comfort you live and even then, may not be comfortable. From what I understand, you went to GT on a scholarship, another minority, factor in student loans, and the comfort fraction becomes even smaller. Should a family live in a constant state of worry about money so that a woman can be a homemaker? You spoke of charity and the platform God has given you, but I do not see you using your wealth for charitable acts to support the lifestyle you advocate in these graduates. You decide to speak for women and presume they are most excited at the prospect of marriage and children when you are speaking to congratulate them on a major accomplishment that has little to do with their future as a wife or mother. Can a woman not find fulfillment and a calling as a valuable member of the workforce and a wife and mother. As a woman who anticipates graduating from medical school in one year, is being a doctor not part of God’s plan for me? As I understand it, my vocation, is not between being a wife and mother or being a doctor, but of the calling to serve as a married, single, or religious person. You make it seem as though I cannot be both a doctor and family woman one day. You make remarks about controlling how and when children are conceived. You condemn IVF and surrogacy when a large portion of woman and men in this country struggle with infertility or health conditions making a pregnancy incredibly dangerous. If a woman cannot naturally have a child then is she not to be a mother? Do you also condemn adoption as it a choice and controlled method of becoming a parent? Is it only if a woman is unable to conceive naturally that it is acceptable to work rather than be a homemaker? I have always been taught in my experience with the Catholic Church to welcome children into your life whenever they come about, not as a barrier to being a working mom. You have laid out the options as black or white, mother or worker, when I believe the advice is to be open to and welcome God’s plan for you in both areas of your life. Not only do you advocate for the females graduates to forgo the workforce when this is an unrealistic path for most, but in doing so, you add extra pressure to the male graduates to provide in an unrealistic way. At what cost do men take higher paying jobs they are unhappy in so that their wives can be homemakers? You have worked hard to get to where you are, say you are doing something you love, and are able to show the fruits of that labor, should these graduates not show all of the knowledge and skills they have gained through earning their degree?
To Harrison Butker, I, too, am Catholic. I believe we also are similar in that we question right from wrong and do not just blindly accept the things that are fed to us. You say that our priests and bishops are anointed by God, but quickly question that anointing. I now question you, in who you are to question who has been anointed by God. You point out it is your duty as a father to lead your son. In our faith, we call our priests Father, but you call us to question and right them, should they not lead us? Should we not follow the quote you use of trusting our priests to translate the teachings of the Bible for us? Does your son question you and what is your response? You call for priests and bishops to be righted but also to stay in our lane. I do not mean to support the actions of our church leaders either way, but as an individual am not following what you ask of these graduates.
To Harrison Butker, you say you speak from experience, but it seems your experiences are vastly different than most of the graduates you speak to. Your statements contradict one another, in questioning our church leaders, staying in our lane, and even speaking of your wife as someone who converted to Catholicism but later question being with someone of a different faith, not allowing for change. As I have stated before, it is one thing to speak of shared feelings, but another to speak of a shared experience. You give advice in black or white rather than ideas for consideration and reflection. Listening to your commencement speech, I can’t imagine I would have found excitement for the future and wisdom as I start to move forward on my own. Had this been my speech to give, I couldn’t speak to a lot of the challenges these students faced, but can empathize with the fears of stepping out of the student life and uncertainty about my future. I could speak to how being able to adapt to challenges, facing hardship in my own way has made me strong and able to persevere and that they too have grown to be stronger and able to persevere too, even if they are not confident. I could speak to how money is not always the most important thing in life, your church, your family, your community are all things to reflect on when making decisions about the future. But, this was not my speech, it was yours. My ideas may not be right, maybe it has more “fluff” than yours, but they do not tell me the right or wrong way to live my life, as that is between me and God.
To Benedictine College, much of this is address to Harrison Butker. However, this is the person you chose and supported in giving a commencement speech. What is address to him, is also a reflection of what you support and believe, and the message you hope to send your graduates off with. I am not one of your graduates, happy to say I am not with this speech, but at least for me, this is the representation I have of your school.
To Benedictine College and Harrison Butker, you both owe the graduates an apology for these disrespectful and confusing sentiments as they enter a new and stressful chapter of their lives.
To the Benedictine College class of 2025, congratulations!

Hey folks! My fiance lost his job after the company got bankrupted, and he had been unemployed for 5 months. I moved to here on condition that I wont work and concentrate on developing my online project. I spent all my savings during those months being with him and decided to go to work myself. A week later after that he finally got a job. I didn't enjoy my work much and he told me I can quit. But at that time I didn't even know how big the debt was. It's 2 cards of Mashreq bank. Both had the limit 30k. Because he was not able to pay for almost half a year, the total amount of debt rn is almost -80 k dh. To say i was in shock, like nthg to say. It was a very dark period. And it's still continuing. I wanted to ask you guys if it's possible to refinance that debt by finding better conditions in another bank? We have talked to mashreq to make it 1k dh per each card monthly. They said we should pay 20 000 dh and then they can do it. Or pay 10 000 dh and then monthly payment will be 2k per card. They gave us only this week. We are trying to collect this amount but I'm afraid we won't be able to do it. Plus we are not able to pay 4 000 dh monthly. Means we need to find 20 k for a down payment. What other options are possible in this country? I Googled a lot about the individual bankruptcy but seems in UAE you can not do it as an individual. I feel lost. Because of all this situation I can not concentrate on my project. I've been freelancing for so many yrs already that working for smbd is really killing me. All my client base is in Russia. I will have to start here frm scratch if i go freelance. Plus I'll need a budget for advertisement anyway, get a driving license here, etc etc. All of that makes wokring for smbd is a better option. He is from Palestine btw. So leaving home is not an option. I'm frm Russia, and our political situation is also not a rainbow. So what can we do in such a situation with the cards?

I got paid 30k from an old job.
I have the following debts:
5k interest free (until June 2026) 5k @ 26% interest argh 5k no interest ever 1.5k @ 8% interest
Should I pay all or some?
I was thinking pay the interest ones and then continue to chip away at the others with my weekly earnings.
30k is all I have. Also don't judge me for my previous bad decisions. Trust me, I know they were bad.

I am Female (26) found out about my husband's affair. he cheated me with his classmate before our marriage when we were in 4 years of relationship. I need time to process the pain but deep down I had already forgive him and wanted to start fresh. Yesterday his ex send me their photos intentionally and I think she is doing this on purpose ruin our marriage. At the same time I also think my husband shoe where still have feelings for her. i don't know how to deal with this situation. I feels like my husband is also getting blackmailed for the same. I confronted him and he accepted everything about the affair and said "I was not sure about marriage but then I realize I was doing wrong and decided to marry you because I realized I love you".
TL;DR Should I trust him on this? the ex( classmate) is divorce with a 6 yr old kid.
To understand the situation better let me explain the whole timeline.

• Me and my husband (then BF) have a huge debt on us which will take IDK may be 5 years to be out of this situation. We take some wrong decisions in life were we were facing harassment due to debt. which created distance in our relationship. The major issue started 3 months before our engagement where he was secretly seeking counselling for his depression and i found some hospital bills in his pocket. I have seen him suffer mentally a lot during that phase and the cheating ( According to him) had happened in that time period around 2 to 3 months before engagement. He met her between 3-4 month before our engagement.
• We get married 6 months after our engagement and between this period he was still in self doubt and grief. he told me about his financial situation and how he might not able to provide a luxury life to me. He fairly explained to me about all the challenges and mental harassment we can face due to this debt. At the same time he explained everything to his and my parents too. He said he don't want to give me a bad life after marriage and i am still free to leave and no questions will be asked. He also said that he might me ruining my life because of his actions and that time i did not understand the depth of this matter.
• After marriage i never saw him doing less, ignoring, or other things. He use to and still making efforts for me and he is totally changed person as he use to be around 3-4 years ago. and may be this efforts and willingness to change is keeping me in this relationship.
• As he explained this cheating happened before our engagement. I have noticed that he use to give each and every detail of his ex to me whether he is meeting her or her brother. he helped her brother to get a job as they were also facing layoffs. As some event occurred he disconnect this connection before our marriage and even when we are returning from our honeymoon she tried to contact him and he ask her not to call him again.
• It's been 5 months in marriage and almost a year in engagement and i have a started noticing she is trying to contact me or his family members with texts. My husband has never shared a cheating thing but he indirectly told me that he had done things that might hurt me and he ask me before he blocked her on my phone. She emailed me some photos 1 week ago and he immediately accept his fault and explained everything to me. Over this time he is try his best to take care of me calmly accepting and answering all my questions he is ok with what every i decide for us.
• Now the thing is i have seen him change a lot and he has been putting lots of efforts in this marriage which is making me forgive him for everything. He was a chain smoker and drinker and it's been 2 months he is sober and haven't smoke. he is keeping all his promises to be better person. But i Definity need time to heal and forgive him for good.
• There are still questions in my mind that why she is still contacting and why is he not taking any legal action. I want to know that are practical questions i should ask him to kill the devils in my head. I want to ask him many questions but due to being too emotional i am failing to think straight and line up some straight forward questions which will give me clarity on this matter. What questions should i ask to know if he is still emotionally attracted to her and manipulating me? or he is speaking the truth.
• We both want to start fresh but before trusting him i want to clear all my doubts to start trusting him again. You as a reader not at all thinking emotionally so questions from your end definitely will help he to get more clearly.

Biographical Index of the Framers of the Constitution

 * = didn't sign the Constitution 

Connecticut: Oliver Ellsworth*, William. Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman
Delaware: Richard Bassett, Gunning Bedford, Jr., Jacob Broom, John Dickinson, George Read
Georgia: Abraham Baldwin, William Few, William Houston, William L. Pierce
Maryland: Daniel Carroll, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Luther Martin, James McHenry John F. Mercer
Massachusetts: Elbridge Gerry, Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King, Caleb Strong
New Hampshire: Nicholas Gilman, John Langdon
New Jersey: David Brearly, Jonathan Dayton, William C. Houston*, William Livingston, William Paterson
New York: Alexander Hamilton, John Lansing, Jr., Robert Yates
North Carolina: William. Blount, William R. Davie, Alexander Martin, Richard. Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson
Pennsylvania: George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Benjamin Franklin, Jared Ingersoll Thomas Mifflin, Gouverneur Morris, Robert Morris, James Wilson
Rhode Island did not send any delegates to the Constitutional Convention.
South Carolina: Pierce Butler, Charles Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Rutledge
Virginia: John Blair, James Madison Jr., George Mason, James McClurg, Edmund J. Randolph, George Washington, George Wythe
What happened to the founders of the Constitution?
¹. The founders of the Constitution, also known as the Framers, played various roles in shaping early American politics and government. Here is what happened to some of the key figures: ². George Washington - Became the first President of the United States. ³. John Adams - Became the second President of the United States. ⁴. homas Jefferson - became the third President of the United States. He Played a significant role in early American politics, serving as the third President of the United States ⁵. James Madison - Became the fourth President of the United States. ⁶. James Monroe - Became the fifth President of the United States. ⁷. Alexander Hamilton - Played a key role in establishing the nation's financial system and was killed in a duel by Aaron Burr. ⁸. Benjamin Franklin - Passed away in 1790, after the Constitution was ratified. ⁹. Roger Sherman - Continued his political career and served in Congress. ¹⁰. Gouverneur Morris - Continued his political career and played a role in drafting the final version of the Constitution. ¹¹. John Dickinson - Played a role in early American politics and served in various government positions. ¹². George Mason - Opposed the Constitution's ratification and did not sign it. He continued to be involved in Virginia politics. ¹³. Elbridge Gerry - Signed the Constitution but later opposed it. He served as Vice President of the United States under James Madison. ¹⁴. William Paterson - Continued his legal and political career, serving as Governor of New Jersey. ¹⁵. Charles Pinckney - Continued his political career and served in various government positions. ¹⁶. John Rutledge - Served as Chief Justice of the United States and also as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. ¹⁷. Oliver Ellsworth - Played a role in early American government and served as Chief Justice of the United States. ¹⁸. John Jay - Played a significant role in early American politics, including serving as the first Chief Justice of the United States.
Here is how some of the key figures involved in the creation of the Constitution passed away:
• George Washington - Died of a severe throat infection in 1799. • James Madison - Died of heart failure in 1836. • Alexander Hamilton - Killed in a duel by Aaron Burr in 1804. • Benjamin Franklin - Passed away in 1790 due to old age and health complications. •John Adams - Died of natural causes in 1826. • Thomas Jefferson - Passed away due to natural causes in 1826. • James Monroe - Died of heart failure and tuberculosis in 1831. • Roger Sherman - Died of typhoid fever in 1793. • Gouverneur Morris - Died in 1816 after a carriage accident led to a leg amputation. • John Dickinson - Died of a stroke in 1808. • George Mason - Died of natural causes in 1792. • Elbridge Gerry - Died of a heart attack in 1814. • William Paterson - Died of complications from a urinary tract infection in 1806. • Charles Pinckney - Died in 1824 due to natural causes. • John Rutledge - Died by suicide in 1800. • Oliver Ellsworth - Died of a heart attack in 1807. • John Jay - Died of complications from paralysis in 1829.
Here is a brief overview of the success ratings of U.S. Presidents from George Washington to Joe Biden: George Washington - Considered highly successful for his leadership during the American Revolution and his role as the first President. - John Adams - Faced challenges like the Quasi-War with France but is respected for avoiding war and his diplomatic efforts. - Thomas Jefferson - Known for the Louisiana Purchase and expansion of the U.S. territory. - James Madison - Led the country through the War of 1812. - James Monroe - Oversaw the "Era of Good Feelings" and the Monroe Doctrine. - John Quincy Adams - Advocated for infrastructure and education but faced challenges from political rivals. - Andrew Jackson - Known for his populism and expansion of presidential powers. - Martin Van Buren - Faced economic challenges during the Panic of 1837. - William Henry Harrison - Died shortly after taking office, so his impact was limited. John Tyler - Faced challenges due to his succession from Harrison and his support of Texas annexation. - James K. Polk - Successful in achieving territorial expansion, including the Mexican-American War. - Zachary Taylor - Limited impact due to his short time in office before his death. - Millard Fillmore - Oversaw the Compromise of 1850 but faced criticism for his stance on slavery. Franklin Pierce - Faced challenges due to his support of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the growing tensions over slavery. James Buchanan - Criticized for his handling of the secession crisis that led to the Civil War. - Abraham Lincoln - Highly regarded for preserving the Union, abolishing slavery, and leading the country through the Civil War. Andrew Johnson - Faced impeachment but is recognized for his efforts in Reconstruction. Ulysses S. Grant - Known for his efforts in Reconstruction and the fight against the Ku Klux Klan. Rutherford B. Hayes - Oversaw the end of Reconstruction and efforts to reform civil service. James A. Garfield - Assassinated early in his term, limiting his impact. Chester A. Arthur - Known for civil service reform efforts. Grover Cleveland - Served non-consecutive terms and focused on economic issues. Benjamin Harrison - Oversaw economic growth but faced challenges in his bid for re-election. Grover Cleveland (2nd term) - Continued to focus on economic reforms. William McKinley - Led the country through the Spanish-American War and focused on economic prosperity. Theodore Roosevelt - Known for his progressive policies and trust-busting efforts. William **Howard Taft - Faced challenges within his party and with progressive reforms. Woodrow Wilson - Led the country through World War I and advocated for the League of Nations. Warren G. Harding - Oversaw economic growth but his administration was marred by scandal. Calvin Coolidge - Known for his economic policies and advocacy for limited government. Herbert Hoover - Faced the Great Depression and criticism for his handling of the crisis. Franklin D. Roosevelt - Led the country through the Great Depression and World War II, i, implementing the New Deal. Harry S. Truman - Oversaw the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War. Dwight D. Eisenhower - Known for his leadership during World War II and his focus on infrastructure. John F. Kennedy - Led the country during the Cuban Missile Crisis and advocated for civil rights. Lyndon B. Johnson - Focused on civil rights and the Great Society programs but faced criticism for his handling of the Vietnam War. Richard Nixon - Resigned due to the Watergate scandal, overshadowing his foreign policy achievements. Gerald Ford - Took office after Nixon's resignation and faced challenges with the economy and foreign policy. Jimmy Carter - Faced challenges with the economy and foreign policy, including the Iran Hostage Crisis. Ronald Reagan - Known for his conservative policies and role in ending the Cold War. George H. W. Bush - Oversaw the end of the Cold War and the Gulf War. Bill Clinton - Focused on economic prosperity and domestic policies but faced impeachment. George W. Bush - Led the country through the 9/11 attacks and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Barack Obama - Known for the Affordable Care Act and efforts to revive the economy after the 2008 financial crisis. Donald Trump - Controversial presidency… Joseph Biden - Total nut job...
Here are some of the notable negative aspects or controversies associated with each U.S. President:
• George Washington - Controversies surrounding his ownership of slaves and his role in the Whiskey Rebellion. • John Adams - Alien and Sedition Acts restricting civil liberties and targeting immigrants. • Thomas Jefferson - Hypocrisy regarding slavery while advocating for liberty, and the Embargo Act's economic impact. • James Madison - Struggles during the War of 1812 and criticisms of the Treaty of Ghent. • James Monroe - Economic challenges during the Panic of 1819 and controversies over the Missouri Compromise. • John Quincy Adams - Unpopular "Corrupt Bargain" election and difficult relationship with Congress. • Andrew Jackson - Treatment of Native Americans, particularly the Trail of Tears, and his use of executive power. • Martin Van Buren - Blamed for the economic downturn known as the Panic of 1837. • William Henry Harrison - Limited impact due to his short tenure, so criticisms were not fully developed. • John Tyler - Annexation of Texas and conflicts with Congress. • James K. Polk - Handling of the Mexican-American War and accusations of expansionism. • Zachary Taylor - Short presidency limited the development of criticisms. • Millard Fillmore - Support for the Compromise of 1850 and stance on slavery. • Franklin Pierce - Support of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and handling of slavery issues. • James Buchanan - Inaction leading up to the Civil War and support for pro-slavery policies. • Abraham Lincoln - Handling of the Civil War, suspension of civil liberties, and Emancipation Proclamation. • Andrew Johnson - Opposition to civil rights legislation and conflicts with Congress. • Ulysses S. Grant - Administration plagued by corruption scandals. • Rutherford B. Hayes - End of Reconstruction and the Compromise of 1877. • James A. Garfield - Assassination limited the development of criticisms. • Chester A. Arthur - Ties to political machines and patronage practices. • Grover Cleveland - Handling of the Panic of 1893 and labor unrest. • Benjamin Harrison - Lack of leadership during economic downturn. • Grover Cleveland (2nd term) - Continued challenges with economic issues and labor disputes. • William McKinley - Handling of the Spanish-American War and accusations of imperialism. • Theodore Roosevelt - Trust-busting policies and involvement in the Panama Canal controversy. • William Howard Taft - Conflicts with progressive Republicans and conservation issues. • Woodrow Wilson - Handling of racial issues, civil liberties, and Treaty of Versailles. • Warren G. Harding - Administration marred by scandals like Teapot Dome. • Calvin Coolidge - Laissez-faire approach to the economy and limited government intervention. • Herbert Hoover - Handling of the Great Depression and perceived inaction. • Franklin D. Roosevelt - Criticism of New Deal policies and attempt to expand the Supreme Court. • Harry S. Truman - Handling of the Korean War and accusations of communist infiltration. • Dwight D. Eisenhower - Criticisms of domestic policies and civil rights actions. • John F. Kennedy - Bay of Pigs invasion and Cuban Missile Crisis. • Lyndon B. Johnson - Handling of the Vietnam War and civil rights issues. • Richard Nixon - Resignation due to the Watergate scandal. • Gerald Ford - Pardon of Richard Nixon and economic challenges. • Jimmy Carter - Handling of the Iran Hostage Crisis and economic difficulties. • Ronald Reagan - Economic policies, Iran-Contra affair, and environmental deregulation. • George H. W. Bush - Breaking "no new taxes" pledge and economic management. • Bill Clinton - Monica Lewinsky scandal and foreign policy decisions. • George W. Bush - Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina response, and economic policies. • Barack Obama - Affordable Care Act and foreign policy actions. • Donald Trump - Divisive policies, impeachment, and COVID-19 pandemic response. • Joe Biden - U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, COVID-19 response, and economic policies.
All had their problems but, none as bad as Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and the nut job Joseph Biden.
Here is the political party affiliation of each U.S. President: George Washington - No formal party affiliation, though he is generally associated with the Federalist Party. John Adams - Federalist Party Thomas Jefferson - Democratic-Republican Party James Madison - Democratic-Republican Party James Monroe - Democratic-Republican Party John Quincy Adams - Democratic-Republican/National Republican Andrew Jackson - Democratic Party Martin Van Buren - Democratic Party William Henry Harrison - Whig Party John Tyler - Whig Party James K. Polk - Democratic Party Zachary Taylor - Whig Party Millard Fillmore - Whig Party Franklin Pierce - Democratic Party James Buchanan - Democratic Party Abraham Lincoln - Republican Party Andrew Johnson - Democratic Party (National Union) Ulysses S. Grant - Republican Party Rutherford B. Hayes - Republican Party James A. Garfield - Republican Party Chester A. Arthur - Republican Party Grover Cleveland - Democratic Party Benjamin Harrison - Republican Party Grover Cleveland (2nd term) - Democratic Party William McKinley - Republican Party Theodore Roosevelt - Republican Party William Howard Taft - Republican Party Woodrow Wilson - Democratic Party Warren G. Harding - Republican Party Calvin Coolidge - Republican Party Herbert Hoover - Republican Party Franklin D. Roosevelt - Democratic Party Harry S. Truman - Democratic Party Dwight D. Eisenhower - Republican Party John F. Kennedy - Democratic Party Lyndon B. Johnson - Democratic Party Richard Nixon - Republican Party Gerald Ford - Republican Party Jimmy Carter - Democratic Party Ronald Reagan - Republican Party George H. W. Bush - Republican Party Bill Clinton - Democratic Party George W. Bush - Republican Party Barack Obama - Democratic Party Donald Trump - Republican Party Joe Biden - Democratic Party
What is the Whig party? The Whig Party was a political party in the United States that existed from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s.
Here are some key points about the Whig Party: Origins: The Whig Party emerged in the 1830s as a coalition of various anti-Jacksonian factions. They opposed the policies of Democratic President Andrew Jackson, particularly his expansion of executive power and his handling of the Bank of the United States. Beliefs: The Whigs supported a strong federal government, internal improvements such as infrastructure projects, a national banking system, and protective tariffs to promote industry. Leadership: Prominent Whig leaders included Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and William Henry Harrison. Presidential Success: Four Whig presidents served in office: William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Millard Fillmore. Decline: The party began to splinter over issues such as slavery, the Mexican-American War, and the Compromise of 1850. The rise of the anti-slavery Republican Party and internal divisions led to the decline of the Whig Party. Legacy: While the Whig Party itself dissolved in the 1850s, many former Whigs joined the Republican Party or other political movements. The Whigs left a legacy of advocating for economic development and opposition to executive overreach.
Explain the Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party was one of the first political parties in the United States. Here are some key points about the Democratic-Republican Party: Founding: The party was founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s in opposition to the Federalist Party led by Alexander Hamilton. Beliefs: The Democratic-Republicans favored a limited federal government, states' rights, agrarian interests, and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. They were critical of a strong central government and favored an agrarian society of small farmers. Leadership: Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were key figures in the party. Jefferson served as the third President of the United States from 1801 to 1809, and Madison succeeded him as the fourth President from 1809 to 1817. Opposition: The Democratic-Republicans opposed the Federalist Party's policies, including the Alien and Sedition Acts and a national bank. They supported the principles of the French Revolution and favored closer ties with France rather than Britain. Achievements: The Democratic-Republicans were responsible for the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, which doubled the size of the United States. They also oversaw the abolition of the national debt during Jefferson's presidency. Transformation: Over time, the Democratic-Republican Party split into factions, with some members eventually forming the Democratic Party, while others joined the Whig Party. The Democratic Party that emerged retained some of the principles of the Democratic-Republican Party. The Democratic-Republican Party played a significant role in shaping early American politics and government, advocating for a decentralized system and agrarian interests.
Explain the federalist party The Federalist Party was one of the first political parties in the United States. Here are some key points about the Federalist Party: Founding: The Federalist Party was founded in the 1790s by Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and others who supported a strong central government and a loose interpretation of the Constitution. Beliefs: The Federalists believed in a strong federal government, a national bank, protective tariffs, and close ties with Britain. They favored an industrial and commercial economy over an agrarian one. Leadership: Alexander Hamilton was a key leader of the Federalist Party, along with John Adams, who became the second President of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Policies: The Federalists supported the Alien and Sedition Acts, which restricted immigration and free speech, and they favored a pro-British foreign policy. They were often at odds with the Democratic-Republicans led by Thomas Jefferson. Opposition: The Democratic-Republican Party emerged as the main opposition to the Federalists, criticizing their policies as favoring the wealthy and infringing on states' rights. Decline: The Federalist Party declined after the War of 1812, as their opposition to the war hurt their popularity. The party eventually dissolved in the 1820s, leaving the Democratic-Republicans as the dominant political force. The Federalist Party played a significant role in shaping early American politics, advocating for a strong central government and policies that favored commerce and industry.

Stupid Vinfans are spreading the silly argument that the new EV rules will help Vinfast by eliminating Chinese competitors. They use this silly argument just to pump the stock. They cited the stupid Motley Fools article as the source of news.
Time to debunk Vuong Pham's trick.
1/
There is no Chinese brand in the US. Except the Volvo / Polestar in some way, they are Swedish brand but are majority owned by Geely. Some of the Volvo, Polestar are imported from China will be affected. However, Volvo already has a factory in Ghent, Belgium, and a factory in Charleston, South Carolina. So they already has a solution. Polestar also has a factory in Busan, Korea.
2/
Tesla and Ford both use battery from CATL, the largest EV battery manufacturer. Same as Vinfast. Vinfast use CATL and Gotion battery. Chinese EV battery tariff will increase from 7.5% to 25% and this will affected all. But the other car makers are strong, they can pass the cost to consumers or absorb the cost. In contrast, Vinfast has higher manufacturing cost and this will only further make the US loss bigger.
As analysts at Forbes pointed out, the 100% tariff on Chinese imported cars is a preventive measure, and it does not change the dynamic in the US much as there is virtually no Chinese EV cars there. This is a fact.
In America, Tesla is still king. It is stupid to think Americans will abandon Volvo, Polestar to flock to Vinfast instead. After the new EV rule, Vinfast will incur more loss in the US with increased cost and more price pressure from Tesla.
We in this sub know that the North Carolina factory is a show: Vuong Pham has no money.
Oh, and the stupid conspiracy that the Chinese will funnel to the US through Vinfast is down right lunatic. Vinfast is a Vietnamese car maker, its cars are expensive and are not of lower cost like Chinese EVs, as it does not have the economy of scale of Chinese EVs. Further, Chinese EVs brands are actually stronger than Vinfast, why do they have to stoop lower to the third grade Vinfast?
Forbes article on the matter for more details: Volvo, Polestar And Tesla Take Biggest Hit From China EV Tariffs (forbes.com)
So, here is a post to debunk the silly arguement by Vinfans that the new EV rules help Vinfast. The new rule does not help Vinfast a single bit and is actually worse for Vinfast.
Vinfast is an EV failure by Vuong Pham, with pricey buggy cars, huge debt, minimal sales. In the US, two law suits are ongoing already and the Pleasanton lawsuit is coming too.
Bankruptcy is inevitable.

As a low-income and first generation college student, this admission process has been incredibly difficult, especially due to the delays at FASFA. However, all of it has come to an end, and I've officially committed to a college where I'll be graduating debt-free :)
To the class of 2025 reading this, know that everything works out in the end, even if you think it won't. Trust the process and do what is financially and academically best for you. I feel like I'm stating the obvious, but it's very easy to get lost and fall into the trap of competing for prestige and satisfying the desires of others.
And to those who are graduating seniors, let's enjoy our summer and celebrate our incredible achievements as we embark on a new journey in our lives!
Congrats to everyone :)

I don’t exactly know where to start here. Since turning 18 I’ve had many financial struggles and long story short I have a TON (~70-80k after interest added) of school debt, a bit of medical debt (~3000 from an emergency surgery), and some personal loan debt (~2000). No credit card debt because I’ve never had one and don’t plan on having one.
Needless to say, I get a ton of voicemails from debt collectors and scammers pretending to be debt collectors. So it’s really hard for me to weed out the legit debt collectors. I’m always too afraid to call them back and ID myself in case I screw myself over. Especially since I finally just now started making enough money to just pay all of my regular bills on time. Sometimes I do have to pick between eating for the day and gas in my car but it’s becoming a bit less frequent now. I’m so scared all these debt collectors will sue me for the debt I cannot repay yet before I’m officially “back on my feet” and plunge me back deeper into the hole.
These two recent voice mails I received are concerning in a different way. The voice mail said “This is (Name) calling from the law office of Brett Boylan please return this call when you receive this message.” That’s it. Every other debt collector call I’ve ever gotten has been “This is (Name) calling to speak to (My Name). Please return this call etc”.
I looked them up and they are in fact a real law firm that specializes in “Corporate, Municipal, Elder, Environmental, Estate Planning, Plaintiff’s Negligence Litigation, and Real Estate as well as Trust and Estate administration” (taken directly verbatim from their website). So that further confuses me as to why they have my number and are calling me since it seems they don’t do anything involving debt collection. But I’m not a lawyer so I may be mistaken.
Now, I know legally they probably can’t leave a voice mail detailing what the call is for (I wish they would it would relieve my anxiety a lot) but it’s weird that they didn’t even mention my name.
I’m just worried and so lost. If I barely make enough to pay my bills now how will I ever pay them if they garnish my wages? Should I call this law firm back or does it seem like another scam?

I am still not the Original Poster. That is still u/MajorArtist340. She posted in AITAH
Previous BORUs can be found here and here. New Update marked with ****\*
Mood Spoiler: still kind of a bummer but things are moving forward
Original Post: December 21, 2023
For a while now my husband, John, has been getting more and more angry over little things and generally moody and distant. I had finally had enough and approached him about separation.
This conversation led to a big blow out and him revealing the state of his finances. My husband and I have always kept our finances separate. Also although we call each other husband and wife and had a wedding we are not actually legally married. This was primarily for inheritance purposes because we each have older children from previous relationships.
Anyway John revealed that he had basically no savings left. That all the money he had saved for retirement and for his kids schooling was gone. Furthermore he said it was all my fault since he used all his savings up to try and keep up with my lifestyle.
There was never anything crazy in terms of bills or anything like that and we always split it all equally. The house we live in I own outright as well, so there wasn’t a mortgage payment.
However I have always liked to travel a lot on fairly extravagant vacations. I would invite John or John and his children to join on trips, but never made them feel like they had to come. That’s said he was expected to pay for himself and for his kids. Except for recently he accepted every invitation.
I would also give my kids things he considered “extravagant”, but I considered “normal”. So he felt like he had to give similar things to his own kids.
John said with all the spending to keep up his savings dwindled very fast. I expressed that I couldn’t understand how or why he would spend all he had when he knew he couldn’t afford it. He said it was like keeping up with the Joneses only worse because it was at home so he couldn’t block it out. John thinks since I knew his job I should have had a basic understanding of his finances and realizes this wasn’t a lifestyle he could maintain. That the kind thing would have been to offer to pay for the trips and other things instead of dangle them in front of his and his kids faces.
Looking back I probably could have realized that this spending didn’t make sense for his salary, but I wasn’t thinking about it. I don’t think it was my responsibility to keep his finances in mind here. We had agreed from the beginning to keep our finances separate so to me that means paying for things separately.
Edit. We do not live in a state with common law marriage
Relevant Comments:
Why not get married? You know you can make children beneficiaries in wills, right?
"Here spouses are included in inheritance even if they’re omitted from wills and I plan on leaving everything to my kids."
Ages:
"I’m 44. He’s 53. We don’t have any children together."
So you didn't discuss trips you could afford together??
"We did discuss the trips and I asked for input about where to stay what we would do, but he never gave any or had any suggestions. I always assumed he just didn’t like planning things. I would have likely still gone on the trips if he didn’t want to."
So if he said no would you just go on the trip on your own?
"I would have likely still gone one the trip. That’s said I would have been open to less expensive trips had he brought it up."
"Except for the past two trips he never declined. I didn’t go alone though. I went on one with some friends and the other with my daughter."
This comment exchange:
Commenter: ESH- John should have ended your marriage way earlier. He can't keep with your lifestyle and would horrible and Very unfair to subject his children in a life where half of the family goes on fancy vacations regurlaly and the other stay home. He should have been honest way earlier before his savings drained and ended the marriage. You should have more awareness of your partner's struggled. How do you share a life with someone and don't realize this things?
OOP: He paid for things without any hint that he was struggling. I assume his attitude change was when things started to get really bad and I did ask what was wrong, but he would just say things were fine or say he was upset about some little thing like the dishes not being put away.
Before you were together, how often were you taking trips with your kids?
"I’ve always done about the same amount of trips every year. Usually two with my kids.
His kids mostly live with their mom and mine will split time between me and their dad pretty equally. My eldest is in college now though."
And this exchange:
Commenter: I have a burning question. Did you ever ask him why he was acting that way before you decided it was time for separation. Because from the outside you come off as the female stereotype that men don't have emotions so there's no need to check
OOP: I did. He would always say it was fine or I would ask what’s wrong and he would get mad about the dishes not being put away or some other little thing.
If you enjoy having him with you maybe you could pay for him to go?
"If things were better I might consider it, but at this point I’m really not enjoying being around him anymore. I’m going to use this break to take some time to reevaluate things."
It sounds like you don't love him at all. Why were you with him? Were you really together or just roommates with benefits? Why wouldn't you leave him anything in the will? How do you split daily life?
"With how things are now it’s hard to talk in present tense. I loved him.
For me it just feels like it would be wrong for my money and assets to go to anyone other than my kids given. For him well I don’t really need any inheritance, so it just makes the most sense for it to have gone to his children.
For restaurants we’ve always just taken turns paying."
There is no consensus bot on AITAH. The top comment was NTA, but there were quite a few ESH and info votes because the situation seemed weird
Update Post: January 8, 2024 (18 days later)
After reading all the comments on my first post I realized I needed more time to think about things. I also thought with the situation how it was it would be best that we spend the holidays apart to avoid and controversy. He wasn't a fan of the idea, but I eventually got him to agree to go.
Last week things settled down so we met up to have a more detailed discussion about the state of his finances. A few more things were revealed. I found out that he had lost his job earlier this year and didn't tell me. He got a new job in October, but he went over 4 months without one while pretending he still had one. During that time he only got a small amount of money from unemployment, so he started putting everything on his credit cards. His new job doesn't pay as much as his old one so he hasn't been able to pay more than the minimum towards his debts which are now substantial.
I feel like if he had just brought up all these issues earlier this could have been avoided or we could have worked something out. Now I really just feel like I can't trust him. I can't trust him with money and I can't trust him not to hide things from me. I just can't see going back and trying to make things work him at this point. Since he doesn't have a place to take all their things I've agreed to store their stuff in my garage until he gets more settled. Which means I won't be able to make as clean of a break as I would like right now, but for the most part it's over.
Update Post 2: February 24, 2024 (1.5 months later)
For anyone who hasn’t read my previous posts there’s two of them exposing what happened under my username.
I liked the suggestion I was given when last posted of paying for a storage unit for their things for a few months. My ex however did not agree to it. He said it would make things too difficult because the closest storage location was too far out of the way. It definitely felt like he was still trying to cling to things.
Since I couldn’t get a storage unit in his name without his approval I talked to a friend, who is a lawyer, about the situation. He helped me right up a notice that told him that he had 30 days notice to get their things or they will be disposed of. After 30 days notice was up he still had only picked up a few things.
I ended up calling his ex and asked her if she or their kids wanted anything before I got rid of it all. Well, they had been left in the complete dark about our relationship being over. My ex had been lying to them saying I was sick and then he was sick with Covid and that’s why they hadn’t been able to come over. I’m was not at all surprised this point. I figured she didn’t know about the rest of it either and told her. She is livid. Especially about the money for their kids education since it was part of their divorce agreement.
Anyway the kids all got what they wanted and I had a charity come and pick up the rest. It feels a lot better now that there is a completely clean break. Yes I have gotten the locks changed and blocked his number. Since there is no reason for me to have contact with him anymore this is probably the last time I’ll be posting.
I think I’m there future I will probably look for more transparency when it comes to financials in any serious future relationships. With how much he was lying I can only imagine what else he may have been lying about. Had I known more I don’t think he would have been able to hide things. I am just so grateful and relieved that I was able protect myself and my children.
Relevant Comments:
One more time because people need clarification on inheritance:
Where I live spouses are included in inheritance even if there’s a will.
How could you not know what he was making if you know what he did for work?
I just never looked into what the average salary for his type of work.
This exchange clearing things up:
Commenter: First post said you both have adult kids, why are their education an issue still and why doesn't anyone contact you directly? Was no one on friendly terms?

I don’t know where you got that. My eldest is an adult, but the others are still under 18.I don’t know what/who you mean by why doesn’t any contact me directly.

Commenter: What I mean is they were told you were sick. These are people that went trips with and none of them texted or called to check on you

I don’t know what to say. It doesn’t seem odd to me. We didn’t usually keep in contact when they were with their mom.

*****Update Post 3: May 8, 2024 (4.5 months from OG post)****\*
I know I said that that would be my last update. It’s not really necessary for me to make another, but now I’m kind of using this as a form of journaling which I’ve found cathartic. The previous posts are all under my username.
I only had one run in with my ex since the last incident. He came to my house. I only spoke to him through the camera. He asked about getting his things. I told him that I had already got rid of everything as I had warned him, but that his kids had taken some things. I also told him he needed to leave and to not come back. Surprisingly he didn’t make a big fuss about it. He just said okay and that he was sorry for bothering me before he left, but he did look very tired so maybe that’s why.
I have not seen him since and apparently his ex and his kids haven’t heard from him in all this time either. This update had more to do with them than my ex actually. His ex contacted me to ask about him. She wanted to know if I had heard from him or had his new contact information. His phone is apparently no longer in service. I told her how I hadn’t had any contact with his since the aforementioned visit.
She also asked if she and I could meet up for coffee and talk. I declined because honestly I couldn’t think of a reason for us to meet up. Though I did offer to pass on any info about him if I heard anything.
She apparently wanted to talk to me about helping her pay for her eldest child’s (who is now a senior in highschool) education next year. She also subtly implied there was some fault on my part for their lacks of funds. I rather cowardly told her I would think about it and ended the call.
To be honest I feel like it’s an unfair position she’s putting me in. The main reason being that her children don’t seem to care for me. We got along alright while I was with their dad. However since I ended things with him it has been complete silence from them. I did try to reach out to them to see if they were okay. They never responded. Even when they came over to get their things they ignored me and my youngest. However I did get a message after the call with their mom about how she missed me. The timing though just makes it seem sort of like manipulation to get money out of me.
Edit. I have since blocked all of them.

[<< First] [< Previous] [Next >] [Patreon] [Discord]
Synopsis:
Juliette Contzen is a lazy, good-for-nothing princess. Overshadowed by her siblings, she's left with little to do but nap, read … and occasionally cut the falling raindrops with her sword. Spotted one day by an astonished adventurer, he insists on grading Juliette's swordsmanship, then promptly has a mental breakdown at the result.
Soon after, Juliette is given the news that her kingdom is on the brink of bankruptcy. At threat of being married off, the lazy princess vows to do whatever it takes to maintain her current lifestyle, and taking matters into her own hands, escapes in the middle of the night in order to restore her kingdom's finances.
Tags: Comedy, Adventure, Action, Fantasy, Copious Ohohohohos.
Chapter 239: Standing Start
A wine bottle rolled against the side of my boot.
Amidst a gallery of stunned faces and open mouths, it was easily the second most lively thing here.
The first was a clockwork doll clutching at her stomach in pain.
“Ahahahha~ ahahaha~ ahah … uck … ack … ughh … ahahaha~”
I pursed my lips.
Still, I said nothing.
For one thing, this was precisely what happened when one ate the mouldy cinnamon rolls combined with any grass growing by the side of the road. If Apple refused to eat something, then so should she.
But for another–
“What … What is this … ?”
It was because the first response was reserved for the baroness.
Her words came out in a quivering tone, matching the disbelief upon her face.
Frankly, she had to do better than that.
Only the wine from the bottle I nudged away dribbled into the soil. And also the line of drool from a comatose farmer. But I didn’t want to think about that.
Still, it was an excellent benchmark. Until her tears could properly overpower the sour aroma from the Château de Riaré Hensoise, I would deem her bawling to be incomplete.
She had a long way to go.
“How … How are you still …” she began, slowly rising from her seat. “This … This is impossible–”
I offered a tidy smile alongside a flick of my hair, relishing in the moonlight adorning my figure.
“I agree. It shouldn’t be possible. But I assure you, my skin is 100% natural.”
“E-Excuse me … ?”
“No magical enchantments. No unicorn elixirs. No witchly glamors. Just a healthy sleep schedule of however many hours I desire and a diet of fresh strawberry shortcakes.”
The baroness mouthed silently at my secrets being revealed.
A strange way of offering her gratitude. Other princesses hounded my door for this knowledge. Given her pale, blotchy skin and lips as dry as a pond in a desert, she should be pleading for more.
Instead, she pointed at the fallen drunk beside us.
“This … This shouldn’t be possible … no, wait … the clockwork doll … did she–”
She suddenly snapped towards Coppelia, her eyes widening.
“Uuh … ahaha … ugh, it hurts ... ahaha … it hurts so much … ahaha … my tummy … aha … oh no … I’m … I’m seeing daisies … aha … I … ugh … I think I need help …”
Coppelia hugged her stomach, writhing like a freshly hatched caterpillar. Her eyes darkened as hiccups of laughter assailed her defeated form.
The baroness pursed her lips.
Then, she turned to Renise instead.
“Did you–”
“A-Amazing! … I … I have no idea what you did … but it wasn’t just wonderful … it was beautiful! The colours! The warmth! It was like a rainbow come to life!”
With a smile worthy of any attendant, the maid brought her hands together in polite applause. Naturally, to be praised for my brushwork was nothing new to me. Nor was the sight of stars shining in her eyes with greater brightness than any in the night sky.
Why, that even came whenever I left my bedroom.
“You … how did … how did you defeat him … ?”
The strands of the baroness’s golden hair began to frizzle as she turned towards me. All I saw were her tonsils. Bright red and healthy. She should be pleased.
“This was … this was no common man … do you know who he is … ?”
Without offering a chance to ignore her, she stamped a foot, pointing at the fallen drunk with maddened jabs. The man offered no defence, now as spent and drained as the bottle beside him.
I raised a brow.
“Indeed, I do. He’s a farmer who made poor life choices. And between leaving his farm and offering his pitchfork to an overly ambitious baroness, the greater was you. My congratulations on being the superior mistake. I acknowledge your triumph.”
Bwam.
The baroness promptly slapped her palms down on the table.
“This man … is Willem of Hagel,” she said, her teeth gritted together. “A man desperate and cursed.”
“Yes, well, to be a peasant is a dire thing. But it could be worse. At least he isn’t nobility.”
A mouth further widened before me.
Indeed, this was a terrible time to realise her affliction. But I was no famed angel of healing for nothing. There was a cure for ambition. And it involved copious amounts of tears.
I was still waiting.
“There is no world in which you should have been able to defeat him … not if half the tales about him prove true … he is a famed opponent … all the while you are … you are …”
Suddenly, her eyes left my face for the very first time.
No longer feeling that my cheeks were in danger of being poked, she swept her eyes upon my person, as though hoping to find some blemish to signify I was as false as a field of corn.
She stopped at the sword by my side.
And also–
“A copper ring,” she said softly.
Suddenly, my 29th house of cards I was subtly constructing collapsed.
… T-The ring!
The blot on my finger! The insidious badge of shame! The symbol of the Adventurer’s Guild!
Why, I’d taken it for granted that my masterful disguise was impervious! But this was no ordinary noblewoman I was seated across!
This … This was one I’d previously sat across before!
I’d made a terrible mistake!
I was mesmerising! A beautiful princess as charming as I was modest!
There was utterly no scenario in which I’d be forgotten!
I … I should have removed the copper ring!
“O-Oho … ohoho … w-what copper ring?” I said, my hands vanishing below the table at a speed con artists could only nod at. “Ah, do you refer to the ruby inlaid ring I often carry on my hand? The one which changes colour depending on the longitude and latitude? In that case, you may very well have briefly spied something which resembled a copper hue. But it is in fact a thing of unparalleled beauty and craftsmanship. Not a disgraceful copper ring.”
The baroness slowly looked up at me, her eyes blinking.
“No. I wasn’t mistaken. I … I recognise that ring. It is a copper ring, the same size and shape as those worn by … adventurers.”
My mouth widened in horror.
At once, I immediately sought a plant pot or a heavy book. Something to immediately erase the past few seconds of her memory.
Why … if she knew my secret, then the shame would haunt me all the way until I’d found something weighing at least equivalent to a standard hardback!
“I see,” she mumbled, as much to herself as me. “I understand now …”
The baroness removed her palms from the table.
She stood up straight, a hard expression upon her face. One which calculated with each passing moment the optimal way to exploit this devastating information.
Then, she took in a deep breath–just as I began assembling the playing cards into a thick pile.
“… it must be a legendary artifact.”
As I began eyeing her temple … I blinked in non-understanding.
“Excuse me?”
She nodded, her frown harsh enough to permanently crease her skin.
“To wear such a plain, ugly and shameful ring … one which utterly demeans your history, your worth and your pride, destroying any semblance of dignity you possess–”
My hand went to my stomach, struck by as much pain as Coppelia had experienced in a single moment.
“–indeed, to wear a ring so easily mistaken as one belonging to adventurers, the vermin of the world … it must be a truly terrifying artifact.”
I blinked.
And then–
“Ohhho … ohoohho! You … You see the truth of it!”
The baroness squeezed her fists by her side.
“I knew it.”
I nodded, my bangs bouncing against my forehead.
“I-Indeed … ! This ring I carry on me … it is a masterful item of supreme quality, passed down along generations of my family! Why, its appearance matching those of rings worn by adventurers is no coincidence! Theirs are based on this very design! Although they have since tarnished it, it was forged back in the first days of the kingdom when copper was greater than gold! Poured within it is knowledge now lost to time! A power beyond compare, called upon from the depths of the Royal Vault!”
The baroness sucked in a hateful breath.
“Then that explains it,” she said with bitterness ringing throughout her voice. “You were able to defeat such a powerful adversary through the use of your family’s ancient heirlooms.”
“Indeed, this powerful ring with a rare ability I cannot disclose defeated a terrifying farmer! Therefore, there’s no need for you to relay any suggestion that I’m anything but a princess, as far removed from the Adventurer’s Guild as hygiene is to their members!”
The baroness gave no response.
A respite which lasted far too short.
“... I see, then it means the plan continues. Different, yes. But I’ll not be deterred.”
She smiled, the familiar sight of aristocratic opportunism mixed with an utter denial of facts shining within her grey eyes.
I could only react with horror.
“Plan?” I replied, convinced she was well and truly several sandwiches short of a picnic. “Do you mean the plan currently lying in a fallen heap beside us? Did you not just say I defeated your farmer? Your only plan now is to decide which part of the ground you wish to offer your forehead to.”
The baroness shook her head with renewed confidence.
“I think not. To defeat Willem of Hagel, you must have expended every effort you had available. Not a crumb of power could be spared, for to underestimate him would have resulted in your certain loss. Meaning …”
Without hesitation, she gave a multipurpose wave of her hand.
“... You’ve nothing left but a sword you cannot wield, and two retainers against all of mine. One of whom is incapacitated. The other a maid.”
She continued to keep her hand raised. Her simple call to arms.
It took several moments before she cared to even look around her.
A sad thing.
If she had, she would have realised the curiosity of her hoodlums was less than their prudence.
She would have noticed the eyes without loyalty, seeing only the fallen figure of a drunk they’d been led to believe was more than a farmer now watering the ground with his drool.
And she would have noticed the state of her dress, as dishevelled as her ambitions as those she relied upon slinked away in search of newer gutters to inhabit, following instincts she could learn as the last of their feet shuffled into the darkness.
The baroness paled.
It was far too early for that. She had no idea Apple was currently resting in her tavern, and wouldn’t be helping her haul all of the goods which needed delivering to a place less damp than here.
But I could sooth her forthcoming backache with a smile, at least for the assistance already provided.
“You have my gratitude,” I said, brushing a speck of … countryside from my lap. “For so long as the nobility continues to concoct slapdash schemes with no hope of success, the kingdom can continue to assign blame on you when all else goes wrong. When the mobs come calling and heads start rolling, it ensures a steady queue of necks can be offered before ours are reached. That is why the nobility continues to exist, you see, despite the ceaseless treason. So allow me to offer a word of advice when next you wish to survive in a position of responsibility. When fleeing, the best defence isn’t to run faster–it’s to trip the person beside you. And this means better hiring practices.”
I glanced pointedly around me.
All this empty space and not even a single eyepatched second-in-command to use as a distraction? An amateur mistake. One the baroness now realised as her mouth opened wordlessly, the realisation of her solitude only now dawning upon her.
Yet all it invited was a newly wrought defiance.
“I do not mean to flee,” she said, her fists tightly clenched. “I am Arisa Sandholt. And even should I be captured here, you would not be afforded a night’s rest. I am not alone. Whether tonight or tomorrow, this kingdom will fall. I am not alone in planning its demise.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Oh, please. Planning my kingdom’s demise is what everyone does.”
“What?”
“If it’s not being actively planned, it’s because someone’s in the middle of planning how to formulate a plan. And then once they’ve finished planning, they wonder why their plan didn’t work as planned. This is not a cause for concern. It’s a sign the world is still spinning the correct direction.”
The baroness feigned a dignified silence.
It was far too late, of course. By default, nobility had no dignity.
Still, I accepted the effort, and filled the silence with a tidy clap of my hands.
“Now, since you’ve no intention of fleeing, you can be useful instead. I’ll require a full inventory of your stock. I intend to requisition every single item you have in your possession. Every grain. Every crown. And every odd piece of tableware, carpet, candleholder and painting you might have.”
I pointed at the barn. A tragic thing to requisition. But if I was fortunate, it’d grow lacquered tiles and bay windows in the short steps between here and there.
Suddenly, the baroness’s eyes widened. The needless defiance dropped alarmingly from her face.
“Wait … what do you mean by that?”
I paused for a moment, puzzled by her reaction.
This was hardly the complicated part.
“I mean exactly what I mean. This should come as no surprise. I will be emptying every corner of the property you’ve misappropriated, including whatever manner of tunnels you’ve carved for your use. Rest assured, I’ll be employing the talents of my retainers extensively. With or without your cooperation, every single inch of your abode will be inspected by myself for the Royal Treasury’s benefit.”
She blinked between Renise and Coppelia. Although one was dressed as a maid and the other now appeared to be napping on the ground, their skills when it came to matters of unearthing valuables in my kingdom’s underbelly was not one I doubted.
Nor, from the way the baroness gulped, did she.
“I can do it,” she said suddenly.
I looked at her in confusion, uncertain what ploy this was.
“... Excuse me? Do what?”
“The items of value. I can bring them out. There’s no need to personally see to such a thing yourself.”
“While I’m in full agreement, I can hardly trust your reliability in this manner. And besides, I’ll hardly be playing the mule. I shall be supervising while closely assessing every item.”
Once more, the tonsils came out.
An appalling disregard of decorum. There was only one time that nobility was permitted to look so horrified in my presence. And that’s if they were copying my own after I discovered a list of marriage suitors posing as a napkin beneath the dessert spoon again.
“E-Even so … as the one who wronged you, I insist on not troubling a princess any further. If you give me a few moments, I can acquire the most important valuables for you in a fraction of the time you’d spend on finding them.”
“A few moments to hide them, you mean. No, I’m afraid that anything you wish to stuff beneath a floorboard will need to be appropriately examined first.”
I leaned away in mild alarm as a bead of sweat ran down the baroness’s face.
A moment later–
She finally did what only someone in her position could.
Adhering to the instincts of all nobility, she swept up her dress and suddenly dashed away.
Except it wasn’t towards the dark forest, to be lost amidst the shadows and the jaws of whatever awaited her there. It was back towards the barn.
I watched as she stumbled several times before even reaching the steps.
“... A desperate sight, no?” I said, with a sad shake of my head. “To throw away all semblance of the image she’d hoped to craft. Now she flees like a frightened towngirl. She should know that escape is now impossible.”
Beside me, Renise let out a hum.
Far from chasing after the baroness, she collected the pack of cards I’d assembled for memory wiping purposes. She began to build a house of cards.
I looked at her in puzzlement. She gave a strangely pained smile in reply.
“I believe we can offer her a few moments.”
[<< First] [< Previous] [Next >] [Patreon] [Discord]

Can someone explain the means test if you just started a job? Specifically - I just started a new job that puts me above the means test if you take 'current monthly income'. However, if you look at income for the previous 6 months it is obviously well below (aka zero), as I just started the job.
Also, how about the follow up tests? What constitutes 'business debt'? Can I include the interest on cc for 'business debt'?
How does my LLC file bankruptcy?

Monetization is allowed as long as I am credited. If you would like to change anything, please ask me.
[Hear marketplace noises]
Come along knight. We need to get supplies before we hunt down that red dragon of yours. Don’t worry about the price. I have plenty of money (shakes bags of money).
….
We will still use the food that I grow in my garden, but I can’t grow everything, friend. We will need other rations, tents, bed rolls, and waterskins. Plus some magic potions and some other equipment might not be the worst thing to have. If you are fighting a dragon you will want to be prepared.
….
We don’t need all this? Well, of course we do. Some stuff is for you and some is for me. I’m sure that you have a bed roll already and a waterskin, but I need them if I want to sleep comfortably at night. I’m not sleeping on the ground. I am used to having certain luxuries that I will not give up and sleeping on the ground without anything is one of those.
….
Yes. I could sleep in my dragon form, but that gets tricky out in the open, so I want to avoid it as much as possible.
….
I mean if you want to wake up to people screaming in panic every night and then explain to them that I am not like the rest of my kin. That I will not hurt them and we mean them no harm and no you have not been kidnapped by me, be my guest. That is what will happen everytime that someone comes across us if I sleep in my dragon form. I will use that form for fighting and flying, but the rest of the time I would like to look human, thank you.
….
I have what we need from here. Where would you like to go next? We could go look at weapons, armor, or magic items.
….
[Laughs] Of course, I should have known that you would want to go look at weapons first. The weapons shop is right over there. Follow me. (Door opens) There you are friend, have fun looking around.
….
[Chuckle] It’s an impressive shop is it not? The owner is known for being the best craftsman in the land.
….
Have you found anything that you like?
….
That is a really good sword. Do you want it?
….
You can’t afford it? Of course you can, friend. That is why I am here. I will get it for you. Here give me the sword.
….
You're right, I don’t have to buy it for you, but I want to. Besides if we are going on a quest to kill a dragon you will need the best sword to slay the beast.
….
You don’t need to pay me back. I’m doing this because I want to.
….
Alright, how about this. If you are so insistent that you pay me back then how about you kill the red dragon. That dragon is a bully and is giving all dragons a bad name. I will buy you the weapons that you and after you slay the beast your debt with me will be settled. Does that sound fair?
….
Good. I’m glad that is settled, even though you don’t seem too happy about the arrangement. Now let’s head to the magic shop. There are a few things that we will need before we leave town.
….[Door opening and closing]
I’m going to buy some healing potions. Unless you are a healer?
….
No? Shame. We will have to rely on the potions then.
….
Oh. I think there has been a misunderstanding. The healing potions are not for me, they are for you. We are going up against a very dangerous dragon. You will want all the help you can get.
…..
I’m sure that you are a very capable fighter, but it never hurts to have these in case something goes wrong. Dragons are very cunning and they do not fight fair. It’s better safe than sorry. Now let’s see if they have the other item I’m looking for. Ummm…. Ah, here it is.
….
What is this? This my friend is a dragon poison. It won’t kill a dragon, but it will impair them. Like I said, I like to be prepared. Well I have everything that I need. Is there anything else that you would like before we leave town?
….
No? Alright then let’s get going. It’s going to be a two week journey to his lair in the mountains.
….
[Chuckle] Don’t groan. It’s not my fault you got the wrong information. If you had asked more than one person I’m sure they would have pointed you in the right direction the first time. However I am glad that you ended up at my cave. If you haven’t stumbled into my cave then I wouldn’t get to go on this great adventure. I rarely ever get to go on adventures anymore. This will be fun.
….
So, besides being a knight, what else do you enjoy doing?
…..
Why do I care? I’m just trying to make conversation and I’m curious to know more about you. I find people fascinating.
….
I mean we don’t have to talk about anything personal if you don’t want to. However I would like for us to talk about something or this or going to be a very long and dull journey.
….
There is something you want to ask? Of course. What do you want to know?
….
Why does this village look more prosperous than the other villages around it? Oh, that’s an easy question to answer. So that village is a part of my hoard.
….
[Chuckles] What is with the face? Are you surprised that dragons collect a lot of wealth?
….
Wealth is not just money or treasure. At least not to this dragon. In this case wealth also means relationships with people. Do you remember when I mentioned that I love coming down to visit the villages?
….
So, after getting to know the people I became invested in helping the people out that I had met. Everytime that I would come to visit I would bring a bag of gold to spend and make sure that it was all gone by the time that I left. After doing this several times the village used the gold to build better shops and buy more supplies for those shops. This caused people from all over to come and trade with them. The village has been doing well ever since.
….
Why am I so generous? Because like I said I consider these people part of my hoard. I want them to be well taken care of. That should not shock you. Dragons take great care of their hoards and people that they like which now includes you, my friend.
….
Hm? What did you say? I didn’t quite catch what you said.
….
You enjoy reading in your spare time? Interesting. You don’t strike me as a bookworm. I thought you would have said sparring.
….
I’m not judging you. When we get back I will have to show you my book collection. I think you will like it.
….
You would like that? Great. So out of curiosity, what made you decide to share that about yourself?
….
It’s because I have been so open about telling you things about myself. Well, I’m glad to know a little bit more about you. I think we will be really good friends at the end of this adventure.
….
What’s with the heavy sigh? Do you not want to be friends?
….
It’s not that? Then what is bothering you?
….
This journey is taking too long? [Chuckle] Impatient aren’t we? Well, I can think of one way that would make the journey faster. Do you trust me?
….
You do? Well in that case let’s make this journey a little more (begins to change into dragon form and his voice becomes deeper) interesting. I hope you are not afraid of heights.
….
Stop squirming! I don’t want to accidentally drop you.
….
Why did I change into a dragon? Because you wanted the journey to go faster. We will cover a lot more ground if I fly us to our destination. Do you want me to put you down and continue walking for the next two weeks?
….
No? Alright then hold on tight. We will make it to the mountains in no time.

Another installment in the eternal gay crusades of /Christianity, now complete with more Daughters of the Confederacy level discourse about slavery.

Because it is worse than slavery.
Why do people try to force God to agree with them and accept their ideas rather than trying to learn God's will and align themselves to it?

so god has a poor morality

No. You do, if you disagree with him.

common you can also use your critical mind and say something is bad if it is obviously bad

Obvious to whom?
And based on what standard of badness?

mmm... empathy, compassion,
make a person as your property is baaad

Suffering under massive debt? Choose to sell yourself into slavery to pay the debt and remove the burden. While a slave you will have to do whatever work your owner requires, but you are guaranteed room and board and have no financial obligations. When the term of your slavery is over, if you are happy in your current situation, you can choose to make it permanent. If you are unhappy you go free with no debt and a small amount of money to help you establish yourself in your restored liberty.
The problem is that people today only think of slavery as it existed in the transatlantic slave trade, but that was not the only form in history. I think if slavery as set out in the Law of Moses was practiced today we would have much less of a debt based economy.

it doesn't work that way if you're a woman. if you're a woman and are sold by your father, you are enslaved for life.

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l42fjhk/
There's also another child thread where someone pointed out that the parent commenter is an insane bigot but the mods nuked their responses for incivility.

Slavery doesn't cause less people to exist. The YouTube apologists have approached the slavery topic a lot recently. I used to wonder the same thing. The matter is God has these people and he wants them to be a certain way but they are stubborn.. think of it like you have a cow that ran away and home is north and this dumb ass cow doesn't want to go north but he will go north west..

Slavery torments the already living...

Not always historically. This is what people are taught in a modern lens. Sometimes in the past people would purposely become slaves in Jacob's case to get a wife. And something interesting in Bible slave laws is that these people could run away.. so if your gig is such a bad deal that you want to leave, you can. Additionally in the case of Israel after a certain number of years they go free.. and some of them loved their masters so much they decided to stay.. which is likely the case with Eliezer.

.... leave it to Christianity to see people speak so positively on the concept of salvery

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l427som/
A digression on Hebrew translation

For one thing, "abomination" is not really a great translation of the word "ṯō·w·‘ă·ḇaṯ" / ṯō·w·‘ê·ḇāh, which is used in a variety of "do not" contexts, not necessarily conveying the sort of disgust and rage that "abomination" suggests.

Let me rephrase the post to your liking: Why does the Bible condone enslaving people but demand two men be killed if they have sex with each other?

Because one is a commandment and one is not.
Doesn’t seem fair to most ears, but when someone is circumcised of ear and heart, they “see” things differently.

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l432735/

That's a very good question. Slavery is a horrible thing, it's detestable. The idea of something like that coming from a loving god would be a huge contradiction. It's up to you how you choose to rectify that
Slavery back then is not the same as what we went through recently. Where it’s just whips on plantations.
And you guys cherry picking homosexuality over all other sins is ridiculous. If homosexuality is ok, then why can’t all adultery be ok?

What's wrong with two people of the same sex in a loving, consensual, mutual relationship?

If they’re celibate then nothing…
What’s wrong with Covet and adultey as a whole? Let’s just abolish it. Is that ok?

Well both of those things harm people
If you covet something that doesn't belong to you, that eats a hole in you and might inspire you to do something to get what you covet.
Adultery damages trust between romantic partners and breaks hearts.
Two mutually loving people having sex who have the same genitalia harms no one.

Two same sex couple having sex also eats a hole in them. Spiritually. If you don’t like it then it’s ok, just don’t call yourself a Christian and expect God to favor your desires in the end. The point is to trust God. You’re literally going against him by committing adultey having same sex in the dark… Why not just be celibate? Why do you need to have same sex relations and blame the Bible for not being fair. It makes no sense. If you’re a homosexual who chooses sex over God. Cool. But don’t drag him down because he can’t see you in the dark.

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l42ssq8/

Are you saying slavery isn’t detestable or that it coming from a loving god isn’t a contradiction?

a loving God and slavery isn’t a contradiction. You need objective morality in the first place for it to be a contradiction, and you atheists do not.

a loving God and slavery isn’t a contradiction. You need objective morality in the first place for it to be a contradiction, and you atheists do not.

I think you're misunderstanding "objective morality" there are several ethical schools that don't require an authority figure.

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l43e65c/

I think saying homosexuality is not harmful is naive. You are free to do it but it does have consequences that preclude you from any semblance of traditional living. Also, if everyone was homosexual there would be no people bc it does not produce children.

The only downsides are from the hate bigots create. Let’s not victim blame now

Haters gotta hate 🤷🏾‍♂️... is Taylor swift a victim too? She has haters after all.

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l42tgxf/

I believe it has to do with the nature of their slavery. The standards for slavery were different than today’s- I don’t believe they had prisons; if you owed someone something, you became their slave. It was a temporary status.
The only more permanent slave status I’ve read in the Bible involved pagan people that were being punished.

No, god explicitly permits people to own other people as their property for life. It was not always temporary, and didn't always have anything to do with debt repayment.

Exodus 21: 2-6
“When you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for six years; then in the seventh he is to leave as a free man without paying anything.”

Right. Now read Leviticus 25:44-46 about buying and owning foreign slaves.

Yeah, that’s what I meant about “punishment for pagan nations” Everyone around the Israelites were pagans.

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l42hqpl/

According to your own morality, the concepts of slavery and that of a loving God are contradictory. Just about anyone should be able to see that regardless of religious beliefs.

Nope. Slavery and a loving God are compatible, as we don’t decide morality you might as well tell that opinion to a brick wall.
So again, how is slavery and a loving God contradictory?

Because slaves are not the recipient of God’s love. You can’t love someone and also allow them to be enslaved.

Why not? Who are you to decide what love is and what love isn’t?

I’m sorry you feel that way. It’s mind-boggling to me that you think enslavement of humans is OK.

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l42ybv5/

Slavery isn’t necessarily the worst thing to happen to anybody ever, we just fetishise it today because America puts so much importance on it. Fact is that in ancient pre-mechanised times if you needed something doing you with did it yourself or got your captured enemies to do it. Slavery has been present in every society in history and has many forms, it’s damn nearly a natural state of humanity. Sometimes slaves were abused, murdered, tortured, raped; sometimes they were given gifts and made part of the family. “The ottomans took Christian children as slaves and made them into elite warriors who eventually got their own kingdom, meanwhile their trans-Saharan slave traders routinely castrated all the males they got from Africa and sent the women into harems, making European slavery relatively benign.

“B-But akshually guys slavery wasn’t that bad and it’s natural!!!”
You go out of your way to defend slavery, but don’t do the same with homosexuality which is objectively less harmful, please stop talking.

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l42gaf7/

The Lord doesn't need to call salvery an abomination. There is a correct way to handle slavery through debt. However, that does not mean they are property. The Lord's children, ARE NOT FOR SALE. All debt should be and needs to be released freely every 7 years. Then you bless them as they leave freely, regardless of the amount of debt returned back.
Homosexuality IS A CHOICE. It's a much of a choice to choose who you sleep with, as it is to lust in the first place. He calls it an abomination because it's your choice, and it almost always leads to a chaotic state. Not directly, rather, indirectly. It leads culture into a mindset of "I should be able to anything I want to". Sadly, that's just not how a stable society functions, and you see it's ripple effect today.

Homosexuality is NOT a choice, plain and simple, no buts or ifs. If it was, you could choose to be homosexual for just 5 minutes to prove your point which you obviously can’t, no matter how hard you try you can’t control who or what you’re attracted to. It is also not inherently lustful just as heterosexuality isn’t inherently lustful, couples of any gender or sexuality can have a loving and healthy relationship. It doesn’t lead to any “chaotic state”, as I mentioned before it can be perfectly healthy, what truly leads to a chaotic state is the constant backlash of mindless homophobes who don’t want to accept the fact that their worldview is wrong. Also, multiple societies in the past had no problem with homosexuality and turned out very prosperous. Read a book, bigot.

Lol

What an insightful response.

There is no response you will accept or even listen to. I gave the only one worth giving.

That’s blatant projection right there, you did not accept or listen to my response, so it’s more like you were proven wrong and didn’t know what to reply with.

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l42ga4o/

My FIL passed away with some skeletons in his closet. He left a massive amount of debt to my MIL. He took out credit cards and maxed them out in her name without her knowledge among other terrible financial decisions. My MIL moved in with us, because she not only has a disability, but her account was frozen. My husband now has power of attorney over her as well. They spoke to a bankruptcy lawyer, and it was advised that since she is going to get a substantial life insurance policy, half of his VA disability, and her S.S from her own disability it was advised that she file chapter 13 for a repayment plan. My husband looked over the legal documents to explain them to her before signing and her lawyer now wants our financial information (pay stubs from the past 8 months). We are worried that since my MIL is living with us thay they're going to try and come after us too! Can they even do that? We are not listed as beneficiaries on any wills from FIL's estate. Not on any of his deeds. They rented an apartment. Car and motorcycle are going to be repossessed. State of Missouri. I was also wondering if she can contest some of her credit card/purchases he made without her consent?