Why did Bob and Barb seem to be so poor? -

[ChaosAkita]

Something confusing to me is why Bob and Barb seemed to be so poor. Now Bob was retired when he had Chris, I guess, and Barb didn't work, bub Bob was an engineer and they make pretty good money in the states. Yet their family seemed to be struggling financially for a long time. Case in point: Chris's clothes and other belongings seem to all come from Goodwill or similar stores, and his glasses are notably cheap too. Wonder what happened to the family's money.

 

[KatsuKitty]

Something confusing to me is why Bob and Barb seemed to be so poor. Now Bob was retired when he had Chris, I guess, and Barb didn't work, bub Bob was an engineer and they make pretty good money in the states. Yet their family seemed to be struggling financially for a long time. Case in point: Chris's clothes and other belongings seem to all come from Goodwill or similar stores, and his glasses are notably cheap too. Wonder what happened to the family's money.

Barb didn't work. Chris didn't work and required a steady diet of Sonic and Mario. You do the math on that one.

 

[Mourning Dove]

Perhaps Barb spent all the money on the hoard and/or Chris spent it all on toys and vidya?

 

[SodomyRocket]

Something confusing to me is why Bob and Barb seemed to be so poor. Now Bob was retired when he had Chris, I guess, and Barb didn't work, bub Bob was an engineer and they make pretty good money in the states. Yet their family seemed to be struggling financially for a long time. Case in point: Chris's clothes and other belongings seem to all come from Goodwill or similar stores, and his glasses are notably cheap too. Wonder what happened to the family's money.

They spent it on themselves ie beer.

 

[Mr. 0]

What about the money that went into that goddamn house they live in? Not that it was doing them any good once old Bob started getting feet-swellings.

 

[Henry Bemis]

Barb did work as a secretary, and she was still working when Chris and Bob headed for the hills of Chesterfield County.

This is what happens when middle-aged/senior citizens bring a kid into the world: no longer working, but collecting Social Security and pensions, barely enough to keep up with such a high economic demand as parenthood.

This is also what happens when you throw as much money into civil suits as Bob did.

 

[Tubular Monkey]

Hoards don't grow themselves.

 

[MysticMisty]

Poor budgeting by everybody. Even though Bob was probably the most responsible of the three with money, he didn't do anything to teach Chris about using money properly until it was far too late. Either way they'd be significantly less poor every month if they didn't waste close to $1,000 every month on junk they'll seldom/never use.

 

[MrTroll]

Bob owned a fairly new BMW Z3 and I think a Jag too. They're not poor, just ridiculously irresponsible with money.

 

[Very Honest Content]

I don't agree with the premise of the OP.

They had a small fleet of cars between them. Also a house and an apartment simultaneously when Chris was living with Bob to go to the preferred school district of choice. All the vidya/children's amusement crap little Chris could possibly get his grubby mitts on growing up, plus the amount of entertainment expenses Bob and Barb racked up for themselves is unknown at this time, but seeing as how they're probably both marginally alcoholics, it was probably pretty substantial. Add in the aforementioned multiple civil suit legal fees and there's a decent income way above the level of poor, just spent on liabilities and doodads and chasing the big litigious score that never arrived in a jury judgement instead of invested or at least saved. So they were doing fine for a time, it was just bad personal finance decisions combined with criminal activity on the Weston portion of the family unit that has contributed to the remaining two Chandlers, 'just getting by,' now.

Now the way they conducted themselves as parents, that's what might contribute to the seeming so poor, but poor people usually don't make that much of an ass of themselves and then have their son help broadcast that worldwide over the internet at least, so in a way, not having money helps them out there compared to the Chandlers.

 

[Zim]

Because having a baby is EXPENSIVE!

I also agree with Very Honest Content. I don't think they started out poor. I think it was a combination of reduced income due to retirements, bad money management, and Chris being an everlasting child who will never move out slowly draining the Chandler money reserves. I think they were actually pretty average as far as income back in the day.

Now they just are broke because Barb is old and stupid and Chris is just stupid. Both live on their tugboats and that's really not that much.

 

[Henry Bemis]

Both live on their tugboats and that's really not that much.

Give Barb this much credit: she earned her tugboat.

 

[Furina]

Well, we're assuming they're poor because Chris keeps saying so but since when does Chris have the faintest idea what is actually happening around him? He probably asks Barb for money when he runs out of his and she shoots him down by saying no, we can't afford it. She's probably hoarding some cash somewhere to pay for her inevitable funeral. Funerals aren't cheap and Barb will likely want a viking funeral so she can take her hoard with her to Valhalla.

Chris is constantly broke because he's a well documented idiot when dealing with money. Even he would admit that. He's up to his eye-balls in debt, impulsively buys worthless crap on the PS3 network and eats takeaways far too often. It really is a lot cheaper just to buy raw food and cook it yourself. Chris is probably also using the fact that he has no money as an excuse to not move on with his life. Typical Chris, there's always an excuse and its never his fault.

 

[Coldgrip]

Well, we're assuming they're poor because Chris keeps saying so but since when does Chris have the faintest idea what is actually happening around him? He probably asks Barb for money when he runs out of his and she shoots him down by saying no, we can't afford it. She's probably hoarding some cash somewhere to pay for her inevitable funeral. Funerals aren't cheap and Barb will likely want a viking funeral so she can take her hoard with her to Valhalla.

I honestly don't believe she's thinking that far ahead or cares enough to save up money for her demise. She, like her son, live in the now. Saving up for a funeral would also cut down on money she could instead spend on Goodwill garbage.

 

[Batman VS Tony Danza]

Chris has become more involved with the finances since Bob died so now money means more to him. Not enough to actually be responsible with it but enough to get pissed off at where it's going and how much he's left with. Now if he's blown whats left of his tugboat he knows what he can try to throw the blame on when he can't buy a new Skylander toy. That's when he feels poor and if Chris feels something then he will state it as a fact. I'm not saying their money situation is good but the whole "Money is tight for Mom and I" thing is mostly bullshit. Chris and Barb are just spoiled brats when it comes to watching their own expenses.

They can't be that broke if they can afford to pay for any fines and expenses regarding Chris's fuck ups.

 

[teheviltwin]

Something confusing to me is why Bob and Barb seemed to be so poor. Now Bob was retired when he had Chris, I guess, and Barb didn't work, bub Bob was an engineer and they make pretty good money in the states. Yet their family seemed to be struggling financially for a long time. Case in point: Chris's clothes and other belongings seem to all come from Goodwill or similar stores, and his glasses are notably cheap too. Wonder what happened to the family's money.

Well Blarb is a hoarder and I've always wondered if she also has money paranoia. There's a possibility that she just kept her pension in her bank account and spent Bob's money instead.

 

[pickleniggo]

Yeah I really don't think they were ever poor, they just spent their money in retarded ways (i. e. Living seperately through Chris' high school years, buying a boatload of cars and leaving them to rust, etc.) Basically they enjoyed "big ticket" items, but squelched expenses when it came to Chris, which is why his wardrobe for his first twenty five years consisted of clown shirts straight from the sale racks at goodwill. I would also present the fake Lego sets and fuckin' GUMBY gba game that they bought him for Christmas that one year as a testament to their cheapness when it comes to giving to someone else. You know they got that shit from the bargain bin. (The Gumby game always cracks me up.)

 

[EzioCanLeapofFaith]

It's not that they're poor, they are very irresponsible when it comes to money.
Chris spends most of his tugboat on videogames and crap he doesn't need like little kid's toys all the time, it's not like he saves up to afford the things he likes, he just spends it all.
Also breaking iphones and buying new ones must not be so cheap.
Top that with the fact that he eats all the rest of his money in fast food every week, and there's the reason why his savings accounts is empty

EDIT: Just realized this thread is supposed to be about Bob and Barb, not Chris lol disregard my comment , though I still believe it to be true.

 

[Hollywood Hulk Hogan]

Brother, like a lot of southern white trash, they do not manage money well. It is similar to when those people blow through lottery winnings in 2 years; they have no idea how to manage money.

 

[champthom]

Part of it might be because Bob was effectively paying for two houses or at least two dwellings, 14 Branchland Court and one in Mitholian County when Chris was in high school because of the Greene County School Board nonsense they thought was going on.