Humble Beginnings 1/28/25

 So much drama went down with Irene Franklin and Brandon Baxter that I hardly know where to begin.  Things were okay for the first couple of days - they got settled in and their son Austin grew into a child.  However, things got complicated fast after that.  To condense it down as much as possible: Brandon had been involved with Meadow Pederson and Danielle Duncan, despite being engaged to Irene.  Irene was also seeing Ricky Cormier, who she wanted to get engaged to, even though she was already engaged to Brandon.  Upon moving into the apartment, Brandon also began hitting on one of their neighbors, new resident Andi Jones.  By the time all was said and done, Irene had caught Brandon cheating, Brandon had caught Irene cheating, and both Meadow and Andi were furious with Brandon as well, leaving Danielle as Brandon's only love interest, and Ricky as Irene's.  Danielle's husband Dalton and Ricky's girlfriend Lily had also caught them cheating, so three relationships were up in smoke.  I played out the rest of the week with them (to keep aging correct) during which time Irene gave birth to Ricky's baby (a boy, Jesse, who subsequently grew into a toddler), they earned a couple of promotions, and Irene got a $75,000 bonus.  I decided that since Irene and Brandon were already through, and she was determined to get engaged to Ricky, that she would not tell Brandon about the $75K, keeping it for herself.  The end result of all of this was that Ricky split from Lily (leaving their two kids with her) and taking half their cash with him ($70,433), and Irene moved in with him, taking her $75,000 and the boys.  Since their combined net worth was over $100,000, they will be Upper Middle Class.  After purchasing their new home (which is right next door to Ricky's ex Lily lol) and getting their savings in place, they have $93,541 remaining.  Danielle left Dalton, leaving their daughter with him, and taking half their funds ($22,020); Brandon combined his $7496 with hers, making them Lower Middle Class.  They purchased a home, after which they have $7898 remaining.  Whew!  That was a lot lol, but you gotta love the drama!

The new family in town consists of Andi Jones and her father Norman.  They began as Working Class with $5000.  Upon moving in, Norman immediately found a job in Entertainment, while Andi started out in Military, but eventually found a job in her LTW of Slacker.  Having had a bad experience in the romance department with Brandon Baxter, Andi turned to an older man in the building, Makoto St. Julien.  They began dating, and he moved in by the end of the round.  This brought me to a bit of a dilemma - Makoto had a job as an Artist upon moving in.  I don't have any rules regarding the Uni careers, as no one actually attends Uni and I didn't consider the fact that these jobs could be randomly assigned to townies.  Since I've always thought the Uni careers were a bit weird (why would you need a degree to be an artist?), I decided to add these jobs into the rules (for the sole purpose of determining whether or not a townie can keep the job) as follows:  Artist will be allowed if the sim has at least 2 points in cooking, mechanical, creativity, or charisma, Show Business if 3 points in logic, body, creativity, or charisma, Paranormal if 3 points in cooking, cleaning, creativity, or charisma, and Natural Science if 7 points in logic, body, mechanical, or cleaning (an honorary Uni degree would also be granted for Nat. Sci.)  Therefore, Makoto was allowed to keep his Artist job, as he was more than qualified.  The couple has not rolled a want for engagement as yet.  Norman also fell in love with a neighbor, Nikki Zhang; they got married and she's now Nikki Jones.  Nikki and Makoto brought in a total of $9000, bringing the household savings to $11,019 after expenses.  They will remain Working Class for now.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 1/27/25

 Dalton and Danielle Duncan did not make much progress this week.  Danielle only got one promotion, and Dalton needed so many points that he didn't get one at all.  Danielle did finally find a job in Culinary at the very end of fall, though she has to start as a dishwasher.  Their relationship also seems to be suffering, as they've both been rolling wants to be unfaithful.  Dalton, of course, still has some feelings for his ex, Emily, and Danielle began an affair with Brandon Baxter.  It remains to be seen how it all turns out.  In other news, Dana became a child and will become a teen early next round.  At the end of fall, they have $44,040 after expenses and will remain Lower Middle Class.

Destiny and Chase Iverson moved into the abandoned warehouse, and both got jobs in Slacker.  They got several promotions each, funneling most of their money into classes for their degrees (Destiny's LTW is for Medicine and Chase's is for Adventure); Chase completed three classes and Destiny two.  At the end of fall they have $2994, which would keep them Poverty, however, since Destiny became engaged to Joseph Edwards this round, she and her brother will be moving in with the Edwards family, who got promoted to Working earlier in the round.  I considered keeping Chase here and moving only Destiny, but since they're very close and he doesn't have a love interest, it makes sense for them to stick together.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 1/25/25

 Ryan Carter got some new roommates this fall: Amy Edwards, his brother Ethan, and Dominique Parker.  Ryan completed his thesis, found a job in Law, and by the end of the round (with the help of the money he inherited from his parents), he had saved $18,932, so he'll be moving out to his own Working-Class apartment. Amy took a job in Culinary and made it through most of her classes; she has one more to complete and her thesis, so she'll remain another week.  She and Ryan got along well and have 2-bolt chemistry, so something may develop between them in the future.  Ethan took a job in Slacker and completed four classes; he'll remain another week.  Dominique had a head-start, as she'd done some AP classes in high school.  She has one remaining class and her thesis to write, so she'll also remain here another week.

*Note:  I'm considering moving the University to the end of the play cycle permanently to make things easier with moving sims in/out.  

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 1/24/25

 Kayla Harris and her boyfriend Amar Wong were lucky enough to find jobs in their respective LTWs on the first day of the round.  Kayla was rising steadily in the ranks but got demoted on the last day back to dishwasher.  Amar is up to starter, so he's doing pretty well.  Simon grew into an adult and took a job in Law Enforcement.  He also decided that, since he got a sizable amount of scholarship money, he should start taking community college courses.  He's been pretty lazy about it so far (only completing one class), but since he doesn't really need it, I'm not pushing him too hard.  I'm much more interested in his 2-bolt chemistry with neighbor Michelle Tse, but so far, they haven't progressed to anything more than friendship.  By the end of fall, Ajay has become a teen, and the family has saved $5012, so they'll remain Working.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 1/22/25

 Adam Edwards made it to the top of the Slacker career and also scored a $20,000 promotion.  His wife, Linda, was about to get promoted, but a bad chance card took two mechanical points, and she has been unable to regain them.  Amy went off to Uni and her parents gave her $5000 to supplement her $1000 scholarship, so she'll have her tuition covered at least.  Luke became a teen with the LTW for Journalism, so he'll also be bound for Uni.  Luckily, however, he was able to start on some AP classes, finishing four classes in total, which will significantly cut down his tuition cost.  Alison also aged up to teen; her LTW is for Medicine.  Abigail is still a child.  Adam's bonus pushed their savings high enough ($41,157) to be promoted to Lower Middle Class, so they'll be moving to a house of their own in winter.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 1/21/25

 Alvin and Rose Parker made it through their fertility problems and welcomed another baby girl, Victoria, as well as preparing for their fourth (and probably final) child.  Rose took an extended leave of absence from the police force, part maternity leave and part investing time into the diner.  The couple's hard work at the business paid off when it reached rank 10; they hired an employee (Brandi LeTourneau) who will be promoted to manager as soon as she has enough training to handle things on her own.  (Brandi needs one more badge point.)  Once they have the diner covered, Rose has decided to open an arcade.  Meanwhile, Dominique took the death of her boyfriend pretty hard and began acting out.  Alvin caught her sneaking out with her friend Daisy Carter.  Luckily, she decided to turn her attention to her future and began taking AP classes; she completed three credits towards her Law degree before heading off to University.  She scored some scholarships from her grades and part-time job, and her parents gave her $2000 as well.  Josephine became a teen and rolled the LTW for an Athletic career.  She's not planning on college at this point.  By the end of the round, baby Victoria grew into a toddler and the family had $1970 remaining after expenses.  They will remain Lower Middle.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 1/20/25

 Levi and Phoebe Carter continued to be successful in their climb up the social ladder.  Levi has been promoted all the way up to Executive Chef, snagging bonuses totaling $60,000 along the way, and Phoebe found a job in Politics and is now a City Council Member.  They also managed to find time for their baby girl, Rhea, who became a child by the end of fall.  At the end of the round, they have $70,405, which keeps them Lower Middle Class for the moment, but not for long.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 1/19/25

 Money is getting pretty tight for the Gordons.  Eric has done well in his career, but with four children and another on the way (the fourth was a girl, Sophia), it's difficult to make ends meet with only one income.  Amaya has managed to sell some paintings, but she's pretty tired most days, what with being pregnant and having little ones to care for, not to mention cooking and cleaning to be done.  The two older boys have reached teen and could get jobs to help out, but their parents feel it's more important for them to work on their studies, as they both have good enough grades to take AP classes.  Scott wants to be a journalist, and Zane is hoping to go into the education field, so it will be a great help financially if they can get some of those expensive Uni classes under their belts now.  At the end of the round, Chad is a child, Sophia is a toddler, and, as I said, there's another baby on the way in early winter.  After buying some needed items for the household, and paying for rent and other expenses, they were not able to come up with the payment to the crime syndicate.  They paid what they had, and Eric will be unable to work for one day.  (Luckily, he has a degree, which allows him to take vacation time, so this won't be too costly for the family.)  Consequently, they have $0 at the end of fall.  They will need to work exceptionally hard next round to keep themselves out of Poverty.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 1/17/25

 In a surprising turn of events, Brandon Baxter moved out to live with his fiancé Irene Franklin and their young son.  Angela wasn't sad to see him go, as they've never gotten along, but she missed his income for sure.  Wendy had been engaged to Irene's cousin Alex but, sadly, he died.  After taking some time to get over her loss, she jumped back into the dating game, but this time she seems determined not to get too seriously involved with anyone.  She had several dates with Andrew Chen, but now has her sights set on Count BJ Haggerty.  In due time, all the younger girls grew up, Amanda and Vanessa to adult, and Jennifer to teen.  Several promotions all around has finally brought this family to Working Class status, with a savings of $10,854 after expenses.

 The Franklins moved into their new apartment and spent most of their money on furnishings.  Luckily, they all did well in their jobs, obtaining several promotions each.  Riley grew into an adult and took a job in Culinary, which he got fired from the very first day.  He later took a job in Military, while continuing to search for his LTW of Athletic (to no avail, he'll keep looking next round).  At least being home during the day while he was in between jobs led to him meeting the mail carrier, Dagmar Bertino, whom he has two bolts for.  They've started dating and things are going well so far.  Isaac is dating three different women at this point, so it doesn't look like he's too eager to settle down.  Charlotte and Xavier became elders, and Charlotte was finally able to complete her LTW of having a Golden Anniversary.  Caleb became a teen, got a job, and, because he was doing so well in school, I came up with a new idea to allow teens who have an A grade in school to take "AP classes" for free, which basically just means they'll be able to get a head start on their college education by studying the special skills from the bookcase.  All other conditions must be met (must have a computer/bookcase).  I thought this would be a good way for lower income families to get ahead a little bit, but it will still be fairly rare, as teens often struggle to keep up with homework and jobs.  In any event, Caleb doesn't really need the degree (his LTW is for Culinary), but being able to study cooking will be helpful, not to mention being allowed vacation time and teaching the next generation to study.  By the end of fall, after expenses, the family has $12,045 and will remain Working.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 1/14/25

 It was a mixed bag of luck for Linda Edwards and her family this round.  Rachel grew into a teen and got a job, the twins grew into adults and got jobs as pickpockets, Linda began dating a guy named Alvin Danaher, a new (townie) resident at the motel, and Joseph began dating Destiny Iverson.  Both James and Joseph got promoted on their very first day on the job, but that's when James' luck ran out as he rolled death.  (Note: I decided to add an option to re-roll once per day, as I've been having trouble making traction in the Criminal career, but even so, James rolled death both times, so he had to go.)  Joseph continued to work in Criminal, reaching level 4 by the end of fall.  Linda got the surprise of her life when she discovered she was expecting Alvin's baby!  She's close to becoming an elder, so I'm going to wait until she ages up to move Alvin in, so that she can age him up too.  By the end of the round, they'd saved up $14,086 which means, at long last, they will be promoted to Working Class.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 1/13/25

 Upon moving into their new home, the Baxter/Nanale family decided that Dylan and Rose would live in the main house, and an apartment would be built above the garage for Emily and Joshua.  It took some time (and a few promotions) to complete construction and furnish the tiny two-bedroom apartment, but everyone was very happy with how it turned out.  Once that was out of the way, Rose was able to begin working on her degree; she hasn't quite finished yet, but she's made good progress.  In the meantime, Joshua grew into a child, Dylan and Rose's baby (Logan) was born and grew into a toddler, and Emily began dating and subsequently married Alvin Lum, who brought $10,000 to the family.  By the end of fall, Emily became an elder and is very close to getting her final promotion in Culinary, Dylan is rocketing up the Entertainment track, Rose is doing very well in Culinary, despite taking some time off after Logan was born to work on her studies, and even Alvin brought in a couple of promotions (also in Culinary) before the week was over.  All told, they have $25,753 after property taxes, which is quite good considering how much they spent on the house.  They will remain Lower Middle Class.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 1/11/25

 The Tang/Welsh household has gone through some changes this fall.  Michelle moved back home, finished her thesis, got married to Korey Welsh, and got a job in Medicine.  She also got pregnant almost immediately after getting married because she and Korey are keen on having a large family.  Andrea and Robi continued to progress in their careers, though both have hit a bit of a plateau.  Andrea finally gained her gold flower arranging badge, and Robi decided to breed their dogs.  Nicole reached adulthood and opted not to go to college, as she has her heart set on a career in Entertainment.  She did not, however, have any luck finding a job in her field.  She spent her free time looking for love but wasn't very successful.  Eventually, she called in the matchmaker, who found a guy for her, Jerry Stallkamp.  She liked Jerry well enough, but for some reason, she could not get Dylan out of her mind, despite the fact that he left her in the dust to marry someone else.  She ran into him after one of her dates with Jerry and spontaneously kissed him.  Now her feelings for him are stronger than ever, though we don't yet know what he's thinking.  At the end of fall, Nicole decided to move out on her own, as the household is very crowded now, with her parents, her sister and brother-in-law, their twin sons (Kaleb and Kody, toddlers), and three dogs.  Her parents gave her $5000 (she spent $5000 on the matchmaker, so I figure it's equal to the $10K they gave Michelle when she moved to Uni) and some furniture to get her going.  She'll be classified as Working Class and will move into her own apartment.  What happens next for her remains to be seen.  At the end of the round, after expenses, the family has $24,698, keeping them at Lower Middle Class.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 1/8/25

 The Andrews/Carter/Cormier family progressed by leaps and bounds this round.  Clay received a $50,000 bonus and Ricky brought one in for $75,000!  In combination with multiple promotions all around, their bank balance grew significantly.  Clay and Paige really came a long way in their lifetimes.  They both started out Homeless (Clay was a toddler in my very first CAS family) and ultimately merged their two families, climbing to greater heights together than they ever could have on their own.  It's fitting that they died just two days apart, first Clay at age 70, then Paige at 68.  Both reached the level of Restauranteur in the Culinary career.  As they were never officially married, Clay was the last remaining Andrews in the neighborhood, which means my founding family's name is no more, but he did produce four children with his DNA, so the legacy will live on through them.  Their life insurance money further enhanced the family's savings.  (Note:  I've decided to clarify the rules a bit in regard to life insurance.  The rules are that no one below Lower Middle can keep life insurance.  I'm adjusting that to state that only a sim Lower Middle or higher can leave life insurance payments to family/friends.  This is more in keeping with my thought process, as lower classes would not be able to afford life insurance, but higher-class relatives could certainly leave them money.  Hope that makes sense.)  In other news, Ethan went off to University, Daisy became a teen and reached the top of the teen Entertainment career, and Mason is now a child.  Ricky and Lily spent very little time together because of their work schedules and, consequently, Ricky's eye wandered to Irene Franklin.  They've begun having an affair, even though both are in committed relationships.  They both have the want to get engaged to each other, but Irene is already engaged to Brandon Baxter, so we'll have to see how that turns out when her household is played.  The final bank balance as of the end of fall is $148,366, which means the family is promoted to Upper Middle Class.  Their house is already more than adequate for the four remaining family members, so they'll be staying here and replacing their $2500 savings with a $10,000 savings.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 1/5/25

 Chase and Destiny Iverson are new in town.  They are teenaged half-siblings, with no other family besides each other.  They began as Working Class.  It took a couple of days for them to find jobs; Chase took a job as a golf caddy and Destiny as a crossing guard.  They both have higher aspirations for themselves, but little opportunity at this point.  Though they did their best, they were unable to earn enough money during the week to pay the rent.  (Luckily, they were able to compensate the syndicate.)  As a result, they'll be beginning adulthood with a demotion to Poverty Class and a savings of $931.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 1/4/25

 Kayla Harris was even more successful than I expected after becoming Homeless.  On the first day of summer a townie offered to set her up on a blind date.  She and Amar Wong were so compatible that he moved in the very next day, bringing $6000 with him.  Amar also had a job in Criminal at level 6, which I was very excited about, since I've never had anyone get that high so far.  (Per the rules, if a townie has a job upon move in and they possess the qualifications needed to have that job, they can keep it.  I'm thinking of amending the rules to specifically allow playable sims who get demoted {to Homeless} to also keep jobs they've already obtained.  I don't think I addressed that, but it stands to reason that they wouldn't have to quit their job just because they were demoted to a lower class.)  Unfortunately, he got fired from a bad chance card on his very first day of work, so he didn't even bring home a paycheck.  In any event, they had enough money to add some useful items to the lot - a chess table, an easel, and they expanded the garden plot to four plots.  They will be leaving these items when they move out, for the benefit of other down-on-their-luck sims in the future.  Other events included Simon growing into a teen and Kayla and Amar having a baby, Ajay, who became a toddler by the end of summer.  Amar also reached 8 creativity points, which allowed him to sell paintings for income.  By the end of the round, this family has saved $6942, which means they'll be promoted directly to Working Class.

Ryan Carter and Michelle Tang shared a dorm at University.  Ryan worked in Military while studying for a degree in Law.  Michelle was able to focus completely on her Medical studies without needing a job, as her parents had given her $5000 in living expenses.  By the end of summer, Michelle had finished her coursework and nearly finished her thesis, so she decided to move back home and complete her thesis online, so that she can get married to her fiancé Korey Welsh.  Ryan finished his coursework but has only just begun to work on his thesis, so he'll remain here another week, as he'll be starting his own household after school, and it would be a good idea to save up as much money as possible first.

Dalton and Danielle Duncan did amazingly well this summer.  Dalton received two bonuses at work, one for $10,000 and the other for $20,000.  In addition, one of his contacts helped him get a promotion above his skill level; he's now a Restauranteur.  Danielle is still working in Slacker, having not been able to find a job in her LTW of Culinary, but she did earn a promotion and deliver an adorable little girl named Dana, who is now a toddler.  By the end of the week, Dalton became an elder, they paid their property taxes, and they are well on their way to becoming Upper Middle Class with a savings of $43,853.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 1/3/25

 Adam and Linda Edwards added two more children to the family, first Alison and then Abigail.  Luckily, Amy grew into a teen and was able to help out with the younger children.  Unfortunately, both their careers stalled for a bit mid-round (neither had the mechanical skill they needed and, since they can't study from the bookcase, had to repair things to build the skill), meaning no promotion bonuses, but ultimately, they got going again.  Amy's tinkering hobby helped with this too, as she breaks things a lot lol.  Amy's LTW is for Education, so she'll want a Uni degree.  At the end of the round, Luke and Alison are children, Abigail is a toddler, and the family has $10,271 after paying all expenses.  They will, therefore, remain Working.

Happy Simming!