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!

Humble Beginnings 10/31/24

 The Duncans had a pretty successful week.  They all got hired as golf caddies and, by the end of the week, the elders had all been promoted to gas station attendants, while Dalton had reached record store clerk.  Sadly, Greenlee passed away at the age of 66, but on a happier note, Dalton began dating Emily Baxter and she moved in and got a job in Culinary at the end of the week.  Both Finlay and Fiona will likely pass on before the end of fall, but Dalton and Emily have a pretty good start on making it to Working Class with a total savings (after paying the rent and the crime syndicate) of $3612.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 10/30/24

 The summer took a toll on the Baxter family.  Steven began immediately working shifts as a barista and bartending as well.  Karen continued begging until she landed a job as a dishwasher; she has since been promoted to drive through clerk.  Since Andrea was not qualified for any jobs, she stuck with begging, while Sarah and Angela both continued escorting.  When Bryan reached adulthood, he took a job as a pickpocket...with disastrous consequences.  He failed to return from his very first day out on the streets (he rolled death).  With the crime syndicate breathing down their necks, Sarah decided to take Bryan's place in "the family" by taking a Criminal job.  She was a bit more successful, attaining a promotion to bagman, before meeting the same fate as he did.  After his sister's death, Steven took the reins, also gaining a promotion to bagman but, unfortunately, getting arrested in the process; he'll have to spend some time in jail, but at least he's alive.  Meanwhile, Andrea met a barista named Robi and began dating him; Angela got pregnant by one of her clients, fell in love with a different client (the cuisine hobby lot director, Warren Owens), and decided to give up escorting to marry him.  She moved out at the end of summer, taking $500 of the family's savings (just enough to keep her Poverty Class), and will be moving into an empty unit at the motel.  By the end of summer Emily and Rose had both grown up as well (to adult and teen, respectively) and the family has a total of $3050 heading into fall.

Happy Simming!

Humble Beginnings 10/28/24

 The Andrews/Carver clan moved into a motel and, no sooner did they get settled, than Paige gave birth to twins, Levi and Lily.  Travis immediately began working as a pickpocket and was arrested on his first day.  Since they didn't have any money for a lawyer, he ended up behind bars.  In the meantime, Clay found a job as a dishwasher, as well as taking barista and bartending shifts whenever possible, while Paige continued begging in between caring for the babies.  Jenna grew up and also began working as a pickpocket, though she was much more successful at eluding the cops; she even got promoted to bagman!  Travis returned home once his sentence was finished, but was subsequently picked up again, landing him back in jail...again.  By the end of summer, the twins had grown into childhood and the family had saved $2129.  Jenna briefly considered moving out, but decided they'd have a better chance of getting ahead if they all stick together, so she'll remain here for now.

Happy Simming!