Humble Beginnings 11/30/24

 The Andrews/Carter family had a very successful spring.  Lily moved her boyfriend Ricky in and almost immediately after became pregnant, eventually delivering a baby girl named Daisy.  Ricky got a Slacker job (which is his LTW) and all the adults earned several promotions during the course of the week.  They did so well, in fact, that they were able to give Ryan the full tuition ($6000) needed for University.  He reached adulthood by the end of spring and moved to campus to earn a Law degree; he will also be working in the Military while going to school to build up funds for his own household.  (Note:  Since I haven't played Uni yet, it's still a little bit flexible.  I'll be playtesting and figuring things out as I go.  For now, I'm considering Ryan to still be part of his parents' household until he leaves Uni {so that I don't have to worry about his class level, savings, or paying the crime syndicate} but I'll determine his class when he finishes his degree based on the money he has earned while there.)  At the end of spring, Clay and Paige are both elders, Ethan is a child, and little Daisy is a toddler.  Their savings total $9429 after bills/rent, crime payment, and Ryan's tuition.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 11/27/24

 The new family is just a single sim - Eric Gordon.  Eric started out as Poverty Class, living in the motel.  He had a very tough winter; he was unable to get the skills needed to apply for any jobs until close to the end of the week, he was always in a terrible mood which prevented him from even doing much bartending, once he did have the skills he needed the jobs just didn't come up, and the only bright spot was meeting Amaya Louie, who he fell for pretty quickly.  Amaya, quite literally, saved him as he was on the verge of becoming Homeless; she agreed to move in and brought $15,000 with her on the very last day of the round.  She's unemployed, but has a decent skill set so she won't have any trouble finding a job.  They got married right away and with the $14,565 they have remaining after paying the crime syndicate, they will be moving up to Working Class.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 11/26/24

 The Franklins spent a tough winter on the Homeless lot.  However, with the twins newly grown to adulthood, it meant plenty of sims to beg and/or care for little Alex, who soon became a big brother to Riley, who will soon also become a big brother, as Charlotte is pregnant once more.  Aside from begging, they caught a few boots at the beginning of winter, before the pool froze over, and Xavier tried his hand at growing tomatoes, but they didn't survive the snow and ice.  By the end of the season, the family had saved $505, so will be leveling back up to Poverty in the spring.  (Side note: it seems as though Romance sims make more money when begging.  Xavier and Isaac seemed to get tipped more often and for more money than the others - just an observation.)

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 11/25/24

 The Owens family continues to struggle under the weight of poverty.  Once the baby was born (a girl, Wendy), Angela briefly took a job as a pickpocket, but when she found out she was pregnant yet again, she and Warren decided it was too dangerous, and she gave up her life of crime.  Not being able to contribute was upsetting to her though, so she took up escorting again in secret.  Warren scours the newspaper daily for a position in Slacker (his LTW), but to no avail, so he's still working in Culinary.  He's been promoted (and demoted) several times, ending the winter as a fast-food shift manager.  At the end of winter, Brandon is a teen (with a job as a gas station attendant), Wendy is a child, new baby Amanda is still an infant, and there's another baby on the way.  Brandon does not get along with his parents at all, so it's unlikely he'll want to stay and help out once he grows up; he'll want to get out as soon as he can, which means they may be stuck in this class for a while longer.  Current savings, after rent, bills, and the crime payment, are $1583.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 11/24/24

 The Edwards family faced many challenges and changes this winter.  Alice got a job as a golf caddy right away, but her sons were not so lucky.  Adam wasted no time in proposing to his waitress girlfriend (Linda Cho) and they were married with a baby on the way in short order.  Paul, not to be outdone by his brother, decided to give up escorting to marry one of his clients, Linda Barthelet.  (Yes, we now have two Linda Edwards.)  In addition, he finally found a job working for the syndicate as a pickpocket; his new bride had a job as a fast-food worker.  Adam and his Linda remained unemployed but took barista and bartending gigs whenever possible.  In due time, baby Amy was born and, shortly thereafter, three things occurred: 1. Paul's Linda discovered she was pregnant, 2. Alice died at age 73, and 3. Paul was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to jail time, despite having spent his wife's life savings on an attorney.  Now, my original plan, since both Lindas brought in $5000, was to level everyone up, but have the brothers each take half the money and go their separate ways, moving into their own individual Working Class apartments.  However, since they spent $5K on Paul's legal fees, there wasn't enough for them each to have the minimum requirement for Working, which would mean them all moving into an apartment together.  This did not seem reasonable to me because the brothers dislike each other and, without their mother's presence to keep the peace, would likely not want to do that.  So, I decided that Adam will take his wife's savings and level up his family, while leaving Paul's wife at the motel to await his return from prison.  Therefore, Adam, Linda, and Amy are now Working Class, with $5000, and Paul, Linda, and the twins (James and Joseph) Linda delivered, will remain Poverty Class with $1684 in savings after paying the rent.  Paul's family might level up next round, and it might not work out so well for Adam's family, given that neither he, nor his wife, are employed, but I guess that's what we'll find out lol!

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 11/22/24

 Dalton Duncan decided to switch jobs to Culinary, even though it meant taking a pay cut.  He's done very well so far, so maybe the sacrifice was worth it.  Emily continues to work in Culinary as well; she's a bit ahead of Dalton due to her head start.  Unluckily though, it seems as though their schedules always seem to line up, meaning that they have to spend quite a bit of money on nannies to care for their son Dylan.  It's taking a real toll on their bank account.  Thankfully, Dylan will become a teen in the spring, and there's been no sign of another baby on the horizon, so they may have a chance to get ahead finally.  Their savings as of the end of winter is $6710.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 11/20/24

 The Baxter/Tang family has gone through even more changes this winter.  Robi decided to change jobs and began working in the Athletic career.  Karen and Steven continued in Culinary, while Andrea continued with Slacker (though she's had very little success with promotions).  Rose took a job as a security guard but also bought a small community lot and started a business, Rosie's Diner, on it.  Steven passed away at age 63, leaving the family a tidy sum in life insurance money.  Andrea began making flower bouquets for extra cash and she and Robi also welcomed another baby girl, Nicole.  Rose began dating Alvin Parker and decided to ask him to move in (he brought $14,000); he subsequently proposed to her, and she said yes.  They are now expecting their first child as well.  Alvin took a job in the Military, but was fired on the first day, so he ended up working in Slacker instead.  He has also taken on the primary responsibility of running the diner since Rose is pregnant.  By the end of the round, the house was getting pretty crowded, so I decided to move Rose and Alvin into their own place.  Since Rose has a business, however, which she can only keep if she remains Lower Middle Class, I had her take $25,000 with her, which leaves the family with $10,732 after paying their property taxes and bills.  Normally, I would've been okay with giving her less money and allowing her to level down a class, but I felt the circumstances warranted giving her more, and Alvin did bring in $14,000, so it made sense to me.  Had the family been close to leveling up to Upper Middle Class, it might have been different, but they're nowhere near the $100,000 they need for that so...

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 11/18/24

 The Andrews/Carter clan settled into their new home in the Working Class row houses I built, minus Travis who, sadly, died in prison at age 68.  The twins got jobs to help with the family's finances, and Clay and Paige continued working in Culinary (both were promoted up to host/hostess by the end of the round).  Levi began dating a girl named Lucy Do and Lily fell for Ricky Cormier.  Paige got pregnant and subsequently delivered another boy, Ethan, shortly before Ryan grew into a teen.  When the twins reached adulthood, I allowed them to take their romantic interests to Uni with them to grow them up, before moving them back home.  (I left Lucy and Ricky on the Uni lot to potentially be moved in later.)  Levi earned a $1000 scholarship for good grades, but he likely will not be using it, as his Lifetime Want is for Culinary, and he doesn't need a degree for that.  Upon returning home, he immediately found a position as a dishwasher.  Lily's LTW is for Athletic, which is allowed for Working Class, so she took a job as a team mascot.  (Btw, they both met the skill requirements for these jobs.)  Ryan also took a teen job in the Athletic career (I'm not requiring any skills for teen jobs) and his LTW is for Law, which is a bit trickier, as he'll need a University degree to work in that job.  I am going to try to send him if the family can swing the initial $1000 for his first class; he'll likely have to work his way through college on his own after that.  At the end of winter, after paying the crime syndicate and the rent/bills, the family only had enough money to give each of the twins $1000 upon moving out, which would automatically demote them to Poverty.  I decided that, since Levi wants Culinary anyway, which is allowed in Poverty, while Lily's Athletic job is not, I would have him move out with his $1000 but keep Lily in the current household.  Levi will become Poverty and move Lucy in with him (they got engaged btw) and Lily will move Ricky in here and take over the household once her parents are gone (they'll both become elders next round).  As of the end of winter, they have $1077 and will remain Working Class.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 11/12/24

 The Franklin family is comprised of elder matriarch Adeline, her son Xavier, her deceased daughter's teen twins Irene and Isaac, and Xavier's wife Charlotte.  They began at Poverty Class and moved into an old warehouse that has been converted into tenement apartments.  Adeline and the teens all got jobs initially, but Irene was fired, not once, but twice without ever bringing home a paycheck.  Adeline and Isaac managed to earn a little money, and by the end of fall Xavier had taken a job with the crime syndicate to avoid paying protection money.  Charlotte was never able to find a job she was qualified for, but did find herself pregnant, nearly starving to death before finally giving birth to a baby boy, Alex.  By the end of the round, the family was unable to pay their rent (even with their $50 savings) so they've been demoted to Homeless Class and will be moving to the residential homeless lot beginning in winter (perfect timing, right?), where they will begin with $292.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 11/11/24

 Angela Baxter moved into her own unit at the motel and her fiancé, Warren Owens, moved in with her.  If she was expecting to get lucky like her sister Andrea did with her $19K barista boyfriend, she was quickly disappointed, as Warren brought in a whopping $1.  Angela began working as a golf caddy right away.  After her son Brandon was born, she and Warren finally tied the knot.  Eventually, Warren found a job as a dishwasher and was later promoted up to fast food shift manager.  Angela was not so lucky.  Her second pregnancy was very difficult, and she had a hard time at work, resulting in her being fired towards the end of fall.  There was a small bit of luck though - they got a genie lamp!  At the end of the round, the Owens family has saved $907 after bills, rent, and the crime syndicate payment.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 11/9/24

 Paul managed to score several good dates this fall and, in conjunction with the boots caught and sold by the family, they saved up just enough to level up to Poverty Class come winter.  Sadly, Dorothy will not be joining them, as she died at age 67.  Alice has a little time left, however, and she's looking forward to having a roof over her head again.  If only she could get her sons to stop fighting, she'd be able to die a happy woman.  (I don't think she's going to get her wish.)

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 11/8/24

 Fall brought both joy and sadness to the Duncan family.  Finlay and Fiona both passed away (at ages 70 and 72, respectively), but not before both reached the top of their elder jobs, bringing in a tidy sum for the family coffers.  Dalton was promoted up to home video editor and Emily to hostess.  They also welcomed a new family member, baby Dylan, who was born just after Fiona died.  By the end of fall, their savings totaled $10,453 (after paying the syndicate), so they will be promoted to Working Class in the winter.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 11/7/24

 Steven eventually returned home from prison to find the family greatly changed from when he left.  One of his daughters (Angela) had moved out, as well as one of his nieces (Emily).  His other daughter (Andrea) had gotten married (to Robi Tang) and was expecting a baby.  The first thing he did upon arriving home was to look for a job (he found one in Culinary).  His teen niece Rose also took a job in Culinary, and Robi and Andrea both took Slacker jobs.  Their baby was born shortly after Steven's return - a girl named Michelle - and she was a toddler by the end of fall.  Rose grew into an adult on the last day.  At the end of fall the family's savings totaled $29,824, thanks to Robi bringing in $19,000 when he moved in.  (I have never had an NPC bring in so much money, which is why I made the rule about moving in only NPCs vs. townies, but since it seems they can have just as much cash as townies, I've revised the rule to allow anyone to move in as long as they are played as part of the family and not just for their cash.)  Since the family has over $25,000, they will be leveling up, not to Working Class, but straight to Lower Middle Class.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 11/5/24

 The Andrews/Carver family has been through a number of ups and downs this fall.  Clay continued to work in the Culinary field, and Paige was able to join him when she also took a position as a dishwasher.  Travis returned home from prison and found himself very drawn to Jenna.  After a whirlwind romance, they tied the knot, but the very next day Jenna died while working the streets.  The family continued to struggle forward, even though the twins were constantly fighting, and they had to spend precious funds to hire a nanny to watch baby Ryan while they all worked.  Once Levi and Lily grew into teens, things started looking up a bit, only for Travis to be arrested once again.  At this point, a tough decision had to be made.  They had the money to hire a lawyer, which might have allowed Travis to beat the charges against him, but it would have meant the family could not level up to Working Class.  Since Travis was not likely to live much longer anyway, it seemed the best decision was to roll the dice with the public defender and allow the family to keep their nest egg.  Travis was subsequently convicted and sentenced to what will amount to life in prison for him.  By the end of fall, he was still alive and employed, so he was able to qualify the family for one last exemption from the crime syndicate payment - his final gift to them.  At the end of fall, the twins are teens and Ryan is a child, both Clay and Paige continue to work in Culinary (though she's been more successful than he has), and they've saved a total of $7620, which makes them officially Working Class.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 11/2/24

 The newest family to the neighborhood consists of an elderly couple, Alice and Dorothy Edwards, and their two grown sons Adam and Paul.  The rolled Homeless for their starting class and have moved into the residential homeless lot.  Alice and Dorothy have primarily been fishing, though the heat is really getting to everyone.  "The Boys" do not get along at all and are constantly bickering.  They can't even agree on how to fund their way out of homelessness; Paul is taking the escort route (though he hasn't been very successful), but Adam feels it's better to just romance one woman, move her in, and utilize her life savings (has hasn't been very successful either because, although he's made friends with a waitress, without a phone he's unable to invite her over or take her on a date).  In any event, the family managed to save $359 after bills, so it looks good for them to level up in the fall.

Happy Simming!