# TV Characters Who Actually Live Within Their Means **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 4, 2006, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087 "2006-11-04T14:10:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/81 "2006-11-06T21:02:06Z")
[QUOTE=want2know] _NCIS_ : McGee has his little studio–reasonable for a young federal agent. Jethro is another story–former gunny, now federal agent, 4 marriages, and still lives in a house with a basement large enough to build a boat in! :dubious: [/QUOTE] Gibbs is also a widower from one of those marriages, maybe it’s his dead wife’s house and/or she was heavily insured. Ducky Mallard still lives at home with his mother, a cantankerous old lady. I find this ridiculous–he would have his own place, and 24 hour health care for mommy. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/82 "2006-11-06T21:12:08Z")
**Quincy, M.E.** lived on the boat he was forever restoring, and that seems like a realistic way to depict his coroner’s paycheck going away: thrown into a hole in the water. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/83 "2006-11-06T22:02:52Z")
[QUOTE=Mahaloth] Jerry Seinfeld lived within his means. He was supposed to be a successful comedian, which means he may pull in $500,000 a year. [/QUOTE] I think I’m being wooshed. 😉 It always irks me that he’s able to spring for a Cadillac for his parents, loan Elaine $5K, afford to pay off $2K+ on the smushed rental car,… ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/84 "2006-11-06T22:43:42Z")
Keeping in mind that the Simpsons is a cartoon and doesn’t have to be logical…Ned Flanders is 60 years old and as a prudent and cautious person, it’s very likely that he invested savings from even a moderate\* income successfully enough to keep up his modest standard of living. When he invested “everything” into the Leftorium, that was probably actually everything except the retirement fund. \*If he was indeed a pharmacist before going into business for himself, then he probably earned pretty good scratch by Springfield standards. I have to disagree on the Bundy family. If Al really earned as little as they were constantly claiming he earned, that house was way too big for them. But the inconsistencies are part of the fun. ---
**Author:** ![jlrepka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/22d042/32.png) [@jlrepka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlrepka)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/85 "2006-11-07T02:23:04Z")
[QUOTE=kunilou] **Cheers** The various times where we see where Diane, Rebecca, Cliff and Woody live, they all seem to be pretty much in line with the characters’ incomes. Frasier, as noted in other threads, was stinkin’ rich, even though we never knew where his money came from. Only Carla’s house, though modest and bought for a steal because it was haunted/at the end of a runway, seems out of line for her wages and tips. The bigger question on **Cheers** was how that tiny bar made enough money to pay several full-time employees and have enough left over for Sam – particularly when its best customer never paid his tab. [/QUOTE] Sam had a MLB pension… ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/86 "2006-11-07T09:10:07Z")
[QUOTE=Raguleader] Captain Benjamin Sisko, living in a culture where humans have no need for money, owns a baseball. I think he’s living within his means [/QUOTE] I had to check Sisko’s [wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Sisko#Trivia) entry, it says that the ball was given to him by a strange alien halfway through the first season, so he didn’t even have to buy it in any material way I assume. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/87 "2006-11-07T10:23:12Z")
**Simon and Simon** Rick lives in his boat and drives an old beater truck. I beleive AJ bought the house from his mom. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/88 "2006-11-07T16:06:46Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] I think I’m being wooshed. 😉 It always irks me that he’s able to spring for a Cadillac for his parents, loan Elaine $5K, afford to pay off $2K+ on the smushed rental car,… [/QUOTE] Whooshed? It’s hinted at several times that Jerry has a lot of money. There was one episode in which Elaine got a look at his bank balance and fell into instant fascination with him. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/89 "2006-11-07T16:10:31Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] Whooshed? It’s hinted at several times that Jerry has a lot of money. There was one episode in which Elaine got a look at his bank balance and fell into instant fascination with him. [/QUOTE] No, I know he has been presented that way, I just can’t believe a successful comedian makes quite $500K. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/90 "2006-11-07T16:53:52Z")
**Bob Newhart** The guy was a psychiatrist in Chicago who shared a secretary with a dentist, took the train to work, and lived in a one bedroom apartment with his wife. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/91 "2006-11-07T17:51:16Z")
[QUOTE=HeyHomie] 2) **Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor** (_Home Improvement_): Tough call on this one. He appears to live in an upper middle class home in the Detroit suburbs. I know absolutely nothing about the Detroit housing market, so I can’t really speculate on how much such a home would cost. One would think that his TV Show would bring in a good income, but then again it looks to me like it’s a local show that is a step above cable access. However, the show hints at the fact that he made a killing as a tool salesman, and that he and Jill have some investments. [/QUOTE] Housing in the Detroit area is pretty cheap. Or it was, until the recent real-estate bubble. Tim’s house was perfectly reasonable for a middle-class income. These days, you’d need two working parents to afford a nice family-sized house (ie, not a tiny starter house), but back when that show was on you could do it with one income if you were frugal. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/92 "2006-11-07T18:00:54Z")
How about the ladies on _Sex and the City_? I missed the show on HBO, and I’ve been catching episodes here and there on TNT. Carrie wrote a column, Miranda was an attorney, Charlotte’s family was wealthy (I gathered) and Samantha was a PR exec. How do their living spaces in NYC compare to their salaries? ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/93 "2006-11-07T18:04:47Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] [ **I Love Lucy** , Ricky was a successful band manager (did he own the Tropicana 😕 ), [/QUOTE] No, he didn’t. I just watched an episode last night where they were in Los Angeles and Ricky said that he had to get back to New York because he had a contract with the Tropicana and was opening there in a few weeks. If he owned the Tropicana, then it wouldn’t have been a problem. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/94 "2006-11-07T18:17:16Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] How about the ladies on _Sex and the City_? I missed the show on HBO, and I’ve been catching episodes here and there on TNT. Carrie wrote a column, Miranda was an attorney, Charlotte’s family was wealthy (I gathered) and Samantha was a PR exec. How do their living spaces in NYC compare to their salaries? [/QUOTE] Charlotte was the director at an art gallery before marrying Trey, and then got his apartment in the divorce. I have no idea how much she would have been making, compared to the apartment she lived in then. There was a whole storyline dealing with Carrie buying her apartment after breaking up with Aiden. (She’d been renting, it went co-op, and she and Aiden bought it and the one next-door) Carrie needed money for the down payment. She and Miranda were shoe-shopping, while Carrie was whining about not knowing where her money went. Miranda picked up a pair of Manolos, and said something like, “You have 100 pairs of these at $400 a pop? There’s your down payment.” Carrie says, “But that’s only $4,000” and Miranda kindly explains, “No, that’s $40,000!” Carrie is horrified. She soon gets a second job writing for Vogue, but of course that storyline was dropped, like all good sitcoms. In yet another episode (can you tell I watch it too much - 1st run on HBO and now the TBS reruns), Samantha is dealing with the trannsexual hookers on her street late at night and she comments, “Seven thousand dollars a month and I have to deal with this? I don’t think so!” I remember thinking, “Seven thousand a month? Damn!” I have no idea what a PR exec in New York would make, but she better be making _a lot._ Miranda was an attorney, and made partner sometime early in the run, and bought an apartment, but I think it was just one bedroom. When Brady was born, he stayed in her bedroom, and when she and Steve got married, they needed more room and bought the house in Brooklyn. What does an attorney make in NY, and how much would her apartment have cost, and how about the fixer-upper townhouse in Brooklyn? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/95 "2006-11-07T19:12:40Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] How about the ladies on _Sex and the City_? I missed the show on HBO, and I’ve been catching episodes here and there on TNT. Carrie wrote a column, Miranda was an attorney, Charlotte’s family was wealthy (I gathered) and Samantha was a PR exec. How do their living spaces in NYC compare to their salaries? [/QUOTE] While they did address the fact that Carrie had some money problems, the basic problem was never tackled properly. Yeah, she spent too much on shoes. But with her job, she shouldn’t have been able to afford the shoes, either. Forget Manhattan, that there are no places in the country where you can live from the income of one weekly advice column. I mean, even Dear Abby works more than that. For someone who wrote for a living, Carrie had way too much free time. The only way they could make Carrie’s lifestyle realistic would be for her to live in her mom’s basement or something. ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/96 "2006-11-07T21:14:35Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] No, I know he has been presented that way, I just can’t believe a successful comedian makes quite $500K. [/QUOTE] From the first hit on Google, Jerry, the comedian, received the sum of $225,000,000.00 for the syndication rights to the show. (that’s millions, folks). ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/97 "2006-11-07T21:18:27Z")
Jim Rockford lived in a trailer on the beach. About the only recurring expensive he had was replacing the door that would get broken down every other episode. As for _Grey’s Anatomy_’s Derek, I’m sure he could afford more than a small trailer in the woods, even before the divorce. He’s a big-name neurosurgeon. Even with the hig real estate prices in the Seattle/Tacoma area, he could get a house. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/98 "2006-11-07T21:26:31Z")
[QUOTE=ltfire] From the first hit on Google, Jerry, the comedian, received the sum of $225,000,000.00 for the syndication rights to the show. (that’s millions, folks). [/QUOTE] Except the character Jerry Seinfeld never had a hit TV show…they only got to make the pilot before it was cancelled. So the character didn’t have millions in the bank, but he certainly doesn’t seem to work all the time either. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/99 "2006-11-07T21:26:32Z")
[QUOTE=Sean Factotum] As for _Grey’s Anatomy_’s Derek, I’m sure he could afford more than a small trailer in the woods, even before the divorce. He’s a big-name neurosurgeon. Even with the hig real estate prices in the Seattle/Tacoma area, he could get a house. [/QUOTE] Well, to be fair, he owned the woods too, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087/100 "2006-11-07T22:02:37Z")
[QUOTE=Lemur866] Except the character Jerry Seinfeld never had a hit TV show…they only got to make the pilot before it was cancelled. So the character didn’t have millions in the bank, but he certainly doesn’t seem to work all the time either. [/QUOTE] Plus George settled for $7K for the show rights. Jerry seems to still rely on gigs he gets called for (when he is “even steven”, he loses one gig and gets called for another one right away). [QUOTE=BiblioCat] Miranda was an attorney, and made partner sometime early in the run, and bought an apartment, but I think it was just one bedroom. When Brady was born, he stayed in her bedroom, and when she and Steve got married, they needed more room and bought the house in Brooklyn. What does an attorney make in NY, and how much would her apartment have cost, and how about the fixer-upper townhouse in Brooklyn? [/QUOTE] I think it was bigger than one bedroom, because the real estate agent looks at her askance for being “just her” in that big apartment. I thought Brady was in a different room, and she was able to afford the full-time nanny/housekeeper on her own. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-actually-live-within-their-means/379087.md?page=6)