Random TV Characters Way Too Poor To Realistically Afford Their Lifestyles (20 items)

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  (#4) Penny

  • The Big Bang Theory

  TV Show: The Big Bang Theory

  As a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory, it’s doubtful Penny had the cash to pay for a one-bedroom apartment back when she was single, let alone afford all those bottles of wine and extremely cute clothes. While she did hang with the geeks next door mainly for the free food and was often portrayed to be struggling financially, Penny never really seemed to be in dire trouble with money. Maybe her parents helped her out?

  Thankfully, she later finds a better-paying job and lives with Leonard. We can only hope she’s paying down the debt she must have accumulated in the show’s early years.   
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  (#12) Dev Shah

  TV show: Master of None

  Dev Shah is an underemployed commercial actor who spends most of his time with his friends and eating at restaurants. He lives alone in a gorgeous apartment (seriously, that kitchen is the stuff dreams are made of) and he moves to Italy on a whim after his girlfriend breaks up with him. 

  Now, commercial actors do make a good bit of money, but Dev is often shown working as an extra, not principal talent. That means he makes $366.37 for a full day's work during the week. That's a healthy wage, to be sure, but Dev only works sporadically, and he spends cash like it's going out of style. Even with his mid-Season 2 career move to host on Clash of the Cupcakes, there is just no way he has "screw it, I'm moving to Italy" money. He'll surely be spending all those cupcake checks on credit card interest for a while.
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  (#5) Max And Caroline

  TV Show: 2 Broke Girls

  As the title suggests, Max and Caroline are always broke, which makes sense since they work as waitresses at a diner while simultaneously living in New York. What doesn’t make sense, however, is their ridiculous apartment. Don’t let the exposed brick or the fact that Caroline sleeps on a Murphy bed fool you - the loft is in Williamsburg, it’s spacious, and it comes with yard space for Chestnut. They should be paying way over $2,000/month in rent alone.

  While it’s refreshing to see two girls struggling with their finances every week, their digs are far from realistic.
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  (#16) Danny Tanner

  • Full House

  TV Show: Full House

  Danny Tanner is paying for a huge house in San Francisco, a very high-cost area, on the salary of a host of a local morning show. In addition, he's raising three daughters and paying for their living necessities and expenses. According to Movoto, 133% of Tanner’s income would be required solely for house payments. Now that’s unrealistic.   
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  (#3) Rachel Berry

  • Glee

  TV show: Glee

  Rachel and Kurt’s Bushwick apartment apparently costs only $1800 per month in the Glee universe. Let’s say that's believable, even though being able to ride your bike in your New York apartment would obviously mean the rent would be higher. Still, when first moving there, Rachel is a student and Kurt is an unpaid intern. How could they possibly swing nearly two grand a month?

  Their parents might have helped, sure. But it still would have been incredibly tough when you bring day-to-day expenses into the mix.  
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  (#8) Chloe

  • Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23

  TV show: Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23

  Here’s another classic sitcom case of rent being explained in terms of some weird landlord/tenant control deal. The only issue? Chloe’s sole stream of steady income comes from providing entertainment to diplomats at the United Nations once a year. Other than that, scams which often land her in trouble also provide her with free food and spending money from time to time.

  Meanwhile, June works at a coffee shop and it's a question of whether if she can even cover utilities. Even if the rent were zero, Chloe and June would both have a hard time living in the city. Luckily, June eventually gets a job with a Wall Street firm. 

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