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Alyssa & John: Life With Three Daughters


Jellybean

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 I'm a total personal finance nerd, so I just made a mock monthly budget for the Webster family. Please only click on the spoiler if you promise not to be frightened by my obsessiveness:

Spoiler

 

If he is making $82,000 a year, that is $5,366 per month after Federal taxes/SS/medicare. I've estimated all of these monthly expenses as the low- to mid-range for a household from Florida-based websites (I'm not from Florida so others feel free to correct me) and tried to adjust everything in their favor. I double checked my math, but I'm an English major so let me know if I calculated something incorrectly.

 

Expenses per month

Average Orlando mortgage: $981.83  (that's assuming they put 20% down and both have solid credit scores and a 30 year mortgage)

Property tax: $141 a month (Florida doesn't have a state income tax but they do have very high property, gas, utilities, and sales taxes to make up for it.)

Health insurance for family of five in Florida: $1,394 (If they don't have health insurance, then substitute in the payments for three uninsured births at hospitals plus other various medical needs.)

Food: $800 (This is assuming the baby is exclusively breastfed and they are not eating out. Also keep in mind the FL sales tax is very high and this is calculated into this number.)

Vehicle insurance for two cars: $150 (This is assuming two very modest cars and both have perfect safe driver scores.)

Gas: $150 (Again, very high gas taxes.)

 

Utilities (I will assume they don't have cable):

Cell phones: $42

Electric: $140

Water: $55 

Internet: $51

Trash pick up: $17

I am assuming they don't have any car payments (and I'm giving that assumption a lot of side eye...)

So after all necessary bills, we are left with $1,444.17 for the month.

 

Savings/Donations (i.e., stuff they need to be putting their money into before buying more cute clothes or going out to eat)

Life insurance: I will assume his company provides this.

Tithes/church donations: (Even if they don't tithe, I seriously doubt they are just passing the basket without putting anything into it every Sunday so we'll go with a minimum of $25 put in every week): $100

Retirement: 10% being the lowest recommended contribution to a 401(k)/IRA, he would need to put in $683 a month. (He really should be putting in $1,000.)

Emergency Fund: Should be nine months of expenses. That comes to $12,997. I am again going to be very generous and say John has already had this saved before marrying . 

Life Happens Fund: About $150 a month

Leftover

That leaves $511.17. And that's with everything going in their favor, no loans, no PMI, no pre-existing medical conditions, and John having saved both a down payment and emergency fund before marriage at age 24. 

So they have five hundred dollars to cover all of the following miscellaneous expense we know will come up:

Car repairs, home repairs, travel to see her family in Tennessee, gifts, bridesmaid dresses, clothing, shoes, diapers, haircuts, furniture, lawn care, homeschooling supplies, dry cleaning, co-pays, medication, savings to buy their next car when the old one dies (debt is evil remember!), eating out, subscription services, other entertainment.

The Websters ain't poor by any means. But they sure don't seem rich enough to be living the way Alyssa lives. 

 

 

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Maybe the cleaning company money is what pays for the clothes?

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35 minutes ago, nausicaa said:

 I'm a total personal finance nerd, so I just made a mock monthly budget for the Webster family. Please only click on the spoiler if you promise not to be frightened by my obsessiveness:

  Hide contents

 

If he is making $82,000 a year, that is $5,366 per month after Federal taxes/SS/medicare. I've estimated all of these monthly expenses as the low- to mid-range for a household from Florida-based websites (I'm not from Florida so others feel free to correct me) and tried to adjust everything in their favor. I double checked my math, but I'm an English major so let me know if I calculated something incorrectly.

 

Expenses per month

Average Orlando mortgage: $981.83  (that's assuming they put 20% down and both have solid credit scores and a 30 year mortgage)

Property tax: $141 a month (Florida doesn't have a state income tax but they do have very high property, gas, utilities, and sales taxes to make up for it.)

Health insurance for family of five in Florida: $1,394 (If they don't have health insurance, then substitute in the payments for three uninsured births at hospitals plus other various medical needs.)

Food: $800 (This is assuming the baby is exclusively breastfed and they are not eating out. Also keep in mind the FL sales tax is very high and this is calculated into this number.)

Vehicle insurance for two cars: $150 (This is assuming two very modest cars and both have perfect safe driver scores.)

Gas: $150 (Again, very high gas taxes.)

 

Utilities (I will assume they don't have cable):

Cell phones: $42

Electric: $140

Water: $55 

Internet: $51

Trash pick up: $17

I am assuming they don't have any car payments (and I'm giving that assumption a lot of side eye...)

So after all necessary bills, we are left with $1,444.17 for the month.

 

Savings/Donations (i.e., stuff they need to be putting their money into before buying more cute clothes or going out to eat)

Life insurance: I will assume his company provides this.

Tithes/church donations: (Even if they don't tithe, I seriously doubt they are just passing the basket without putting anything into it every Sunday so we'll go with a minimum of $25 put in every week): $100

Retirement: 10% being the lowest recommended contribution to a 401(k)/IRA, he would need to put in $683 a month. (He really should be putting in $1,000.)

Emergency Fund: Should be nine months of expenses. That comes to $12,997. I am again going to be very generous and say John has already had this saved before marrying . 

Life Happens Fund: About $150 a month

Leftover

That leaves $511.17. And that's with everything going in their favor, no loans, no PMI, no pre-existing medical conditions, and John having saved both a down payment and emergency fund before marriage at age 24. 

So they have five hundred dollars to cover all of the following miscellaneous expense we know will come up:

Car repairs, home repairs, travel to see her family in Tennessee, gifts, bridesmaid dresses, clothing, shoes, diapers, haircuts, furniture, lawn care, homeschooling supplies, dry cleaning, co-pays, medication, savings to buy their next car when the old one dies (debt is evil remember!), eating out, subscription services, other entertainment.

The Websters ain't poor by any means. But they sure don't seem rich enough to be living the way Alyssa lives. 

 

 

They don’t have a mortgage. The name on the house isn’t either of their’s or a family member’s, so I’d say it’s safe to assume they pay some type of rent on the house. I’m also pretty sure Alyssa doesn’t breastfeed, but I can’t remember if she’s flat out said that or not. 

ETA: Other than that, it’s an interesting breakdown. 

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I really think Alyssa makes some sort of money, or at least receives free clothing, for the little bit of Instagram advertising she does. If she is looking at it as her job to promote clothing brands, she needs to create her own brand and make sure she and her children always appear stylish. She has said that some of the matching outfits were gifts. 

She also grew up poor. So even if they aren’t exactly rolling in the dough, having all of your basic needs taken care of plus money left over could make Alyssa feel very rich, and maybe she just spends accordingly. 

Of course, there is also the possibility that when she put on a pair of pants and a sleeveless shirt the day after her wedding, she signed up for 6 credit cards that she is maxing out and only  paying the minimum on monthly. Who knows? 

 

ETA: is it possible that they get some sort of stipend from John’s family to put towards outward appearances? If his father is using his family to promote himself politically, he may require them to dress a certain way in public. Maybe I’m reaching too much. 

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19 minutes ago, VelociRapture said:

They don’t have a mortgage. The name on the house isn’t either of their’s or a family member’s, so I’d say it’s safe to assume they pay some type of rent on the house. I’m also pretty sure Alyssa doesn’t breastfeed, but I can’t remember if she’s flat out said that or not. 

ETA: Other than that, it’s an interesting breakdown. 

Damn...I only thought of that after I posted. 

So I looked and average rent for a house like that in their area of Florida is $1200, so that equals the mortgage + property insurance calculation. It also means they should be saving aggressively for a down payment. So the only expenses saved are trash pick up and home repairs. It actually means their budget is even tighter than I thought. 

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1 hour ago, nausicaa said:

 I'm a total personal finance nerd, so I just made a mock monthly budget for the Webster family. Please only click on the spoiler if you promise not to be frightened by my obsessiveness:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

If he is making $82,000 a year, that is $5,366 per month after Federal taxes/SS/medicare. I've estimated all of these monthly expenses as the low- to mid-range for a household from Florida-based websites (I'm not from Florida so others feel free to correct me) and tried to adjust everything in their favor. I double checked my math, but I'm an English major so let me know if I calculated something incorrectly.

 

Expenses per month

Average Orlando mortgage: $981.83  (that's assuming they put 20% down and both have solid credit scores and a 30 year mortgage)

Property tax: $141 a month (Florida doesn't have a state income tax but they do have very high property, gas, utilities, and sales taxes to make up for it.)

Health insurance for family of five in Florida: $1,394 (If they don't have health insurance, then substitute in the payments for three uninsured births at hospitals plus other various medical needs.)

Food: $800 (This is assuming the baby is exclusively breastfed and they are not eating out. Also keep in mind the FL sales tax is very high and this is calculated into this number.)

Vehicle insurance for two cars: $150 (This is assuming two very modest cars and both have perfect safe driver scores.)

Gas: $150 (Again, very high gas taxes.)

 

Utilities (I will assume they don't have cable):

Cell phones: $42

Electric: $140

Water: $55 

Internet: $51

Trash pick up: $17

I am assuming they don't have any car payments (and I'm giving that assumption a lot of side eye...)

So after all necessary bills, we are left with $1,444.17 for the month.

 

Savings/Donations (i.e., stuff they need to be putting their money into before buying more cute clothes or going out to eat)

Life insurance: I will assume his company provides this.

Tithes/church donations: (Even if they don't tithe, I seriously doubt they are just passing the basket without putting anything into it every Sunday so we'll go with a minimum of $25 put in every week): $100

Retirement: 10% being the lowest recommended contribution to a 401(k)/IRA, he would need to put in $683 a month. (He really should be putting in $1,000.)

Emergency Fund: Should be nine months of expenses. That comes to $12,997. I am again going to be very generous and say John has already had this saved before marrying . 

Life Happens Fund: About $150 a month

Leftover

That leaves $511.17. And that's with everything going in their favor, no loans, no PMI, no pre-existing medical conditions, and John having saved both a down payment and emergency fund before marriage at age 24. 

So they have five hundred dollars to cover all of the following miscellaneous expense we know will come up:

Car repairs, home repairs, travel to see her family in Tennessee, gifts, bridesmaid dresses, clothing, shoes, diapers, haircuts, furniture, lawn care, homeschooling supplies, dry cleaning, co-pays, medication, savings to buy their next car when the old one dies (debt is evil remember!), eating out, subscription services, other entertainment.

The Websters ain't poor by any means. But they sure don't seem rich enough to be living the way Alyssa lives. 

 

 

You are forgetting an awful lot of things in your "assessment" of their budget.  John works for the 58+ year old very successful family business.  These types of successful family operations often purchase blanket health policies that cover all family members - so your estimate for health insurance is likely much too high.  Although I agree that many companies no longer just hand employees a pension, pension plans in small successful family owned businesses are often very generous.  Increasing ownership plans - through privately held stock grants, etc are also very common in family held corporations.  It does not appear that you factored in any income from the cleaning business (pictures posted in the past indicate they have several employees) or from the show on UP.  I have no idea what she makes through social media but as others have said there is likely some compensation.  It does not appear to me that they live irresponsibly or beyond their means.

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1 hour ago, nausicaa said:

Tithes/church donations: (Even if they don't tithe, I seriously doubt they are just passing the basket without putting anything into it every Sunday so we'll go with a minimum of $25 put in every week): $100

Technically they are supposed to be tithing at the very least 10 % of their income. They might not, but not doing so is typically frowned on and taught as stealing for God. 

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54 minutes ago, Born Skeptic said:

You are forgetting an awful lot of things in your "assessment" of their budget.  John works for the 58+ year old very successful family business.  These types of successful family operations often purchase blanket health policies that cover all family members - so your estimate for health insurance is likely much too high.  Although I agree that many companies no longer just hand employees a pension, pension plans in small successful family owned businesses are often very generous.  Increasing ownership plans - through privately held stock grants, etc are also very common in family held corporations.  It does not appear that you factored in any income from the cleaning business (pictures posted in the past indicate they have several employees) or from the show on UP.  I have no idea what she makes through social media but as others have said there is likely some compensation.  It does not appear to me that they live irresponsibly or beyond their means.

Don't know why assessment is in scare quotes, but okay.

I also don't know how much they make from the cleaning business so granted I didn't factor it in. I doubt there is that much compensation from UP--it's a slightly obscure show on a very small network and they are tangential characters. I can't say much for what John's benefits are. I'd still bet they are still paying quite a bit for their premiums. I doubt there is a pension plan for a family business in 2018, but again, I have limited knowledge in that area. He should still be putting some money away in a retirement account regardless. 

Again, I rounded down every one of those expenses and always assumed the best case scenario in terms of their insurance and medical needs. The difference between those numbers and their real bills may very well be equal to what they make through the cleaning business and/or UP. 

I never said they are necessarily living beyond their means (in the sense of going into debt) but I have a strong feeling they are not saving as they were raised to by their church. Or as they should be considering they are a growing family that is still renting (I'm not trying to crap on renters, but I think focused saving for a down payment on a house should come before new outfits and highlights, especially when you are a fertile 23 year old who is Quiverfull).

The fact that they are still renting actually further confirms my suspicion that they aren't that great at looking at the long-term picture.  Also, there are more and more kids on the way. Even Alyssa in her "rebellion" moment said six kids. That's still a very large family with a lot of medical, clothing, and food needs.

I'm not trying to criticize Alyssa the way I do Jill Rod or John Schrader. The Websters seem to keep their kids fed and taken care of, and so at the end of the day, it's their choice and none of my business. But I do find the financial trends of the adult Bates children very fascinating. 

23 minutes ago, formergothardite said:

Technically they are supposed to be tithing at the very least 10 % of their income. They might not, but not doing so is typically frowned on and taught as stealing for God. 

I suspect they do tithe. I just wanted to assume every expense in their favor to show the best case scenario of their budget and how little is left over. 

It should be 10% of your gross pay right? So that's $683 (!!!) a month. Not to mention love offerings I'm sure they're encouraged to give on top of that. Yikes. That is a lot and really makes their budget tight. 

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52 minutes ago, nausicaa said:

Don't know why assessment is in scare quotes, but okay.

I also don't know how much they make from the cleaning business so granted I didn't factor it in. I doubt there is that much compensation from UP--it's a slightly obscure show on a very small network and they are tangential characters. I can't say much for what John's benefits are. I'd still bet they are still paying quite a bit for their premiums. I doubt there is a pension plan for a family business in 2018, but again, I have limited knowledge in that area. He should still be putting some money away in a retirement account regardless. 

Again, I rounded down every one of those expenses and always assumed the best case scenario in terms of their insurance and medical needs. The difference between those numbers and their real bills may very well be equal to what they make through the cleaning business and/or UP. 

I never said they are necessarily living beyond their means (in the sense of going into debt) but I have a strong feeling they are not saving as they were raised to by their church. Or as they should be considering they are a growing family that is still renting (I'm not trying to crap on renters, but I think focused saving for a down payment on a house should come before new outfits and highlights, especially when you are a fertile 23 year old who is Quiverfull).

The fact that they are still renting actually further confirms my suspicion that they aren't that great at looking at the long-term picture.  Also, there are more and more kids on the way. Even Alyssa in her "rebellion" moment said six kids. That's still a very large family with a lot of medical, clothing, and food needs.

I'm not trying to criticize Alyssa the way I do Jill Rod or John Schrader. The Websters seem to keep their kids fed and taken care of, and so at the end of the day, it's their choice and none of my business. But I do find the financial trends of the adult Bates children very fascinating. 

I suspect they do tithe. I just wanted to assume every expense in their favor to show the best case scenario of their budget and how little is left over. 

It should be 10% of your gross pay right? So that's $683 (!!!) a month. Not to mention love offerings I'm sure they're encouraged to give on top of that. Yikes. That is a lot and really makes their budget tight. 

I doubt Alyssa pays for her hair to get done most of the time now with Josie  I mean she just showed Josie doing it so I'm sure she got that for free, and most of the clothes she shows off on Instagram seems to either be given to as she out right said that some of them were and other times she shares a discount code for the clothes.  she wouldn't be doing that if the cost for said clothes came out of her own pocket. 

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46 minutes ago, Ivycoveredtower said:

I doubt Alyssa pays for her hair to get done most of the time now with Josie  I mean she just showed Josie doing it so I'm sure she got that for free, and most of the clothes she shows off on Instagram seems to either be given to as she out right said that some of them were and other times she shares a discount code for the clothes.  she wouldn't be doing that if the cost for said clothes came out of her own pocket. 

Does anyone have a guess at to how often she would need to have her hair done? I’m that person who just lets it grow after a cut because I’m too lazy to go on a regular basis (and I don’t feel like shelling out money - I should probably stop doing that at some point), so I honestly have no clue. But if Josie really is doing her hair on a regular basis then that means one of them has to travel to/from Florida to make it happen. 

I’d guess that Josie does her hair occasionally (like this time, when they happen to be in the same town together) and Alyssa makes due going somewhere else to hold her over until next time. 

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8 hours ago, VelociRapture said:

Does anyone have a guess at to how often she would need to have her hair done? I’m that person who just lets it grow after a cut because I’m too lazy to go on a regular basis (and I don’t feel like shelling out money - I should probably stop doing that at some point), so I honestly have no clue. But if Josie really is doing her hair on a regular basis then that means one of them has to travel to/from Florida to make it happen. 

I’d guess that Josie does her hair occasionally (like this time, when they happen to be in the same town together) and Alyssa makes due going somewhere else to hold her over until next time. 

Every 8 weeks is recommended. I agree that I’m sure Josie does it for her whenever possible but flying home to Josie for highlights wouldn’t ever be cost effective

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36 minutes ago, LegHumperBibleThumper said:

Every 8 weeks is recommended. I agree that I’m sure Josie does it for her whenever possible but flying home to Josie for highlights wouldn’t ever be cost effective

ah with as many events that family has they are always flying back and forth either they are up here or the family goes down there so it wouldn't be to hard for her to get most of her hair appointments with Josie just from being in town for a family function, and then just having to supplement every so often with another hair dresser

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You are forgetting a big big big part of a family budget. The food. If Alyssa eats frozen/canned non organic veggies instead of fresh ones, or if she buys the cheapest chicken/hot dogs instead of high quality meat etc she's saving a lot. And her children are very young, so they eat small amount of food (maybe Alyssa doesn't eat a lot, she's petite). If John and Alyssa try to be slim, probably don't buy sodas and sweet desserts, ice creams and other empty calories food which can be expensive when eaten in a regular basis, even if you choose cheap brands.

I have a friend who is a SAMH. 3 kids in a private school, well dressed. The truth is that she feeds them menus like canned soup and pasta, hot dogs and rice, or a sandwich and a glass of milk.

Sometimes you have to choose. Some choose the clothes, some the education, some the health. 

Some cannot choose, and it's way worse.

Anyway, maybe John is earning better than we assume, and they are just living well. Why not?

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8 hours ago, Ivycoveredtower said:

ah with as many events that family has they are always flying back and forth either they are up here or the family goes down there so it wouldn't be to hard for her to get most of her hair appointments with Josie just from being in town for a family function, and then just having to supplement every so often with another hair dresser

I agree. I do think Alyssa still has to pay Josie something though. If Josie was working on her own she’d be able to cut her family any breaks she wanted, but she works for an actual salon. I doubt her bosses would be ok with her giving them constant services for free or for discounted prices. I don’t think the publicity they may get from employing her would be that worth it. 

(I think you mentioned in another comment that Josie may do Alyssa’s hair for free. Sorry if I’m confused!)

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28 minutes ago, Melissa1977 said:

And her children are very young, so they eat small amount of food 

Young children can eat a lot of food, especially during a growth spurt. My two year old has a bottomless pit for a stomach. But he is a boy and Alyssa has girls ( Zsu's recently claimed boy babies eat more than girl babies.)

You can eat well on a budget, but it requires careful planning and work. I personally think it is disgusting to sacrifice feeding children healthy food for the clothing budget.

Formula is expensive if that is how Alyssa chooses to feed her babies. Diapers add up even if she is buying the cheap kind. Baby food is expensive if Alyssa is not making it homemade.

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3 minutes ago, Ali said:

Young children can eat a lot of food, especially during a growth spurt. My two year old has a bottomless pit for a stomach. But he is a boy and Alyssa has girls ( Zsu's recently claimed boy babies eat more than girl babies.)

You can eat well on a budget, but it requires careful planning and work. I personally think it is disgusting to sacrifice feeding children healthy food for the clothing budget.

Formula is expensive if that is how Alyssa chooses to feed her babies. Diapers add up even if she is buying the cheap kind. Baby food is expensive if Alyssa is not making it homemade.

I don’t think sex determines how much a kid eats though. I have a daughter who can eat like crazy at times - you’d be surprised at how much she can fit in that little tummy. My nephew, on the other hand, is more of a grazer. He eats enough, but doesn’t really stuff his face the way my daughter can. 

Agreed on the last paragraph. And I agree too that I don’t think it’s right or fair to purposely sacrifice the nutrition and health of children for nice clothes. I have zero clue if that’s what the Websters are doing - that’s just meant in general. 

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3 minutes ago, VelociRapture said:

I don’t think sex determines how much a kid eats though. 

The sarcasm font was not working. I think boy and girl babies eat the same amounts. I also don't take anything Zsu says seriously.

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2 hours ago, VelociRapture said:

I don’t think sex determines how much a kid eats though. I have a daughter who can eat like crazy at times - you’d be surprised at how much she can fit in that little tummy. My nephew, on the other hand, is more of a grazer. He eats enough, but doesn’t really stuff his face the way my daughter can. 

Agreed on the last paragraph. And I agree too that I don’t think it’s right or fair to purposely sacrifice the nutrition and health of children for nice clothes. I have zero clue if that’s what the Websters are doing - that’s just meant in general. 

She's a velocibaby after all. Lol

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Alyssa probably gets most of the kids' clothes donated. She often posts links in Instagram to clothing companies.

She makes snitty comments to her sisters and comes across as a bit smug and conceited. Alyssa does not present herself as one of the nicer Bates kids. 

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17 hours ago, wandering woman said:

Alyssa probably gets most of the kids' clothes donated. She often posts links in Instagram to clothing companies.

She makes snitty comments to her sisters and comes across as a bit smug and conceited. Alyssa does not present herself as one of the nicer Bates kids. 

It seems like now that they both have three kids close in age Alyssa and Erin might be a little closer but I remember watching early episodes and those two always seemed so cold towards each other like smile we're on camera but if we were alone I wouldn't even talk to you. 

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On 6/16/2018 at 6:18 AM, LegHumperBibleThumper said:

Every 8 weeks is recommended. I agree that I’m sure Josie does it for her whenever possible but flying home to Josie for highlights wouldn’t ever be cost effective

Every 8 weeks? I'd never ever have long hair according to this. My hair grows so damn slowly. I go twice a year at the moment and once a month to trim my bangs. I have to admit my hair doesn't look that healthy right so maybe it is time for a hair appointment :-)

19 hours ago, wandering woman said:

She makes snitty comments to her sisters and comes across as a bit smug and conceited. Alyssa does not present herself as one of the nicer Bates kids. 

Do you refer to comments in the past when all the girls where still living at home or nowadays? 

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On 6/17/2018 at 7:25 AM, wandering woman said:

Alyssa probably gets most of the kids' clothes donated. She often posts links in Instagram to clothing companies.

She makes snitty comments to her sisters and comes across as a bit smug and conceited. Alyssa does not present herself as one of the nicer Bates kids. 

But yet, she is the only Bates to be in every Bates' wedding thus far. She must have a decent relationship with her sibs.

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I find Alyssa and Whitney to be the two that make me side eyes a little bit. The way that they dress their kids, Whitney has Kacie Lynn as her mini me, and Alyssa has three matching girls. Clothes are expensive, even for kids. I do think that there is some instagram connections but I don't think everything can be!

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