Minimum amount of $$ needed to run the Maxwell household.

[albanuadh_1]

Not certain if this has ever been discussed before. For some strange reason, I was thinking about this last night. What would the minimum monthly ( or yearly) income would the Maxwells require to function? The house, undoubtedly, has been paid for years ago but the utilities, groceries, maintenance, insurances, gas all cost.

 

Even their 'vacations' and conferences ( not to mention the cameras!!) wouldn't be cheap. Do they really bring in that much money or does Steve have really good pensions?

 

ETA: I'm not from the States so I don't know a lot of the costs there.

[FundieWatcher]

I'm a single woman making $38k/year. I live ok. Decent apartment for only $495/month. The cost of living in my area isnt too high. A paid for car, but is 9 years old. Cell phone with everything unlimited.

Netflix but no cable. 2 or 3 short vacations a year but usually no more than 300 miles away from home and no flights. My health insurance is only $40/month. But I don't save enough, like $150/month into a 401K. My big expense is food. I eat out often, usually 3 times a day. On a weekday I might spend $20 on food a day and on a weekend up to $50 a day (when you include drinks).

If I *had* to, I could I could make it on $300/week. That would mean a dramatic lifestyle change.

It is so difficult to guess the Maxwell household expenses. However my guess would be they could do it with 40K/year. But I'm solely guessing based own experiences.

[kpmom]

I always wonder that too.

They don't seem to skimp on electronics. I don't know how many vehicles they own (not counting the married sons' households).

40k doesn't sound like much for a household of 10 adults, but maybe.

Steve is old enough to get Social Security now, and if he invested in a 401k and an IRA, he could be collecting from those.

Steve had a radio interview awhile back where he said Joseph can make $75 an hour for his IT work.

Their conferences do cost them money, but I can't believe they would continue them unless they were bringing in money.

I have an idea Sarah's books, compared to their other books, sell quite well. At least judging from the comments section on the blog when a new Moody book is launched compared to Steve and Teri's books.

[Cassia]

Their products sell like mad at their conferences, well at least at the one I attended. I'm talking lineups of women with arms so full that books are falling to the ground.

[Dru]

It's hard to say, but their expenses can't be much when they aren't traveling. The houses are paid for, so that leaves utilities, taxes, and insurance. Property taxes on Steve and Teri's house is just over $7k/year and Joseph's is $1,200. From where I'm sitting in the Chicago suburbs that's pretty cheap. Food is probably bought in bulk and they seem to rarely go out to eat unless someone else pays for it.

Sure Joseph can make $75/hour doing IT work, but how many hours is he getting? I had a high per hour rate when I was consulting but it's not like I was working even close to full time.

John is still tooling around in a truck, so maybe he's doing construction? I'd pay him to build something just so I could sit and watch.

[Dru]

Is this a new Maxwell endeavor?

www. maxwellirrigation.com/

Looks like one Jesse Maxwell posted a web design contest on 99designs.com looking for a new design. 99designs.com/web-design/contests/create-beautiful-immersive-website-design-maxwell-irrigation-401757/brief

ETA- Yes it is. Same phone number traces back to Maxwell and Sons Construction. Guess this is why they were spending time with John Marie?

[kpmom]

Oh, good find Dru.

Yes, I'm sure John-Marie taught them the drip irrigation business.

Of course, they will actually have to leave Casa Maxwell to design an irrigation system. I hope they're not too defrauded by scantily clad scarecrows or something.

[nomoxian]

Their products sell like mad at their conferences, well at least at the one I attended. I'm talking lineups of women with arms so full that books are falling to the ground.

I guess that's what happens when you have uneducated people shilling stuff to even more uneducated people.

Maybe if their internet wasn't so self-regulated, a few sites about household management would trickle through the censor - though I guess if every other paragraph doesn't include a bible verse, it's not good and Godly enough for them.

[Jana814]

I always wondered the same thing about the money. They never blog about it.

[crawfishgirl]

They probably spend very little on entertainment and other activities, and I doubt that they have cable or netflix. They sew some of their own clothes, but since they don't leave the house very often, they probably don't need a large wardrobe. They don't appear to eat large meals (although they do have many people to feed, 2 animal crackers per person doesn't cost a lot...), and don't drink alcohol. They don't have any tuition payments. Their vacation is held at the same place each year, so they can use the same hiking equipment each year. So I doubt that they need much more than the basics - utilities, food, etc., and since they don't live in a high cost of living city, those items should be reasonably priced.

[Letgo]

I would guess they would need at least $2500 a month, bare minimum. It would depend on insurance for the house, vehicles, and especially health. How do they handle monthly bills/necessities? Do the adult children chip in each month? Do they pay for their own health insurance? Car insurance? I also wonder if the boys pay more than the girls. They are allowed to work and the girls are not. Sarah writes her books, but that is all she has. Anna and Mary don't even have that. Does Steve pay for it if one of them wants a new skirt or purse? Maybe the girls get an allowance of sorts. I bet the boys pay for some of their own things, such as car insurance, gas, health insurance, clothing. And Joseph must pay for his house related expenses even if he is not allowed to live there.

Their way of life is much less expensive than it is for most people. No mortgage. No TV cable bill, no newspaper, no going out to see a movie, buy one, or even rent one. No buying current clothing styles each season. No hanging out at the mall making impulse buys. They rarely eat out. No books or magazines. Do the women wear make up? It's hard to tell from the pictures. I'm guessing no, or not much. Not much is spent on decorating the house or on furniture. They probably don't even use much gas unless they are on a trip in Uriah.

[MamaJunebug]

Ay yi yi - $7,000 taxes on the Maxwell Motherhouse? That seems very high for NE Kansas. Does the information give a square footage on the dwelling? Or on the lot(s) it occupies?

TIA. And remember, they don't just have no cable, but NO TV. Save on flat screens & cable accoutrements -- and spend on cameras!!!

[salex]

Is this a new Maxwell endeavor?

www. maxwellirrigation.com/

Looks like one Jesse Maxwell posted a web design contest on 99designs.com looking for a new design. 99designs.com/web-design/contests/create-beautiful-immersive-website-design-maxwell-irrigation-401757/brief

ETA- Yes it is. Same phone number traces back to Maxwell and Sons Construction. Guess this is why they were spending time with John Marie?

That is the lamest irrigation site I've ever seen.. Seriously. And their explanation of what they do and why sounds like they are just telling you info they just learned and since it is new to them, it must be new to you as well.

I see nothing that tells me they have any idea what they are doing. Unless they are selling equipment, I'm not sure who would hire them, since 1) most farmers who irrigate can do much if not all of this themselves and 2) most irrigation equipment companies who sell this would have someone in house to do this. A quick google of irrigation software brings up dozens of hits.

In olden days (the 70s) I helped my dad manually survey fields for using gated pipe to flood furrows for irrigation. I also helped lay movable irrigation pipe and helped set up a traveling spray gun system for our corn fields. This was big deal in 72, but already the farmers themselves were figuring out the grade, psi, gallons used, etc. Now that more are using more efficient methods and more permanent systems, I' not sure why they would need the Maxwells for this, again, unless he's working for one or another irrigation company, or unless they are doing yards and gardens.

They may surprise me, but they will have to get past the one page of text with clearly no real world experience and no pictures for their web site. I thought they were web master types? And photographers. Show us some of your work!

[Odd1Out]

I'm sure all of their computers and other office equipment, cameras and even cell phones are a tax write-off for their ministry(business).

[NotALoserLikeYou]

Ay yi yi - $7,000 taxes on the Maxwell Motherhouse? That seems very high for NE Kansas. Does the information give a square footage on the dwelling? Or on the lot(s) it occupies?

TIA. And remember, they don't just have no cable, but NO TV. Save on flat screens & cable accoutrements -- and spend on cameras!!!

Yeah 7k a year?? That's almost 600/month. That cant be right?

[ViolaSebastian]

And they're not paying much for healthcare, another major expense...and it's not like they're spending much for entertainment. How much does scamaritan cost, anyway?

[SPHASH]

That is the lamest irrigation site I've ever seen.. Seriously. And their explanation of what they do and why sounds like they are just telling you info they just learned and since it is new to them, it must be new to you as well.

I see nothing that tells me they have any idea what they are doing. Unless they are selling equipment, I'm not sure who would hire them, since 1) most farmers who irrigate can do much if not all of this themselves and 2) most irrigation equipment companies who sell this would have someone in house to do this. A quick google of irrigation software brings up dozens of hits.

In olden days (the 70s) I helped my dad manually survey fields for using gated pipe to flood furrows for irrigation. I also helped lay movable irrigation pipe and helped set up a traveling spray gun system for our corn fields. This was big deal in 72, but already the farmers themselves were figuring out the grade, psi, gallons used, etc. Now that more are using more efficient methods and more permanent systems, I' not sure why they would need the Maxwells for this, again, unless he's working for one or another irrigation company, or unless they are doing yards and gardens.

They may surprise me, but they will have to get past the one page of text with clearly no real world experience and no pictures for their web site. I thought they were web master types? And photographers. Show us some of your work!

That site is missing the link to the Good Person test.

[uber frau]

I'm sure all of their computers and other office equipment, cameras and even cell phones are a tax write-off for their ministry(business).

Their 'ministry' isn't registered as one so they don't get tax breaks from that.

I don't know anything about the US taxation system but in Australia most things like computers and phones could be written off(at least partially) as a business related expense.

[Letgo]

And they're not paying much for healthcare, another major expense...and it's not like they're spending much for entertainment. How much does scamaritan cost, anyway?

So they do that as health care? Don't you just pay the bills for other people with that? Is that "plan" okay with the new health care rules now?

[NotALoserLikeYou]

So they do that as health care? Don't you just pay the bills for other people with that? Is that "plan" okay with the new health care rules now?

Yes, they are acceptable under obamacare. But I'm not sure how the payments work.

[nelliebelle1197]

Their 'ministry' isn't registered as one so they don't get tax breaks from that.

I don't know anything about the US taxation system but in Australia most things like computers and phones could be written off(at least partially) as a business related expense.

Yes, they do.Just because it isn't a 501c3 or other nonprofit type does not mean it is not a business. All that stuff is written off as it is business related income. I am sure it runs as a sole proprietorship under Steve.

[church_of_dog]

That is the lamest irrigation site I've ever seen.. Seriously. And their explanation of what they do and why sounds like they are just telling you info they just learned and since it is new to them, it must be new to you as well.

I see nothing that tells me they have any idea what they are doing. Unless they are selling equipment, I'm not sure who would hire them, since 1) most farmers who irrigate can do much if not all of this themselves and 2) most irrigation equipment companies who sell this would have someone in house to do this. A quick google of irrigation software brings up dozens of hits.

In olden days (the 70s) I helped my dad manually survey fields for using gated pipe to flood furrows for irrigation. I also helped lay movable irrigation pipe and helped set up a traveling spray gun system for our corn fields. This was big deal in 72, but already the farmers themselves were figuring out the grade, psi, gallons used, etc. Now that more are using more efficient methods and more permanent systems, I' not sure why they would need the Maxwells for this, again, unless he's working for one or another irrigation company, or unless they are doing yards and gardens.

They may surprise me, but they will have to get past the one page of text with clearly no real world experience and no pictures for their web site. I thought they were web master types? And photographers. Show us some of your work!

That site does not even indicate where they are located -- not even what city or state. I had to google the area code to confirm that it was Kansas.

[nelliebelle1197]

Their 'ministry' isn't registered as one so they don't get tax breaks from that.

I don't know anything about the US taxation system but in Australia most things like computers and phones could be written off(at least partially) as a business related expense.

Yes, they do.Just because it isn't a 501c3 or other nonprofit type does not mean it is not a business. All that stuff is written off as it is business related income. I am sure it runs as a sole proprie

[lilwriter85]

And they're not paying much for healthcare, another major expense...and it's not like they're spending much for entertainment. How much does scamaritan cost, anyway?

I think it's been awhile since Scamartian has been discussed here. I remember a couple of years back, a couple of posters said they knew people who used it and I think CountressRascal dealt with patients who have it. I'll try to find some info from old threads. I also remember when Nathan Maxwell did some ad for it.

[salex]

The DCDesign,Inc, which has a confusing bit of info about designing the Maxwell Irrigation Logo

dcdstudio.com/maxwell-irrigation-identity-design/

also did / does work for IHOP in KC area. I am trying to figure out how Steve would get along with the IHOP groups.

dcdstudio.com/botpr-201/