I’d love to hear y’alls opinion on “sending money home”.
Manuel had expectations of sending $250-$300 home per month while living in the US, which is a little wild when he can’t even work yet and seemingly hasn’t discussed it with Ashley at all.
On the other hand, he has multiple kids to support, something they don’t seem to show them talking about at all. And $300 in the US is significantly easier to come by than $300 in Ecuador, where the “average living wage” is around $500USD/month.
It tends to come up every season or so, obviously there’s some outrageous people looking to take advantage of others, but on the other hand a couple hundred bucks goes a lot further in some countries than others, and is typically a lot easier to make in some countries than others.
I’m reminded of David and Annie when they met with the builder after TLC killed her mom - the builder clearly saw David as easy pickings and gave them a wildly inflated quote, but also that’s around 5-10% of what that quote would have been in any American city.
What are your opinions on this? I think some people are out there to take advantage of others, but on the other hand if I could pay for my entire spouses family to live reasonably well for a small slice of my monthly take home pay it seems like a no-brainer to do it?
If she didn’t want to do it then find an American man. She knew he wouldn’t be able to work for a period of time when came here. If they are going to get married for real this is something you do for your partner. I mean what if she had kids and went to stay with him and said we need to send money to my kids and he said no! Everyone would be pissed. That is not a lot of money. Look at it like it’s an investment toward their future. She does this now and down the road when he is working she can go back to school, or be a stay at home mom. It’s a relationship you take care of your partner when you love them. Everyone is acting like he is saying he needs money for drugs. It’s for his kids/family.
I agree completely, being in a partnership involves give and take throughout different periods of your life. Being the sole breadwinner when it makes sense, or taking on more of the household duties so your spouse can pursue an opportunity is one of the reasons it’s worth getting married! I know tons of people who supported their spouses through grad school or career changes, not to even start on what’s required when you start to think about raising a family together.
That’s all fine and well but discuss it with your partner first!
Him coming here and waiting to be able to work is already an added expense on Ashley’s plate. Now add on $300 every month being sent to his family is even more expenses that she wasn’t able to accurately budget for. I don’t think anyone is against a man supporting his kids and famil, the problem lies in the lack of communication. On both sides of the relationship.