Washington Post Article is Bugging Me (Woodbridge, Herndon: foreclosures, insurance, credit card)

[TrippingJay]

This article also bugged me as well. Here you have a couple where one works in construction and other works in automotive detailing; two areas that are tanking due to the economy and they're surprised that one of them had to take a 10% paycut?

While no one is really a stranger to this economic crisis, I hope this family learns to be more frugal and remembers to be this way even when times are good.

[Fern435]

Finished reading it. Arrrrgh...

Wish I did not read it. Apparently some folks don't have the knack for attempting to plan ahead on important decisions (like the vasectomy/vasectomy reversal... ) People who have to take their 8 year-old to the nail salon when she's bored....?

Oh. My. It is painful to think of people raising children in this way.

[normie]

Whenever we go to the zoo, we just make our own trail mix and take it with us for snacks. We mix it from the bulk sized bags of nuts and raisins you get from Costco. We take metro and enjoy the walk from the Woodley Park Station. So IMO, going to the zoo all the way from Loudoun County costs under $10, including the fares for metro.

Last year we cancelled our subscription to the Post. It was a painful decision. I've been in publishing all my life and can remember when the Post was an example of stellar journalism. But it has deteriorated badly in the last few years. They have very little solid reporting anymore, and waste space on the sort of mindless drivel I can read in blogs. And, as you point out, increasingly their interviews seem far fetched.

I wonder the same thing, did they become sloppy, or are they trying to be provocative? Personally I prefer realism in newspaper reporting. But when $$$ is tight they'll do anything to get eyeballs, I guess.

Now the only papers I read daily are the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. If something happens locally, I can read WaPo online. But I find I don't do that very often anymore.

[springfieldva]

Originally Posted by claremarie

I don't understand why people agree to open their lives to reporters in this way.
With pictures and all.
Are they so eager for their 15 minutes of fame? Are they sending this article to all of their friends and relatives (the neighbors already know), or are they cringing?
And the $100 zoo trip thing was over the top. I've been to the zoo dozens of time, and never got the memo that I was supposed to buy coffee, hot chocolate, and pizza.
It's no wonder that so many kids are obese, with parents who believe that every outing to the zoo or (especially) the movies requires a trip to the snack bar, but that's a different story.

The zoo thing made me gag, too.

They stupidly spent $100 on junk food. And instead of saying "Wow, we're supposed to be cutting back. Spending that money on crap was not very smart of us," they conclude: "Trips to the Zoo are supposed to be inexpensive. Just look how much it cost us! We will never go back to D.C. again."

Whatever. No wonder the Post doesn't have a business section anymore.

[goozer]

Wow. I am definitely in the minority here. I enjoyed the article because I thought it was a departure from the regular doom and gloom articles about people truly struggling in this miserable economy. I'm not making light of the many who are suffering. I'm just saying it was interesting to read the story of a couple that is only mildly suffering. I don't feel sorry for them and I don't know if I can say they are the sort of people I would be friends with. Regardless, it just proves that this economy is having an impact even on families who have not endured layoffs or other significant hardships.

[tgbwc]

I've never even heard of "Juicy Couture" ! Going to have to Google that one!

[GreenGene]

Well, I read this article in the Post this morning, and the Coughlin family definitely got on my nerves. However.....

*If*, by having to tighten their belts a bit as the result of a 10% pay cut, Stacey and Michael have learned some of the lessons most of us learned long ago, they will come out of this wiser than they were going into it. Things like clipping and using coupons, cleaning and painting for themselves rather than paying someone else to do these things, going out to eat less often ... these are all positive changes.

I suspect that some of the people reading that article will see themselves in the Coughlins, and also see that it's possible to make changes to cope with changed circumstances. In other words, other people may just benefit from the Coughlin trials and tribulations.

That said, I gotta admit ... the thought of sinking my teeth into one of their $80 roasts is making my mouth water!

[The Dissenter]

Ashburn Family Reacts to Economic Downturn - washingtonpost.com

Well we went, and by the time we paid for pizza, two cups of coffee, hot chocolate and parking, it came to $100.

I still can't figure out how they blew $100 on the zoo. Think about it:

Pizza MAYBE $15-20, tops.
Parking MAYBE $10.
Coffee $10.
Hot chocolate $10?
Even with my LIBERAL estimates i get $50. $100? They aint telling us something.

I think this articles speaks volumes about my big problems with Northern VA. Everyone is all about trying to impress others and indulging their kids. I really do not like how they indulge their 8 yr old. If she is bored why not take her to a homeless shelter to help out or volunteer in the church or something that will keep her occupied and teach her how to help her fellow man? It scares the h&%$ out of me to see how we are raising kids to be self-focused today instead of helping others.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by tgbwc

I've never even heard of "Juicy Couture" ! Going to have to Google that one!

I beat you to it. It is a line of clothing.

Juicy Couture | Shop Online | Sale

I think the prices will tell most of the story here.

[athousandlogins]

I actually think this article was a great decision by The Post. It's obviously got people talking (when was the last time you got worked up about something in the Metro section?) and, it's a very honest picture of a life a lot of people do live in our area. I can get international headlines anywhere on the internet, and insightful analysis from some of the more in-depth magazines, but nobody else is doing what The Post did this morning for my "neighborhood."

That said, yeah, I had the same reaction about the $100 zoo trip and the lavish dinner parties and the pedicures. WUT?! Well. It was a slice-of-life piece, not a You Should Live Like Them piece. Nobody says by putting them in the paper that they're meant to be role models. But despite their obvious cluelessness in some ways, I do like the family's attitude overall. They're not burying their heads in the sand or being complacent anymore. Maybe they're thinking about detergent several years too late, but at least they're thinking now.

The biggest laugh for me was probably the mother wondering if years of living like this would have a long-term emotional impact on her children. REALLY? I mean, there are too many homeless and hungry and abused children out there *right now,* and you really worry that your child will suffer from not being able to play every sport she has her heart set on? There are children living in war zones out there! Boy, do we have some luxurious problems around here, or what?!