Maxwell 36: Wearing What Some Might Call an Outer Garment While Dealing with Cancer in the Family

[Jana814]

I have to imagine working with someone like Steve Maxwell isn’t easy. He probably wouldn’t listen to anyone else’s opinion especially a women’s. 

Edited April 2, 2020 by Jana814

[HerNameIsBuffy]

2 minutes ago, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

Steve hasn't worked as an engineer in years, and I've always suspected he was a pretty crappy engineer at that, not to mention terrible employee. 

I also suspect, with no evidence but a feeling, that Steve didn't resign his job and the company didn't out of kindness give him 2 weeks to look for another.  I think he was flat out fired and got 2 weeks severance if he would leave immediately that day.

I know he's been out of the field, but engineers (I have a family full of them and work closely with engineers throughout my career) have a logical way of thinking and usually have a better understanding of rick factors, etc. than your average bear.  

I guess he's been off the rails so long he's lost that.

And I thought he left his job because they expected him to work with women.  Women, some of whom I'm sure wore slacks and contrasting buttons.  I don't believe for a second that he quit - I think he was asked to leave because he was a legal liability.  

Also, (Hi Steve!) he's not fooling anyone.  He has an unhealthy obsession with other women and that's his Achilles heel and rather than focusing on how to temper that and focus his sexual attention within his marriage he apparently finds it easier to try and control half the worlds population.

8 minutes ago, fundiefan said:

Chris does charge for travel and his "package" alone is $1600. 

What?!  For that I'll show up at all of your houses and take pics of you and your water bottles and plastic hangars.

I'm not shocked by much, but you did it.  

[deborahlynn1979]

28 minutes ago, fundiefan said:

I doubt any Maxwell is overly generous in discounts, even among their friends. But, since the Maxwells are friends with the BuckHales, I assumed (I know, stupid) there was some discount involved. Chris does charge for travel and his "package" alone is $1600. 

He said travel costs vary. Like, the last time he went to Alaska fora wedding, he only charged $65. Per his site: 

My goal is to keep my travel costs as low as possible. Travel costs vary based on each particular wedding and are details we can work through together.

As an example of how travel costs can vary, the last time I traveled to Alaska to photograph a wedding, my travel costs were a total of $65. How is this possible? The groom's family had airline miles available to cover the flight, the bride's family had a vehicle available so that a rental car wasn't needed, and a hotel wasn't needed as their pastor had several rooms available (one for myself, and one for my assistant). The $65? $50 was to pay the airline's extra luggage fee for an extra suitcase on the flight up and back, and $15 was airport parking.

That's why travel costs can vary so much based on the specific wedding and details related to the wedding.

The Alaska wedding he did was a BuckHale wedding (I don't remember exactly which one). Presumably, this one being of the same family friends, there were "perks" involved. 

Money aside, it was beyond stupid of him to even go. 

Does he not eat on these trips? There are lots and lots of incidentals that stack up when you travel, even cheaply.

[nausicaa]

5 minutes ago, fundiefan said:

I doubt any Maxwell is overly generous in discounts, even among their friends. But, since the Maxwells are friends with the BuckHales, I assumed (I know, stupid) there was some discount involved. Chris does charge for travel and his "package" alone is $1600. 

His explanation still doesn't make sense. Why would a couple on a very tight budget waste their airline miles on an out-of-state photographer? I would imagine they have plenty of out-of-state relatives and/or old friends of modest means who would like to come to their wedding but can't afford it. (And $1,600 is on the cheap end, but is still a competitive price point even among my friends who had the standard DJ and dancing white wedding in a Marriott/Hilton.)

Also, at least where I live, wedding photographer is actually a pretty common occupation for conservative Christians. A devout couple would not struggle to find a wedding photographer who is local, cheaper, religious, AND more skilled. Something tells me northern Florida isn't exactly a hotbed of radical atheists.

I wonder if because of their long family friendship with the BuckHales, Chris did it for free. Which would be sweet, if it weren't during a damn GLOBAL PANDEMIC. You make good points though that the Maxwells are weird about money and don't seem to give many discounts. 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

2 minutes ago, nausicaa said:

You make good points though that the Maxwells are weird about money and don't seem to give many discounts. 

Let us never forget their response in the 1 Ton OnRamp FAQ asking if they have payment plans...and Steve went on to explain the concept of putting cash in an envelope and enrolling when they have the full amount.

Because of course he couldn't just say they didn't offer it, he had to explain to the world how envelopes work in the world's most condescending tone.

[FunFunFundie]

17 minutes ago, nausicaa said:

His explanation still doesn't make sense. Why would a couple on a very tight budget waste their airline miles on an out-of-state photographer? 

That's what bugs me about this explanation. Airline miles aren't free - they are a cost. At the very least, the person who bought him a ticket using those miles could have bought themselves a ticket somewhere else. And for a round-trip ticket to Alaska from Kansas, that was certainly a lot of miles.

[freejugar]

Doesn't Chris work at swift otter?

I thought that company payed well

[HerNameIsBuffy]

9 minutes ago, freejugar said:

Doesn't Chris work at swift otter?

I thought that company payed well

The position they advertised paid well...at least it was in the 100k range.

However, it's not uncommon in IT for there to be a lot of bait and switch with salaries in ads and for especially smaller companies to advertise potential salaries they have no intention on paying.  

Joseph, Jesse, and Chris all work there in addition to a couple others.  If all 3 Maxwell men pulled in 6 figures that would mean that company is pulling in a minimum of 400k annually.  300K for Maxwells and other salaries, overhead, insurance, etc.  

That would be massive revenue for a business their size.

It's possible they had a need for someone with a higher value skill set and they were willing to pay more to get someone ...could be worth it if they needed it to expand business and that expansion was a certainty. 

Just looked it up - apparently Magento developers do make an average of over 100k so maybe they are doing that well.

https://www.indeed.com/salaries/magento-developer-Salaries

But Chris isn't a developer - this is his role:  Project Manager. Official Tracker of Details. Resident SEO Expert.

For a small company, depending on his actual role (tracker of details?!  what does that mean?) it's going to be far less than 100k.  

 

 

[Foudeb]

I think that rather than giving Chris money outright Steve just guilted Joe into giving him a salary in exchange for whatever menial task Joe can think of. 

I doubt it's that big a handout though. Maybe it's just what they ought to pay their sisters for the actual secreterial and bookkeeping work they do. No penis, no salary though. Not in Maxhell anyway. 

[nausicaa]

50 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

But Chris isn't a developer - this is his role:  Project Manager. Official Tracker of Details. Resident SEO Expert.

For a small company, depending on his actual role (tracker of details?!  what does that mean?) it's going to be far less than 100k.  

Just as a data point for comparison, the project manager on our ten person contract in an in-demand field does not make 100k a year. More like 85k-ish. And we work for a large government client and our company is an established one with over 500 employees, multiple offices, and actual benefits. 

And my project manager's husband works too and they only have one child.

Fundie finances remain a complete mystery to me. 

[fundiefan]

Christopher really does seem to be the "lost son". He worked for Nathan's company before moving to Joseph's company. And, Nathan's company, CCI, was Steve's first. Nathan seems to have made something of it, cheap sister labor aside, and can support his growing brood. Joseph has Swift Otter, and many certifications. Jesse works for Swift Otter, but also has Magento skills/certifications. John has the irrigation business & did real estate for a while. Chris - who knows what his skills are or what he brings to the table for any employment? One wedding every three years isn't paying the bills. I've always really just assumed he was getting a liveable salary because he's one of "them", regardless of what his skills may or may not be. He hasn't ever struck out on his own. He went from Daddy's company to older brother's to younger brother's. 

SEO is a usable skill, but not one I've ever known to make big bucks because, well, it's not overly difficult in the grand scheme of things. Of course I don't know everything, but I do work in a small enough company where I know the Marketing folks and their SEO usage/how much is part of their job. I also know someone who does it from home - with no degree, just on the job training. 

Not that it's not a valid skill - I don't mean that at all. I only mean it's not among the high paying skills among IT jobs. 

[Maggie Mae]

13 minutes ago, nausicaa said:

Fundie finances remain a complete mystery to me. 

Me too. 

Especially second generation. 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

5 minutes ago, fundiefan said:

Christopher really does seem to be the "lost son". He worked for Nathan's company before moving to Joseph's company. And, Nathan's company, CCI, was Steve's first. Nathan seems to have made something of it, cheap sister labor aside, and can support his growing brood. Joseph has Swift Otter, and many certifications. Jesse works for Swift Otter, but also has Magento skills/certifications. John has the irrigation business & did real estate for a while. Chris - who knows what his skills are or what he brings to the table for any employment? One wedding every three years isn't paying the bills. I've always really just assumed he was getting a liveable salary because he's one of "them", regardless of what his skills may or may not be. He hasn't ever struck out on his own. He went from Daddy's company to older brother's to younger brother's. 

SEO is a usable skill, but not one I've ever known to make big bucks because, well, it's not overly difficult in the grand scheme of things. Of course I don't know everything, but I do work in a small enough company where I know the Marketing folks and their SEO usage/how much is part of their job. I also know someone who does it from home - with no degree, just on the job training. 

Not that it's not a valid skill - I don't mean that at all. I only mean it's not among the high paying skills among IT jobs. 

Agreed.  If I remember correctly CM had a ton of MS certifications back when I read his bio on 1 ton ramp, but as that whole thing made blood shoot out of my eyes I may be remembering wrong.

And for me certs mean very little.  I know a lot of people with no certs who are excellent in various realms of IT (ahem - me) and I've known others who have plenty of certs but are only knowledgeable in theory and can't put any of it into practice.  And of course some people have certs and kick ass...just saying certs alone tell me nothing except that you can brain dump and test.  Congrats, me too...what else ya got?

And I hope you're wrong, @Foudeb , about their sisters not getting paid.  If they are doing the work they sure should not only be paid for their labor, but be paying into social security.  Book keeping, customer service, those are important functions and without them Joseph would have to take time from earning money to do it himself.  I do hope they are drawing salaries.

[Baxter]

I expect Christopher is being paid a livable wage and that's it. But how much that is, I don't know. I believe housing there is cheap and we know he doesn't have a mortgage. Anna makes a lot of the kids clothes. They probably buy food in bulk and make things from scratch. They don't buy the kids many toys and I expect that they reuse any home school curriculum. I doubt they are going on many vacations or what some would call a vacations. So I expect they can live fairly cheaply most of the time. The medical bills from Anna's cancer treatment could be the real game changer for their finances. 

[PennySycamore]

@HerNameIsBuffy, you brought up a very important point:  those young women need to be paying into Social Security.  If they don't or don't have enough work hours and never get married, they are screwed when they get to retirement age.  Also, you'd hope that the Maxwells would remember that verse about the laborer being worthy of his hire.  IOW, don't fuck over your workers financially.  

 

[Tangy Bee]

43 minutes ago, Baxter said:

I expect Christopher is being paid a livable wage and that's it. But how much that is, I don't know. I believe housing there is cheap and we know he doesn't have a mortgage. Anna makes a lot of the kids clothes. They probably buy food in bulk and make things from scratch. They don't buy the kids many toys and I expect that they reuse any home school curriculum. I doubt they are going on many vacations or what some would call a vacations. So I expect they can live fairly cheaply most of the time. The medical bills from Anna's cancer treatment could be the real game changer for their finances. 

Thank ya'll for this info! For a LONG time I've been trying to figure out how these dudes make a living. Wives having babies, food, clothes, cars, and utilities. Over the years I've noticed name brand shoes and sports wear. Well I guess they probably shop at outlets and Anna Marie is the only wife that makes her clothes. Don't know much about sewing or fabrics. She still has to purchase quite a bit to make matching dresses for the girls. The homes they purchase seem to need alot of work before they move in.

[Syriana]

1 hour ago, Maggie Mae said:

Me too. 

Especially second generation. 

I couldn't agree more!  I breathe a large sigh of relief when I see fundies with proper jobs and especially fundy females with jobs/business ventures - some of the Bates' offspring/spouses are prime examples of this.

Edited April 2, 2020 by Syriana

[freejugar]

2 hours ago, fundiefan said:

Christopher really does seem to be the "lost son". He worked for Nathan's company before moving to Joseph's company. And, Nathan's company, CCI, was Steve's first. Nathan seems to have made something of it, cheap sister labor aside, and can support his growing brood. Joseph has Swift Otter, and many certifications. Jesse works for Swift Otter, but also has Magento skills/certifications. John has the irrigation business & did real estate for a while. Chris - who knows what his skills are or what he brings to the table for any employment? One wedding every three years isn't paying the bills. I've always really just assumed he was getting a liveable salary because he's one of "them", regardless of what his skills may or may not be. He hasn't ever struck out on his own. He went from Daddy's company to older brother's to younger brother's. 

SEO is a usable skill, but not one I've ever known to make big bucks because, well, it's not overly difficult in the grand scheme of things. Of course I don't know everything, but I do work in a small enough company where I know the Marketing folks and their SEO usage/how much is part of their job. I also know someone who does it from home - with no degree, just on the job training. 

Not that it's not a valid skill - I don't mean that at all. I only mean it's not among the high paying skills among IT jobs. 

Steve makes such a big deal in preparing sons to provide for a family and buying a home debt free that I thought all the sons had work skills (mainly IT). Even the aunts have face painting and balloon making.

Why hasn't Chris been Steve shamed to get an IT certification or something?

[moreorlessnu]

2 hours ago, Baxter said:

 Anna makes a lot of the kids clothes. 

Back in the day, you could sew clothes for much less expensive than buying them in the store. However, clothes are now cheap, and sewing them is more expensive. Granted, Anna does not need a lot of fabric for little girl dresses, but it all adds up (buttons, thread, interface, zippers, etc.). The dresses she sews look like they are made from good quality fabric. Then again, maybe she's able to find remnants for a few dollars per yard...

That said, it has always looked like the Maxwells spend money on quality clothing. When they are dressed all alike, these items are purchased new and not from a second hand store.

 

[Giraffe]

Anna probably finds cheap fabric. Some thrift stores sell fabric so she could be getting several yards of fabric for $2 or $3. She could also be given fabric by people who’ve stopped sewing and want to find a “good home” for their stash. Even if she were to order online she could find some good deals. She may not even need much extra fabric for the girls’ dresses because she can save fabric by getting creative with the layout. 
 

I’m with those curious how much he makes. They live in a cheap area, don’t have a mortgage, and could even split large food items with the other siblings and bring their food costs down more. By “large,” I’m thinking something like “side of cow.” It’s not something most people would do, but when several families go in on it meat becomes relatively cheap. 

[nausicaa]

Isn't Chris the one who wanted to be an EMT but Steve said no? I've always felt bad for him on that point. I don't think Chris is at all interested in IT, but it's one of the few Steve-approved jobs so he's kinda stuck with it. 

And even with Chris and Anna owning their home outright, I still don't understand how they afford their family. They still have to buy food to feed all those people; even if cooking from scratch it would come to hundreds a month. They also have to pay for gas and car insurance, utilities, property taxes, shoes for the kids, Samaritan payments, and gifts for holidays. And we don't know where they stand on tithing, but I imagine some amount of money is going somewhere, even if it's back to the Church of Steve. 

[Lady Grass Lake]

4 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

@HerNameIsBuffy, you brought up a very important point:  those young women need to be paying into Social Security.  If they don't or don't have enough work hours and never get married, they are screwed when they get to retirement age.  Also, you'd hope that the Maxwells would remember that verse about the laborer being worthy of his hire.  IOW, don't fuck over your workers financially.  

 

If you don't have any work credits, when you turn 62 or older, and hour spouse gets Social Security, you can get half of his payment monthly.   My MIL only worked for about 2 years so she did not have the 40 credits, but  she gets a check each month for half of FIL's monthly check.   I have always worked, and had the option of taking my own monthly payment, or half of my husbands.  Since I made decent money,  what I get from my work history is more than half of his, so I am taking my own.  

[Coconut Flan]

It isn't looking extremely likely for the Maxwell daughters to get married any time soon, though.

[Bethy]

2 hours ago, Giraffe said:

Anna probably finds cheap fabric. Some thrift stores sell fabric so she could be getting several yards of fabric for $2 or $3. She could also be given fabric by people who’ve stopped sewing and want to find a “good home” for their stash. Even if she were to order online she could find some good deals. She may not even need much extra fabric for the girls’ dresses because she can save fabric by getting creative with the layout. 

I was going to point out what Giraffe pointed out above...it's actually more expensive to make clothes UNLESS you've got thrifted or donated notions and good deals on fabric. The dress sets we've seen in the past few months (the blue ones from the family picture, and the brown ones) look to me like Anna Marie bought a whole bolt of fabric - something you can do at some fabric warehouses which reduces the price since they'd rather sell you the whole wrapped bolt than have to unfold, measure, cut, and then keep track of how much is left on the bolt which might potentially not be enough for the next customer's project. The blue and brown didn't look particularly up-to-date. If she likes the fabric, more power to her, but I'm just pointing out that those prints might be cheaper because they're a little dated. We also know from early blog posts about frumpers that Teri and the girls only ever bought the pattern in one size, and then they could either fold the pieces to make them a smaller size or trace them onto tissue paper for other sizes rather than cutting out in one person's size and then re-buying the pattern for the next person. I bet Anna Marie is doing that with the girls' dresses. The ones we've seen recently are all from the exact same pattern, probably purchased once and then the pieces traced onto tissue paper for each girl's size. So let's estimate that you can get a little girl's dress out of a yard and a half of fabric (or even two yards, because the CMaxes are always swathed in long, baggy frumpers, give or take for being able to cut multiple little facing pieces and sleeves side by side to save fabric as she mass-produces them) and maybe the fabric only cost $3 per yard, she already owned the pattern and somebody offloaded a stash of notions including the elastic or thread or ribbons because "I know you sew for your girls, so here, take my stuff that I don't use anymore"...that's like $6 per dress and that's less than you'd pay even at a decent thrift store for an appropriately modest* dress for a five- or six-year-old child. If you were going to pick a trendy new pattern and not wait for that pattern brand to be on deep sale, select fabric based on you/your child likes it without regard to cost, and you don't have ready access to thread, zippers, elastic, buttons, interfacing, etc. so you have to buy those, and you only sew it once - then that's going to cost as much as, if not more than, ready-made. But Anna Marie is probably actually saving a bundle sewing those frumpers for the girls. She's commented about not having time to sew like she used to but I think she may re-prioritize that as the girls grow and clothes that fit their standards* become impossible to find.

(*by CMax standards - baggy, ankle length, which you're probably not finding at too many thrift stores anyway)

[Hane]

@Bethy, and nowadays patterns come with a range of sizes in each envelope, rather than one size per, the way they did when I started learning to sew in the ‘60.

A theater costumer I know says she gets lots of patterns fairly cheaply through online sources like EBay—last year’s discontinued styles, and so forth.