10 Most Financially Unrealistic Sitcom Characters From The Past Decade

The last decade has seen the introduction of several iconic sitcom characters, but the financial situations of some are unrealistic. It’s not uncommon for characters from the best sitcoms of all time to have extravagant lifestyles that they logically cannot afford. For example, viewers often question how the characters in Friends live in central New York without issue.

However, even in the last 10 years, certain sitcoms still struggle to write characters with a pragmatic income that reflects their expenses. While it makes sense that there are financially unrealistic sitcom characters from past decades, it’s strange that newer shows fail to create personalities who face the consequences of poor spending.

10 Glenn Sturgis

Superstore (2015-2021)

Superstore is an underrated sitcom that paints its retail character workers in a realistic light, but not everything about the show makes sense. Even with a salary of over $100,000 a year, Glenn doesn’t practically make enough money to support his fully packed home with several foster children, Rose, and Jerusha. Although foster parents typically receive payment for taking in kids, Glenn fosters dozens over the years, resulting in plenty of mouths to feed. Plus, Jerusha doesn’t seem to have any kind of job, and she stays at home full-time when Rose is born.

One of Glenn’s best scenes in Superstore is when he prepares to hand the reins over to Amy and realizes he’s accidentally committed embezzlement, which proves that he isn’t the most financially intelligent at times. Throughout the show, he pays Dina $20,000 to be his surrogate, and he constantly has to replace his car after the last one gets damaged. Despite the Cloud 9 managers’ decent salaries, Glenn’s expenses and family obligations should make him struggle with money much more than he actually does.

9 Fleabag

Fleabag (2016-2019)

Fleabag’s ending creates a lot of unanswered questions, but one mystery that is never truly solved is how the titular character manages to afford her café. Although it can be argued that she started it with her best friend, it doesn’t explain how Fleabag continues running it after Boo’s death. She tries to take out a loan and is initially denied, which suggests she is struggling to keep it afloat. Even with her financially well-off family, Fleabag doesn’t like to borrow money.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag somehow keeps her failing guinea pig café open while also affording to live in London. The business later booms, which helps her, but the combination of the rent on the café unit and her own expenses aren’t realistically feasible. Fleabag is also always well-dressed, and she can afford her home payments, even with Harry moving in and out regularly. Theoretically, the café can’t be doing too badly, especially if her money woes aren’t the biggest stress in her life.

8 Tom Haverford

Parks And Recreation (2009-2015)

While Tom Haverford is one of the wealthiest main characters in Parks and Recreation, at least by the end of the show, his finances simply do not add up. The show even acknowledges this multiple times. Tom is in deep credit card debt, constantly returns items and cries at such an embarrassing level that others take pity, and is always looking for his next get rich quick scheme. However, his business savvy still isn’t enough to justify his lifestyle.

Tom uses the best beauty products, fills his home with the finest foods, and is always wearing expensive outfits. Realistically, on a local government assistant’s salary, Tom is lucky enough to afford his luxurious apartment. It’s no surprise that Entertainment720 fails, either. Parks and Recreation’s Jean-Ralphio and Tom give out free iPads, grossly overpay their staff, and even hire NBA stars. With the amount of money the two put in to set the company up, it’s wild that they are even able to pay for the iPads, let alone anything else.

7 Penny Hofstader

The Big Bang Theory (2007-2019)

Before The Big Bang Theory’s Penny finds success in her pharmaceutical sales job, she tries to make it big as an actress. Throughout Penny and Leonard’s relationship in The Big Bang Theory, the waitress relies on her neighbor and boyfriend for food and financial support. Penny’s acting career is lackluster and practically non-existent, yet she affords a one-bedroom apartment in California. Even if Penny magically became the best server in the world, it still makes little sense that she is able to live alone.

Penny famously has a lot of credit card debts, but they can’t be that bad, seeing as audiences never see collectors at her door. Even though Penny is definitely a freeloader in The Big Bang Theory, she always finds the money to go out drinking, buy new shoes, and to explore new hobbies like creating the Penny Blossoms or playing Age of Conan. While she becomes the breadwinner in later seasons, it’s surprising that she gets to that point, and realistically, Penny should’ve been bankrupt long before.

6 Jess Day

New Girl (2011-2018)

Jess Day definitely doesn’t have the best paid job of the New Girl characters, but it’s also weird that she lives so comfortably on a teacher’s salary. Even though she splits the loft rent with the others, the apartment is, theoretically, still way out of her price range. The loft is gorgeous and in a central Los Angeles location, and even Schmidt would probably struggle to afford it by himself. She later becomes principal and earns a lot more, but at the start of the show, Jess is only a middle school teacher with a limited budget.

She’s even jobless at one point, which means any savings she had during that time dwindled away quickly. Her financial struggles are at their worst in New Girl season 2, but she amazingly pulls herself back up quickly after she gets a job as a creative writing teacher. While the subject is a great one, there isn’t a huge amount of financial stability in the area. Despite this, Jess is always well-dressed with a beautiful face of makeup, and she always finds a way to attend social events and dates with no worries.

5 Titus Andromedon

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015-2019)

In his opinion, Titus is the true main character of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and his lavish spending supports this. Although Titus is constantly owing money to others and chooses to be extra frugal where he can, it doesn’t explain how he is able to afford half of the things he buys. For example, Titus buys headshots, which are expensive, rather than paying his New York City rent. However, he still doesn’t go hungry, despite wasting $200 on pictures of himself.

Even when he works for minimum wage, Titus can afford to throw out his old clothes and purchase new lavish outfits, like when he recreates Beyoncé’s “Lemonade.” He also eats $10,000 worth of checks from his job on the cruise, yet he somehow returns to New York without any money, despite literally waking up on a beach with just the clothes on his back. Titus’ financial situation is rather dire, and he never pretends that it isn’t, but there are still some plot holes surrounding how he funds his escapades.

4 Lola Skumpy

Big Mouth (2017-)

Several Big Mouth episodes tackle serious topics, and while many delve into Lola Skumpy’s estranged relationship with her mother, there’s never an explanation how the middle schooler survives by herself. Lola’s mother is a former convict and is hardly around, which leaves Lola by herself for stretches of time. Lola has to take an Uber to school and feeds herself Hot Pockets, but it’s unclear exactly how she affords this. When Lola asks her friends to bring food to her party, it’s only because she spends the money she is given on perfume instead.

It could be assumed that Cookie Skumpy sends Lola money regularly, but she is also a partygoer with her own wild lifestyle, and it’s unlikely she is able to leave for weeks at a time, pay for a condo, and raise her daughter. Lola does mention that her mother takes money from her, however. For example, in the episode “Horrority House,” she tells Jay that “[Her] mom took [her] allowance to pay for her boyfriend’s Invisalign.” Even though Lola’s life isn’t fancy, it’s wild that the teen keeps herself afloat.

3 Ava Coleman

Abbott Elementary (2021-)

While Abbott Elementary’s Ava Coleman is undoubtedly a hustler, how she manages to remain financially stable is questionable. Ava is the principal, so while she is paid more than the teachers, the titular school is still extremely poor. She uses the school budget for some stupid purchases sometimes, like the large sign, but Ava typically funds her own lifestyle. She has a rich boyfriend, NBA All-Star Andre Iguodala, but the show never suggests that he gives her any money.

Ava is constantly selling her old clothes on social media and working as an influencer. Although there is money in this industry, the show reveals that Ava also cares for her grandmother, which is one of the most heartwarming moments in Abbott Elementary. Medical expenses are never-ending, and even if Ava works around the clock, both as principal and on her side hustle, it’s unlikely she’s able to keep her grandmother comfortable while also dressing herself in designer gear.

2 Jeff Winger

When Jeff Winger is first introduced in Community, he’s a disgraced former lawyer who has to attend community college to get a degree. It can be assumed that Jeff lives off savings while at Greendale, but with the cost of his classes and general expenses, it wouldn’t last very long. Though Jeff faces financial difficulties, and he is forced to sell his condo, he can still afford to live alone in a smaller apartment, and his struggles are never mentioned again after this.

Jeff has a fancy car, is always well-dressed, armed with the latest cell phone, and splashes out on luxuries like lavish hair gel. However, he never mentions having another job. Jeff isn’t seen working on-screen until after he finishes his degree, so it’s unknown how he finances his life while at Greendale. Community college may be a cheaper option, but it still costs, and Jeff’s lifestyle remains the same. Hopefully, the Community movie can shed some light on the matter.

1 Marshall Eriksen

How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)

Marshall Eriksen’s financial situation in the earlier seasons of How I Met Your Mother is completely illogical. It’s wild that, as a law student, he is able to afford a spacious New York apartment with Ted. Even if he worked part-time during his studies, which would be difficult considering his workload, it’s unlikely Marshall actually made ends meet. After he discovers Lily’s credit card debt, the pair buy an apartment with the mortgage in Marshall’s name, which doesn’t make sense, considering Marshall’s credit would probably be rather minimal at this point.

Marshall also changes his job frequently and is even unemployed for a while, all before Lily becomes an art consultant. Despite all of this, Marshall somehow lives comfortably in the heart of New York, and drinks at How I Met Your Mother’s bar, MacLaren’s, every night. While Lily’s debt storyline pops up every now and then, it never seems to be damaging enough that Marshall struggles.