When it comes to ‘90s sitcoms, they tend to follow a basic formula: there is a character who lives in a very nice residence, maybe with a family, perhaps a yard, or even an expensive location. The thing is, many of these characters live well beyond their means, considering their careers or personal situations. Take Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) fromSeinfeld. No one actually knows what he does for a living, aside from some get-rich-quick schemes. Yet, he lives in an apartment by himself in Manhattan, New York, Upper West Side.
Many characters from ‘90s sitcoms seem to be a tad, if not very financially unrealistic. While they are fictional beings living in a fictional world, it begs the question as to why writers decided to give them impractical lives. At least, they are impractical for those in the real world! And Kramer isn’t the only one whose financial situation is a bit questionable.
10Monica Geller
‘Friends’ (1994-2004)
Sweet, zany in a loving way, and a great friend, Monica Geller (Courteney Cox) inFriends, lives in a beautiful two-bedroom apartment in the West Village of Manhattan, New York. The space has an open layout with a spacious kitchen, living room, one full bathroom off to the side, and even a little balcony with large windows overlooking the street. It begs the question: how does a chef earn enough to pay the rent and keep the abundant amount of food she always has stockpiled in the refrigerator and cabinet?
When her finances are not all that realistic for her circumstances, viewers learn that Monica hit the jackpot. Not in the literal sense, but she illegally sub-lets the apartment from her grandmother. On top of that, the apartment is rent-controlled, which is a huge advantage for anyone living in New York. Monica always seems to have a roommate with whom to split the rent, too.If the apartment was not rent-controlled, Monica would most likely be living somewhere else.
9Danny Tanner
‘Full House’ (1987-1995)
InFull House, Danny Tanner (Bob Saget) is a news anchor in San Francisco, California, one of the more expensive places to live in the United States. A single dad living in an affluent part of the Lower Pacific Heights Neighborhood, Danny is responsible for taking care of his three daughters with the help of his best friend, Joey Gladstone (Dave Coulier), and his brother-in-law, Jesse Katsopolis (John Stamos). The four-bedroom, four-bathroom Victorian house isn’t exactly realistic when six people, three being grown men, are factored into the household expenses.
It makes sense that things would be affordable with three monthly incomes. This would be true if the family weren’t living in San Francisco. According toToday’s Homeowner with Danny Lipford,Danny, Jesse, and Joey were using 177% of their combined income for housing costs alone. This doesn’t even factor in taking care of the three young girls, food, and other necessities. Needless to say, those three men were most likely in a bit of debt, or one of them had an inheritance that was never mentioned on the show. It doesn’t matter that the Tanners are one ofthe best sitcom families; Danny’s living situation is not financially realistic or practical for his circumstances.
Full House (US)
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8Doug Heffernan
‘The King of Queens’ (1998-2007)
In reality, Doug Heffernan (Kevin James) inThe King of Queensis broke. Even though the title of the show suggests a rich and fancy main character, this is far from the case. Doug is a delivery driver for the International Parcel Service (IPS) and lives in Rego Park, Queens, New York, with his wife and father-in-law. Amazingly, the Heffernan’s are considered middle-class. And, looking from the outside in, it makes sense. They have a lovely, spacious two-story home, food in the kitchen, and a car to get from point A to point B.
While the family is able to pay their mortgage each month, it comes to a head when Carrie (Leah Remini) loses her legal secretary job, and their income goes down substantially, making it odd that they didn’t decide to sell their home and move somewhere more affordable.Their financial situation doesn’t really make sense, even if Doug is in a union with benefits, since New York is one of the most expensive states to live in, no matter the decade, and Carrie loves shopping for clothing they can’t afford.
The King Of Queens
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7Dan Conner
‘Roseanne’ (1988-2018)
Dan Conner (John Goodman) was unemployed at the beginning of the seriesRoseanne, becoming an independent drywall contractor pretty early on. He, along with his wife, Roseanne (Roseanne Burr), live in Lanford, Illinois, in a two-story home with their three children. Even though the Conners are considered lower-middle class, with a working father and line-working mother, they still seem to have all the makings of a very well-off and comfortable family.
It is mentioned a time or two that the Conners struggle with money, but it is never really seen within the plot of the show, as they never lose their house or cars or run out of food in their kitchen. And considering the fact thatDan has some pricey hobbies, including playing poker and fixing motorcycles, their financial situation doesn’t seem all too realistic. Of course, they wind up winning the lottery in season nine of the series, allowing them to pay off their house fully, but up until that point, their finances weren’t too practical with their lifestyle.
6Ray Barone
‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ (1996-2005)
Ray Barone (Ray Romano) and his family of five inEverybodyLoves Raymondare considered an affluent family living in Long Island, New York. He is a sports columnist working for the fictional publicationNewsday, having an estimated annual salary of $40,000. Now, he is the only one working in his family of five, the sole breadwinner that is in charge of paying the mortgage, keeping a college fund for the kids, and supplying the necessary funds for food, clothing, and other basic needs.
According to The Mortgage Reporter,Ray’s monthly income is not realistic when considering his and his family’s lifestyleand living arrangements, since it would be less than the monthly mortgage. Unless he has a trust fund lying around somewhere or has saved incredibly well throughout the years, Ray and his family are living well beyond their means and are most likely in a lot of debt.
Everybody Loves Raymond
5Carl Winslow
‘Family Matters’ (1989-1998)
Living in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, isn’t cheap. In fact, it is an expensive piece of real estate that doesn’t make sense for a police captain like Carl Winslow (Reginald VelJohnson) to afford. With a large house and eight characters living in the home at various points in time duringFamily Matters, the amount of food and basic necessities, plus the mortgage, seems like more than a financial burden on the sole breadwinner of the family.
Portrayed as a middle-class family, Carl might be living outside of his means, especially when taking in extended family members for long periods of time. Not to mention, he gifts his family with an extravagant trip to Paris, France. This would have taken years to save for, considering his financial standing and day-to-day as well as monthly payments that aren’t his mortgage, such as car payments and credit card bills. At the end of the day, Carl’s income and finances are not realistic in relation to his and his family’s lifestyle and circumstances.
Family Matters
‘Married…With Children’ (1987-1997)
The Bundys' low income was a running gag inMarried…With Children, making viewers question how Al Bundy (Ed O’Neill) never missed a mortgage payment. His wife, Peggy (Katey Sagal), was insistent on never working even though she had outrageous spending habits. They had two children and lived in a beautiful home in the suburbs, not to mention his beloved 1971 Dodge.
How a shoe salesman was able to keep up with all of the payments and never have to file for bankruptcy or sell their house doesn’t make too much sense. Well, it does – Al was over his head in debt. It’s no wonder he’s one ofTV’s grumpiest dads. Realistically,Al’s annual income would not allow for a mortgage payment, as well as food and family necessities. The family would be in debt for thousands of dollars each month, and there would be no way to recover unless Peggy got a job. Financially speaking, Al’s are some of the most unrealistic on television, considering it was a running joke, but no debt collector ever came to the door.
Married… With Children
3Alan Matthews
‘Boy Meets World’ (1993-2000)
A loving father of three and a wonderful husband, Alan Matthews (William Russ) inBoy Meets Worldis the epitome of an All-American television man. The thing is, he isn’t the most financially realistic one. With the family of five living in a fully furnished two-story home with bedrooms for each of his kids and having homecooked meals each day, some of which were shared with their kids' friends, it doesn’t make too much sense thatAlan was a grocer and then owner of an outdoor equipment store.
Being the owner of a store does have its perks, but it is only good money if sales are consistent, which isn’t explicitly stated in the show. Even so, he is able to provide for his family and give them an extremely comfortable life in a safe neighborhood. The Matthews’ finances make a bit more sense when Amy’s (Betsy Randle), his wife’s, income from being a real estate agent is factored in. Considering the size of their house, she must have been racking in a lot of cash for them to afford their mortgage, though.
Boy Meets World
2Phoebe Buffay
Known as the quirky and optimistic and arguably the funniest friend with the best quotes, Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), likethe rest of theFriendsgroup, lives in New York. While she is often seen at Monica and Rachel’s (Jennifer Aniston) apartment, Phoebe does have her own place in Greenwich Village, an apartment that is just as colorful and as fun as she is. However, it is known that Phoebe doesn’t have the steadiest of incomes. She is a part-time musician and massage therapist.
Having a few music gigs here and there at the Central Perk coffee shop and sporadic massage clients doesn’t equate to affording rent, daily coffee, and food. While she didn’t splurge on shopping like some friends, living in New York alone is not cheap. Yes, Phoebe states she has a roommate named Denise, but no one ever saw her, so it is up in the air whether that is true. Either way, it most likely is chalked up to the rent stabilization of the 1990s, making it so rent was affordable to even those with part-time work.
1Cosmo Kramer
‘Seinfeld’ (1989-1998)
Arguably, one of the most baffling and confusing financial situations that’s come out of ‘90s sitcoms is that ofCosmo Kramer’s inSeinfeld. On strike from his job at H&H Bagles for a majority of the series, Kramer doesn’t seem to be worried about making rent for his apartment in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York.Viewers and characters alike don’t know what he does for work, aside from some of his get-rich-quick schemes and other odd jobs here and there, such as becoming the inventor of tie dispensers in restaurants.
His irregular income and wild ventures don’t really make sense when it comes to his lifestyle, though. Kramer is often seen at Monk’s Cafe with Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), George (Jason Alexander), and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus); he owns a 1973 Chevrolet Impala and is able to afford to go to race tracks. Granted, he did win $18,000 that one time, but it still doesn’t make his financial situation realistic.
