Jinger and Jeremy - Social Media Silence

[front hugs > duggs]

It was mostly just my brother and I in the house growing up (I have a much older sister, but not part of this story). When he was in high school ( I was still in middle school) I used to hide food allllll the time in my room (nothing fresh, all packaged snacks). He grew like 6 inches in one summer and was eating everything in sight! And our house was the hang out house with him and his friends. My mom could legit go grocery shopping and spend $200 easy for just three of us, and if my brother got to the kitchen first I probably never saw like $80 worth of groceries because it was gone. My mom kind of yelled at me for the food storing going on in my room, but I think she actually understood it a little. I mean, the boy used to eat his bowls of cereal with giant mixing bowls...

[rosastrohhut]

On 2.2.2017 at 8:31 PM, Screamapillar said:

Riveting stuff from Jinger about her new life in Laredo. Spoiler Alert: "It's been joyous."

http://people.com/tv/inside-jinger-duggar-and-jeremy-vuolos-new-life-in-laredo-texas-this-is-home-for-us-now/

I really enjoy the quotation marks on "incredible" holiday - makes it sound like irony... 

[calimojo]

I think that the kidults make enough from the show to cover their expenses now.  Keeping in mind, of course that JB pays for their housing,  they probably live a comfortable life on their earnings from the show.  If housing, and likely their vehicles, are paid for by daddy,  then all they need is money for groceries, maybe utilities, and for entertainment/travel, etc.  The first year my husband and I were married I was still a full time student and housing came with his job.  I think his salary for the year was 8000, which when you consider we did not have to pay for housing and had 2 out of 3 meals a day covered for us if we chose to eat with the students,  that 8,000 was pretty much free and clear money.  We weren't smart enough to save most of it unfortunately, but we went out to eat, went to movies and concerts and traveled.

This is how I imagine it is for Ben/Jessa, Derick/Jill and now maybe Jer/Jinger.  I think they likely earn $5000-10,000 per episode each, and added up, that is a good amount of money for people who don't even have to pay a mortgage.  The returns are diminishing as they add in new babies to feed, and perhaps they have to share the wealth even more if another sibling is heavily featured.  For example,  Season 1 was largely Jessa and Jill, but now season 2 has featured Jinger so now maybe Jinger got a bigger piece of the pie.  Next season will now feature Joy, so now there are 4 married girls sharing the pie.  As to Jana/JD, or the other kids who occasionally sit for TH's,  they probably get paid depending on how much time they put in on a certain episode.   

I don't think anyone in the Duggar clan is hurting for money.  Even if Jeremy and Jinger are going to try to live off of Jeremy's salary,  and the money from occasional appearances on the show,  Jinger knows that daddy will support them if needed, especially if Jeremy were to move closer to the home base. 

 

But, I also don't think the Kidults are making enough to sustain them  forever.  As they have more kids, as those kids need braces, or medical care, etc,  the money they are making now won't go very far.  JB is going to have to support these kids to some degree for many years to come.  And while I think JB is not insightful or particularly intelligent,  I do think he is savvy with making money.  He probably skirts what is legal in terms of how he gets his income but I do think he is diversified in his businesses and probably would make decent money without the show. I also think he is making money from the new show as he is probably acting as the agent to the kids and gets a cut of their earnings.  And it really wouldn't surprise me if all earnings go to some sort of Duggar Inc. and the kids are paid out of that as employees rather than having individual contracts. 

 

JB, may be dumb as a box of rocks in most ways, but he knows his way around making money and he knows how to control people. 

[lomo6]

@AlternativeVoice

Before the specials, they were living with 14.5 kids in a 1000 square foot 3-bedroom house. I know JimBob has his properties and was supposedly debt-free before TLC, but they were hardly living in the lap of luxury.

I totally agree that JimBob probably is sitting on a lot of cash - all the TLC money probably helped fuel his investments in rental properties around NW Arkansas. But as @SassyPants said, it's hard to imagine him supporting 19 kids, their spouses, and their zillion children into eternity. That burden will easily grow to 100+ people over the next decade. 

If the show is canceled, things could get ugly quickly. The same way some athletes and celebrities go broke after earning obscene money for years, because at some point their careers fizzle, the cash flow ends, and they burn through their savings pretty quickly. 

The savvier older kids (or their spouses) have to be realizing the gravy train won't last forever.  Some are too infantilized to be able to do anything about it and will go down with the ship. It's sad to say, but the best chance that any of these kids have is an independent-minded spouse.

And @Coconut Flan - good call on that being 100% staged. I'm sure there was a fast food chain somewhere within the vicinity of Joshley's office where he could pick something up for under $7. Considering that the materials in the lunch probably cost at least $2, no way the gas (and possible tolls) would make it worth it to drive all that way if they were thinking logically (a big ask, I know).

[AlternativeVoice]

2 hours ago, OyToTheVey said:

I think it was in one of the talking heads and Derek said it. Jill just smiled and sat there. She told him the story of hiding in the bathroom.

Oh my! That's rough ! I wonder why she out of all the girls seem so keen on following in her parents footsteps..knowing she had to hide just to get a plate to herself 

[Gillyweed]

2 minutes ago, AlternativeVoice said:

Oh my! That's rough ! I wonder why she out of all the girls seem so keen on following in her parents footsteps..knowing she had to hide just to get a plate to herself 

I think it's because she's a people pleaser. If she doesn't follow her parents' footsteps she'll feel like a failure because that's their version of success. I'm kind of the same way, I've always wanted to please the adults in my life (teachers, parents, etc. ) and felt terrible when I disappointed them or mad them angry. Now, I kind of feel like if I don't succeed in college and get a career, then I wouldn't have succeeded. I know it's not true, but it's just how my mind has worked my entire life. 

[front hugs > duggs]

Sometimes I think we underestimate how much money the Duggars have and where it's from. When TLC paychecks stop, I'm sure they will have to dial back on more of their luxury expenses (new iPhones for everyone, etc). But I don't think they'd be too badly off- at least JB and whichever kid(ults) still live under him. I think he still has a ton of both commercial and residential real estate and I'm sure he still gets money from- was it the cell towers?- they put on his property. I do think the married kids adults will struggle more- I'm not sure how many of the 2nd generation families he would really be able to afford if they keep popping out kids at a quick rate indefinitely. I do believe they will always be offered either land on the compound to build, or other properties they already own for living. But I'm not sure at this point how, Ben and Jessa for example, would be able to provide clothes, food, etc. for many more children. I think we will see more Josh/Anna style weddings if TLC is not filming, unless the marrying family is able and willing to provide as well. While I think their lifestyle will change a lot from what they've been able to do in the last 8 years or so, I don't think they'll really be in that much trouble.

[danni9242]

JB is property savvy. They own those commercial units that he gets regular rent off, plus the land with cell phone masts, plus the unknown number of other properties I think he'll have invested some of the TLC big bucks in when they were making more per show. Then there's the car business/towing business and other properties that his sons/daughters 'own'. I bet JB is right in with them and if by the time each marries they have a property they can use for a business, home or rental income they've at least got something outside of the show. Then once JB and M are gone there'll be money to go around. Enough to support ridiculous sized families? No, but I highly doubt all the kids will really aim at huge families regardless of what they say. Of all the kidults I'd say John-David is the best  placed financially.

[SassyPants]

3 hours ago, hollyandivy said:

Really????? That is so sad! Why do you have that many children if you can't even feed them - and it's not like there was decent food in Duggarland - just junk covered with more junk

 

3 hours ago, hollyandivy said:

Really????? That is so sad! Why do you have that many children if you can't even feed them - and it's not like there was decent food in Duggarland - just junk covered with more junk

Because Jesus-

[Snarkle Motion]

4 hours ago, choralcrusader8613 said:

You're right. It was in the episode where Jill and Jana were making Nepali food for Derick. I felt so bad for Jill hearing that.

I feel like I had heard that story before that episode too. That they had mentioned it before. I definitely got the impression that before the tv show life was very different. 

I imagine that Jim Bob is well off in the sense that he has invested the money from the show wisely and has a reasonable bit of savings that any normal family would be able to live off a long time in comfort. The multiple kids complicates matters. Someone who owns and maintains a private plane has resources.

[Toothfairy]

Once the checks stop, there's no way to support 19 kids plus their kids. 

[grandmadugger]

JB's estimated net worth is 4 million. That may sound like a lot but it really isn't. The current suggestion for a middle class person is to have a million available when you retire. They aren't talking cash of course but 401k and the like that can sustain you through death. He's got enough for him, Michelle, and 2 kids. There's no way he can support all of his children forever. As more kids get married there goes more rental income because the house will go to the kid instead of making money. He also can't sell the house off because where will the kid live?  

[QuiverFullofBooks]

Since I brought it up, yes, there's a McDonald's half a block away from the FRC. Driving the lunch in did not make financial sense. But the real problem is that there's no parking there, and Anna had the kids in the car. I don't remember if she called him and told him to run out and grab the lunch from her or what.

[Kittikatz]

I think Jimboob probably has a lot more money/assets than most people give him credit for. FSM knows how  many shell corporations/trusts he has or is involved in.

Boob's parents were heavily involved in real estate/property rentals, and he followed them into the family business. I doubt they had a whole lot of liquid assets before the TLC show, but given the depressed real estate market and the whole mortgage collapse during the run of the show, he would have had a lot of opportunity to acquire property and generate largely passive income from rentals/cell phone masts etc., which could have been reinvested. It takes money to make money, and he had a whole lot of money coming in.

We are also forgetting the army of (probably) unpaid labour he has in his adult/teen children (not to mention those random other people living at the TTTH). If Boob needs something fixed/cleaned/painted etc, he probably doesn't have to pay for much more than materials. 

I'm not saying he can support everyone indefinitely, but I don't think they are hurting.

[elliha]

26 minutes ago, Kittikatz said:

I think Jimboob probably has a lot more money/assets than most people give him credit for. FSM knows how  many shell corporations/trusts he has or is involved in.

Boob's parents were heavily involved in real estate/property rentals, and he followed them into the family business. I doubt they had a whole lot of liquid assets before the TLC show, but given the depressed real estate market and the whole mortgage collapse during the run of the show, he would have had a lot of opportunity to acquire property and generate largely passive income from rentals/cell phone masts etc., which could have been reinvested. It takes money to make money, and he had a whole lot of money coming in.

We are also forgetting the army of (probably) unpaid labour he has in his adult/teen children (not to mention those random other people living at the TTTH). If Boob needs something fixed/cleaned/painted etc, he probably doesn't have to pay for much more than materials. 

I'm not saying he can support everyone indefinitely, but I don't think they are hurting.

Also, unlike just having x million in cash, a rental property for example will keep generating money more or less as long as you own it if it is in the area where there is a demand for renting a house/apartment. Him having access to people that can do repairs does bring the costs down a bit more. While there can be costly things that go wrong with a house this will not be the majority of things you need to do, most will be relatively minor things for which you don't even need much training for or that can be done if a more skilled person teams up with a less skilled person. I can't say I know much about building but I have helped out on multiple occasions with such tasks and I am sure the Duggar adults, teens and pre-teens could do that too depending on the task.

[eveandadam]

3 hours ago, grandmadugger said:

JB's estimated net worth is 4 million.

I think it could be far more. somewhere between 10-20 million, in total, probably, if you take all the real estate , planes, businesses into account. And let's not forget, all the connection and all the free labor, which is much more important than just money. 4 million is probably just the  value of the 3 mansions they own.

having 10-20 million in fortune is nothing if you are not rooted in the region and don't have any connections, e.g. to the banks, police, other parts of the legal system (to maybe hide some shady actions) and thousands of hours of free labor because of all the "friends" you have in the area and your own brood of adult children who wouldn't dare to say no.

Let's face it: JB has it all: money, connections and free labor.

I would say: It is enough to feed all 19 children for a few more decades but with all the grand-children it starts to get difficult.

 

[Fundie Bunny]

3 hours ago, grandmadugger said:

JB's estimated net worth is 4 million. That may sound like a lot but it really isn't. The current suggestion for a middle class person is to have a million available when you retire. They aren't talking cash of course but 401k and the like that can sustain you through death. He's got enough for him, Michelle, and 2 kids. There's no way he can support all of his children forever. As more kids get married there goes more rental income because the house will go to the kid instead of making money. He also can't sell the house off because where will the kid live?  

Wait, do anyone in the US get a state pensión when they retire?

[eveandadam]

And Jill and Jessa probably make enough money of Instagram and Twitter with almost 2 mio followers each. It's probably enough to live of because they don't pay (a lot of) rent.

[RosyDaisy]

I think it's wise for Jeremy and Jinger to not be on social media. However, it might be a good idea for the church to have a Facebook page.

[freejoy]

I think JimBun dreams of overtaking Tontitown with all his children and grandchildren!

They'll be having their own gardens, cattle, industry.... A little bit how the Amish are.

[Fundie Bunny]

24 minutes ago, freejoy said:

I think JimBun dreams of overtaking Tontitown with all his children and grandchildren!

They'll be having their own gardens, cattle, industry.... A little bit how the Amish are.

If they keep their rate, i predict that will happen sometime around 2075

[gustava]

5 hours ago, Fundie Bunny said:

Wait, do anyone in the US get a state pensión when they retire?

If I understand your question, the answer is no.  We get Social Security, which is based on prior work income, and so can be too low to live on.

[SnazzyNazzy]

6 hours ago, Fundie Bunny said:

Wait, do anyone in the US get a state pensión when they retire?

As of right now, MrSnazzy will get a full state pension, because he worked for the State of Indiana for 21 years. People who don't work for the state don't get one though.

[Flossie]

1 hour ago, freejoy said:

I think JimBun dreams of overtaking Tontitown with all his children and grandchildren!

They'll be having their own gardens, cattle, industry.... A little bit how the Amish are.

They'd have to work for that, and the Duggars as a whole don't work.  They don't garden, they don't raise cattle, and JB has some business ventures, but so far we've heard little of his adult kids actually working.  

Josh played at it, but his time running the car lot wasn't really successful, because he had Anna doing the paperwork and an employee doing the rest while Josh did very little.  I think his time with the FRC was just a publicity stunt and the when the scandals hit the FRC was already thinking of how to cut him loose without admitting their faulty reasoning for hiring him.

Jana is running the TTH, handling the mail, assigning tasks to the younger siblings, and reporting back to JB.  And she's losing her older sisters to marriage, when they become another drain on Jana.  They need help finding chaperones for their dates, they need help planning their engagement reveal, then they need help planning the wedding.  After the wedding, they come back and dump their kids on Jana for babysitting or requesting sibling help with stuff going on at their own home.  Jana is the Princess Diana of the Duggar family.  They use her and then treat her like a second class citizen because she's Unmarried Jana.  If Jana fled or fell into a coma the TTH would collapse because nothing happens unless Jana makes it happen.

JD seems to have some things going on, like the rental house he supposedly owns.  He had a towing company for awhile, but I think thats gone now.  He has an elected position that he got because he was the only candidate running and doesn't actually require him to do anything.  He flies planes, but I don't think he has an actual business doing that.  I think he mostly flies to get his family members from one place to another, with maybe a few flights for family friends.  I'll happily be corrected if JD is found to own a plane and if he has a business flying for paying customers.

I can't think of anything the other adult or teenaged children have done that wasn't a setup for a show.

The married Duggar kidults don't have a lot to brag about when it comes to their spouses.  

Josh married Anna, a homeschooled girl raised in Gothardism whose only accomplishments before marriage was accompanying her father on trips to prisons and getting an online early childhood education degree from an unaccredited college.  She has the misfortune of being even lower on the totem pole than Jana, in Duggar family standards, despite being married and producing the most grandchildren so far.  I suspect that's because the older Duggar children know she was shoved into a marriage with Josh to get him out of the house, and an inborn arrogance that anyone not born to JB&M is automatically second-rate.  Add in that the Duggars had a TV show and Anna's parents are poor, and Anna was probably made to feel that she's lucky they associate with her at all.  Don't forget that when Josh was sent of to Jesus Jail, Michelle wrote a horrible article that pretty much blamed Anna for his fall.  Michelle couldn't blame Anna for the earlier molestations, but when Josh was found to be an adulturer as well, it must have been Anna's fault for not being a good enough wife for him.  (I'd love for Michelle to find that Jim Bob has had multiple affairs so she can figure out how that's not her fault.  Sadly, probably not going to happen.)

Jill married Derick, who looked good on paper and has flamed out spectacularly since.  He and Jill have been exposed as idiots who can't seem to do anything right, and I personally am just dreading just how badly they can mess up.  Derick wants to wander off to someplace, on someone elses' dime, so he can be the lamest missionary ever.  Jill is afraid of her own shadow, has one child she seems to be unable to fully bond with or control, and her big thing was thinking she was the most knowagable midwife ever and screwed up her own labor and delivery to the point that both she and her baby could have died.  But she's managed to get pregnant again, and I don't have any faith that she's not going to screw up again.

Jessa married Ben, who is actually not as bad as I originally thought, but there's some issues there.  I think a large part of it is that Ben was enamoured with Jessa, while she was enamoured with the idea of getting out of the TTH.  Ben's trying to finish growing up and Jessa's trying to get more limelight.  They're both still super religious and enmeshed with the Duggars and the show.  I think we won't see real change from them until after the camera's have gone away.

Jinger married Jeremy, who is an assistant pastor in a church in Texas, and we don't hear much from them.  Still waiting to see if JB manages to draw them back to the compound with the offer of working in JB's church, which is still under construction.

Joy is going to marry a young man soon.  I read their thread, but until we learn more about them I only wonder how much more work Joy's engagement and wedding is going to put on Jana.

I know there are other kidults in the family, but as far as I know, they don't do much of anything.  They just exist to play their part when TLC shows up to film.

[eveandadam]

2 hours ago, freejoy said:

I think JimBun dreams of overtaking Tontitown with all his children and grandchildren!

They'll be having their own gardens, cattle, industry.... A little bit how the Amish are.

Have you heard about the Kingston clan in Salt Lake City? I kind of wonder whether JB would like a legal mini-version of the Kingston clan in NWA, minus the polygamy and incest part, of course.