# Fictional television characters living way above or below their means **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705 "2009-02-06T15:11:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Strassia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/21 "2009-02-06T17:45:38Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I never understood how the employees of Angel Investigations stayed off the bread lines. My only fanwank is that Angel had a ton of money put away that he’d acquired when he was evil and was very ambivalent about ever touching and tried to access only in emergencies. (Plus, as he wasn’t getting older, he couldn’t afford to snack on the principal.) At first only he knew about it; then, when he grew to trust Cordelia more (I mean, she was obviously in charge of the money), he let her in on it, and probably transferred a good bit of it into her name. Eventually Wes knew about it too (it’s how he was able to afford renting the boat he used to retrieve Angel from the briney deep). Gun & Fred never heard about it. They actually explained some of it later. They moved into the hotel after banishing a demon and inheriting both the hotel and the the stolen money in the basement. I think he rented the original office and mentioned being tight on money in the first season. Jonathan ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/22 "2009-02-06T17:59:14Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Dr. House lives way below his means…I think he’s lived in the same apartment for 10 years or so? 25 years earlier, there was Dr. Gates. Did he even have a home other than the Winnie? ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/23 "2009-02-06T18:00:18Z")
I thought it was weird that JD & Turk (and then Carla) lived together. They’re friggin’ _doctors_. Even if you are all best friends, I bet your own bathroom would become a priority. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/24 "2009-02-06T18:01:36Z")
Though by no means any more extravagant than any other cartoon dwelling, the well-furnished pineapple-under-the-sea home of SpongeBob Squarepants- as well as his neighbor Squidward’s more luxoriously decorated domicile- are quite impressive given the fact that they are both single men whose main source of income is a job at a fast-food joint run by a man so notoriously cheap, he actually _charges_ them to work there. The fact that Plankton somehow could afford a computer wife is surprisng given the fact that he usually has no customers, leaving him unable to afford anything besides holographic meatloaf. Mr. Krabs has the exact opposite problem- as Bikini Bottom’s most successful businessman, he could probably move out of the run-down shack he calls home, but most likely refuses to due to his well-known greed. The only one of the absorbent and yellow guy’s pals who appears to live within their means is the unemployed Patrick, who lacks both the income to afford to live anywhere except under a rock and the intelligence to hold down even the simplest of jobs to make that income. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/25 "2009-02-06T18:09:13Z")
> [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](#): > > I thought it was weird that JD & Turk (and then Carla) lived together. They’re friggin’ _doctors_. Even if you are all best friends, I bet your own bathroom would become a priority. You have to remember they were interns. I think I remember an episode where JD mentioned an intern gets paid about as much as a waiter and has hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans to repay. Plus, JD and Turk are best friends, were roommates in college, and wanted to continue hanging out. As they moved up to resident and attending, they eventually did branch out on their own. (Where does JD live? Does he still have that half-acre plot with a porch on it, or does he have an apartment somewhere?) Eliot bought a house after she got into private practice. And if Carla gets pregnant again, I can see her and Turk getting a bigger place. I don’t know how big Cox’s apartment is, but he told Jack one day to go play up(down?) stairs so he and Jordan could have a quickie on the couch (this was the episode where Jordan finds out she’s pregnant again.) Yeesh. I know this show too damn well. :o ---
**Author:** ![Garula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@Garula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garula)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/26 "2009-02-06T18:18:00Z")
I think on _Angel_ it was implied that Angel Investigations had more mundane clients that just didn’t warrant screen time. There were at least a few scenes where Wes and Cordelia were shown doing filing, which probably wouldn’t have been necessary for most of their pro bono work. They probably made plenty doing boring divorce work. Also, in season 2 they had the very rich client that Wes went on to date. She probably paid them a lot. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/27 "2009-02-06T18:21:14Z")
**[The Pruitts of Southampton](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060017/)** live beyond their means, but they were required to by the IRS. Quite a few old-fashioned TV detectives never seemed to get paid for their work. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/28 "2009-02-06T18:28:04Z")
All the characters on CSI. They mention that they are badly paid, yet they all wear tight fitting designer clothes to all crime scenes. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/29 "2009-02-06T18:36:47Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > The cast of \*Friends \*spend their days lounging around a coffee shop yet live in expansive New York apartments.. That was explained, and owes a lot to the weirdness of NYC rent-control laws. It is possible to have a super-nice apt which rents for mere hundreds of $. Note that Ross & Chandler had quite decent jobs, at least at one time, and so did Monica & Rachel. Even Joey was briefly well paid. But let’s look at the Simpsons, who at times are dead broke and other times seem to have enough money to do most anything needed to make a comedic point. Same with Married with Children. Note that both families lived in fairly nice houses in the suburbs. This seems to be a thing with sit-coms, where financial reality is thrown out the door whenever the writers need to make something funny. I knew a couple of interns, they are dead broke until they make a dent in those student loans. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/30 "2009-02-06T18:59:50Z")
> [@Garula](#): > > I think on _Angel_ it was implied that Angel Investigations had more mundane clients that just didn’t warrant screen time. There were at least a few scenes where Wes and Cordelia were shown doing filing, which probably wouldn’t have been necessary for most of their pro bono work. They probably made plenty doing boring divorce work. Also, in season 2 they had the very rich client that Wes went on to date. She probably paid them a lot. There’s another example where Fred and Gun took care of a demon infestation and returned to the Hyperion covered in blood and goop. I would imagine they charge for this type of supernatural Ghostbusting service. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/31 "2009-02-06T19:06:59Z")
Niles Crane probably makes a decent income from his practice, but he affords his lifestyle by the settlement he got from Meris in the divorce. She paid up rather that have her family’s secret get out. I don’t know how Frasier manages to do what he does. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/32 "2009-02-06T19:07:32Z")
> [@autz](#): > > All the characters on CSI. They mention that they are badly paid, yet they all wear tight fitting designer clothes to all crime scenes. Well, Catherine Willows isn’t hurting for money. In fact, they kinda had to go out their way to explain why she _isn’t_ rich. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/33 "2009-02-06T19:20:27Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > You have to remember they were interns. I think I remember an episode where JD mentioned an intern gets paid about as much as a waiter and has hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans to repay. I think this pay scale is something of a misnomer: per hour they are at work, interns make about as much as a waiter, but they work a lot more than 40 hours per week. This is just based on my memory of having it explained to me once, though, so any actual medical interns can come in and say I’m wrong 😛 ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/34 "2009-02-06T19:22:58Z")
Well, they may work more than 40 hours a week, but there’s no way they make enough to pay off the student loans while they’re interns. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/35 "2009-02-06T19:30:31Z")
> [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](#): > > I thought it was weird that JD & Turk (and then Carla) lived together. They’re friggin’ _doctors_. Even if you are all best friends, I bet your own bathroom would become a priority. First-year interns don’t make much money, and as neither Turk nor JD comes from money, they had–hell, probably still have–massive student loans to repay. (I don’t remember the exact amount, but after Eliot gets cut off by her father for refusing to submit to his life plan, she frets that she can’t afford a given restaurant they’re splurging on, and JD comments that he’s over $100,000 in debt.) Many of the early episodes show JD & Turk economizing–as by stealing toilet paper and pudding from the hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/36 "2009-02-06T22:33:55Z")
The Brady’s Mike is an architect, Carol has no job. 6 kids. Their own, rather sharp, house. And a maid.:eek::smack: ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/37 "2009-02-06T22:46:35Z")
> [@Strassia](#): > > I think he rented the original office and mentioned being tight on money in the first season. I vaguely remember Cordelia saying something to the effect of “Well excuse me Mr. I’ve Been Alive for Two Hundred Years and Never Developed an Investment Portfolio”. > [@Krokodil](#): > > Ugly Betty. Betty had to give up her apartment in Manhattan (Hope Amanda can keep up the payments, though a wacky new roommate seems inevitable). But even with her salary, her papi’s and her sister’s, how do they afford the place in Queens? None of them makes more than $12/hour! Betty is the Executive Assistant to the Editor in Chief of a major fashion magazine. She makes way more than $12/hour. Certainly not enough to afford an apartment in Manhattan AND contribute to her family’s finances, but way more than $12/hour. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/38 "2009-02-06T22:51:34Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > I vaguely remember Cordelia saying something to the effect of “Well excuse me Mr. I’ve Been Alive for Two Hundred Years and Never Developed an Investment Portfolio”. I don’t think Angel would have let Cordelia in on hidden monies at that time. I mean, _I_ sure wouldn’t have. ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/39 "2009-02-06T22:52:05Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > Though by no means any more extravagant than any other cartoon dwelling, the well-furnished pineapple-under-the-sea home of SpongeBob Squarepants- [snip]…The only one of the absorbent and yellow guy’s pals who appears to live within their means is the unemployed Patrick, who lacks both the income to afford to live anywhere except under a rock and the intelligence to hold down even the simplest of jobs to make that income. _gasp, gasp, choke_ _eyes tearing…_ _hee hee.. ha ho…_ Thank you **mobo** carlotta who spends an awful lot of [INVOLUNTARY] time in Mr. Squarepants’ company ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/40 "2009-02-06T22:52:30Z")
I always thought the Mertzes had alot of money, but Fred never spent any of it. Not only did they (well Ethel) of an entire apartment building, but they _didn’t have a mortgage on it_ (at least not until the girls wanted to go to Europe). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705.md?page=3)