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Jessa, Ben and Their Brood: Making a (Diaper) Mountain out of a Mold House

Chris Knight

By Chris Knight
in Counting On

Scarlett45
Message added by Scarlett45

The Duggars post about politics on social media frequently, but these social media posts are not an invitation to discuss politics here in this forum. This rule extends to Duggar adjacent families, friends, associates etc. Such discussions are a violation of the Politics Policy. 

I understand with recent current events there may be a desire to discuss certain social media postings of those in the Duggar realm as they relate to politics- this is not the place for those discussions. If you believe someone has violated forum rules, report them, do not respond or engage.

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Lady Edith
Lady Edith

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Arwen Evenstar

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IntoTheMystic

I went on a couple of those ATI approved 'Journey to the Heart' brainwashings back in the day when I was a teenager. I think they might have been called something different. I don't really remember. M

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satrunrose

satrunrose

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Glad to see Mr One and Only looking so delighted to celebrate the big anniversary. 

This is what I don't get about SM photography. You can edit, you can try a different angle that doesn't show faces, you can say "Jeez, my darling headship, could you try not looking like you're pondering a really deep sermon at a funeral?" Why publish shots that make it look like Ben would rather be scaring his kids about Hell than be at breakfast with his wife?

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mynextmistake

mynextmistake

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They have exactly the same thing, and what restaurant serves each patron half a muffin and 6 grapes? It looks like they ordered one meal and asked for it to be split between two plates. Maybe money is tight with the new baby on the way? Jessa doesn’t work, Ben can’t earn much as a pastor at a tiny IFB church, and I’ve always been suspicious of the theory that JB is wealthy enough to completely bankroll the lives of his adult children and their offspring, especially now that he’s tossed so much money into Josh’s defense. 

Ben looks miserable in all of these pictures, and who can blame him? I doubt his marriage to Jessa was ever a love match. They have no chemistry and nothing in common except the Bible. He probably married her because she was hot and he was desperate for sex. Now he’s stuck with no real job, no money, and four (soon to be five) kids and he’s not even in his thirties yet. Nothing ahead but a lifetime of cramped houses, dirty diapers, and teetering on the edge of poverty. I almost feel sorry for him. 

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satrunrose

satrunrose

35 minutes ago, mynextmistake said:

Now he’s stuck with no real job, no money, and four (soon to be five) kids and he’s not even in his thirties yet. Nothing ahead but a lifetime of cramped houses, dirty diapers, and teetering on the edge of poverty. I almost feel sorry for him. 

I sort of feel sorry for him too, but then I remember that it takes two to make a new blessing.

25 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

I wonder if JB bankrolled all the home improvements and the massive play structure? Those changes didn't come cheap. 

Is Ben working an outside job somewhere?

I think if JB isn't paying for a lot, then he must be. I don't think Jessa is on social media enough to be covertly (or overtly) supporting the family (see the Stew Crew and Jill Rod).

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satrunrose

satrunrose

Sorry, wasn't clear, I meant JRod using SM to grift and shill Plexus, not being directly monetized. 

How much are you making on a video at Jessa's rate? Seems like would be, at best, "fix the fence" money not "provide for 7 people".

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Salacious Kitty

Salacious Kitty

3 minutes ago, satrunrose said:

Sorry, wasn't clear, I meant JRod using SM to grift and shill Plexus, not being directly monetized. 

How much are you making on a video at Jessa's rate? Seems like would be, at best, "fix the fence" money not "provide for 7 people".

Definitely not build a deck, install a drainage culvert, cover it and sod it, and buy a pricey play structure for the kids kind of money. 

I suspect they get free "insurance" in exchange for her ads for CHM. She really doesn't pimp out anything else on Instagram.

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GeeGolly

GeeGolly

4 minutes ago, graybrown bird said:

He looks like a guy who takes himself absolutely seriously, without humor of any kind.  I think when he stares down at that book for Jessa's photo he's thinking he is the perfect model of a patriarch.  Ugh!

His alter ego is worse. 🤣😬😲🙉🙉🙉

 

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Zella

Zella

5 hours ago, satrunrose said:

Why publish shots that make it look like Ben would rather be scaring his kids about Hell than be at breakfast with his wife?

I think at the end of the day, he would rather be scaring his kids about hell than spending one-on-one time with Jessa, and these are really the best pictures she could get. I think he's well aware how his glowering comes across in pictures, and she's also well aware that he's well aware. I have a really hard time believing they don't hate each other. 

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floridamom

floridamom

If Ben is so unhappy with Jessa, and I do believe that he is, why is he still "making blessings" with her? I can't imagine it'a a great experience for him. Jessa is so cold and dictatorial. I agree those home improvements cost a pretty penny...no way Jessa could afford them. Jim Bob must be doling out her share of the profits in exchange for her signature on that lifetime of indenture "contract". What a terrible life for her and for Ben. No wonder he's miserable.

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Dehumidifier

Dehumidifier

3 hours ago, floridamom said:

If Ben is so unhappy with Jessa, and I do believe that he is, why is he still "making blessings" with her? I can't imagine it'a a great experience for him. Jessa is so cold and dictatorial. I agree those home improvements cost a pretty penny...no way Jessa could afford them. Jim Bob must be doling out her share of the profits in exchange for her signature on that lifetime of indenture "contract". What a terrible life for her and for Ben. No wonder he's miserable.

They sold the house they owned to a private ambulance company that wanted the property because it was across the road from a new police/fire station that was being build. The factor that made it undesirable for a residence made it very desirable for the ambulance company. They lucked out and must have gotten a good price.

It's quite possible that they are still funding their renovations with that money. Plus they have free or at least discounted labor from family members.

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Dehumidifier

Dehumidifier

Just now, Salacious Kitty said:

Jer and Jana were in the latest video helping build the deck. Others helped with the culvert. So yeah, free labor, but the materials were still costly. 

The ambulance company just bought the land. Jet and Hannah moved the mold house to the Duggar back 40. 

The land is the valuable part.

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Salacious Kitty

Salacious Kitty

2 minutes ago, Dehumidifier said:

Good info. It certainly doesn't take $280,000 to renovate a small house.

True. Commercial operations also tend to overpay. My in-laws got double the asking price for their house that they sold to the large senior center next door. The original intent was to tear down the house and build a memory care center. They sold in 2007, so plans were put on hold during the '08 recession. They rented the house out for years. It's still there today, empty. My MIL got a nice nest egg (much more than Jessa got) and lives happily at the senior center. 

I forget the tax situation. My FIL was still alive to deal with that. But since they didn't reinvest, there must have been a tax hit. Same goes for the Seewalds. 

I'm sure Jessa has spent plenty on the remodel of what pretty much amounted to a tear down when they came in possession of the property. But yeah, I forgot about this revenue stream. But it won't last forever, and they sunk big bucks into property they don't even own. What if the congregation ousts Ben? That's a lot of money down the drain.

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Salacious Kitty

Salacious Kitty

1 minute ago, Dehumidifier said:

The ownership situation is the big question, not how they got money. 

What did they do with the house besides the new kitchen and painting? 

They added significant square footage. Rearranged what was there, as well. The fireplace ended up behind the front door. They left that. 

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Dehumidifier

Dehumidifier

Just now, Salacious Kitty said:

They added significant square footage. Rearranged what was there, as well. The fireplace ended up behind the front door. They left that. 

The master bedroom, now I remember!

If the church still owns the building they may have paid for some of the work. It would be attractive to future pastors also.

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Salacious Kitty

Salacious Kitty

1 minute ago, Dehumidifier said:

The master bedroom, now I remember!

If the church still owns the building they may have paid for some of the work. It would be attractive to future pastors also.

Yes, they added the master and a couple more bedrooms, and the huge laundry room/closet. I think a second bath, and the kitchen guy/remodel. 

There's probably more, this is just off the top of my head. I think they're around 2000 sf. 

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Dehumidifier

Dehumidifier

8 minutes ago, floridamom said:

Jessa's house had the floor raised. This is no small feat among the other things listed above. Still, why would someone invest money in a home they don't own?

Did she ever actually say who paid for the renovations?

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Salacious Kitty

Salacious Kitty

7 minutes ago, Dehumidifier said:

Did she ever actually say who paid for the renovations?

In her video, Jessa repeatedly remarked on how expensive stuff was. Sure, she was the one going to the home center much of the time, so it's pretty clear that either the Seewalds or JB paid. The church is tiny; I doubt it can support anything beyond Ben's salary and property taxes (which will now rise based on the improvements). 

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GeeGolly

GeeGolly

Jessa said they "used their savings" to pay for the reno. I have no doubt they spent at least $150,000 on the house. The bedroom and kitchen likely cost over $50,000 combined. The new bathroom, the redone bathroom and laundry room likely cost another $50,000.

I'm the odd one out here. I think Jessa and Ben get along fine. I think PASTOR Ben now takes his online image much too seriously and comes off as a disinterested asshole husband.

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Dehumidifier

Dehumidifier

11 minutes ago, YupItsMe said:

Maye the church gave them the house or a 99 year lease in lieu of payment for Ben’s services?

There has to be some kind of deal. I cannot picture her father not advising her strenuously against all the spending if there isn't.

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Tdoc72

Tdoc72

18 hours ago, awaken said:

He definitely looks like he’s reading about sin and hell at his anniversary breakfast. Fun times. 

She commented somewhere that he was reading a book on marriage to her. Sounds boring!  I don’t think my face would let me sit there looking interested in that. 

3 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

Jessa said they "used their savings" to pay for the reno. I have no doubt they spent at least $150,000 on the house. The bedroom and kitchen likely cost over $50,000 combined. The new bathroom, the redone bathroom and laundry room likely cost another $50,000.

I'm the odd one out here. I think Jessa and Ben get along fine. I think PASTOR Ben now takes his online image much too seriously and comes off as a disinterested asshole husband.

IMO “savings” is code for money JimBob gave them for signing their lives away w/his ridiculous MadFamily contract. Or a good chunk of it anyway.  

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