Sierra 3: Paddle Faster I Hear Banjos

[HereticHick]

2 hours ago, thiscouldabeenme said:

I have searched and can't find anything concrete except that he delivers furniture but, what is the holy heck does Sierra's husband do for a living???  They seem to have plenty of money even without her working and all those kids????  Am I missing something???

He doesn't deliver furniture, he's a furniture salesman at https://samsfurniture.net/ in Springdale. They don't own a home; they rent.  And some of us speculate that they are heavily in debt, unless they are being helped by their parents.

[Charliemae]

2 hours ago, HereticHick said:

He doesn't deliver furniture, he's a furniture salesman at https://samsfurniture.net/ in Springdale. They don't own a home; they rent.  And some of us speculate that they are heavily in debt, unless they are being helped by their parents.

Do we think he works on commission.  Their boom and bust lifestyle reminds me of myself and many others who come from generational poverty.  There's a feeling like you have to spend the money while you have it, because you never know when you'll be on hard times again.  It's not a healthy financial mindset, but I find it unfortunately relatable. 

[clueliss]

The hint to me that they're stretched a bit too thin is evidence (envelopes to allocate their money for bills for instance) of Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University classes.  And yet, at times their spending doesn't seem in line with needing/wanting to legit pay bills down.  

[WarriorJane]

They're a "Christian" furniture store?  Sadie Robertson is appearing there?  What the....

Check out their website.   They support a bunch of charities including a group that "nourishes malnourished babies back to health" while teaching them about Jesus, and of course the obligatory pregnancy center called Loving Choices.  They describe themselves as a veteran loving Christian American business.  ?  I wonder if someone could just walk in and buy a piece of furniture without a salesman trying to "save" them.

https://samsfurniture.net/

[ati_escapee]

7 hours ago, WarriorJane said:

They're a "Christian" furniture store?  Sadie Robertson is appearing there?  What the....

Check out their website.   They support a bunch of charities including a group that "nourishes malnourished babies back to health" while teaching them about Jesus, and of course the obligatory pregnancy center called Loving Choices.  They describe themselves as a veteran loving Christian American business.  ?  I wonder if someone could just walk in and buy a piece of furniture without a salesman trying to "save" them.

https://samsfurniture.net/

Yes, you can go in and buy furniture without someone trying to "save" you. I bought my couches there and I had no idea it was a christian store until I read it on here. When we bought our couches, it was later in the day and too late for delivery. We needed them ASAP because we had given our old couches away. Our salesmen kindly offered to let us take his personal truck (we live nearby) so that we could have them that day. So, I can't say anything bad about the company based on actual experience. 

I can say that I believe they do work on commission. Maybe her husband sells a lot of furniture?

[Screamapillar]

Almost every time I've shopped for furniture there's been almost no other customers in the store. Furniture stores don't seem like high traffic retail locations. How much commission can someone get from selling a couch?

Fundie economics make me scratch my head. I recently left my job to be a stay at home Mom. We only have two kids, my husband is an attorney, and we're still scaling back a bit from when we were a two income family. I just don't understand how Mark can support a family of NINE on a furniture salesmen's salary. Maybe he has a stake in the business? A while back Sierra posted a text that she sent him about "praying for your sales" and to me it came across as if they were in dire straits.

[ati_escapee]

2 hours ago, Screamapillar said:

Almost every time I've shopped for furniture there's been almost no other customers in the store. Furniture stores don't seem like high traffic retail locations. How much commission can someone get from selling a couch?

Fundie economics make me scratch my head. I recently left my job to be a stay at home Mom. We only have two kids, my husband is an attorney, and we're still scaling back a bit from when we were a two income family. I just don't understand how Mark can support a family of NINE on a furniture salesmen's salary. Maybe he has a stake in the business? A while back Sierra posted a text that she sent him about "praying for your sales" and to me it came across as if they were in dire straits.

I've been in the Springdale location a couple of times and it's been fairly busy. I do understand what you're saying, I don't see how he can support a family of nine either. I think we could make it on one income but I wouldn't want to. We only have 3 kids. 

I was also wondering how Jill/Derrick make money now that they aren't on TV.

[Eternalbluepearl]

Re: "Christian furniture store."

You can barely look up a recipe online without a Bible verse attached in America lately. The christian-ization of EVERY damn thing needs to stop. 

Edited December 20, 2019 by Eternalbluepearl

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

4 hours ago, ati_escapee said:

Yes, you can go in and buy furniture without someone trying to "save" you. I bought my couches there and I had no idea it was a christian store until I read it on here. When we bought our couches, it was later in the day and too late for delivery. We needed them ASAP because we had given our old couches away. Our salesmen kindly offered to let us take his personal truck (we live nearby) so that we could have them that day. So, I can't say anything bad about the company based on actual experience. 

I can say that I believe they do work on commission. Maybe her husband sells a lot of furniture?

I can't imagine having 7 kids with a non working wife and working a commission only job in a small town, insane. I'm sure these "christian" companies don't pay shit for commission either, maybe 15% since he's been there for a few years, you're still looking at having to sell close to $100k a MONTH in furniture. Then weeks later a month later customers return something and you have to give money back, nope, no way in hell I would do that. 

1 hour ago, ati_escapee said:

I've been in the Springdale location a couple of times and it's been fairly busy. I do understand what you're saying, I don't see how he can support a family of nine either. I think we could make it on one income but I wouldn't want to. We only have 3 kids. 

I was also wondering how Jill/Derrick make money now that they aren't on TV.

Hubby and I were down in Springdale this past fall, and it was A LOT bigger than I thought it would be, it was very nice too, it was very comparable to where we live now. We are looking to "move south" when we retire, and that was one of the best places we found, that we thought we could live, now if he could just get past it being a rural hot bed of hate, it might work.  But DAMNIT all the nice liberal states are so over crowded and expensive to live in. 

[HereticHick]

I find it very telling that Mark and Sierra don't own a home, in one of the cheaper housing markets in the US. I wonder how much they have been able to save, if any, towards a down payment.

[ati_escapee]

58 minutes ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

I can't imagine having 7 kids with a non working wife and working a commission only job in a small town, insane. I'm sure these "christian" companies don't pay shit for commission either, maybe 15% since he's been there for a few years, you're still looking at having to sell close to $100k a MONTH in furniture. Then weeks later a month later customers return something and you have to give money back, nope, no way in hell I would do that. 

Hubby and I were down in Springdale this past fall, and it was A LOT bigger than I thought it would be, it was very nice too, it was very comparable to where we live now. We are looking to "move south" when we retire, and that was one of the best places we found, that we thought we could live, now if he could just get past it being a rural hot bed of hate, it might work.  But DAMNIT all the nice liberal states are so over crowded and expensive to live in. 

Springdale has about 75k people, but all the towns run together and there are about half a million people in the area. It's not really "small town." For reference, I am from Chicago. I feel like I am defending the area a lot on here but my opinion isn't biased as I'm not from here and I've lived on both coasts so I have a lot to compare it to.

I really feel like a lot of the information that people have about this area is incorrect, and I felt the same way before I moved here. It's pretty moderate. Yes, there are a lot of conservative people but it isn't everyone. Fayetteville, in particular, seems to lean moderate/liberal. 

All of that said, I would NOT want to work on commission having 7 kids and a non-working wife. I own a business so my income fluctuates, but fortunately my husbands does not. I would say maybe they just budget well and do not live month to month, but it doesn't sound like it from what others have said.

[HideousGreenShirt]

I would love a look at their finances. Unless a family member is quietly helping out, they have got to be struggling at best and completely crushed by debt at worst. 

This comment and response on a previous post of hers bothers me.

Spoiler

Being a sahm is definitely a lot of work, especially with 7 kids, but I'm not sure I'd equate it to a psychologist going through school. And while it is admirable and important work to dedicate your life to raising your kids, I also don't feel that Sierra popping out endless babies for jesus is quite the same contribution to the world as a qualified, professional. In any field, not just psychology. 

She is so defensive and so self important. Leghumper comments aside, I don't get how she can believe that she is such an aspirational figure. 

[ati_escapee]

11 minutes ago, HereticHick said:

I find it very telling that Mark and Sierra don't own a home, in one of the cheaper housing markets in the US. I wonder how much they have been able to save, if any, towards a down payment.

You could live out of town and get a USDA 0% down home, so that isn't even a good reason. Buying here is cheaper than renting, so I'm curious why they don't own a home.

We don't own a home yet, but I wasn't sure if I'd like NWA (I do) so we wanted to rent for a while first. We do plan to buy a home in 2020, house values are going up a lot, particularly in Bentonville.

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

1 hour ago, HereticHick said:

I find it very telling that Mark and Sierra don't own a home, in one of the cheaper housing markets in the US. I wonder how much they have been able to save, if any, towards a down payment.

I wonder if it is more the "no debt" thing?  Even a place like JB & M were living before the TTH was built, would cost them $175k. unless they got an absolute dump. 

1 hour ago, ati_escapee said:

Springdale has about 75k people, but all the towns run together and there are about half a million people in the area. It's not really "small town." For reference, I am from Chicago. I feel like I am defending the area a lot on here but my opinion isn't biased as I'm not from here and I've lived on both coasts so I have a lot to compare it to.

I really feel like a lot of the information that people have about this area is incorrect, and I felt the same way before I moved here. It's pretty moderate. Yes, there are a lot of conservative people but it isn't everyone. Fayetteville, in particular, seems to lean moderate/liberal. 

All of that said, I would NOT want to work on commission having 7 kids and a non-working wife. I own a business so my income fluctuates, but fortunately my husbands does not. I would say maybe they just budget well and do not live month to month, but it doesn't sound like it from what others have said.

I've been there, recently and found it to be a lovely area, nice size, not to small not to big, nice and scenic especially for being in central region of the country. Most everything in the surrounding states is nothing but farm land as far as the eye can see, there really isn't much between Chicago and Denver.  I've lived in the midwest my entire adult life, I've been to pretty much every state in the region and I've driven through them, trust me it is A LONG ASS BORING DRIVE. 

Edited December 20, 2019 by allthegoodnamesrgone

[Screamapillar]

Sierra's comment that @HideousGreenShirt shared cracked me up. In the analogy that Sierra is building, exactly how many kids qualifies as "going to attempt to get her doctorate?"

I guess 2-3 kids was her struggling through college, the 7 that she currently has are her Masters degree, and every additional kid she piles on is her working towards her doctorate.

 

[theotherelise]

This is funny because I sometimes check in on another forum about finances and someone on there just asked about going back to get a PhD. He sounds pretty depressed about his current life and thinks this is the step that will make him happy. Tons of people are chiming in suggesting that maybe he focus on making changes to his life right now first to get out of some not great situations and then when he's in a better mental state can assess if grad school will be a good idea for him. People with PhDs are saying that it was some of the most miserable times of their lives and so don't go in thinking it will just fix things.

So yeah, I know a bunch of people who went to grad school after graduating partly because the job market was bad, and many of those people regret it now as they pay their student loans each month!

I'm not sure completely how they're making it work financially, but I suspect all the trips to the water parks and related are grandparent gifts. 

[nausicaa]

I would 100% tell someone who was stressed and in serious financial trouble to not take out more student loan debt to get a PhD right now. What on earth is Sierra talking about?

If she follows Dave Ramsey at all, as some suspect, she would see how poor of an analogy this is. 

[FreeCalifornia]

11 hours ago, Eternalbluepearl said:

Re: "Christian furniture store."

You can barely look up a recipe online without a Bible verse attached in America lately. The christian-ization of EVERY damn thing needs to stop. 

I’m not fundie but am Christian.

i live in America and would say the opposite! I see more anti-Christian messages than Bible based ones daily ?‍♀️
 

maybe it depends on what you are looking for and our circles- or maybe we pay more attention to one side than another when we see it?

[Xan]

1 hour ago, FreeCalifornia said:

I’m not fundie but am Christian.

i live in America and would say the opposite! I see more anti-Christian messages than Bible based ones daily ?‍♀️
 

maybe it depends on what you are looking for and our circles- or maybe we pay more attention to one side than another when we see it?

I honestly don't know what you mean by "anti-Christian messages".  I don't see any anti-Christian messages in everyday ads or television.  

[bal maiden]

In n Out burger has bible verses printed on the cups. I don't see any fast food chains that print anti-Christian messages on their cups... Repeat that concept for pretty much everything that gets an added bible verse, save those which are actually a religious thing such as a church leaflet. The only exception I can think of is Darwin fish/FSMs on cars, in pushback to all those Jesus fish on cars (why does the person driving behind you need to know you are a Christian? Is that going to make them less likely to rear-end you?). 

 

Regarding Sierra's idiotic psychologist comments, I actively dissuade people from doing PhDs, having had such an utterly miserable experience myself. If a friend was doing a PhD and was as blatantly unhappy as Sierra seems to be, I would encourage them to quit, 100%!

Edited December 21, 2019 by bal maiden
adding thoughts on PhD vs more kids

[BemusedByFundamentalism]

8 hours ago, nausicaa said:

I would 100% tell someone who was stressed and in serious financial trouble to not take out more student loan debt to get a PhD right now. What on earth is Sierra talking about?

If she follows Dave Ramsey at all, as some suspect, she would see how poor of an analogy this is. 

Wait, you have to pay to get a PhD in the US?! Here in The Netherlands getting your PhD is a fulltime paid job at the university. 

Edited December 21, 2019 by BemusedByFundamentalism

[Melissa1977]

1 hour ago, BemusedByFundamentalism said:

Wait, you have to pay to get a PhD in the US?! Here in The Netherlands getting your PhD is a fulltime paid job at the university. 

In all the cases? In Spain, some PhD are fulltime paid job, but others (not that brilliant to be chosen for the job, or who just don't want that commitment), are not paid at all and must pay for it. 

[apandaaries]

3 hours ago, BemusedByFundamentalism said:

Wait, you have to pay to get a PhD in the US?! Here in The Netherlands getting your PhD is a fulltime paid job at the university. 

Read up on student debt in the US. Apparently we prefer an uneducated population, because we certainly don’t fund advanced education well.
The folks with PhDs that I know have serious debt (unless they’re much older — we used to appreciate those lovely nerds much more). I’d love to return to school, but at this point, my masters degree is fine and more debt wouldn’t be  beneficial.

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

26 minutes ago, apandaaries said:

Read up on student debt in the US. Apparently we prefer an uneducated population, because we certainly don’t fund advanced education well.
The folks with PhDs that I know have serious debt (unless they’re much older — we used to appreciate those lovely nerds much more). I’d love to return to school, but at this point, my masters degree is fine and more debt wouldn’t be  beneficial.

Fits the mantra of keep them stupid, keep them republican. If people are uneducated they are easier to manipulate. 

[JillyO]

Whether you have to pay for your PhD or not very much depends on your field of study. My husband is getting his PhD in Economics. No one in his program or any single program he looked at pays tuition, and the vast majority have a scholarship/stipend (most have to teach) that covers living expenses for one person quite easily (and we are in the Bay Area where COL is ridiculous). 

That said, the PhD years are hard enough as is, for me and him. I don’t want to imagine what the added stress of doing this while incurring debt would do to us.