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Mad Poster
Original Poster
#1 Old 20th Nov 2022 at 4:02 PM
Default Why do some Sims try to live above their means?
I wonder why some Sims, especially Maxis pre-made Sims, insist on trying to live beyond their means.

i was playing the Summerdreams. Both Oberon and Titania got promotions. As a freelance photographer Oberon is now earning almost §800 a day. Titania is at nearly §400. And of course, with the promotions, they both got very substantial bonuses. Seriously, a lot of my CAS Sims wouldn't know what to do with that much money. They'd probably go out dining and dancing with friends, buy some nice new clothes, buy something nice for the house, and still have plenty left. But the Summerdreams have spent nearly all the extra money they got, and, to my way of thinking, they don't have much to show for it. They had a bit of a problem feeding visitors as there were only four dining chairs in the kitchen, so very often at least one of the family would end up eating alone out in the garden, while the guests chatted amongst themselves round the kitchen table. So the obvious answer was to buy two more dining chairs for the kitchen, so six could sit round the table. Well, I did just that, but two chairs to match the existing ones in the kitchen cost §1,000 each! Why? I mean why pay a thousand Simoleons for a dining chair, when you can get a perfectly adequate one for a hundred?

At the same time, I couldn't help noticing that Puck and Bottom were sleeping in §300 Craftmeister beds. I mean seriously Titania and Oberon, where are your priorities? Aren't you children's beds more important than the kitchen chairs? Well, I did persuade them to upgrade the children's beds, but only to §520 Flowin' Protozoan single beds (that come with University). They didn't feel could run to thousand Simoleon beds for their children. Quite a few of my CAS families start looking for double beds for their older children, to make it easier for them to invite friends for sleepovers.

Now I suppose the Summerdreams are a bit of a special case -- as the Queen and King of the fairies, I understand that they may feel they have to keep up appearances. (Though they are definitely living beyond what their day jobs would support.) However the same problem seems to apply to a lot of other Maxis pre-mades. For instance it seems to me that all the Bluewater business owners are trying to run under-capitalised businesses, while living in very well furnished houses. They struggle to pay for new stock for their businesses. It's true of all of them, but it's especially true of Malcolm Landgraab IV. He really is rich, and could invest in significantly developing and expanding his businesses, if most of his money wasn't tied up in that ridiculously palatial mansion. (I also don't understand why Malcolm's father hasn't built the businesses up to a higher level before Malcolm even inherited them, but that's a different matter.)

Like myself, my CAS families seem to understand far better than the pre-mades, how to cut their coats according to their cloth (a most appropriate metaphor for a textiles town like Veronaville). Why are the pre-mades so profligate with money they don't have?

Any thoughts?

All Sims are beautiful -- even the ugly ones.
My Simblr ~~ My LJ
Sims' lives matter!
The Veronaville kids are alright.
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Mad Poster
#2 Old 20th Nov 2022 at 4:24 PM
A couple of Doylist explanations spring to mind: the people in development who built the houses didn't understand the game mechanics well enough; or they wanted to give us the satisfaction of fixing the mistakes; or their instructions were to leave the family with X amount of money and they had to spend unwisely in order to meet that goal with the money they had to start; or they were building to an aesthetic instead of for optimization. That last one is true even of today's fan builders - I almost always have to delete that stupid electric stove when using a downloaded house because it's the only stove that shipped with a range of colors and the builder wanted it to match the kitchen; but it only has a 1 value for food and you almost might as well not cook with the thing as have it. The two things a starting sim family cannot afford to skimp on are beds and ovens! I learned that with Sims 1!

The Watsoninan explanation would be, that some sims have no common sense. Which, in the case of the Summerdream house, is clearly what the developers were going for. Replicating the Globe is one thing; but setting things up so that it's impossible for a sim who is asleep when the bus or carpool arrives to get to the curb before it leaves is another!

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
Mad Poster
#3 Old 20th Nov 2022 at 5:41 PM
In real life, how many people do you know that live beyond their means? Before my Uncle died, I took care of him, his youngest daughter was always borrowing money from him. She would spend money on things she wanted (vacations, new cell phones when a new came out), not things she needed (food, rent, gas for car, electricity). One day she told her dad ... "I need someone to manage my money for me and not let me have it unless every thing is paid." I told her ... "I'll do it." She made excuses as to why I couldn't do it for her. That's because she knew I would put her on a budget and she wouldn't be able to spend wildly. In June, she got her inheritance from her dad. Today, she is on vacation for the 5th time. This time in Seattle, Washington. She has called members of the family, here in Florida, to raise the money to get back home. I guess she has spent all of her inheritance.
Instructor
#4 Old 20th Nov 2022 at 6:27 PM
It's not uncommon in real life, like Debby1957 describes. And it's both understandable and hard to fix and no fun to think about! It's much more fun to deal with in the game - I think the premades in this situation are a bit more enjoyable to play because of this. I give myself the challenge of trying to stick to a familys general style and standard and fitting it into their budget at the same time as I try to let them be who they are as characters and that's enough to keep me busy!

But for the Summerdreams, here is my backstory:

Everyone knows (because all the good fairy tales and fantasy books tell us so) fairies are rather scatter brained creatures. They can't really plan ahead and they can't really stick to a plan they've made up because they get distracted by pretty much anything. In the actual fairy realm, this doesn't matter. If your magical abilities are strong enough you can magically better up what you own so it looks more impressive than it is and of course you can always ... remove a rival fairy from existence, so to speak, and suddenly you own all the stuff they used to own. And when unsuspecting humans wander into the fairy realm by accident, they are fair game and you can trick whatever they own of value off them. But Oberon and Titania are trying to live in the human realm and it is slowly dawning on them that the rules are different here...
Mad Poster
#5 Old 20th Nov 2022 at 9:48 PM
I'm finding that my Pleasantview has only one family settling in so far and the Janlowskys are living below their means as they've gone over 20000$ in cash and still haven't started building their house and they tossed their bills in the trash pit instead of paying them.They've only got nine days left in the spring season and still need a building at the service center as well as at home before winter arrives.That might not be the same for all families and it can change from generation to generation as the town's economy is also subject to change going from an economic boom to a depression and hardship in one generation or in a few years.
Field Researcher
#6 Old 20th Nov 2022 at 10:04 PM
I thought that about the Summerdreams too. They live in this big house that's meant to be party central and they work low paying jobs and they can't possibly afford the upkeep. And IIRC Puck has a teen job. I was like "Why are you making the poor kid work? He barely has enough energy after school because he sleeps in a cheap bed!" I did play them for a while and got their financial situation sorted out, as well as making renovations to that monstrosity of a house. I've had that save for a couple of years now and it's currently being lived in by a great, great, great something grandson and his family.

But I did always think that being the King and Queen of the fairies meant that they had to keep up appearances, so that's why they were living above their means. But I got them promotions, sold off unnecessary things, upgraded others.
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retired moderator
#7 Old 20th Nov 2022 at 10:40 PM
Dear AndrewGloria,

Oberon and Titania, like me, know that having a good time and looking cool is far more important than pampering your brats. Although why they would choose to have brats is beyond me. Look, what I'm trying to say is, yes- a $30000 record player is infinitely more important than a stupid bed. Who wants to sleep, anyway? As long as there is grilled cheese and good vibes, life is good. So there. Geez, you humans are so unhip it's a wonder your bottoms don't fall off.

Love from,
Mr Sim Sample esq.
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#8 Old 21st Nov 2022 at 12:35 AM
@TadOlson
I am getting extremely concerned for the Jankowskys. They've spent twenty thousand Simoleons, but they haven't got a house yet. They haven't even paid their bills. What on Simearth have they spent it all on? I wouldn't have thought there would be many department stores in 1630s New England! Honestly they won't survive the winter without adequate shelter. I'm sure you know how many of the "Pilgrim Fathers" party died in their first winter. Anyway to try to help them out I've built a little house for them. It costs under §10,000.
It's small and it's basic but it should be enough to keep the winter snows out, provided they cut enough wood to keep the stove burning. The small building on the right is an outside toilet. The house does contain a bed, because I'm pretty certain they would have one. The Cheap Eazzzzze Morrisey double bed, looks the sort of thing that the ship's carpenter on the ship would be able to knock up for them. Or perhaps they could even make it themselves. Snuggling together in bed is an excellent way to keep warm in a cold winter. And if they don't want children, they'll just have to exercise a little self control. (They'll probably be too tired for woohoo most nights.) I really don't think they would have a sofa -- surely they wouldn't bring it on the ship from Europe. And I don't think they'd be able to buy one once they get to the "New World". The house lacks some essentials. It has nowhere to store food, and there is no proper cooking facility. They didn't have fridges and gas stoves in the 17th century. You can probably get something more appropriate on Plumbbob Keep, or some similar site.

Of course you don't have to use this house. But it may provide you with some inspiration. I won't be offended if you don't use it -- I knocked it together in not much more than an hour. It uses a little CC to try to make it more appropriate for the 17th century.

I'll share it privately on SimFileShare and send you a PM with a link to download it, but I won't do that till some time tomorrow, as it really is my bedtime here in Scotland!
Screenshots

All Sims are beautiful -- even the ugly ones.
My Simblr ~~ My LJ
Sims' lives matter!
The Veronaville kids are alright.
Lab Assistant
#9 Old 21st Nov 2022 at 2:40 AM
I had that same thought with Brandi Broke's household. How her room is decorated with expensive items that could've been sold and spent to expand the boy's room? Beau will need a bed once he's a child so he's not in the kitchen anymore, let alone her expecting child will no doubt have to sleep on the floor in her room with their current budget. I sympathize with her husband's tragic drowning and having to shoulder the responsibility and hers concerns about Dustin getting into trouble. So she has no choice but to rely on his paycheck to pay the bills until she gives birth and can work again..

But with my game (thanks to the ACR and Story Progression mod) Brandi seems more interested in having boyfriends to give herself another child as soon as she's not pregnant anymore. So Dustin had enough of his mother's family sim wants and went off to college so he can study and then come back to get his brothers to live with him before Brandi repopulates Pleasantville. The best outcome is her getting a butler to eventually be her husband while he cares for the house and their children while she enjoys her kid's company and the fancy pinball machine and luxurious items that decorate the trailer.
Mad Poster
#10 Old 21st Nov 2022 at 2:44 AM
@AndrewGloria -It's acually that they've earned almost 30000$ in one day and hardly spent any money at all though that's about to change soon as they have some building cupplies to buy for their house and it's already marked out with what to build first after getting some skills gained.It's only 1600 and spring is just getting started so they have almost 30 days until winter and are going to start planting soon.They used a hacked trash pit to "pay" the bills which burns them up and erases them like a cheat.That house looke a bit like what the Jankowsys migh have up before winter and something similar is getting raised on the community lot as well so their house will be small for the first winter and they also have summer once spring is over and fall comes after summer.The next year os 1601 and it's when the Pleasant family could arrive to claim their homestead and they'll go through the same thing.I've seen a video on what 17th century colonial settlements looked like and Pleasantview looks like a sims version of that.What I'm worried about is the Jankowskys getting well-beyond 100000$ in cash earned and not being able to spend much.I've got the career reward pinball machines hacked to earn 500$ instead of only 5$ at a time which is why they made it to 20000$ in cash saving so quickly.
Mad Poster
#11 Old 21st Nov 2022 at 10:17 AM
Quote: Originally posted by simsample
Geez, you humans are so unhip it's a wonder your bottoms don't fall off.

Love from,
Mr Sim Sample esq.


Sim Sample isn't human? :O
e3 d3 Ne2 Nd2 Nb3 Ng3
retired moderator
#12 Old 21st Nov 2022 at 12:11 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Charity
Sim Sample isn't human? :O

No, he's a Sim!
Instructor
#13 Old 21st Nov 2022 at 12:20 PM
But sim or human, he should know by now that being unhip doesn't make your bottom fall off! Unraveling your belly button does that, at least that's what Mr AnMal has told me.
Instructor
#14 Old 21st Nov 2022 at 1:40 PM Last edited by moonlight__ : 21st Nov 2022 at 3:28 PM.
I always thought that pre-made house made little sense and were so poorly made, as if the devs were rushing and didn't bother to put more thought into the builds except for small details. The bedrooms had furniture that mismatched and were basically empty. I understand that not all sims are supposed to have taste and be architects but I don't remember anyone's interior being pretty. Only a handful of homes told a story. I wish they added more clutter and actual desks and decorations in bedrooms.

Now when I think about it, the Caliente, the Specter and the Smith households make sense. Caliente's house is pretty cheaply furnished except for the rooftop cause parties and their need to show off. Nina has a single bed because she's a virgin and Dina has an fancy bedroom with a double bed so she could show off in front of Mortimer and Don. The Specter household has a creepy Moroccan-Victorian vibe and adding a little more details would be nice. The Smith household is a typical big suburban home that's cheeply furnished and the house looks like it's made of cheap materials. I'm not American but I loved that household cause it seemed so homey and inviting and I wish it was more detailed.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#15 Old 21st Nov 2022 at 9:34 PM
I had a female burglar steal my pcsims fashion workbench worth $1200, obviously she wanted a new more stylish wardrobe.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#16 Old 21st Nov 2022 at 11:37 PM
I've had an action plan already in place for when the day comes in my Pleasantview that somebody is living above their means for them to be able to start a recovery plan and I've got THIS to make that even possible as the rescue plan required having career rewards available in buy mode on any lot and I've also got the more money from the pinball machine from HERE to make that option even more effective in rescuing sims from disaster if they actually come to notice that they're headed for big trouble.
Mad Poster
#17 Old 22nd Nov 2022 at 9:02 AM
Because they are human?
Mad Poster
#18 Old 22nd Nov 2022 at 9:10 PM
I suspect the aspirations most likely to live beyond their means would be pleasure first and the next most likely is popularity though fortune aspration sims with one of those other as a second aspriation might be inclined to live beyond their means for a while.I've got some housing options that ca be made available for those making that mistake to be able to turn their lives around like them moving into cheap housing and rebuilding savings and learning to manage money better.I make use of green energy sources in common areas of apartments to subsidize them living there so they get some savings built up.They start to learn that saving up for expensive purchases is best and choosing them wisely helps a lot.Choosing green energy sources instead of expesive luxuires they couldn't afford that just ran costs up and gave nothing in return should be avoided if their incomes were small makes more sense.
Mad Poster
#19 Old 24th Nov 2022 at 3:53 PM
Although Maxis houses are absurdly bad, in the developers' defense I will remind everyone that game companies are notorious overworkers of staff. Programmers are hired to program and then routinely shortstaffed and given unrealistic deadlines. If we assume that the same people writing the code were building the houses, they would have been throwing them together on the fly between bouts of testing and fixing buggy code, sitting through boring meetings, and reading the last minute changes imposed from on high.

It takes time to learn to build well in this game, and I doubt they had a lot.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
Mad Poster
#20 Old 24th Nov 2022 at 5:03 PM
Only some pixels live above and beyond their means-if they're very acquisitive (read, greedy) they will not want to live too far above because they know the value of a simeoleon.

They are aware of the idea of being homeless and broke-and they'll do anything to keep from becoming either..including panhandling on the street.

So they're mostly the fortune pixels who grasp every dollar they come across. They can't understand how other people can live so carelessly.

Receptacle Refugee & Resident Polar Bear
"Get out of my way, young'un, I'm a ninja!"
Grave Matters: The funeral podium is available here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/e6tj...albits.zip/file
My other downloads are here: https://app.mediafire.com/myfiles
Mad Poster
#21 Old 24th Nov 2022 at 7:52 PM
@FranH -I think the pleasure aspiration sims most likley end up spending carelessly and popularity ones are also likely to get a little careless with money though not quite as bad because they might notice the mistake before boing broke.I've had fortune sims end up wanting to save almost all of their cash and even upgrade a house though still using their cheap furniture from their tiny stater home and often taking their time furnishing their new larger home.
Mad Poster
#23 Old 26th Nov 2022 at 11:46 PM
@Aspiresim -I've had that and worse hapend with some of my sims wanting a baby while just starting out and struggling to make ends meet with entry level jobs and I just made them wait until they'd saved up for a bigger home before they would do any of it.
Lab Assistant
#24 Old 27th Nov 2022 at 12:54 AM
Because they know their God can pull some strings and make it happen, if you know what I mean
Forum Resident
#25 Old 28th Nov 2022 at 11:08 PM
A loaded request to Mother Goddess, as it were.
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