Jeep rebuildable

So me and the wife have been playing just shortly after this beta started, and we've had a LOT of fun with it so far.
However there's a few things that we don't understand, and from appearances, it seems disturbing.
Outside of a specific set of things, do characters simply get reset periodically? Is Once Human going to be a situation where you partially start over every so often?
Additionally, the wife and I have built a couple of houses we like rather much, in addition to the Trailer Head, the Jeep and a few other things. Are we going to end up in a position where we lose the house at the end of a season or whatever, and have to start over rebuilding everything in our home (except maybe certain things) from scratch again?
This whole idea of losing some things, and having to restart all over, doesn't sit quite well with us, but we do not exactly have enough info to make a informed decision.
Could someone answer these for us so we have a better idea of what's going on, please?
UPDATE: To clarify, I mean after release, not during beta. I realize during beta we won't keep anything but after beta, once it goes live, it seems like we're going to be partially "erased" on a interval called "seasons".

Hi all, Kansas resident here. This is a bit of a story, so here we go.
In February 2022, my engine crapped out in my Jeep. Nobody around would touch the 6.1L, and any who would were months out. I ended up calling the shop who worked on it before I bought it, and the owner said he could have it rebuilt in a couple of weeks. Obviously, that's very optimistic, but oh well. It was over there until June, at least. Myself, as well as my personal mechanic(the shop that took the block out and delivered to the shady mechanic in question), had made many attempts at contact, and were either ignored, or given the 'next week' run-around.
In August 2022, my mechanic gets it back, but it's not firing on all cylinders, so he trailers the Jeep over. Finally, in September or October, it comes back, running. I even told him to take the tune they had put on it off so it stays stock and lasts. This whole endeavor cost me about 8-9k. ~$6k for the installation/removal labor and replacement parts from my shop. ~$3.5k for the rebuild on the shady end.
In May 2023, it breaks a piston again. I had not cracked the engine open whatsoever, I had been exact on my engine break-in and oil changes. I had only gotten like 2 changes on it he initial 500-mile and then a 3k(synthetic too, so I was being very careful for warranty's sake). So, in June, it goes to my shop, then back to shady. It was there until October with even LESS response and even more run-around. My mechanic had even stopped by his shop, an hour away, to check on progress multiple times. In the last week of September, the lines for the shop were disconnected. A week later, I have the police at my door, saying my Jeep was found in a lot a mile away from the shop, stripped. Nobody could get a hold of him.
I ended up making a post in a local racing group, asking about his whereabouts. Had a person close to him make a veiled threating response, supposedly coming from him, but he wasn't commenting. In the first week of November, upon going to get my remaining belongings from the vehicle, I decided to stop by his shop and get my key, for insurance. Upon going to the shop, he threatened and assaulted me, I had my camera on in my pocket, so it didn't catch the assault, but I was mostly there for audio. I was very polite and he came right at me. I did pull out my phone and get his face in the video, however, and the audio is clear. He didn't even give me my key, for SOME reason.
I immediately got out of the vicinity and called the police and filed a report. I've been waiting for that case to go somewhere before I start a lawsuit, but the police have done absolutely nothing. Car was totaled and I received a good payout, so that part is taken care of. However, my insurance company still hasn't been able to get my deductible back.
So, with the backstory, here is where I'm at:
Kansas small claims has a maximum of $4k. That covers the amount directly paid to him. That would be the 'easiest' way, but I'm still out a LOAD of money here. I had to refinance the Jeep for the repair, and I paid for insurance, tags, and payments on a vehicle I couldn't even drive and ended up seeing NOTHING out of it. Getting a lawyer is also tough, because the situation he put us in hasn't really helped our financial situation. On his end alone, I'm out 3.5k. Because of the whole situation, I'm out well over 10k, with nothing to show.
What kind of case do I have to sue for the full amount? Should I just go small claims and get it over with? I appreciate ANY advice you can give me.

Looking to upgrade my shocks on a ‘24 Trail Boss. The stock ones are fine on the road but they don’t really cut it on the trail. Willing to spend a fair amount on them, I’m not buying new shocks to save money.
Don’t really want to lift it, the 2.5” factory is good enough for me. Will probably keep factory leafs and springs.
Not in a huge rush to upgrade, I’m starting a new job and moving right now so I don’t need another expense for a good while.
Icon seems to be the only brand other (online) Colorado drivers have installed and they’re the only ones who say their universal shocks are compatible with the ‘24 model.
I’m not all that interested in Bilsteins - my buddy has them on his jeep and although sporty and reliable, they’re too harsh. My favorite thing about this truck so far is its pillowy ride. It’s the reason I traded in my 2019, I’m not sacrificing that.
Fox seems like a bit much - the rebuild schedule is something I don’t want to deal with either. Although those 3.0 Race series or whatever are pretty badass. I’ve see a lot about them online, enough good reviews might convince me.
Eibachs seem like a happy medium but they don’t claim compatibility yet.
Let me know what y’all have installed, how many miles and if you’d buy them again.

Hi. I’d like to know how those who either beat or finally got on top of their anxiety were able to rebuild, if you are one of those of us who lost quite a bit because of it.
I am so anxious (good anxiety);to rebuild. Getting back to where I was career-wise, I see will be a challenge but I can meet it. But I sold my Jeep after a coma & seizures following that. I was pretty banged up & didn‘t know, neither did my doctors when or if the seizures would end or… Resigned for the same reason. And have a few small medical bills but my credit took a dive when I started selling off things, resigned etc.
I rented out my place & moved into my mom’s guest house. And today, I finally feel it’s time to jump. I have been feeling okay since last Nov but started having anxiety over starting over, which from last month I started to see as just me being scared to rebuild. It took an incident where for the 1st time, I felt I had zero independence due to my wonderful family having stepped in to help. They are my angels but I need to go out there again. Even if I crash & burn, we will restart.
Please tell me how you started the process of rebuilding… No matter where you are in the process or how it’s going. You know starting is the hardest part esp for those of us diagnosed ADHD…
Moving out will probably be the last step as for their peace of mind & theirs, we need to see if I can cope & not regress as my doctors (3 neurologists) after so many tests could only conclude major stress caused the incident which resulted in long term complex anxiety. But it’s been about 3 years now.
Thank you. Any story, suggestion, idea or word of encouragement will be appreciated. Please don’t let Anxiety make your mind it’s permanent resident. 🧘🏾‍♀️🙏🏽

I’ve recently been approved for this vehicle. I don’t have much of a choice in terms of shopping because of credit issues. I’m not finance-able for anything I want realistically. It has 150,000 kilometres. I’ve read so many mixed reviews it seems people either love or hate it. I only plan on driving it for a year to rebuild my credit a bit and then trade it in for something newer with lower kms when my credit rating improves. (I actually want a Toyota Rav 4, Honda CRV or a Chevy Blazer) I haven’t signed my life away yet. I’m so torn on whether I should chance it and hope it doesn’t cause me major problems while I have it. This is a very scary decision for me to make as I am in the process of trying to rebuild my entire life lol. Jeep is NOT my first choice by any stretch but I need a reliable newer vehicle asap and I also need to work on my credit. (I’ve been driving a 2007 Chevrolet Impala with 300,000 kms on it and I almost trust it more than a Jeep with even with all of its issues from age) 😅

just put together a broken down WJ jeep. It was broken down and I rebuilt the engine ( first rebuild). I am definitely over my head. Long story short now that I have the engine running I am trying to figure out codes. It started with a p0161 and p0158 code. Which connects to the oxygen sensors. I used my blue driver scan tool to look at the oxygen sensors and 2 seem to not be function properly ( based on a couple youtube videos) and 2 seem to be functioning properly enough. I decided to unplug 2 of the sensors ( the 2 bad ones) and see if the codes went away and they didn't. So, I unplugged the 2 not so bad ones and the codes are still showing up. ( I did clear codes a few times).
But, the last time I did a scan not only are those two codes showing up. But, I am also getting.
83 Tire Size error;
82 teeth count error,
02 shorted LF Diodes,
51 open ISO coil rear,
03 shorted RF diodes.
All related to the body control module.
And 12 occupant restraint control module codes. That I think are related to me having the door open and not being in the driver seat with a seat belt on.( just had the door open walking back and forth from the engine to the driver seat.)
I do not know if all of these are just because I have the O2 sensors unplugged. Some how I think it would be weird the o2 sensors being unplugged would throw all these codes. But, I do not have a lot of experience in mechanical work. I have been learning as I go.
The PCM is a new ( to me) unit that I purchased from flagship ONE. Which supposedly does a Quality control check on all the PCMs they sell. ( they were the most convincing company I found when looking for PCMs but I have no experience with them.)
In my opinion based purely on sound I think the engine seems to run better with the o2 sensors unplugged. I am trying to figure out if I should just replace all 4 and if that would fix the codes I am getting or if the problem is else where. I have no idea about the other codes. I do not even know where to begin on them.
So, where should I begin on all these codes?

I just put together a broken down WJ jeep. It was broken down and I rebuilt the engine ( first rebuild). I am definitely over my head. Long story short now that I have the engine running I am trying to figure out codes. It started with a p0161 and p0158 code. Which connects to the oxygen sensors. I used my blue driver scan tool to look at the oxygen sensors and 2 seem to not be function properly ( based on a couple youtube videos) and 2 seem to be functioning properly enough. I decided to unplug 2 of the sensors ( the 2 bad ones) and see if the codes went away and they didn't. So, I unplugged the 2 not so bad ones and the codes are still showing up. ( I did clear codes a few times).
But, the last time I did a scan not only are those two codes showing up. But, I am also getting.
83 Tire Size error;
82 teeth count error,
02 shorted LF Diodes,
51 open ISO coil rear,
03 shorted RF diodes.
All related to the body control module.
And 12 occupant restraint control module codes. That I think are related to me having the door open and not being in the driver seat with a seat belt on.( just had the door open walking back and forth from the engine to the driver seat.)
I do not know if all of these are just because I have the O2 sensors unplugged. Some how I think it would be weird the o2 sensors being unplugged would throw all these codes. But, I do not have a lot of experience in mechanical work. I have been learning as I go.
The PCM is a new ( to me) unit that I purchased from flagship ONE. Which supposedly does a Quality control check on all the PCMs they sell. ( they were the most convincing company I found when looking for PCMs but I have no experience with them.)
In my opinion based purely on sound I think the engine seems to run better with the o2 sensors unplugged. I am trying to figure out if I should just replace all 4 and if that would fix the codes I am getting or if the problem is else where. I have no idea about the other codes. I do not even know where to begin on them.
So, where should I begin on all these codes?

I want my jeep to last a while after this rebuild, but I have access to stroker crank and I feel like I’ll be missing out if I don’t use it.
Advice?

edit: To the folks who shared some encouragement, thank you so much. It helps. I found a few mechanics that at least claim to have worked on Wranglers before, so here's hoping. I'm not going to attempt to rebuild a front end by myself. I'm not "nOt GoOd WiTh tOoLs". I need it to just be right to start with, so can I take subsequent repairs on as they come up, learn more as I go, and attempt to build my confidence.
There's a lot going on in my life rn, and this really took the last of it out of me. It took a lot for me to finally get to the point where I had the resources for this vehicle; I have baggage about old, busted cars with shitty gas mileage. I felt like finally going for it would be a way to prove to myself that I'm ok, I 'made it out', and I get to have things I like...so having it shit the bed in so many ways right out the gate really made me spiral. I felt like an irresponsible moron. I felt like a failure for missing the issues it has. I felt like the entire experience was proof that I really am as stupid as I tell myself I am, and that my preferences and wants should stay buried and never explored again. I felt like a 10 year old little girl again getting her bike taken away as punishment for asking to ride it. I still feel that way. The dickhead comments here really cemented that for me. So thanks for that too I guess.
~~~
Guys I'm so bummed out and I feel so stupid and crazy. I need to vent a little. Please delete if it's not allowed.
I traded in my '18 civic for an '11 wrangler. The Honda was obviously the objectively better car; but I didn't love it or care about it. Wranglers have always been my dream car. So I finally said fuck it and stopped letting my dreams be memes. Idk that I regret it, but I'm just...ugh.
Death wobble instantly after shifting into 6th gear. Death wobble hitting a bump if going over 40ish mph.
Cruise control doesn't work.
Seatbelt light stays on constantly.
Check engine light came on a week after buying it- I even had it checked by my trusted mechanic before making the purchase.
ABS and traction control light stay on permanently, likely due to the maybe 3in lift. They go off if you death wobble hard enough, though.
The alignment is bad. If you hold the wheel straight, you will drive off the left side of the road.
My commute is an HOUR on the highway. It is MISERABLE.
Every time I bring it up to someone, they laugh and wave their hands and say "hahaha! jeep stuff, amiright?" and I'm just like....my car trying to bodily leap from my hands and launch itself into oncoming traffic if I dare drive it outside of town is something to laugh about and I should have expected?!
I read a ton of posts and watched hours of videos about fixing death wobble, and the general consensus is 'oooh people try to just mask it with a steering stabilizer but that's stupid and you should feel stupid for ever thinking that, you need to weld/repaireplace/rebuild the control arms and track bar and u-joints and bolts and sacrifice the blood of your first born if you REALLY want to fix it'; then, everyone I talk to in real life who own/have owned and worked on their own jeeps just say 'oh yeah jeeps HAVE to have steering stabilizers'. so WHAT THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO
I want to cry. I didn't DO anything to or with this vehicle. I bought it, then had the audacity to drive it to work.

Guys I'm so bummed out and I feel so stupid and crazy. I need to vent a little. Please delete if it's not allowed.
I traded in my '18 civic for an '11 wrangler. The Honda was obviously the objectively better car; but I didn't love it or care about it. Wranglers have always been my dream car. So I finally said fuck it and stopped letting my dreams be memes. Idk that I regret it, but I'm just...ugh.
Death wobble instantly after shifting into 6th gear. Death wobble hitting a bump if going over 40ish mph.
Cruise control doesn't work.
Seatbelt light stays on constantly.
Check engine light came on a week after buying it- I even had it checked by my trusted mechanic before making the purchase.
ABS and traction control light stay on permanently, likely due to the maybe 3in lift. They go off if you death wobble hard enough, though.
The alignment is bad. If you hold the wheel straight, you will drive off the left side of the road.
My commute is an HOUR on the highway. It is MISERABLE.
Every time I bring it up to someone, they laugh and wave their hands and say "hahaha! jeep stuff, amiright?" and I'm just like....my car trying to bodily leap from my hands if I dare drive it outside of town is something to laugh about and I should have expected?!
I read a ton of posts and watched hours of videos about fixing death wobble, and the general consensus is 'oooh people try to just mask it with a steering stabilizer but that's stupid and you should feel stupid for ever thinking that, you need to weld/repaireplace/rebuild the control arms and u-joints and bolts and sacrifice the blood of your first born if you REALLY want to fix it'; then, everyone I talk to in real life who own/have owned and worked on their own jeeps just say 'oh yeah jeeps HAVE to have steering stabilizers'. so WHAT THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO
I want to cry. Why the fuck am I so stupid. Why did the car I've always loved and dreamed of INSTANTLY turn into a pile of shit. Why did I let myself hope I could actually have this. Why did I let myself feel happy driving it home.

Rebuilding my two door 1991 Jeep Cherokee and with all the times I’ve broke down and been relatively unprepared, I’d like to start carrying a more comprehensive kit for small repairs and such while I’m on the road. Before, all I’ve really carried were a couple of adjustable end wrenches, tow straps, come-along, bottle jacks, my multi tool, and sometimes a chainsaw. What are your guys load-outs for simple preparedness in your vehicles?

I’m at a bit of a crossroads with my CJ2A, in terms of which carburetor to run. I’ve got a Solex on it now, which does the job; but has its own baggage (pressure regulator, choke cable alignment, hood clearance, etc.). I also have a Carter WO that is original, but not functional. Tried rebuilding it; but ran into issues that put me off the project (stuck/ chewed up jets mostly). Additionally I have an old Weber 32/36 that I used to run on my CJ5 years ago. Trying to get the best bang for my buck, so looking for advice on how to proceed. I don’t really have any acute issues at the moment, just thinking about potential upgrades.
Overall question is this: is something else going to make a big enough difference in performance (relative to a 75+ year old Jeep) to be worth the spend?
Options: 1. Keep the Solex and live with the little oddities

1. Convert to the 32/36. On the table, but on the surface looks to be spending more money to again have a non-stock carb that could have similar baggage to Solex
   
2. Grit my teeth and put down the $350+ for a WO from a reputable parts shop (like Vintage Jeeper)
   

This is a weekend Jeep that mostly just runs around town or out to fishing holes. Just thinking of what my best bet would be.

Hey everyone, I have a 2016 GC 3.6l 6 cylinder and my transmission died. I’ve been told the second failed and broke off metal into the transmission.
I’ve been quoted 7200 +tax to rebuild comes with a 3 year /36k mile warranty. They will do updates and road test as well. Parts are $4.7k rest is labor.
Just asking to see if this is a reasonable charge for this job. I know it’s a big job but just seems insanely expensive.
Planning on getting another quote, but I just wanted to see if anyone had some advice or insight.
Update: getting more estimates in. Looking like $5500 from another shop that does all the transmission work and rebuilds for a local Jeep garage. Seems reasonable and are giving a shorter turn around time.
Lots of great suggestions so far. I’m not in a rush so I just need to do my homework before I make a final decision. Thank you!
2nd update: thanks everyone for their suggestions, ultimately due to the value of the car I’ve decided to go with the most affordable option I could find. I found a shop that will get me a used transmission with a 36k mile warranty for $4400

Main players are myself (R), my wife (M), my SIL (S), MIL (D), and FIL (W).
I (21M), and my wife (21F) will have been married 3 years as of July 6th. When I first met W (47M), he told M that she should leave me because I'm poor and live in a trailer park. Now while this was technically true, we lived in one of 2 actual houses in this trailer park, and I kept it in damn nice shape. Little did he know at that time, I had 4 jobs (lube tech, construction, maintenance for BNBs in town, and an on-call job rebuilding home appliances when I was needed) and grossed around $7k a month on a very bad and slow month.
This would have been fine, but I'm also a car guy so I had a lot of junk cars in front of my house and a race car in a storage unit on top of that. Roughly 4 vehicles in my parking area and the one on storage. The only ones that looked nice were my truck and my race car, truck was a 98' Tahoe 2 door sport, all black body, 4" lift (used to take it on trails and such at the recreational park nearby) on 44" tires. Race car at the time was a G-body Monte Carlo (I think 86 but can't remember) and it was modified for dirt track racing, all up cost me $12,000 to build as it started as a restoration turned race car project half way through. Full tube chassis, fully built 383 with a Garret 55mm turbo, on angry ass 700r4 trans, and a 3.73 rear gear still, on small tractor tires. Enough about the rides, getting off topic.
I eventually sold off all the cars but the truck and the Monte, as I later traded it for an 02' Z28 that was more of a drag car, which later got impounded. I also quit all of those jobs and just went to become an Arborist (tree worker) making maybe $3k a month. All of this was to please M as she told me she didn't feel like I spent enough time with her.
Shortly after that, my grandmother ended up on her last leg, so I planned a move to Arizona to be with her and my family. Quit my job, got packed up qnd ready to go, and was going to move in with my family. But then, the guy who they put a down payment on a house from bailed to NY with the money, turns out he was just a con man and never owned the property, was just really good at forgery. 3 days after that, grandma passed. I was mentally and emotionally broken, as she was a second mom who'd helped raise me for my entire childhood. And to top it off, I was now broke and homeless because I jumped the gun and quit my job and moved out.
By the time all of this had transpired, I had already met S and D, along with M's twin, who we'll call M2 (similar first names) and W had finally realized that I was capable of taking care of M, and gave up on telling her to leave. So when M told D what had happened, D and W agreed to let me stay with them until I could get back onto my feet. This is where the problems began.
See, W had a bad tendency to spend money he didn't have, and pull loans like crazy. W is a trucker and made roughly $5k a month then, owned a house but had a mortgage on it, had 2 BMW cars (428i and 328i both 2014s), a BMW S1000R bike, a Kawasaki Vulcan 9, a BMW 310R bike, and a plethora of credit cards, all of which he owed money on. I crunched the numbers and figured he'd, after bills and insurance, have maybe $200 left over each month on his pay. No problem though, he had D working a full time job and S as well, and now M and I were working and living there too. D (now 43F) mostly just bought groceries or payed bills that W had forgotten about before spending money at Pink or Williams-Sonoma every month in Vegas or Six Flags passes every month. S (now 23F) worked full time too and did some schooling in between work, and payed about $350 a month for rent to live there. M and I moved in, and quickly started working at a warehouse where we could make $2800 every month (very low paying compared to my Arborist work, was a total rip off) and we agreed to pay $745 a month in rent. The problem was he'd take that every paycheck, so we ended up spending $1490 a month in rent for one room and a bathroom, as our workplace was 45 minutes away and we worked long shifts, think 12-14 hours (absolutely a rip off I wasn't kidding), so we usually just made dinner in the break room at work then cleaned up and came home. Never even used the kitchen or living room at home.
On top of that, he had driven my car (at the time a 2007 Saturn Ion lvl 3) one day after he said he'd done the transmission fluid change. Turns out, he got the fluid drained, new filter on, drain plug torqued, and just started driving. Completely forgot to put more fluid in. Revved the engine until it moved, ended up frying the transmission and doing a lot of damage to the engine after holding it at 5k rpms for 30 minutes. Destroyed it.
So then we had to use his car. He took the 328d to work and had us use the 428i to get to and from work. Of course, nit without putting gas in it and paying insurance and registration. Which would have been fine had he not driven the trap out of the 428i every time he came home. He would come home on Tuesday, we would have the tank filled (took 91 octane and cost about $100 a tank at the time), drive it around all of Tuesday, emptying the tank so we'd fill it on Wednesday, and leave Thursday and it would be empty again. We were off these days as well, and didn't go much of anywhere. It would be empty again by Thursday. Every. Single. Time. And we would have to fill it to go to work on Thursday morning again. When we drove it, a tank would last a week or 2 easily. All up, he made it so we had to fill up that car 3 times a week, for 4 weeks a month. $1200 in fuel.
That plus the overcharged $1490 in rent meant we only had $110 a month for anything else, and I usually had to take on extra shifts so we could pay insurance and still have at least a bit of money to get lunch and dinner supplies for work.
Eventually we got the hell out of there and went to another warehouse, where we made less per hour, but got much better hours and didn't get ripped off on crappy insurance by the employers, which was the last place's excuse for how we'd work 12-14 hours a day and only get $2800 a month. This place gave us $4.50 less per hour but the hours were good, insurance wasn't hiked up, and we ended up making about $4k a month easily. We eventually saved up to buy ourselves a car so we could stop using his and paying so much in gas every week. We bought a 2003 745i. Ate gas like a pig but still cost less in gas than we were paying, maybe $150 a week to and from work, and insurance cost about the same.
W. Had. A. Fit. When he found out we bought the 745i and had started paying insurance on that and not his 428i anymore. This argument got so bad, M and I started rushing to find a new apartment even faster than we already were. We got onto a waiting list for a really nice set of apartments, that cost maybe $1300 a month counting utilities, but also had a pool, gym, beautiful front pad, balcony, amazing interior that was mostly soundproof so you couldn't hear the noisy neighbors as bad, and was just 3 minutes from work.
W found out that we had been bumped up the waiting list by accident, see, we had put M's number on the application, and she had dropped her phone at work and it got crushed by a load of freight that had been spilled. So when they couldn't reach her by phone or email, they mailed us the notification that we'd been moved up and could move into an apartment in 2 weeks.W saw that letter while we were at work and went ballistic. Throwing things around, shouting, he tried to fight me, but being 43 and having a combination of food baby and beer gut vs a (then) 18 year old who was an avid kickboxer and expanding into Jiu Jitsu, it didn't work out well. He was upset we were trying to move without telling him how much we were making so he could increase our rent. We had told him the pay was the same at the new place, so he wouldn't do exactly that.
It all came to a head the next day, W used a saw and cut the transmission return line to the transmission fluid cooler on the 745i, and my wife went to the store without realizing the issue until it was too late. Another transmission bites the dust thanks to W. D slapped him, which she'd never done before. W raised a hand to her like he was going to strike back, but S and I stepped between them and told him if he did it, not only would we whoop his ass, but we'd have him sent to prison for domestic assault for it.
Flash forward 3 days, he takes M and I to Wyoming and drops us off with my family. He doesn't want us to live there anymore and fuck that apartment and our job I guess. My folks were fine with it, they knew I'd get a job and be more than willing to help out with bills, because they wouldn't overcharge like W did.
Flash forward again like 2 years. I had a job at the local school district as a Supervisor over a maintenance crew. I made that same $2800 a month that M and I both made at the first warehouse before, by myself. M and I had also just had our baby, who we'll call BD. Then, another problem arose. See, when I started working for the district, it was through a temp agency. My boss Dan (won't abbreviate so as not to confuse him with our son or MIL) was actively talking with the Superintendent of the district trying to get my crew contracts to work for them directly and not the temp agency.
You see, recently Mark (also not abbreviated so we dont confuse him with M), who is Dan's direct subordinate but still senior to myself, had been in charge of giving us marching orders. The problem was that Mark was head of custodial, and had been working as a Custodian his entire life starting at age 18 for his high-school. He'd never worked any other job. But he was also incredibly stubborn and wanted things done his way, and if you didn't do it his way, you were fired. But again, he had never worked anything but custodial work, so directing a team of maintenance workers while having a hot head an 0 experience, and refusing to take input from any of us who actually did the maintenance, it didn't work out well. There were many complaints from my crew and others that Mark didn't know what he was doing and fired people who didn't do a job his way, even though his way was always wrong and not up to code. Just 12 days before the new contracts with the school district would go into effect, the temp agency ended the contract with the district and refused to honor the new contracts we as the employees had been offered.
See, the way that the new contracts had been set up, we would be transferred from the agency to full time with the district, since we were technically employed by the agency. So this cost us our contracts because Mark couldn't do his job and wouldn't take input, and apparently this wasn't the first time the agency had been through this rodeo with Mark. They were just fed up with him and wanted nothing to do with the district so long as Mark still worked there. Dan wanted to get rid of Mark for costing them such a good contract with the employment agency and a sum total of 4 great teams, totaling 28 great workers, because of Mark's stubborn hardheaded pride and refusal to admit any wrongdoing. But the school board refused, as Mark also did a great job keeping the Custodial side of the district in line and kept every school in top notch shape cleaning wise, and had improved the districts reputation as a clean and sanitary district, which helped them get a better budget each year.
So now here I was, jobless, with a wife and son. Yay. We ended up moving back in with W and D, S still lived there too. Then W suggested I get my CDL and become a trucker. I applied to get into the local CDL program several times from December to March. This brings us to now.
Now a bit of side information, the stress of everything really wore on my marriage with M, so currently, she lives with W and I stay with my Grandma while I go to school, occasionally I'll stay a night there and we share BD as equally as we can given the circumstances. M and I are actively trying to work out our marriage and recognize many of the issues we have and are trying to solve them so we can continue in a healthy manner and continue trying to be happy together.
Another piece of side information, W got 2 pay increases and now brings in $5600 a month.
Now here's where the title comes into effect. Since M and I got left with my family in Wyoming, W did a lot of stupid things. He traded in his 2014 328d for a 2015 Silverado 4.3L V6, traded the S1000R for a K 1600 GT with all the bells and whistles, sold the 428i, traded the Vulcan 9 for a Vulcan S, which he then traded for an Indian Springfield, and the 310R for a Triumph for S, then he cosigned for S to buy a 2022 Jeep Renegade. Then he refinanced the house for $72k, which nobody knows where that money went, and got dealership insurance for the Renegade on top of the insurance he already had put on it through Geico.
I don't live there anymore and M doesn't work as she has the baby most of the time, takes care of the house and cleaning, cooking, taking care of the dogs, and the cats, and making hand made meals for the pets as well, which also are quite expensive, costing about $240 per week as they have had cut vegetables, fish oil, and about 1.5lbs of meat per meal for the dogs and 3 eggs and 1 lbs of meat for the cats combined. W told M she must make these meals daily for the pets or he'll kick her out.
Now here's the issue. S pointed out several discrepancies in how much he's taking each month and how he wants M to work full time and pay for daycare for D ($900 a week) while I'm at school or work until I can get off and go get him.
So he had a meltdown, claiming he's broke and the whole family needs to pitch in, and wrote up a spreadsheet. I then took a good look at this spreadsheet.
According to him, S and M should be paying him $1700 and $515 a month respectively just to cover the bare minimum of bills. According to W, this will mean they're still broke as a whole, as this is causing him debt that they're not paying these sums, and they would all be broke together but still have a roof over their heads and food in their bellies.
The problem is S covers her car payment, then he takes $900 a month for insurance and a bunch of shit. S, myself, and M pay for groceries all the time and he never does. But my problem is that I've run all his expenses vs income, and there's a huge discrepancy. His monthly expenses, except the credit cards, cost $3,904.75 a month on the very top end. The very bottom end of his pay is $5600 a month. He should have an excess of $1,695.25 left over each month. This is counting every bill, payment, gas, every expense, including his food, in the last 18 months and taking the most expensive total of those 18 months and adding them together.
But he says that not only does he need that full $900 a month from S, but he should be taking $1700 from her and $515 from M, as taking $900 from S every month isn't enough and he's acquiring more debt.
Now let's assume he has $2k a month in credit card debt. No problem. D makes $2k a month and assists with bills. Should still have that $1,695.25 left over. He says he's not making enough and needs more money from them, but the numbers are not only saying he's making enough, but that he's making an excess of enough to buy a used car in 3 months that runs great. So why does he need a total of $2,215 from S and M? I get paying rent and such, but he's making these outlandish claims. The other problem is he won't let D spend any money on his card or see the account balance. D and M just had to sell off a game console and a PC to buy groceries as a result, because D spent all of her paycheck on bills that W didn't pay.
Where is all that other money he's making going? And why isn't the math mathing? I think either gambling or lot lizards. He had a severe gambling addiction years back, and that's the only logical explanation for why he would be making that much extra money but still need D and S to put in that much money and still ask M to get a job too and pay even more money to make up the slack.
I should also note that, even though I don't live there, I buy groceries 3 times a month for them and all of the baby supplies for BD. I also have paid bills for them on multiple occasions because D and S couldn't and W just didn't pay them.
So that's the story. I don't expect anyone to read this far, and if you did, don't worry if it didn't make much sense, there's so much going on and I tend to ramble about stupid shit. Thank you if you did read this far. I really just needed to vent and didn't know where else to do it without losing my everloving mind.
TL:DR FIL is a dipshit and lying about finances, crippling his family and nobody knows what he's doing with the money he's nor using to pay bills.