Life Or Debt - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Discuss Here!

[qtpye]

Holy Crap...this guy was just a con artist trying to get the host to help him with his grift.  They basically lived for two years in that place without making a payment, while living the high life.  I just want to know who rented them the place they eventually moved into?  His credit must have been awful.

[psychoticstate]

These two were freaking idiots.  You rent another property because you don't want your kids to be locked out of a house, while you're not paying your current mortgage?  And you rent a property with a higher monthly rent than your current mortgage?   That's a special kind of stupid.  I couldn't stand these two nitwits - - him justifying not paying the mortgage for nearly two years while his fiancee was sporting a $12k ring, Loubitans in the closet and getting her makeup professionally done several times a week.  Just no.

[psychoticstate]

Quote

 

Former child pop star Aaron Carter has lost his millions of dollars and control of his life.  Can Victor help this star and his bank account rise again?

 

Did anyone watch the episode on Sunday with Aaron Carter?  Man, did I feel sorry for him.  What a bunch of selfish douchebags his parents were/are.

I'm surprised that Victor didn't accuse the "business manager" of embezzling money from Aaron, or at least request that copies of those checks be obtained.

I'm glad that it seems that Aaron has gotten his life back on track.  

[announcergirl]

I'm so glad y'all are talking about this show. I've been bugging everybody to find someone who has been watching. Part of me is seriously inspired by watching these stories. Not because I cam comforted by the misery but because Ibsee I am not the only one struggling from bad decisions. What's the saying about not being able to fix what you don't acknowledge. The other part was mortified at how vulnerable you have to be to get help. 

 

On to this show though- O M G!!! What the f are they thinking. I was DONE at them buying a time share six months ago - after not paying the mortgage for two years. Plus, the rental house is 2,200 per month and they were suffering when they had the house he owned for like 1,500 or something. But now you have both! What the f!

Their attitudes sucked. I was so happy when the experts, the lawyer and Victor, said they could not help them get financially together. Not because I don't hope they get it together, but because it gave the show and its host credibility. The experts seem to have integrity. Why were they trying to get other people to co-sign that bankruptcy scam they were pulling!!!! 

And, did y'all see they have six kids together. Goodness gracious. Now mind you, no hypocrisy here because I am the first to say my student loans are horrible, and no/maybe a little judgement but how can they not see their faulty thinking? 

On May 17, 2016 at 1:09 PM, qtpye said:

Holy Crap...this guy was just a con artist trying to get the host to help him with his grift.  They basically lived for two years in that place without making a payment, while living the high life.  I just want to know who rented them the place they eventually moved into?  His credit must have been awful.

 

On May 17, 2016 at 5:44 PM, psychoticstate said:

These two were freaking idiots.  You rent another property because you don't want your kids to be locked out of a house, while you're not paying your current mortgage?  And you rent a property with a higher monthly rent than your current mortgage?   That's a special kind of stupid.  I couldn't stand these two nitwits - - him justifying not paying the mortgage for nearly two years while his fiancee was sporting a $12k ring, Loubitans in the closet and getting her makeup professionally done several times a week.  Just no.

Did y'all see where she said she was homeless after her business faltered. So this is your thinking AFTER homelessness?

[announcergirl]

On May 17, 2016 at 5:53 PM, psychoticstate said:

Did anyone watch the episode on Sunday with Aaron Carter?  Man, did I feel sorry for him.  What a bunch of selfish douchebags his parents were/are.

I'm surprised that Victor didn't accuse the "business manager" of embezzling money from Aaron, or at least request that copies of those checks be obtained.

I'm glad that it seems that Aaron has gotten his life back on track.  

I felt horrible for Aaron. I kinda figured that's what they were saying, that his friend/business manager was stealing. How do you make over $30,000 per month and live in a regular apartment. Did you notice the business manager was driving a BMW. Did Aaron even have a car. Plus, who was getting the checks? I was so happy he fired that guy. With friends like that...but yes, I am surprised Victor didn't say fire him. The guy from Bar Rescue would have!

 

Another thing, so I guess the other siblings, including very famous and rich Nick, we're going to let the parents go to jail? Otherwise, why did Aaron carry the responsibility for them fraud case? Those parents are shitty.

[announcergirl]

Pastor Eric, of La Mesa, CA, is struggling to juggle his religious obligations and his family’s finances.

 

Edited May 19, 2016 by announcergirl

[announcergirl]

Somehow I don't think this is what God had in mind.

[qtpye]

I usually feel bad for people,but I really think this couple was shady as hell.  When the episode started, I was like, "What a nice looking couple." shallow person that I am.  By the middle of the episode, something did not smell right.  I also think he was working for the city and making well over a six figure salary.

I used to work in bankruptcy and to me, they decided to live a extravagant lifestyle and then discharge all their debts.  They were playing the system.  They might actually have been trying not to really save the house, because they wanted something nicer.  They basically lived in that house payment free for two years (think about how much money you would save up if you did not have to pay rent or a mortgage for this long).  They were probably charging all their high end purchases to credit cards.

Did they actually think the host was going to go along with their scam, particularly on t.v.?  Someone told me that con artists were just like the rest of us , but with more audacity.  I am going to guess they got the rental though either a contact of his (he might have the hookups since he works for the city) or he paid a hefty amount up front.

[psychoticstate]

14 hours ago, announcergirl said:

I felt horrible for Aaron. I kinda figured that's what they were saying, that his friend/business manager was stealing. How do you make over $30,000 per month and live in a regular apartment. Did you notice the business manager was driving a BMW. Did Aaron even have a car. Plus, who was getting the checks? I was so happy he fired that guy. With friends like that...but yes, I am surprised Victor didn't say fire him. The guy from Bar Rescue would have!

 

Another thing, so I guess the other siblings, including very famous and rich Nick, we're going to let the parents go to jail? Otherwise, why did Aaron carry the responsibility for them fraud case? Those parents are shitty.

The business manager/friend was driving Aaron's BMW but they did show him driving away after getting fired and that was in a Mercedes.  So he was making good money somehow.

Given that Aaron's monthly expenses were so high, I thought maybe the apartment wasn't where he was actually living but was using it as a business office. It didn't have a real "lived in" feel to me - - not a lot of furniture, photos or personal items.

It was interesting that the parents weren't really mentioned other than they were douchebags by not paying taxes and clearly only put the required 15% into a trust for Aaron, although he was the one making all that money.   I wonder if Nick and the other sibs were already estranged from their parents when this all went down.  

[psychoticstate]

I'm right there with you.  I felt bad for them at first - - although buying a time share when you're not paying your mortgage makes ZERO sense.  I felt their frustration at having to sell their designer things for such a low price but as Victor said, this is what happens where it becomes an emergency and you have no time to waste.  By the end though, it was clear they were playing the system.

I think because this was a new show they figured they would play Victor, get some free advice, file bankruptcy and maybe even get paid to be on this show.  Would have been a win-win-win for them.

[announcergirl]

7 hours ago, psychoticstate said:

The business manager/friend was driving Aaron's BMW but they did show him driving away after getting fired and that was in a Mercedes.  So he was making good money somehow.

Given that Aaron's monthly expenses were so high, I thought maybe the apartment wasn't where he was actually living but was using it as a business office. It didn't have a real "lived in" feel to me - - not a lot of furniture, photos or personal items.

It was interesting that the parents weren't really mentioned other than they were douchebags by not paying taxes and clearly only put the required 15% into a trust for Aaron, although he was the one making all that money.   I wonder if Nick and the other sibs were already estranged from their parents when this all went down.  

Thanks for clearing that up. I can kinda believe he lives there for two reasons: I've seen guys live like that - no comforts or decor. Maybe big screen TV, weights and video games; and, I have no pics or anything up where I've been living for 8 months. Curtains would be nice and costly, but the place came with blinds. 

I, too, wondered where were the other siblings and THEIR money. I think I will look this up. Curious now. Business manager was too fast to go. He said that was his friend also, right? 

[announcergirl]

So did I hear right though that that car guy only gave her 11k for the Range Rover. I looked it up on Kelley's Blue Book and even made it older with 100,000 miles and the value was still almost 40k. Is it me?

[Sukie]

So glad this is a topic, been dying to talk about this show with other folks.  This guy made me want to scream.  Part of me felt sorry for the wife, but at a certain, point, she should just draw the line.  You could see how frustrated it made Victor that he put the church and God before the family.  Not to take away from his faith, but I agree with you announcergirl, don't think that is what God had in mind either. 

[psychoticstate]

I totally believed that he lived there until they started talking numbers.  I was trying to figure in my head how his monthly expenses were $34k if he wasn't putting on shows and had no crew, etc. to pay.  Even taking the $16k monthly out that the forensic accountant couldn't account for, that's still $18k a month.  Where is that money going?  I live in SoCal and know rents are ridiculous but for a 1 bedroom in North Hollywood?  Shouldn't be more than $3-4k.  And I think he mentioned to Victor that he needed $8K or something for his car so maybe that's paid for?  

Hope you found out something interesting on the sibs, @announcergirl.  It's not necessarily their job to support Aaron financially but given the entire situation, I hope they are at least supporting him emotionally.  I hate to say that I also wondered if he'd had some issue with drugs/alcohol -- given that he filed bankruptcy, was having financial issues and estranged from his family.

[psychoticstate]

This guy made me stabby.  Why couldn't he follow Victor's advice, get a full-time job and devote your weekends and spare time to faith?  Starting a church is big business and takes more than $100.  Not only that, I imagine it's going to take some time before he sees any pay coming in from that, even if they can find a local space, like a school auditorium, to use to start their church.

I felt most poorly for the wife's parents.  They clearly had NO Idea that the couple was not putting any money away.  And tithing 10% of the full check they were receiving for rent on their home?  Good grief, that's just insanity.

I did wonder about the guy getting laid off after Victor and company left.  Was it in the works when Victor spoke to the senior pastor?  Or did the appearance on the show necessitate it?  

Regardless, I'm in agreement that this is NOT what God has in mind.  Maybe God/the universe/whatever is trying to tell this guy that his path isn't to be a pastor?  

[announcergirl]

Sukie and psychoticstate, this one made me hot! First, he is not taking care of his wife and kids. It was like he was in his own world, doing what he wanted to do. She just went along with it even though she was not at all happy. In addition, how is she NOT going to work? And, something is awfully fishy about him losing his job again. I did think it might have been because the senior pastor might have been threatened, particularly after he brought in more people.  You would think that after he met with the former pastor who talked about his money issues, he would have said I'm going to at least get another job in the meantime, but oh no! He breaks out with I'm going to start a church. Where dey do dat at!

And, look, even though he is a pastor, he was only making somewhere around 70k right? But, how much were they spending? It seemed like they had a good bit of money coming in.

[janerazor]

When Victor was trying to convince him to get a full-time job instead of starting a new church, the guy talked about how this sort of thing takes sacrifice blah blah blah. But he was actually not sacrificing a damn thing! His wife was sacrificing by having to impose on her parents and not have their own home (not to mention the stress of ever-increasing debt). Her parents were sacrificing by having to support six extra people in their home (not to mention the increased noise and commotion in the home when they likely had gotten used to the relative solitude of their empty nest). 

 

I hate it when people use the excuse of religion to blindly follow what amounts to self-aggrandizing and irresponsible dreams. He's convinced he is doing this for the Lord, but he's just another deluded and self-important jerk who thinks his needs/wants come before everything else.

[announcergirl]

6 hours ago, janerazor said:

When Victor was trying to convince him to get a full-time job instead of starting a new church, the guy talked about how this sort of thing takes sacrifice blah blah blah. But he was actually not sacrificing a damn thing! His wife was sacrificing by having to impose on her parents and not have their own home (not to mention the stress of ever-increasing debt). Her parents were sacrificing by having to support six extra people in their home (not to mention the increased noise and commotion in the home when they likely had gotten used to the relative solitude of their empty nest). 

 

I hate it when people use the excuse of religion to blindly follow what amounts to self-aggrandizing and irresponsible dreams. He's convinced he is doing this for the Lord, but he's just another deluded and self-important jerk who thinks his needs/wants come before everything else.

I can agree with this. They were still spending a lot of money to be "sacrificing". But the parents were, the wife was, even the kids, so that he could make his dream come true. I think he is hiding from going into the workforce for some reason. I still wonder what happened to his job right when they were ready to get it together. Odd. 

[jumper sage]

Hurray!  I resorted to discussions at IMDB and no one else was talking.  What a jerk!  Who would follow a pastor that does not have his own house in order?  Her poor parents.  The poor kids.  How embarrassing to now have your friends know you are living off your grandparents.  It is just so unhealthy.  I gave the side eye to the 70k too.  What the hell?

[jumper sage]

I wish the courts could somehow NOT let him give the 15% Coogan Law money back to his parents.  Pretty shitty thing to do. These child performers need a court advocate to watch what goes on each year and not wait until they are 18 and discover what happened.  I was impressed with Aaron though.  His "manager" was definitely shady.

[announcergirl]

5 hours ago, jumper sage said:

Hurray!  I resorted to discussions at IMDB and no one else was talking.  What a jerk!  Who would follow a pastor that does not have his own house in order?  Her poor parents.  The poor kids.  How embarrassing to now have your friends know you are living off your grandparents.  It is just so unhealthy.  I gave the side eye to the 70k too.  What the hell?

Hey Jumper Sage. Ok side eye to 70k cause he should have more?

[jumper sage]

11 hours ago, announcergirl said:

Hey Jumper Sage. Ok side eye to 70k cause he should have more?

With 70k they should be able to leave her parents house, in my opinion.

[psychoticstate]

$70k (sadly) is not a lot in Southern California and with a family of 6.  HOWEVER . . . if the wife would work full-time and they would sell the house and rent for now, they should be fine. 

I don't care whether it's religion or skateboard building or what . . .the guy is a selfish dick.  He's not putting his family first, he's putting himself first and using God and religion to sell it.  I have no issue with faith and absolutely no issue with someone who wants to dedicate their life to it but when you're living with your in-laws (and have been for 2 years), can't save any money yourself and the pastor thing clearly isn't working, it's time to remove your head from your ass and go to Plan B.

[SillyOldClothCat]

I was taught "God helps those who help themselves" (like, by getting a job).  Not, "God helps those who rely on Him to do it for them, because they're doing it in His Name".

Edited June 7, 2016 by SillyOldClothCat

[sofaslug]

I'd posted about this show in the Genre section.  Glad to see it's gotten it's own listing.

Regarding the "manager", I posted in the genre section that I was getting a weird vibe from him and wondered if he had been writing checks for himself.  Something just seemed off about him.

[announcergirl]

22 minutes ago, sofaslug said:

I'd posted about this show in the Genre section.  Glad to see it's gotten it's own listing.

Regarding the "manager", I posted in the genre section that I was getting a weird vibe from him and wondered if he had been writing checks for himself.  Something just seemed off about him.

That's exactly what I was thinking. 

[psychoticstate]

On 6/26/2016 at 7:05 AM, sofaslug said:

Regarding the "manager", I posted in the genre section that I was getting a weird vibe from him and wondered if he had been writing checks for himself.  Something just seemed off about him.

No doubt in my mind.  Whoever was writing those big checks had to have access to Aaron's checkbook.  And even if he wasn't writing the checks himself, wasn't he reviewing the statements and noticing these amounts coming out and on checks made out to "Cash?"  So he was clearly guilty of theft or at least negligence.

[announcergirl]

49 minutes ago, psychoticstate said:

No doubt in my mind.  Whoever was writing those big checks had to have access to Aaron's checkbook.  And even if he wasn't writing the checks himself, wasn't he reviewing the statements and noticing these amounts coming out and on checks made out to "Cash?"  So he was clearly guilty of theft or at least negligence.

I also think that's why he quit so fast - guilt.

[Brooklynista]

I was baffled that Aaron never thought to question how his manager was driving a nicer car than.   Perhaps it was only coincidence that while the manager was living large, Aaron was eating cat food.

[Kiss my mutt]

These people were shady AF. How in the world do they get financing for all this stuff?  

How were they going to keep their house and rent?  Who are these landlords that aren't checking references and a credit check. 

[Kiss my mutt]

1 Timothy 5:8

Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Pastor needs to think about that. Why doesn't he take his family and move in with his own parents?  Is he hoping his in laws will kick the bucket and give them the home?  Her parents should have kicked them out or at least the husband. I don't know how she puts up with him. What a disgrace. 

My husband would work mopping floors before we took advantage of our relatives like that. He is not being a man in god's eyes. 

I wonder why he got fired from his last two jobs?  I thought holding that rally and trying to get more members so he could make more money was not very Christ like. Shouldn't he want more people to  come to church to learn about God and grow stronger in faith?

It's  all about this guy and his fantasy of playing big preacher man. He does seem afraid to get a job in the world because he knows he can't hack it. He can't even hack a job that he feels god has led him too. I imagine there was a lot of crap that went down at the old church for him to take part of the congregation and start a new church. It's sickening to me to hear how they want $500,000 to start. They are just making it up as they go and if his own house isn't in order first it's going to crumble. 

How despicable mooching off his in laws and having nothing to show for it. $1200 for eating out?  Shame on him for not being a man. 

I wish they would do updates for this show. I'd be curious to hear how everyone is faring. 

I just found this this show on Amazon so I'm late too the party but I like it!  Will they have season two?

Victor cracks me up when he speaks in his talking heads and appears to be rocking side to side. He has so much energy. I'm taking a look at his software. I've learned some things from watching this show. He's cool beans. 

[KFMcMurray]

This is awful! Living a high life but not paying debt? They must have a really bad habit when it comes to finance.

[Burning Rubber]

I am watching this show for the first time. Fascinating.

It's the episode with the stubborn executive assistant Tesla owner and the "Irish Thug" t-shirt seller MMA fighter that have been married for 3 months.

They're living like multimillionaires!

Idiot MMA guy let his $12/year irishthug dot com domain name expired, and it's been picked up by pirate bots that extort people that then want it back. Victor actually said "good news you can have it back for $1900!!!" That's not good news when you have to pay expited domain name hijackers almost 2 grand for something worth 12 bucks. 

I wonder if they are divorced already. 

[Dehumidifier]

This show sounds intriguing. Where can I find it? [NYC metro area]

[announcergirl]

On 11/23/2020 at 5:58 PM, Burning Rubber said:

I am watching this show for the first time. Fascinating.

It's the episode with the stubborn executive assistant Tesla owner and the "Irish Thug" t-shirt seller MMA fighter that have been married for 3 months.

They're living like multimillionaires!

Idiot MMA guy let his $12/year irishthug dot com domain name expired, and it's been picked up by pirate bots that extort people that then want it back. Victor actually said "good news you can have it back for $1900!!!" That's not good news when you have to pay expited domain name hijackers almost 2 grand for something worth 12 bucks. 

I wonder if they are divorced already. 

I may have to watch all over with you guys! Plus I need a refresher on my own finances! 
 

[LinkAiris]

On 11/23/2020 at 6:58 PM, Burning Rubber said:

I am watching this show for the first time. Fascinating.

It's the episode with the stubborn executive assistant Tesla owner and the "Irish Thug" t-shirt seller MMA fighter that have been married for 3 months.

They're living like multimillionaires!

Idiot MMA guy let his $12/year irishthug dot com domain name expired, and it's been picked up by pirate bots that extort people that then want it back. Victor actually said "good news you can have it back for $1900!!!" That's not good news when you have to pay expited domain name hijackers almost 2 grand for something worth 12 bucks. 

I wonder if they are divorced already. 

Wow, that sounds like quite the rollercoaster of a show! It's amazing how real-life situations can unfold in such unexpected ways. The story of the executive assistant and the MMA fighter turned T-shirt seller sounds like it's filled with twists and turns, especially with the added drama of the expired domain name. It's unfortunate that they found themselves in such a predicament, but hopefully, they were able to navigate through it and come out stronger on the other side. I'll have to tune in to see how it all unfolds!