@@sandraankenbrand - yes - In 1998 a $4 a day habit x 365 = $1460 -Adjusted for inflation for 2024 = about $3000. The other $2000 a year increase since then is TAXES. Big Tax increases in 2008. Note - I don’t smoke, my mother died from smoking
If we consider the quote from frank zappa: "they're not selling you just a product, they're selling you a lifestyle in which the product functions" then SATC must have done wonders for the economy!
That’s what I have always wondered. Designer clothes can be an investment. She seems to keep everything in good condition and has so many clothes she isn’t wearing anything that much. I am sure some have been damaged, but surely she could have sold a lot of her shoes and other clothes when she needed the money for the bank?
Lorelai Gilmore from Gilmore Girls for character to audit. She was the breadwinner but also relied on her parents' money. It would be ssoooo interesting!
Yes that one is my pet peeve. She showed up at a hotel, 16 with a baby and the hotel owner let her live in a shed and keep the baby at work. That is so fantastical.
I kinda hated Carrie when I watched sex and the city. She cheated on her partner’s multiple times, is really mean to her friends, and always came off to me as a bit entitled. One thing I always thought was weird too was how no one in the show ever took the subway. For not having any money, Carrie always seemed to be taking cabs left and right
I agree somewhat but I also admired her at the same time. It’s kind of the same feeling I had with Blair and Serena in Gossip Girl, but mostly Serena lol I think they have to portray Carrie that way because she is supposed to be a flawed character. She is supposed to be a protagonist that is somewhat obnoxious about her lifestyle and life choices and makes alot of mistake, financial mistakes being one of them of course. So in some ways, she is more relatable than just being this perfect person who is always responsible and does the right thing.
We're ignoring the fact that Carrie mostly lives off of her friends, connections and relationships. Most of her friends are very wealthy. As we've seen with Charlotte not wanting to lend her money, Carrie has come to expect her friends to lend her money because they have probably done so most of the time. She is also the OG influencer, literally writing for vogue, which means she receives constant free invitations to new clubs and restaurants, where at least her first drink/snack is covered due to her status. Not to mention freebees. Most importantly, Carrie is clearly attracted to extremely wealthy men. Mr. Big is actually introduced in the first episode as "The next Donald Trump" (at a time when that was actually a compliment 😆), which means Big is not just rich, he's mega - rich. Basically, from watching the show, the (terrible) movies and the sequel, my guess is that Carrie mostly lives off others.
We can't forget that Aidan also subsidized her lifestyle by buying her apartment when it went co-op instead of just asking her to move into his place. He made a lot of improvements to it for her *for free* and even discounted her a chair just because he liked her. It's not just Big that enabled her bad financial decisions, but he certainly didn't help when she literally came to his office begging for his money. Carrie may have said that she had bigger morals than to be like her European party friend (name escapes me but she's the one who got her boyfriend to pay for her shoes) but she's basically doing the same thing and isn't being honest about it.
my mom and I always rewatch the show, and we like to notice how Carrie was always living off her friends, and most importantly, we have the theory that she only "loved" Big because she wanted the money and the status, hence why she never loved Aidan as much. The theory solidifies itself more with the new show and how rich Carrie is now after Big's death.
admittedly charlotte was my least favorite, but she was 1000% right in that episode. privileged or not, its not charlotte's job to care for a grown adult's finances. I hate that she ended up giving carrie the money anyway
I still cannot believe Carrie did that to Charlotte, and I hate that they never said if Carrie paid her back. I think we’re supposed to assume she did since she wrote all those books, but as far as I know it’s never been stated.
Oh gosh, yes I hated that episode! You’re not entitled to anyone else’s money especially after your poor choices. She didn’t want to feel uncomfortable by borrowing Bigs offered money, but was happy to make Charlotte feel uncomfortable by pawning her sentimental engagement ring. What!
I can't believe you cut Carrie's next line in the shoe shop with Miranda! "I spent 40 thousand dollars on shoes, and I have nowhere to live? I will literally be the old woman who lived in her shoes."
I love this idea of analysing fictional characters, and l honestly think comparing how Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha approached finances would be fascinating too. Each had very different careers, life goals and finances from each other and from Carrie.
Yes. Miranda and Samantha’s incomes came from their professions. Charlotte had a trust but lived within her means. Carrie was the least stable financially and didn’t realize it for the longest.
I think in that same episode Miranda and Samantha mention investments/retirement and Carrie says something like, when did we start doing that? It’s crazy how a combo of talking money is taboo, they mostly talked about men/relationships and “girl math” led them to not talking about finances.
I always thought it was gross how Carrie guilted Charlotte into giving her money. Carrie has always been the worst out of all the girls, literally nothing redeemable about her. Entitled, bratty, whiney, a serial cheater and most probably a narcissist. Never rooted for her. Charlotte and Samantha were my favorites.
Carrie was a HORRIBLE friend!! I love the scene where Miranda flips out on Carrie for being selfish while they are shopping at a thrift shop. And when Aiden yells at her, “YOU BROKE MY HEART!”. Those few times she had a smidge of self-awareness. 😂
I totally lost so much respect for Carrie when she bullied Charlotte to sell her ring. I would have told her to walk at that point and never spoken to her again if I were Charlotte.
@@kamay9067 Completely agree. Although Charlotte married into a wealthy family and got a nice apartment in the divorce settlement, she had a respectable job. She was more than capable of taking care of herself. It was scandalous that Carrie yelled at her for not 'offering' to help her financially.
@@delinawejdeby2043 *sigh* Carrie also said in that same scene she was irrationally angry and she knew who to irrationally take it out on - Charlotte, who had not offered her money like Big, Miranda, and Sam. It was symbolic. Not something she'd ever actually take, she said no to everyone else. But if you've never done that, please keep going.
Carrie regained her self esteem and respect of the Dior staff and other customers with her purchases. It’s like she had to prove to everyone that she belonged there. It’s one of the ways they get people to buy. It’s saying you can’t afford that and the person has to prove them wrong by buying it.
In the show Carrie mentioned she was paid $4 a word later was increased to $4.5 a word. If her weekly column was an average of 500 words long, that's $2000 per week, she also has side gigs, she was probably making low six fingers. Her rent control apartment was $750 a month, which was not totally unrealistic in the early 2000s. I went to New York City in 2006, and crashed on my friend's living room couch, he was paying $1500 per month for rent. Designer shoes on fifth avenue cost about $500 back then, Carrie also mentioned she often bought things on sale. Instead of criticizing Carrie's speeding habits, I am more outraged at how everything got so expensive and unattainable for average people in less than 20 years.
If this is true then that makes it even worse... she had less than a thousand in her savings and not quite 800 in her checking. If she was making 6 figures then she literally is the most irresponsible person in NY when it comes to money...and she was in her 30s! At least have a 3 month emergency fund. But it worked out for her. She married rich and had great friends that bailed her out
It doesn't really matter in her case, 3 month emergency fund would barely make a dent in the $40000 down payment needed. Low six fingers don't go very far in New York City. Carrie wasn't financially savvy, but I would call her irresponsible. Irresponsible literally means refusing to take responsibility, she paid taxes and all her bills, how can that be irresponsible? She just didn't have enough money saved for ex boyfriend's malicious eviction. Do you have $40000 laying around in your account? She should have kept Aidan's engagement ring or taken money from Big, but she was too proud and not very practical.
@@junxu4438 a 3 month emergency should be standard to have for anyone. Carrie was absolutely irresponsible. She didnt have money to pay for tomatoes so she put it on a credit card. Aiden wasn't malicious. That was a business decision. They weren't married. Miranda said herself that everything in the contract was standard. Carrie had no assets and she was not willing to sell her shoes or clothes to get the down payment. She crapped on her friend Charlotte because she didnt offer her the money who ended up giving it to her anyways. So she was bailed out by her rich friend. Paying taxes is a requirement and you can go to jail or pay penalties if u dont...and yes I do have more than $40k sitting in an account and Ive never made 6 figures. In my 30s... I just dont feel the need to spend thousands on clothes, shoes, eating out, partying or cigarettes.
@@junxu4438you should be in a situation for a loan even if you don't have 40000 in an account. That's what people find strange about Carrie. Not not having 40000 but not having any assets to loan ....smh
I'm into handbags, and while I personally don't own any $4,000 or $6,000 bags, many women went crazy for the purple sequin Fendi baguette that gets stolen from Carrie in one episode. That bag kept selling out and has earned kind of a cult status because of Sex and the City, even though a bag that's several thousands of dollars is/should be unaffordable to the vast majority of people watching this show. But the show sold a dream lifestyle that many viewers bought into, both figuratively and literally.
My cousin who married a real life Mr. Big and was a interior designer in LA is a Louis Vuitton girl and she got me into buying LV. $5000 bags are not an investment. I had to learn that the hard way.
Only hermes bags increase and only if you dont use him. Why would you buy a bag that expensive to just sit in a box somewhere. It also super regular looking tbh.
I watched this sitcom since I was a little girl. I watched it over and over. Never have I thought of buying expensive shoes or bags. I guess I focused more of the relationship and humor part of the movie than what they were wearing 😂
I remember having to basically fight to avoid watching it, and even being force-gifted the series one christmas (by cousins who are now not doing so hot financially 😅)
I never took it super seriously, but I did watch it from my late 20s on. It's fun to revisit it occasionally, and wild to see how younger people react to it.
Molly from the show "Insecure" would be a good character to audit. She's a lawyer living in L.A. with a bestie who is not in the same tax bracket as her.
I was thinking similarly about Rachel Zane from “Suits” and how far a paralegal salary might really go in New York, especially in a workplace that’s got a certain unspoken expectation about clothing being high end.
It was her main goal. She ended up with an incredibly rich artist before Big, but Big was richer. Carrie, to me, was a very smart gold digger and wouldn’t stop for a man at her own bracket. Heck, even Aidan had more ways to make means meet the ends
yes, and on "Just like that" we can see that she won in that regard. After Big's death, she became even richer, having all of Big's wealth just for herself. Now with Big out of the picture and being extremely wealthy, she could finally go on with Aidan
Unfortunately, too often there’s the rationalizing that dressing designer will catch the eye of a rich man and that’s your retirement plan, which worked out for fictional Carrie but not even real-life Candace (the latter relied on her own work). In fact, the rich guys are worried about the future, too, and therefore also looking to marry connections and/or money. Better not spend too much on overpriced designer goods for that purpose. It’s also sadly appropriate that a sharp show about sex and relationships got taken over and turned into a paid-for informercial for designer brands and bursting closets, as part of America’s habit of subsuming basic human needs into products to be bought.
I was a writer for a very short period of time. I was working for my local newspaper while freelancing for online publications. I was making around $1,500 to $2,000 a month. Not livable whatsoever. Glad I changed careers but still miss it.
Working as a writer is tough! But what I don't get with Carrie is how she makes that with just *one* column at one publication. Before the great break up with Aidan she *at most* works 5 hours a week. Feel like maybe she wouldn't have needed her lifestyle if she ground out more content for different places. And she really could have incorporated them together if she had really wanted to. But seriously: lots of respect for the multiple gigs thing. I couldn't do it.
@@Lonovavir we will always need writers:) I think with any creative field, the work will be there for those who are willing to do it, but it is not easy!
I’m 44. This show began airing in 1998 when I was a freshman in college and it ended a year after I graduated. It influenced young women in ways I cannot count; personal friends and total strangers alike. One of the negative influences it had was exactly this kind of totally unrealistic depiction of living in an expensive city well beyond your actual financial means. It sent a message that “this is the life you should have when you are this age” and yet - as we always said back then: there is no way this woman can live this lifestyle and be a freelance columnist - or even a well-paid staff columnist at an upscale magazine. The irony is that in our current culture it’s only gotten worse - now we have “influencers” (of which you could say Carrie was a prototype) who lead equally silly lives that their followers think is achievable. Perhaps for a handful yes but for most it will never be - many of these folks are living far beyond their means and flaunting a falsified life online full of curated and highly edited photos and a few brand punches. It’s sad not to have everything you want when you want it - but it’s wonderful to have exactly what you want when you need it the most. Indulge a little bit but keep your expectations realistic and stop worrying about how others perceive you. Time-old advice that hasn’t changed in 200 years.
The financial aspect is only one issue I have with the show. It is beyond ridiculous that all 4 of these 'full time' professional women can ALWAYS get together for lunch, shopping, working out, going to clubs, and the list goes on and on. You really need to suspend disbelief when you watch this show !
Okay to be fair, the only one who we can't write an excuse for is Miranda, who later in the show DID have a huge issue with time, but Charlotte works in a gallery which is pretty standard 8 hour shift, maybe even less, depending on the opening hours, and Samantha would certainly be able to move things around and adjust her schedule to her own needs.
This is something I will defend the show on. We see a limited amount of their lives. Just because it feels they do this all the time, if we assume this was a reality tv show (and not a scripted one but more documentary) the cameras would only be there when the main group was together and when they were doing something interesting. The episodes don’t cover that big percentage of the year. They could be working and seeing family and other friends and cooking and working out etc. when they aren’t the focus. Although we know Carrie doesn’t cook.
@@lulupomegranateI do think Samantha and Carrie probably had the most wiggle room in regards to their schedules. Sam was pretty senior at her company and “work lunches” seemed common for the time. Carrie is a writer and probably creates her work schedule. Later on Charlotte is a stay at home mom who probably does charity work so her schedule was also a lot more flexible in later seasons.
I think it’a possible. In the show, before Miranda moves to a different side of town, it seems like all of the characters live/work in close proximity to each other. Pair that with a city that overall is meant to be walkable and generally easy to navigate transportation wise, nobody has kids up until the the latter seasons, and pretty much everyone has high paying jobs except for Carrie - VERY believable actually. You make time for the things you want, and they were all the loves of each other’s lives so they made it work.
i like the character financial audit idea! u can do lorelai gilmore, especially early seasons, bc it makes no sense how much they eat out and gilmore girls is hella popular.
I think the eating out is actually not that weird. Wasn't it established they order a bunch and then live from leftovers the following days? Since Lorelei doesn't cook, their actual grocery bill would be minimal, so their food budget would be just mildly higher than a normal one. Also it is a small town and prices of takeout were most likely lesser than that of a big city.
I think people get mad about Friends because of Monica's apartment, but otherwise, I thought Friends money issues were super realistic. There was even an episode where Joey, Phoebe, and Rachel were annoyed by Ross, Monica and Chandler for always expecting them to spend a lot of money going out. Monica's apartment was handed down to her by her grandmother, and it was rent controlled.
Was always funny to me that Monica, a fine dining chef (who routinely put in 80 hour weeks), was hanging out at a coffeeshop all day, every day. The only believable characters were Ross and Chandler who had real jobs and apartments appropriate for them.
Friends financial situation seemed more realistic. The only unrealistic bit was Monica’s work ethic, she was always hanging out with her friends, even though she was a chef
Yeah even with the rent controlled apartment that place which I don't think applied to Chandler and Joey's place. There's a time when Monica is well off as a chef which can't possibly be true in Manhattan. She also then is later unemployed and they yada yada over how they paid rent.
Yes! Did she have health insurance? Freelance writer means self employment, higher taxes and out of pocket health insurance plan. We know she had a gynecologist from when the IUD got stuck
Cureently doing my internship at a psychiatric hospital, Carrie Bradshaw would make a textbook patient in my ward. Functioning adult with uncontrolled impulse manifesting in a shopping addiction
I honestly have never even seen Sex and the City but I really appreciate this type of content. I moved to NYC as a college student and then stayed after graduating. It was really easy to fall into the trap of comparing myself to influencers who had glamorous lifestyles. I couldn’t afford a nice Pilates gym membership or going out to eat all the time. I couldn’t go to these massive concerts and go luxury shopping in SoHo. My rent is still a huge portion of my income and saving is really difficult. But I had to adjust my expectations and just remind myself that it’s not fair to compare yourself to people who (often) have financial backing, whether through family or brand deals or whatever, to live extravagantly. And, most importantly, you don’t have to live like this to have a really amazing life in NYC! I’ve been here 3 years and have hailed a cab only 3-4 times. Most of my clothes I buy secondhand. My apartment is tiny (this is difficult to live with, I gotta admit). Things can get stressful but it’s still worth it!
she really spent all her money as she got it, then got lucky she sold books and got married to rich big. i'm a journalist like her and i wish i could spend so much lol grew up watching her and idealizing things. as for another similar story journalist, becky bloom might be a good character for this! fits very
@@bigsistahtipsyes, and the books are even better at showing a realistic look at what the consequences are from making the financial decisions Becky makes- at least in the first few- honestly after she married Luke bankruptcy sort of stopped being a realistic risk for her- but still they’re pretty good 😊
Apparently SJP's foot actually grew a random bone because of all the high heels. Her feet literally molded into appendages deformed from wearing heels.... ouch!
i like this fictional financial audit, it's not causing harm to anyone and it's helpful to learn from, i hope you do more of them from more shows, maybe friends etc!
would love more character financial audits! Friends, Brooklyn 99, The Office and Parks and Rec characters would be fun ! (some might be good examples... or examples of how just saving isn't always good either and we should also invest in ourselves)
Great video! This would be an awesome series for the semi-regular. And great timing, too, as there's been a surge of buzz painting the 90s as this time of Glorious Economic Prosperity. I was a tiny little thing at the time, so I checked in with my mom. She reminded me that the 90s had a driving mentality of "A dollar saved is more than a dollar earned [because taxes]". At least for women in the rural and less densely populated areas. Amy Dacyczyn's "The Tightwad Gazette" was everywhere and is still really practical ~30 years later.
I can relate shopping as an emotional activity. Last month I was under SOOO much stress and the only thing that made me 100% happy was buying an expensive bag. In my defense I do have more than 6 months of savings for an emergency and I'm about to sign the contract to buy my own apartment this month.
She was literally the first “socialite” and it’s a great example that they were broke! Yes Carrie loved fashion and had the best closet, but she wasn’t really “gifted” those things… she spent outside her means, and hence her apartment, and unpaid bills were a reflection of that! When Aden was on the show, she had so many repairs that needed to take priority over clothes! I love this!
Financial audits of fictional characters are awesome! Is love to see the characters on Gilmore girls, Buffy the vampire Slayer, Beverly Hills 90210, Angel, The OC, Gossip Girl, Riverdale
I never really got into the sex and the city or friends trend at the time, even though I was studying to go into fashion then. It was very boring to me, and the banality of the elite (or fake elite) all-white, 30-somethings that always had a problem they themselves made, just seemed exhausting to me. Give me Law and Order and some anime so I can think like an actual functioning adult or detach and have fun over that any day! P.S. Would definitely like more character financial audits, particularly ones like kdramas or some of the 90s shows where the "poor" Cinderella character lives in the main city in a $4K+ a month walk-up 🤦🏾♀️.
I loved this show during my 20’s . I loved clothes and shoes 👠 BUT I was a saver too. 401k , saving bonds ( didn’t understand the stock market snd my mom said she saved this way ) and saving accounts. When I found out that single, no kids, and not property owner, I paid lots in taxes, I moved home and saved all my income $$$, quit buying clothes/shoes, and commuted 100 miles daily for 18 months to buy my 1st apartment building with my parents!!!😂😂😂😂❤❤❤❤
Definitely would love to see one about Lorelai and Rory from Gilmore girls! Especially Lorelei since we know Rory wasn’t afraid to take money from her grandparents, but Lorelei would have never been able to afford a house in Connecticut as an innkeeper 😂🤦🏼♀️ when I worked at ESPN in CT i only made $17 an hour and that was with a college degree & all i could afford was a one bedroom apartment lol. Salaries in CT are so low and their housing is some of the most expensive.
The only thing I would defend carrie about is how she's not actually a shopper but a collector. The scene where she berates aiden because his dog ate a limited item shoe is really eye opening. She knows every item in her closet, takes really good care of them etc. I would say she's a fashion collector and not just a shopper.
I love your answer! My favorites were the shoes she had on when Miranda broke her water all over them. Did you ever see the SJP shoe line? I saw them in a mall in Maryland, USA. They are all at least $400 each. I have a good shoe story that you might enjoy... I have these burgundy pumps, no big fashion name, but they are just really cool. I wore them when I interviewed a model I highly admired, who has since passed. She liked my shoes so much, she reached down and touched them. The shoes are now old and beat up, but I won't throw them out because of that special moment. My husband put them on display in one of our extra rooms upstairs.
@@bigsistahtips Collecting doesn't always equate to hoarding. There's a lot of people who collect. There's a big difference between a hobby and hoarding. I am a collector. I know when to buy something and when I have too much of something or no room for something. Despite my ADD, I have organized everything and know what I have. Everything I own fits neatly in my house that "looks like the mind of an ADD person turned into a museum, but is very chaotic yet neatly organized" according to everyone who has been in my house. I grew up with a horrible hoarder. My mother came from a single teen mother of 2 family who barely got anything and on top of a lot of SA, she dealt with the hate for being poor so she spent our whole life wanting to be a hoarder but never wanting to get help. We had storage units in our yard, our garage, our whole house... everything was just stacked with boxes upon boxes of junk she had no idea of what was in them. I even got hurt trying to move around once, breaking my elbow because of it being so crowded. Even with her and my dad constantly "cleaning up everything and fixing their house" they re-hoard stuff and it's just awful. My house is neatly put together with shelves of collections or posters, dolls, etc. You can move around just fine and live and see everything I own. Carrie's house is the same. My parent's house is not.
Yes would love to see similar content - I appreciate that you kept this light hearted but informative. I feel like a lot of commentators take SATC far too seriously when its just escapist tv. It was interesting you also mentioned the emotional side to Carrie’s financial situation and she could improve. Great stuff 👍
This was more an ad for the company sponsoring the video. The audit wasn't even finished properly, ie the punchline: in an average month/year, Carrie earns circa X and spends circa Y, having factored in every kind of expenditure. Therefore she somehow lives with an ongoing shortfall of Z per month. But somehow you managed to get in all relevant details regarding the sponsor.
Great video! Yes to more of these, please! I especially like that you credited The Financial Diet. I recently watched that and it immediately came to mind. Keep'em coming (you know, at the pace that works best for you)!
I always felt kinda left out because I was the only one in my group of girl friends that hated Sex in the City. I always felt the characters in the show were materialistic mean girls. I just never understood why people loved it so much.
I think part of the appeal of this show was the way they treated men and sex and sexuality. Some of the stories were never done on tv before. That’s why it first aired on HBO and had an R rating.
It's some of the characters, like Miranda and her "you ever think he's just not that into you" rant among a few other things done way before everyone else. Plus is was just a silly fantasy show. My sisters and I loved it for the cheesiness despite the whole sex and shopping thing; this coming from kids who had to rely on Goodwill to get clothes and my own self who is Asexual. If you don't take it too seriously it can be a fun show.
A similar deep dive was done on the Frasier show showing how unrealistic his lifestyle was on a salary of a radio personality. TV shows are escapism, so it’s always over the top. I would say you can do a few of these, it helps show how you shouldn’t emulate these characters.
I always assumed Frasier was basically retired and doing his radio show to keep busy. It seemed like he had made his wealth with his medical practice in Boston during the Cheers era.
Carrie Bradshaw was morally bankrupt on all levels: responsibility, friendship, integrity, honesty, sexual relations, and of course finances. My aunt was a psychologist, and she would watch the show from time to time to see how the characters evolved. She always said Carrie Bradshaw was a leech----a woman who could suck the air out of a room, the life out of every party, and money out of every man who was stupid enough to have a relationship with her.
Such a refreshing review of "Carrie's lifestyle". Too many videos just criticize her spending as if it was real life matter, without bothering to point out that it's all fictional. Your point/conclusion at 10:17 is great!❤
DEF more like this AND, a practical video about investing in an advanced degree (masters) which is likely to land you in a low-paying job (teacher or social worker)
I deeply regret getting my Masters in Counseling. Student loan payments too high payed on time for 10 years and my balance increased because of the interest. The pay sucks balls ☹️
Also, this video is a reminder of the money that is spent marketing to the audience. I remember seeing the new Chevrolet Camaro in transformers and other new or trends being subliminally marketed in other movies. When you look at the credits of shows and movies. You can see which companies were providing the wardrobes. This is not an accident either. Surprise surprise we're being marketed to again
This was so good! Totally loved that show growing up and several years later, still dreaming of the day I can buy just one nice pair of shoes... 😂 but bills get paid first so there is no money for that 😂 Thank you for this very enjoyable video!
I love that you mention the financial advisor bit. I inherited some money and wanted to make sure that I was handling the money responsibly. My advisor convinced me to have her manage my stocks, in which she then took percentages. I recently set a boundary with her to where she can help me with my taxes and meeting, but I will only be paying a flat rate. Felt good to do that
I was probably watching this much younger than I should have been- but, I digress; I recall one scene, where a guy apparently 'mistook' her for an escort- & left her an envelope full of cash, & I had the stray thought that perhaps she let more than one guy do that...
I was around 17 years old when I heard for the first time Carry saying that she would buy a magazine instead of food because it would feed her more. I was like 👁️👄👁️ girl what?! Even my teenage self knew that was a terrible idea
Carrie lived paycheck to paycheck in an industry that was on the cusp of internet-triggered collapse. Her spending habits on her ample “sex columnist” salary was truly the last hurrah of the golden age of newspapers and magazines. Her spending only became realistic if her published book became a huge bestseller. (Did that book become a bestseller? The success of Carrie’s book is so peripheral to the show’s plot I honestly forgot.)
I sold shoes to put myself through college, and the things that used to make shoes expensive back in the 1970s were high-quality elements such as French stitching and very good Italian leather. In the 1980s, we started seeing all kinds of clothing become expensive simply because of its designer name. The shoes, for example, didn't really look that much different from less expensive shoes. Designer brands did and still do use semi-slave labor, so the quality wasn't great, either. People bought them for the name, as in Sex and the City, but if you really look at the shoe designs on that show, they were pretty boring, unlike a designer dress, coat, or cape would be.
She wasn't above the money thing, but I'm pretty sure she always went back to Big because of insecurity and daddy issues. If she just wanted to live off a rich old man, she could have stayed in Paris with the Russian LOL
Never seen the show but I remember when it was popular. Very cool concept for a video. The clips of the show reminded me that it was not my cup of tea but once you came back the video was good again. Admittedly I'm a millennial. I think it's a great concept because some social norms are perpetuated via shows like this so challenging the idea that these protagonists are making good decisions is a good reminder that money is not infinite. Because of the fictional nature, they are immune to any material repercussions of poor decision making. Highlighting when something is clearly impossible is something that some people would need to see. However, I think the generation that watched this is already dealing with the ramifications of living beyond their means. Perhaps a newer show that is using current dollar values would hit a sweet spot. Years ago I saw someone do this with The Simpsons. Would be cool to see you do that.
First time watching videos of this channel but I really liked it, love how important concepts of personal finance are introduced and explained in relation to the characters but 100% understandable to and applicable to one's life
Carries character luxury spending is unrealistic, but 60k was a pretty good salary for one person in the early 2000s. Plus, before publishing/journalism went bust, it was considered a pretty glamorous industry with a lot of free perks (free meals/trips/products much like how you see influencer pr in this day and age). What is crazy though is despite more than 20 years has gone by since the show, medium salaries haven’t changed that much but housing, food, clothing prices have increased significantly especially in nyc.
I just read the title and said, out loud, "yaaaassssss!" So ya, I'd love more of these! They touch on it, but I'd be interested in a breakdown of Jake Peralta's finances in Brooklyn 99 to see how bag it really is 😅 I guess I'm just curious about what it's like to live in NY period.
I’m very glad to say I’m not emotionally attached to status and material things 😅 I’ve been a student for years so I can’t afford to be. Btw, Carrie had a serious smoking habit and drank a lot of cocktails. I know Australia taxes both of those things extremely heavily but they still wouldn’t be cheap in the US.
I always thought a lot of her lifestyle was 'comped' too, Samantha being in PR, she invited Carrie to a lot of functions where she could network and meet a lot of influential people
I was living in NYC, in my 20s, when sex and the city aired, and it was fun to watch their fictionalized escapades. Sometimes they’d tape near my street, and it was super cool to walk by their trailers. I never felt duped or influenced from the show, it was fun entertainment! The guy that Miranda thought she was flirting with in her window, he lived in my building! Living in nyc in the late 90s was awesome, and getting together with friends to watch sex and the city was inexplicably special. If you know, you know.
Samesies! I worked as a fashion designer in the 90s and was 10 yrs younger than the cast when it aired. My friends and I lived in Williamsburg and would watch the show Sunday nights together it was so much fun!
I watched the first season of SATC but stopped when I realized my friends and I were living that same life, not in NYC, but our lives weren’t as fun or messy, thank goodness, but very expensive. We are all now in out 50’s and still trying to disentangle ourselves from buying based on logos and labels. SATC kicked off a arms race of luxury goods in a generation of women. The silver lining is I still wear my Manolo’s, J.Cho’s and Louboutins etc. But I also got a good financial advisor so I’m not “Fendi” homeless or in debt.
You should have showed the scene where she said she just had to charge tomatoes on a credit card! Definitely indicates she probably was dealing with debt
To be honest, I wouldn’t give Carrie any advice. Let her deal with the consequences of her actions. Being broke is the only thing that would actually get through her thick head.
Candice Bushnell actually spoke a little about this and said she was making like 10k a month in the 90s as a writer. Her column in Vogue alone was paying her 5k a month, which for 30 plus years ago was a lot, even in NYC. Writing gigs don't pay like that anymore, even at major publications.
My Financial Audit of the 'Friends' Gang!: th-cam.com/video/Ot2_C3M2IBU/w-d-xo.html
Her smoking habit is also a huge drain on her budget. She never truly quits and we see her smoke up to a pack per episode. That adds up quick.
At least $5000.00 a year.
@danielgummer9273 a pack back on the 90s was about 3 to 4USD
@decimusvitaethat comes later... I'm over 50 and never have health issues despite smoking since 40yrs a pack a day
@@sandraankenbrand - yes - In 1998 a $4 a day habit x 365 = $1460 -Adjusted for inflation for 2024 = about $3000. The other $2000 a year increase since then is TAXES. Big Tax increases in 2008. Note - I don’t smoke, my mother died from smoking
Plus she doesn't cook at home or make her own coffee.
If we consider the quote from frank zappa: "they're not selling you just a product, they're selling you a lifestyle in which the product functions" then SATC must have done wonders for the economy!
Zappa was right about a lot of things.
conspicuous consumption a la max
This occurs all the time on social media with lifestyle influencers!
@@divorceesquirebut carrie is THE OG 'influencer'
Great quote to post here! Never heard of it before but that's the way to look at it.
Those 400 dollar shoes are now 1200 dollars. Inflation has also entered the chat. 😂😂
Not to mention Samantha's $4000 Birkin! Now it's $10k to $12k used and beat to crap lol.
Samantha was not almost homeless
Should have left the tags on to resell, as an investment instead of wearing them :-) (but yeah right would any of them do this).
Those shoes were already around 800 back then. The series pretended it as 400-500 because they thought no one would believe they were that price
That’s what I have always wondered. Designer clothes can be an investment. She seems to keep everything in good condition and has so many clothes she isn’t wearing anything that much. I am sure some have been damaged, but surely she could have sold a lot of her shoes and other clothes when she needed the money for the bank?
Lorelai Gilmore from Gilmore Girls for character to audit. She was the breadwinner but also relied on her parents' money. It would be ssoooo interesting!
Omg yes! Everyone is saying this lol
Yeeeesss
Came here to say this!
Yes! They were so entitled. I really didn’t like the characters after a while because both were so selfish while relying on other people’s money!
Yes that one is my pet peeve. She showed up at a hotel, 16 with a baby and the hotel owner let her live in a shed and keep the baby at work. That is so fantastical.
I kinda hated Carrie when I watched sex and the city. She cheated on her partner’s multiple times, is really mean to her friends, and always came off to me as a bit entitled.
One thing I always thought was weird too was how no one in the show ever took the subway. For not having any money, Carrie always seemed to be taking cabs left and right
The author stated that Carrie actually always took the subway, and not the taxi. It had to do with filming. I can't remember now.
@@dakz9296they could have gotten a prop train car or three with as many shows which film in NYC. 😅
I agree somewhat but I also admired her at the same time. It’s kind of the same feeling I had with Blair and Serena in Gossip Girl, but mostly Serena lol I think they have to portray Carrie that way because she is supposed to be a flawed character. She is supposed to be a protagonist that is somewhat obnoxious about her lifestyle and life choices and makes alot of mistake, financial mistakes being one of them of course. So in some ways, she is more relatable than just being this perfect person who is always responsible and does the right thing.
Yep, she’s a Karen without the ugly hair cut.
She was never seen in the subway. Filmed in cabs many times. She struck me the same way.
We're ignoring the fact that Carrie mostly lives off of her friends, connections and relationships. Most of her friends are very wealthy. As we've seen with Charlotte not wanting to lend her money, Carrie has come to expect her friends to lend her money because they have probably done so most of the time.
She is also the OG influencer, literally writing for vogue, which means she receives constant free invitations to new clubs and restaurants, where at least her first drink/snack is covered due to her status. Not to mention freebees.
Most importantly, Carrie is clearly attracted to extremely wealthy men. Mr. Big is actually introduced in the first episode as "The next Donald Trump" (at a time when that was actually a compliment 😆), which means Big is not just rich, he's mega - rich.
Basically, from watching the show, the (terrible) movies and the sequel, my guess is that Carrie mostly lives off others.
We can't forget that Aidan also subsidized her lifestyle by buying her apartment when it went co-op instead of just asking her to move into his place. He made a lot of improvements to it for her *for free* and even discounted her a chair just because he liked her. It's not just Big that enabled her bad financial decisions, but he certainly didn't help when she literally came to his office begging for his money. Carrie may have said that she had bigger morals than to be like her European party friend (name escapes me but she's the one who got her boyfriend to pay for her shoes) but she's basically doing the same thing and isn't being honest about it.
If she wants money she can just demand or guilt it out of Charlotte..snicker
It was never a compliment 😅
my mom and I always rewatch the show, and we like to notice how Carrie was always living off her friends, and most importantly, we have the theory that she only "loved" Big because she wanted the money and the status, hence why she never loved Aidan as much. The theory solidifies itself more with the new show and how rich Carrie is now after Big's death.
Yes!! So true
And then guilting Charlotte into giving up her ring because she needed the money was so shameful.
admittedly charlotte was my least favorite, but she was 1000% right in that episode. privileged or not, its not charlotte's job to care for a grown adult's finances. I hate that she ended up giving carrie the money anyway
Yeah, Carrie should've just taken what Big offered.
I've never seen the show, but what the heck!
I still cannot believe Carrie did that to Charlotte, and I hate that they never said if Carrie paid her back. I think we’re supposed to assume she did since she wrote all those books, but as far as I know it’s never been stated.
Oh gosh, yes I hated that episode! You’re not entitled to anyone else’s money especially after your poor choices. She didn’t want to feel uncomfortable by borrowing Bigs offered money, but was happy to make Charlotte feel uncomfortable by pawning her sentimental engagement ring. What!
I can't believe you cut Carrie's next line in the shoe shop with Miranda!
"I spent 40 thousand dollars on shoes, and I have nowhere to live? I will literally be the old woman who lived in her shoes."
And then Miranda farts after pulling her finger. 😂😅
I love this idea of analysing fictional characters, and l honestly think comparing how Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha approached finances would be fascinating too. Each had very different careers, life goals and finances from each other and from Carrie.
Yes that would be super interesting!
Yes. Miranda and Samantha’s incomes came from their professions. Charlotte had a trust but lived within her means. Carrie was the least stable financially and didn’t realize it for the longest.
I think in that same episode Miranda and Samantha mention investments/retirement and Carrie says something like, when did we start doing that? It’s crazy how a combo of talking money is taboo, they mostly talked about men/relationships and “girl math” led them to not talking about finances.
@@crazy4beatlesI agree 💯 It's as if a sharp, witty writer suddenly became too daft to take charge of her own life.
I always thought it was gross how Carrie guilted Charlotte into giving her money. Carrie has always been the worst out of all the girls, literally nothing redeemable about her. Entitled, bratty, whiney, a serial cheater and most probably a narcissist. Never rooted for her. Charlotte and Samantha were my favorites.
Carrie was a HORRIBLE friend!! I love the scene where Miranda flips out on Carrie for being selfish while they are shopping at a thrift shop. And when Aiden yells at her, “YOU BROKE MY HEART!”. Those few times she had a smidge of self-awareness. 😂
I totally lost so much respect for Carrie when she bullied Charlotte to sell her ring. I would have told her to walk at that point and never spoken to her again if I were Charlotte.
@@kamay9067 Completely agree. Although Charlotte married into a wealthy family and got a nice apartment in the divorce settlement, she had a respectable job. She was more than capable of taking care of herself. It was scandalous that Carrie yelled at her for not 'offering' to help her financially.
@@delinawejdeby2043 *sigh* Carrie also said in that same scene she was irrationally angry and she knew who to irrationally take it out on - Charlotte, who had not offered her money like Big, Miranda, and Sam. It was symbolic. Not something she'd ever actually take, she said no to everyone else. But if you've never done that, please keep going.
Miranda is my favorite. Her character hsd the best story arc. She changed a lot.
Carrie regained her self esteem and respect of the Dior staff and other customers with her purchases. It’s like she had to prove to everyone that she belonged there. It’s one of the ways they get people to buy. It’s saying you can’t afford that and the person has to prove them wrong by buying it.
Basically, Pretty woman
my relationship to skincare, allegedly
Hermes is the perfect example of this
Apparently staff in high end stores are actually trained to behave this way.
In the show Carrie mentioned she was paid $4 a word later was increased to $4.5 a word. If her weekly column was an average of 500 words long, that's $2000 per week, she also has side gigs, she was probably making low six fingers. Her rent control apartment was $750 a month, which was not totally unrealistic in the early 2000s. I went to New York City in 2006, and crashed on my friend's living room couch, he was paying $1500 per month for rent. Designer shoes on fifth avenue cost about $500 back then, Carrie also mentioned she often bought things on sale. Instead of criticizing Carrie's speeding habits, I am more outraged at how everything got so expensive and unattainable for average people in less than 20 years.
If this is true then that makes it even worse... she had less than a thousand in her savings and not quite 800 in her checking. If she was making 6 figures then she literally is the most irresponsible person in NY when it comes to money...and she was in her 30s! At least have a 3 month emergency fund. But it worked out for her. She married rich and had great friends that bailed her out
It doesn't really matter in her case, 3 month emergency fund would barely make a dent in the $40000 down payment needed. Low six fingers don't go very far in New York City. Carrie wasn't financially savvy, but I would call her irresponsible. Irresponsible literally means refusing to take responsibility, she paid taxes and all her bills, how can that be irresponsible? She just didn't have enough money saved for ex boyfriend's malicious eviction. Do you have $40000 laying around in your account? She should have kept Aidan's engagement ring or taken money from Big, but she was too proud and not very practical.
@@junxu4438 a 3 month emergency should be standard to have for anyone. Carrie was absolutely irresponsible. She didnt have money to pay for tomatoes so she put it on a credit card. Aiden wasn't malicious. That was a business decision. They weren't married. Miranda said herself that everything in the contract was standard. Carrie had no assets and she was not willing to sell her shoes or clothes to get the down payment. She crapped on her friend Charlotte because she didnt offer her the money who ended up giving it to her anyways. So she was bailed out by her rich friend. Paying taxes is a requirement and you can go to jail or pay penalties if u dont...and yes I do have more than $40k sitting in an account and Ive never made 6 figures. In my 30s... I just dont feel the need to spend thousands on clothes, shoes, eating out, partying or cigarettes.
@@junxu4438you should be in a situation for a loan even if you don't have 40000 in an account. That's what people find strange about Carrie. Not not having 40000 but not having any assets to loan ....smh
People thinking Carrie was financially responsible without any savings or assets are DELULU 😅
I'm into handbags, and while I personally don't own any $4,000 or $6,000 bags, many women went crazy for the purple sequin Fendi baguette that gets stolen from Carrie in one episode. That bag kept selling out and has earned kind of a cult status because of Sex and the City, even though a bag that's several thousands of dollars is/should be unaffordable to the vast majority of people watching this show. But the show sold a dream lifestyle that many viewers bought into, both figuratively and literally.
My cousin who married a real life Mr. Big and was a interior designer in LA is a Louis Vuitton girl and she got me into buying LV. $5000 bags are not an investment. I had to learn that the hard way.
@@dimplesd8931 I don't even know how that myth got shared around. Of course a bag would only decrease in value.
Only hermes bags increase and only if you dont use him. Why would you buy a bag that expensive to just sit in a box somewhere. It also super regular looking tbh.
I watched this sitcom since I was a little girl. I watched it over and over. Never have I thought of buying expensive shoes or bags. I guess I focused more of the relationship and humor part of the movie than what they were wearing 😂
Michael Scott: I declare BANKRUPCY!
Bankruptcy ;)
The more I learn about Sex and the City, the more relieved I am that I never watched this show when I was younger.
I remember having to basically fight to avoid watching it, and even being force-gifted the series one christmas (by cousins who are now not doing so hot financially 😅)
Me too!
This show seem to have damaged a whole generation
I never took it super seriously, but I did watch it from my late 20s on. It's fun to revisit it occasionally, and wild to see how younger people react to it.
It's not that serious lol
Molly from the show "Insecure" would be a good character to audit. She's a lawyer living in L.A. with a bestie who is not in the same tax bracket as her.
I was thinking similarly about Rachel Zane from “Suits” and how far a paralegal salary might really go in New York, especially in a workplace that’s got a certain unspoken expectation about clothing being high end.
Yesssss
@michellew.1489 , Rachel came from a very wealthy family. Here father is a big lawyer in NY .
Yes, Molly has to often leave Issa out or fit the bill for her….
@@vutsereteli she’s very secretive about that in the early seasons, so there’s definitely an implication there that she’s trying to go it on her own
Anyone else think she wanted to be with Mr. Big so badly because he was so rich? I'd love to see you do an audit on each Friends character.
It was her main goal. She ended up with an incredibly rich artist before Big, but Big was richer. Carrie, to me, was a very smart gold digger and wouldn’t stop for a man at her own bracket. Heck, even Aidan had more ways to make means meet the ends
Yes to the Friends characters!
I did some googling for Chandlers job and it’s safe to say he was probably making six figures by Season 3.
yes, and on "Just like that" we can see that she won in that regard. After Big's death, she became even richer, having all of Big's wealth just for herself. Now with Big out of the picture and being extremely wealthy, she could finally go on with Aidan
I'm not surprised since he basically supported himself and Joey for most of the seasons@@gkdair1413
Would love to see more character audits! I remember always feeling vicarious discomfort with Carrie’s budget and shopping 😅
Unfortunately, too often there’s the rationalizing that dressing designer will catch the eye of a rich man and that’s your retirement plan, which worked out for fictional Carrie but not even real-life Candace (the latter relied on her own work). In fact, the rich guys are worried about the future, too, and therefore also looking to marry connections and/or money. Better not spend too much on overpriced designer goods for that purpose.
It’s also sadly appropriate that a sharp show about sex and relationships got taken over and turned into a paid-for informercial for designer brands and bursting closets, as part of America’s habit of subsuming basic human needs into products to be bought.
One line I loved about real life Big was when he told Candace “you are too old to behave like this!” Basically calling her too immature.
I was a writer for a very short period of time. I was working for my local newspaper while freelancing for online publications. I was making around $1,500 to $2,000 a month. Not livable whatsoever. Glad I changed careers but still miss it.
That's good to know as I've been told to quit my job and become a writer.
Working as a writer is tough! But what I don't get with Carrie is how she makes that with just *one* column at one publication. Before the great break up with Aidan she *at most* works 5 hours a week. Feel like maybe she wouldn't have needed her lifestyle if she ground out more content for different places. And she really could have incorporated them together if she had really wanted to.
But seriously: lots of respect for the multiple gigs thing. I couldn't do it.
@@Lonovavir if you get into technical writing that’s a different story. They pay you the big bucks for that!
@@Lonovavir we will always need writers:) I think with any creative field, the work will be there for those who are willing to do it, but it is not easy!
I wouldn’t change it for the world. I don’t like missing.
I’m 44. This show began airing in 1998 when I was a freshman in college and it ended a year after I graduated. It influenced young women in ways I cannot count; personal friends and total strangers alike. One of the negative influences it had was exactly this kind of totally unrealistic depiction of living in an expensive city well beyond your actual financial means. It sent a message that “this is the life you should have when you are this age” and yet - as we always said back then: there is no way this woman can live this lifestyle and be a freelance columnist - or even a well-paid staff columnist at an upscale magazine. The irony is that in our current culture it’s only gotten worse - now we have “influencers” (of which you could say Carrie was a prototype) who lead equally silly lives that their followers think is achievable. Perhaps for a handful yes but for most it will never be - many of these folks are living far beyond their means and flaunting a falsified life online full of curated and highly edited photos and a few brand punches. It’s sad not to have everything you want when you want it - but it’s wonderful to have exactly what you want when you need it the most. Indulge a little bit but keep your expectations realistic and stop worrying about how others perceive you. Time-old advice that hasn’t changed in 200 years.
Thank you so much for saying this🙌🏾
The financial aspect is only one issue I have with the show. It is beyond ridiculous that all 4 of these 'full time' professional women can ALWAYS get together for lunch, shopping, working out, going to clubs, and the list goes on and on. You really need to suspend disbelief when you watch this show !
Okay to be fair, the only one who we can't write an excuse for is Miranda, who later in the show DID have a huge issue with time, but Charlotte works in a gallery which is pretty standard 8 hour shift, maybe even less, depending on the opening hours, and Samantha would certainly be able to move things around and adjust her schedule to her own needs.
Pretty realistic in NYC
This is something I will defend the show on. We see a limited amount of their lives. Just because it feels they do this all the time, if we assume this was a reality tv show (and not a scripted one but more documentary) the cameras would only be there when the main group was together and when they were doing something interesting. The episodes don’t cover that big percentage of the year. They could be working and seeing family and other friends and cooking and working out etc. when they aren’t the focus.
Although we know Carrie doesn’t cook.
@@lulupomegranateI do think Samantha and Carrie probably had the most wiggle room in regards to their schedules. Sam was pretty senior at her company and “work lunches” seemed common for the time. Carrie is a writer and probably creates her work schedule. Later on Charlotte is a stay at home mom who probably does charity work so her schedule was also a lot more flexible in later seasons.
I think it’a possible. In the show, before Miranda moves to a different side of town, it seems like all of the characters live/work in close proximity to each other. Pair that with a city that overall is meant to be walkable and generally easy to navigate transportation wise, nobody has kids up until the the latter seasons, and pretty much everyone has high paying jobs except for Carrie - VERY believable actually. You make time for the things you want, and they were all the loves of each other’s lives so they made it work.
i like the character financial audit idea! u can do lorelai gilmore, especially early seasons, bc it makes no sense how much they eat out and gilmore girls is hella popular.
I think the eating out is actually not that weird. Wasn't it established they order a bunch and then live from leftovers the following days? Since Lorelei doesn't cook, their actual grocery bill would be minimal, so their food budget would be just mildly higher than a normal one.
Also it is a small town and prices of takeout were most likely lesser than that of a big city.
“Friends” is also pretty unrealistic even for back then
At least they had an excuse, apparently they were circumventing the law a bit and having the apartment in an elderly aunt's bame or something
I think people get mad about Friends because of Monica's apartment, but otherwise, I thought Friends money issues were super realistic. There was even an episode where Joey, Phoebe, and Rachel were annoyed by Ross, Monica and Chandler for always expecting them to spend a lot of money going out. Monica's apartment was handed down to her by her grandmother, and it was rent controlled.
Was always funny to me that Monica, a fine dining chef (who routinely put in 80 hour weeks), was hanging out at a coffeeshop all day, every day. The only believable characters were Ross and Chandler who had real jobs and apartments appropriate for them.
Friends financial situation seemed more realistic. The only unrealistic bit was Monica’s work ethic, she was always hanging out with her friends, even though she was a chef
Yeah even with the rent controlled apartment that place which I don't think applied to Chandler and Joey's place. There's a time when Monica is well off as a chef which can't possibly be true in Manhattan. She also then is later unemployed and they yada yada over how they paid rent.
I need a breakdown!
$ hair (obviously not a natural blonde)
$ cigarettes
$ bags and jewelry
$ shoe
$ clothes
$ apartment
& food
& drinks (bar hopping)
$ taxi (transportation)
Yes! Did she have health insurance? Freelance writer means self employment, higher taxes and out of pocket health insurance plan. We know she had a gynecologist from when the IUD got stuck
Extensions
Yes!!! This video was a disappointment, I was hoping for the breakdown
Cureently doing my internship at a psychiatric hospital, Carrie Bradshaw would make a textbook patient in my ward. Functioning adult with uncontrolled impulse manifesting in a shopping addiction
Yeah okay... No one is sent to the mental hospital for a shopping problem lol
well actually i had a couple patients with shopping problems as one of the admittance reason
😂
It can be a side effect of certain medications...
No she won’t
I honestly have never even seen Sex and the City but I really appreciate this type of content. I moved to NYC as a college student and then stayed after graduating. It was really easy to fall into the trap of comparing myself to influencers who had glamorous lifestyles. I couldn’t afford a nice Pilates gym membership or going out to eat all the time. I couldn’t go to these massive concerts and go luxury shopping in SoHo. My rent is still a huge portion of my income and saving is really difficult. But I had to adjust my expectations and just remind myself that it’s not fair to compare yourself to people who (often) have financial backing, whether through family or brand deals or whatever, to live extravagantly. And, most importantly, you don’t have to live like this to have a really amazing life in NYC! I’ve been here 3 years and have hailed a cab only 3-4 times. Most of my clothes I buy secondhand. My apartment is tiny (this is difficult to live with, I gotta admit). Things can get stressful but it’s still worth it!
In terms of income, shouldn't we take her book royalties into account?
Please do Emily from Emily in Paris!
Ugh that horrible show!
Second this!
she really spent all her money as she got it, then got lucky she sold books and got married to rich big. i'm a journalist like her and i wish i could spend so much lol grew up watching her and idealizing things. as for another similar story journalist, becky bloom might be a good character for this! fits very
At least that movie, as silly as it is, is more realistic about financial stability and how connected to emotions the whole thing is.
@@bigsistahtipsyes, and the books are even better at showing a realistic look at what the consequences are from making the financial decisions Becky makes- at least in the first few- honestly after she married Luke bankruptcy sort of stopped being a realistic risk for her- but still they’re pretty good 😊
I am so happy you're talking about SATC, it takes me back to a time when society was better. The world was better. Worse, but better.
Carrie's toes have gotta be pretty gnarly looking by now with all those pointy heels
I had to get surgery on both my feet because of my pointy toed stilettos.
And she WALKS all over the city in them, I can count on one hand her having on flats. She painted in platforms 🤦🏽♀️
Apparently SJP's foot actually grew a random bone because of all the high heels. Her feet literally molded into appendages deformed from wearing heels.... ouch!
😂
i like this fictional financial audit, it's not causing harm to anyone and it's helpful to learn from, i hope you do more of them from more shows, maybe friends etc!
thank you so much, glad you liked it and found it helpful ☺️
would love more character financial audits! Friends, Brooklyn 99, The Office and Parks and Rec characters would be fun ! (some might be good examples... or examples of how just saving isn't always good either and we should also invest in ourselves)
don’t forget she had a *rent controlled apartment* in one of the most expensive cities in the world!! that’s super important.
But in the show they say that she lives in a cheaper and kinda dangerous place of manhattan, maybe that is why it is cheaper
@@sofiaa5255Greenwich village ...is dangerous 😅whaaat
@AlexusWatkins-ep5lfexactly. 😂😂😂this made me chuckle. Greenwich village is dangerous...lol maybe whole world is tbh but no comparatively
Great video! This would be an awesome series for the semi-regular. And great timing, too, as there's been a surge of buzz painting the 90s as this time of Glorious Economic Prosperity. I was a tiny little thing at the time, so I checked in with my mom. She reminded me that the 90s had a driving mentality of "A dollar saved is more than a dollar earned [because taxes]". At least for women in the rural and less densely populated areas. Amy Dacyczyn's "The Tightwad Gazette" was everywhere and is still really practical ~30 years later.
This is such a cool concept Cara! I’m so excited for this series!
I can relate shopping as an emotional activity.
Last month I was under SOOO much stress and the only thing that made me 100% happy was buying an expensive bag.
In my defense I do have more than 6 months of savings for an emergency and I'm about to sign the contract to buy my own apartment this month.
She was literally the first “socialite” and it’s a great example that they were broke! Yes Carrie loved fashion and had the best closet, but she wasn’t really “gifted” those things… she spent outside her means, and hence her apartment, and unpaid bills were a reflection of that! When Aden was on the show, she had so many repairs that needed to take priority over clothes! I love this!
Financial audits of fictional characters are awesome! Is love to see the characters on Gilmore girls, Buffy the vampire Slayer, Beverly Hills 90210, Angel, The OC, Gossip Girl, Riverdale
Lorelei Gilmore!!
This is my vote as well. No way she could afford a house in Connecticut 🤦🏼♀️
Yep. I still cannot understand how she managed to raise her kid being an underage mom
I never really got into the sex and the city or friends trend at the time, even though I was studying to go into fashion then. It was very boring to me, and the banality of the elite (or fake elite) all-white, 30-somethings that always had a problem they themselves made, just seemed exhausting to me. Give me Law and Order and some anime so I can think like an actual functioning adult or detach and have fun over that any day!
P.S. Would definitely like more character financial audits, particularly ones like kdramas or some of the 90s shows where the "poor" Cinderella character lives in the main city in a $4K+ a month walk-up 🤦🏾♀️.
I loved this show during my 20’s . I loved clothes and shoes 👠 BUT I was a saver too. 401k , saving bonds ( didn’t understand the stock market snd my mom said she saved this way ) and saving accounts. When I found out that single, no kids, and not property owner, I paid lots in taxes, I moved home and saved all my income $$$, quit buying clothes/shoes, and commuted 100 miles daily for 18 months to buy my 1st apartment building with my parents!!!😂😂😂😂❤❤❤❤
Definitely would love to see one about Lorelai and Rory from Gilmore girls! Especially Lorelei since we know Rory wasn’t afraid to take money from her grandparents, but Lorelei would have never been able to afford a house in Connecticut as an innkeeper 😂🤦🏼♀️ when I worked at ESPN in CT i only made $17 an hour and that was with a college degree & all i could afford was a one bedroom apartment lol. Salaries in CT are so low and their housing is some of the most expensive.
The only thing I would defend carrie about is how she's not actually a shopper but a collector. The scene where she berates aiden because his dog ate a limited item shoe is really eye opening. She knows every item in her closet, takes really good care of them etc. I would say she's a fashion collector and not just a shopper.
I love your answer! My favorites were the shoes she had on when Miranda broke her water all over them. Did you ever see the SJP shoe line? I saw them in a mall in Maryland, USA. They are all at least $400 each.
I have a good shoe story that you might enjoy... I have these burgundy pumps, no big fashion name, but they are just really cool. I wore them when I interviewed a model I highly admired, who has since passed. She liked my shoes so much, she reached down and touched them. The shoes are now old and beat up, but I won't throw them out because of that special moment. My husband put them on display in one of our extra rooms upstairs.
You mean a hoarder, right?
@@bigsistahtips Collecting doesn't always equate to hoarding. There's a lot of people who collect. There's a big difference between a hobby and hoarding. I am a collector. I know when to buy something and when I have too much of something or no room for something. Despite my ADD, I have organized everything and know what I have. Everything I own fits neatly in my house that "looks like the mind of an ADD person turned into a museum, but is very chaotic yet neatly organized" according to everyone who has been in my house. I grew up with a horrible hoarder. My mother came from a single teen mother of 2 family who barely got anything and on top of a lot of SA, she dealt with the hate for being poor so she spent our whole life wanting to be a hoarder but never wanting to get help. We had storage units in our yard, our garage, our whole house... everything was just stacked with boxes upon boxes of junk she had no idea of what was in them. I even got hurt trying to move around once, breaking my elbow because of it being so crowded. Even with her and my dad constantly "cleaning up everything and fixing their house" they re-hoard stuff and it's just awful. My house is neatly put together with shelves of collections or posters, dolls, etc. You can move around just fine and live and see everything I own. Carrie's house is the same. My parent's house is not.
Love the character financial audit idea! I’d like to suggest Rory Gilmore and Loreli Gilmore (Gilmore Girls)
Yes would love to see similar content - I appreciate that you kept this light hearted but informative. I feel like a lot of commentators take SATC far too seriously when its just escapist tv. It was interesting you also mentioned the emotional side to Carrie’s financial situation and she could improve. Great stuff 👍
This was more an ad for the company sponsoring the video. The audit wasn't even finished properly, ie the punchline: in an average month/year, Carrie earns circa X and spends circa Y, having factored in every kind of expenditure. Therefore she somehow lives with an ongoing shortfall of Z per month.
But somehow you managed to get in all relevant details regarding the sponsor.
Exactly especially with the amount of ads in this vid lol I will not be watching anymore of this nonsense
This is how I felt too!!
LOVE your sweater! As a crocheter, when we spot something so adorable like that, we have to comment!
Great video! Yes to more of these, please! I especially like that you credited The Financial Diet. I recently watched that and it immediately came to mind.
Keep'em coming (you know, at the pace that works best for you)!
I always felt kinda left out because I was the only one in my group of girl friends that hated Sex in the City. I always felt the characters in the show were materialistic mean girls. I just never understood why people loved it so much.
I think part of the appeal of this show was the way they treated men and sex and sexuality. Some of the stories were never done on tv before. That’s why it first aired on HBO and had an R rating.
It's some of the characters, like Miranda and her "you ever think he's just not that into you" rant among a few other things done way before everyone else. Plus is was just a silly fantasy show. My sisters and I loved it for the cheesiness despite the whole sex and shopping thing; this coming from kids who had to rely on Goodwill to get clothes and my own self who is Asexual. If you don't take it too seriously it can be a fun show.
I love the character financial audits!! It's fun and engaging!!!!!
I guess it's not an specific character but the main cast of F•R•I•E•N•D•S
Somehow, I stumbled across this video in the big TH-cam rabbit hole. Loved it, and hope that more character audits from various shows will be made! x
glad you stumbled across my video, and so glad to hear you liked it! definitely will be doing more character audits soon 😄
This was soooo good. I sent it to a few friends. Keep going!
thank you ❤️☺️
This is so fun! I would love to see any or all characters from Friends or How I Met Your Mother.
I think financial freedom sounds super fun, not boring at all! Thank you for your channel, its a gem ❤
Shoulda left the first line as 'Carrie Bradshaw, it's fair to say, is not great'. Perfect opening line!
A similar deep dive was done on the Frasier show showing how unrealistic his lifestyle was on a salary of a radio personality. TV shows are escapism, so it’s always over the top. I would say you can do a few of these, it helps show how you shouldn’t emulate these characters.
I always assumed Frasier was basically retired and doing his radio show to keep busy. It seemed like he had made his wealth with his medical practice in Boston during the Cheers era.
I NEED MORE OF THESE! i loved this format 💕
Carrie Bradshaw was morally bankrupt on all levels: responsibility, friendship, integrity, honesty, sexual relations, and of course finances. My aunt was a psychologist, and she would watch the show from time to time to see how the characters evolved. She always said Carrie Bradshaw was a leech----a woman who could suck the air out of a room, the life out of every party, and money out of every man who was stupid enough to have a relationship with her.
Such a refreshing review of "Carrie's lifestyle". Too many videos just criticize her spending as if it was real life matter, without bothering to point out that it's all fictional. Your point/conclusion at 10:17 is great!❤
I need you to do more characters 🙏🏼🙏🏼this was so educational 🤗🤗
“I really think that financial freedom can be cool and glamorous”. 👏👏👏👏👏
DEF more like this
AND, a practical video about investing in an advanced degree (masters) which is likely to land you in a low-paying job (teacher or social worker)
I deeply regret getting my Masters in Counseling. Student loan payments too high payed on time for 10 years and my balance increased because of the interest. The pay sucks balls ☹️
I am a social worker. The pay sucks!
Also, this video is a reminder of the money that is spent marketing to the audience. I remember seeing the new Chevrolet Camaro in transformers and other new or trends being subliminally marketed in other movies. When you look at the credits of shows and movies. You can see which companies were providing the wardrobes. This is not an accident either. Surprise surprise we're being marketed to again
This was so good! Totally loved that show growing up and several years later, still dreaming of the day I can buy just one nice pair of shoes... 😂 but bills get paid first so there is no money for that 😂 Thank you for this very enjoyable video!
I love that you mention the financial advisor bit. I inherited some money and wanted to make sure that I was handling the money responsibly. My advisor convinced me to have her manage my stocks, in which she then took percentages. I recently set a boundary with her to where she can help me with my taxes and meeting, but I will only be paying a flat rate. Felt good to do that
love that!!
I saw a financial view on sense and sensibility. Now this. The financial perspective was always more interesting than the show itself.
I didn’t grow up watching this show so now when I hear the sentence “400 dollars on one pair of shoes” Im LITERALLY clutching my pearls 💀 😭😂
Let’s not forget she would’ve been a millionaire if ‘Little Cathy and her Magic Cigarettes’ ever became published.😂
love this bc it links pop culture and education! could you do the characters from friends or new girl??
I was probably watching this much younger than I should have been- but, I digress; I recall one scene, where a guy apparently 'mistook' her for an escort- & left her an envelope full of cash, & I had the stray thought that perhaps she let more than one guy do that...
She may as well get paid for it! She obviously needs the money!
Ok. As an almost 40 year old who’s only just got her first designer bags (on sale and one was gifted and half price), I needed this.
I was around 17 years old when I heard for the first time Carry saying that she would buy a magazine instead of food because it would feed her more. I was like 👁️👄👁️ girl what?! Even my teenage self knew that was a terrible idea
Carrie lived paycheck to paycheck in an industry that was on the cusp of internet-triggered collapse. Her spending habits on her ample “sex columnist” salary was truly the last hurrah of the golden age of newspapers and magazines. Her spending only became realistic if her published book became a huge bestseller. (Did that book become a bestseller? The success of Carrie’s book is so peripheral to the show’s plot I honestly forgot.)
This is such a great concept! An obvious choice for this (if it becomes a series) would be any of the characters from Girls.
I would love to see this one too!
Great analysis! I think you missed all the dining and clubbing expenses.
Love the concept! Would love to see audits from Parks and Rec, the Simpsons, & more
I would love to see you financially audit messy It girl, Serena Van Der Woodsen or maybe not so responsible Blair Waldorf
I sold shoes to put myself through college, and the things that used to make shoes expensive back in the 1970s were high-quality elements such as French stitching and very good Italian leather. In the 1980s, we started seeing all kinds of clothing become expensive simply because of its designer name. The shoes, for example, didn't really look that much different from less expensive shoes. Designer brands did and still do use semi-slave labor, so the quality wasn't great, either. People bought them for the name, as in Sex and the City, but if you really look at the shoe designs on that show, they were pretty boring, unlike a designer dress, coat, or cape would be.
This is probably why Carrie put up with Big. He never treated her properly and she always went back to him because he had money.😩💰
She wasn't above the money thing, but I'm pretty sure she always went back to Big because of insecurity and daddy issues. If she just wanted to live off a rich old man, she could have stayed in Paris with the Russian LOL
Never seen the show but I remember when it was popular. Very cool concept for a video. The clips of the show reminded me that it was not my cup of tea but once you came back the video was good again. Admittedly I'm a millennial. I think it's a great concept because some social norms are perpetuated via shows like this so challenging the idea that these protagonists are making good decisions is a good reminder that money is not infinite. Because of the fictional nature, they are immune to any material repercussions of poor decision making. Highlighting when something is clearly impossible is something that some people would need to see. However, I think the generation that watched this is already dealing with the ramifications of living beyond their means. Perhaps a newer show that is using current dollar values would hit a sweet spot. Years ago I saw someone do this with The Simpsons. Would be cool to see you do that.
First time watching videos of this channel but I really liked it, love how important concepts of personal finance are introduced and explained in relation to the characters but 100% understandable to and applicable to one's life
Carries character luxury spending is unrealistic, but 60k was a pretty good salary for one person in the early 2000s. Plus, before publishing/journalism went bust, it was considered a pretty glamorous industry with a lot of free perks (free meals/trips/products much like how you see influencer pr in this day and age). What is crazy though is despite more than 20 years has gone by since the show, medium salaries haven’t changed that much but housing, food, clothing prices have increased significantly especially in nyc.
Well in just like that, we see Carrie doesn’t have to work anymore because Big died. She works because she wants to.
As a girl thats trying to be independent and learning to finance, this is incredibly helpful so thanks a lot!!
I love this format. I would like to see a financial analysis of Sponge Bob or Penny from Big Bang Theory
I just read the title and said, out loud, "yaaaassssss!" So ya, I'd love more of these! They touch on it, but I'd be interested in a breakdown of Jake Peralta's finances in Brooklyn 99 to see how bag it really is 😅 I guess I'm just curious about what it's like to live in NY period.
I love Carrie and it seems I’m the only one 😂
I’m very glad to say I’m not emotionally attached to status and material things 😅 I’ve been a student for years so I can’t afford to be.
Btw, Carrie had a serious smoking habit and drank a lot of cocktails. I know Australia taxes both of those things extremely heavily but they still wouldn’t be cheap in the US.
I always thought a lot of her lifestyle was 'comped' too, Samantha being in PR, she invited Carrie to a lot of functions where she could network and meet a lot of influential people
I was living in NYC, in my 20s, when sex and the city aired, and it was fun to watch their fictionalized escapades. Sometimes they’d tape near my street, and it was super cool to walk by their trailers. I never felt duped or influenced from the show, it was fun entertainment! The guy that Miranda thought she was flirting with in her window, he lived in my building! Living in nyc in the late 90s was awesome, and getting together with friends to watch sex and the city was inexplicably special. If you know, you know.
Samesies! I worked as a fashion designer in the 90s and was 10 yrs younger than the cast when it aired. My friends and I lived in Williamsburg and would watch the show Sunday nights together it was so much fun!
I watched the first season of SATC but stopped when I realized my friends and I were living that same life, not in NYC, but our lives weren’t as fun or messy, thank goodness, but very expensive. We are all now in out 50’s and still trying to disentangle ourselves from buying based on logos and labels. SATC kicked off a arms race of luxury goods in a generation of women. The silver lining is I still wear my Manolo’s, J.Cho’s and Louboutins etc. But I also got a good financial advisor so I’m not “Fendi” homeless or in debt.
Loved the analysis
You should have showed the scene where she said she just had to charge tomatoes on a credit card!
Definitely indicates she probably was dealing with debt
I think you should do more of these! Definitely enjoyed it as someone why trying to create better money management habits.
yay I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed the video! another one is coming very soon :)
To be honest, I wouldn’t give Carrie any advice. Let her deal with the consequences of her actions. Being broke is the only thing that would actually get through her thick head.
Okay.. so I wasn't subscribed before.. but I am now and I love this format. I hope there is coming more of it in the future 😃
THANK YOU! I have wondered about this for years!
Candice Bushnell actually spoke a little about this and said she was making like 10k a month in the 90s as a writer. Her column in Vogue alone was paying her 5k a month, which for 30 plus years ago was a lot, even in NYC. Writing gigs don't pay like that anymore, even at major publications.