Winners of HGTV's Dream Home + 250k & an SUV about to go broke

Stupid is as stupid does.

There are minor complaints: The lights in the great room are going out one by one because the lamps that hang from the ceiling are so high, they'd need scaffolding to change the bulbs.
Seriously, they have these telescoping bulb changers you can get at WalMart or Home depot for like 10-20 bucks. Install CFL bulbs, and you repeat the drill every 7-10 years.

Don, 41, and Shelly, 38, have never slept in the master bedroom--it's too secluded. At night, Don obsessively checks a live video feed of Donald's room, two floors away from the bedroom they occupy, to make sure his son is okay.
For the record, their son is 10!!! This isn't a newborn, and he needs checking?

Further, obsession is a good word, because *I* know I'd be doing something other than looking at a live video screen at night with my wife next to me. Some people might have problems finding something more exciting to do, though...

The biggest problem, though, is that the Cruz family can't afford their new bounty. Don, a stay-at-home dad, and Shelly, an administrative assistant who's gone back to school to become an accountant, are quickly running through their winnings as they struggle to pay thousands a month for electricity, household help and other outsize bills for their outsize home.
No, their biggest problem is that they are stupid, and stupid people + lots of money = bad situation. 250k, free mansion, free luxury SUV, and you just can't make it?

Stay at home dad??? Are you kidding me? The wife is an admin assistant, so you know she isn't making much. Their kid is 10!!! 10!! Not a newborn that needs diapers and formula. He is in school most of the day, so what IS dad doing? Dad is staying at home, and now they need to hire household help???? Why?? Thousands a month in electricity?? Why??? No way, not in Texas.

Living expenses drained the settlement as well as $20,000 the Cruzes had saved for renovations.
They must hang out with Mike Tyson and Michael Jackson to run through 120k for living expenses.

In the 10 years that HGTV has run the contest, the Cruzes are the only winners who've chosen to live in the Dream Home.

Most of the rest sold, happily pocketing the cash. The Cruzes say they too had offers, for millions. But as soon as Don saw the house, he was determined to find a way to make it home.

Translation: I'm stupid, and I don't even know it. Two million for my house? Naah, I'll pass.

Still, Don figured, they'd be okay. After all, they had the $250,000 in cash that they'd won with the house. "We were used to living on $40,000 a year," says Don. "I thought we'd be able to live on the prize money for a few years at least."
What is that 6 years roughly? We'll just hang out for 6 years with no plan, while I stay at home on my duff. Sounds like some of these 401k types "What? You mean I was supposed to plan for my retirement??"

Upkeep is $2,900 a month. Homeowners insurance runs $7,000 annually. The insurance and gas bill on the Cruz fleet (they own seven vehicles, including the SUV they won in the contest) costs $1,000 a month. That's on top of the $1,000-a-month mortgage payment for the Batavia house, which they've kept, just in case.
$2,900 on what? That is a mortgage for an AWESOME home just about anywhere else, and they are spending that to keep the place standing? I doubt the home owners cost. 7k is a lot. REALLY REALLY a lot. All that pales in comparison to the lunacy of owning SEVEN vehicles, though!!! Finally, why have one house you can't afford when you can have, two?

They've donated $40,000 to charity.
That they'll soon be the recipients of...

But Blankenship cautions that Cruz will need more money than he thinks since inflation will sharply erode the purchasing power of his portfolio over the next 20 to 40 years.
What you say? Putting money in CD's ISN'T safe? Maybe I wasn't crazy after all. Heck, they might even have to buy stocks...

Whatever the Cruzes make from selling the house, Blankenship urges them to shoot for higher returns by spreading their money among a number of investments rather than putting the entire portfolio into CDs.
Egads! He said it again!

i read this when it first came out on Money. Dumb is an understatement. a family of 3 people (only two of which are old enough to drive) needing 7 cars. hey, they deserve what's coming to them.

i should really read the whole article before posting..

SPREAD THE WEALTH Whatever the Cruzes make from selling the house, Blankenship urges them to shoot for higher returns by spreading their money among a number of investments rather than putting the entire portfolio into CDs.

somehow I get the feeling that CD's would be better for them..keep things simple for them..I really can't see with their great handling of money,from what we read above,that investing in the stock market would prove any better result.

SUCKISSTAPLES said: hes a fool. there are ways to minimize the expenses. IF he didnt have 7 cars and leaving the Chicago house with its mortgage vacant it would help, and strategic cutting down in other areas would let him afford iti have to agree. reading about these plus the $2k dog run & $5k xmas and $11k boat repairs and $1800 go kdart, etc, plsu trying to sell a house for 5.5m that RE agents say is worth $2.5m tops, made me despise rather than pity them. These people aren't hourse poor really, their primary problem is much larger than that.

Once you trained yourself to live like a "poor man" ... no money in the world will make you rich!

"The upshot: The Cruzes have just $36,000 left from their winnings. What's more, to pay off the tax bill, as well as cover other expenses, they had taken out a $1 million loan. Monthly payments on it are around $8,000. They won't be able to pay it off in full until they sell the house.

It was when Don first got the tax bill that he knew that the dream was over. With no viable plan to pay for the upkeep on the house, let alone the tax bill, there was only one solution.

That night he huddled in the great room with his wife and son, knees touching, and told them they'd have to sell. Donald asked why. But when he saw his father crying, he stopped asking. The next day, they put the Dream Home up for sale."

b534202 said: Renovating their old house is a priority once they get back to Illinois. They want hardwood floors, wall paneling and a hot tub.

Some people just never learn ...formaldehyde flooring?

Are you sure they didn't post in FWF earlier?

"Hi, I'm long time lurker, first time poster, I want to do something really stupid, and instead of heeding the advice here, I'm hoping there is someone that will validate my stupid decisions for me."

talljay said: Here's an earlier article where the guy is quoted as saying
"We plan to stay," he said. "God will provide. We'll say a prayer, turn it over to him, and he provides. It'll all work out."

Didn't work for me either the last fews times I've played the lotto.

talljay said: Here's an earlier article where the guy is quoted as saying
"We plan to stay," he said. "God will provide. We'll say a prayer, turn it over to him, and he provides. It'll all work out."

LOL That's priceless if truly a quote. That was about the extent of his financial planning for the house.

Whatever you say, natural selection isn't completely gone. The dumb are still gonna end up at the bottom of the totem pole no matter what fortune is handed to them.

Like C47 said, stupid is as stupid does. For one, I'm glad to see they got what they deserved for being so stupid (and lazy).

"I feel like I'm looking at someone else's house - this can't possibly be ours," Shelly said.

Don't get comfortable...

On a lighter note, maybe Shelly should reconsider her choice of major:

Don, a stay-at-home dad, and Shelly, an administrative assistant who's gone back to school to become an accountant, are quickly running through their winnings as they struggle to pay thousands a month for electricity, household help and other outsize bills for their outsize home.

Just because he he can't kneel doesn't mean he can't work. There are plenty of jobs that don't require labor by bending over. I guess he couldn't fulfill his dream job of picking up men on the side of the road by bending over into their car window and asking them if they need a hot date.

He must walk around all day with the lights on and when his son comes home......he prolly just stares at him all day and night.

Bunch of losers and I am sure we will all feel the affects once his son goes on some killing spree because of a crazy childhood.

Hahaha.... true... I sure as heck dont want her crunching my payroll or taxes! hahaha

Dus10 said: "I feel like I'm looking at someone else's house - this can't possibly be ours," Shelly said.

Don't get comfortable...

On a lighter note, maybe Shelly should reconsider her choice of major:

Don, a stay-at-home dad, and Shelly, an administrative assistant who's gone back to school to become an accountant, are quickly running through their winnings as they struggle to pay thousands a month for electricity, household help and other outsize bills for their outsize home.

From the couch, Don can cast his fishing pole while he watches TV. Donald wasn't surprised. With its elevator and hot tub, he notes, "The house was made for my dad."See, the kid knows what's up, lol.

SUCKISSTAPLES said: hes a fool. there are ways to minimize the expenses. IF he didnt have 7 cars and leaving the Chicago house with its mortgage vacant it would help, and strategic cutting down in other areas would let him afford it

This family could of used a few years in FW "U".
I was good with money before I started hanging around here, but now I have learned so much I feel like I went grad school.
( and still learning all the time in here, thanks to people like SIS, and Dave Hanson)

"We plan to stay," he said. "God will provide. We'll say a prayer, turn it over to him, and he provides. It'll all work out."Sue! he got an air-tight case against God.

LMAO she wants to be an accountant...who would trust her with a dime. It's hard to feel sorry for someone who buy's $6000 dog runs and a go cart while they are bleeding into poverty. 2 houses, 7 cars, 2 treadmills, 2 washers, 2 dryers, 3 people.

If they got the 5.5 mill by some miracle, they'd be broke again within a year.

talljay said: Here's an earlier article where the guy is quoted as saying
"We plan to stay," he said. "God will provide. We'll say a prayer, turn it over to him, and he provides. It'll all work out."
That makes me so angry. He acknowleges that God has given him a special blessing and all he's going to do with it is squander it and beg for more.
He would do well to consider the Parable of the Talents.

A joke told by Karl "Father Cavanaugh" Malden on the West Wing, season 1, episode 14, "Take This Sabbath Day":

You know, you remind me of the man that lived by the river. He heard a radio report that the river was going to rush up and flood the town. And that all the residents should evacuate their homes. But the man said, “I’m religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me.” The waters rose up. A guy in a row boat came along and he shouted, “Hey, hey you! You in there. The town is flooding. Let me take you to safety.” But the man shouted back, “I’m religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me.” A helicopter was hovering overhead. And a guy with a megaphone shouted, “Hey you, you down there. The town is flooding. Let me drop this ladder and I’ll take you to safety.” But the man shouted back that he was religious, that he prayed, that God loved him and that God will take him to safety. Well... the man drowned. And standing at the gates of St. Peter, he demanded an audience with God. “Lord,” he said, “I’m a religious man, I pray. I thought you loved me. Why did this happen?” God said, “I sent you a radio report, a helicopter, and a guy in a rowboat. What the hell are you doing here?”