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S01.E18: TV Money

chitowngirl

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SoMuchTV

SoMuchTV

2 minutes ago, Katy M said:

Kind of a boring episode.  yes, they should be paying rent, or if not actually paying a set amount of rent, help out with some bills or buying groceries.

Well to be fair, do we know if Connor is paying rent?

I thought they might do the thing of taking the rent checks and putting them in an account to give them when they move out, but that would be too easy…

But again, unless we find out Connor has been paying rent all these years, I not sure we can call out Mandy and her husband (who’s been shown to be contributing to the home maintenance) and their grandchild as being any worse. And really, don’t the parents have some role in setting the conditions when adult children move back in (or never leave)?

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Katy M

Katy M

Just now, SoMuchTV said:

But again, unless we find out Connor has been paying rent all these years, I not sure we can call out Mandy and her husband (who’s been shown to be contributing to the home maintenance) and their grandchild as being any worse. And really, don’t the parents have some role in setting the conditions when adult children move back in (or never leave)?

I'm not really calling her out.  Connor should be helping, too, which I imagine he is not.

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possibilities

possibilities

I'm okay with them not paying rent if the parents don't want or need them to. But I thought it was really obnoxious that Mandy wanted to have her spa day and didn't even consider showing any appreciation for her parents, and she thinks she's more burdened than anybody sels and so deserves it more, or maybe she doesn't think about it, she's just irresponsible with money and very self-absorbed.

I think Georgie's idea to cook dinner for them was at least thinking in the right direction, though if they aren't even doing anything like that on the regular, I'm pissed at both of them.

This episode has me seeing that Mandy is a spoiled child, which kind of makes her relationship with Georgie-- whos's not spoiled, but he is insanely young for her-- make more sense.

 

 

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MollyMelrose

MollyMelrose

The more the episode became a Mandy bash-fest, the more I enjoyed it. :)

Even though it led to Mandy's winning encounter with Raoul and Jim needing a Valuable Life Lesson.

The gradual morphing of bitchy tight-ass Audrey into snarky smart-ass Audrey has been a much needed and delightful character adjustment.

Connor and Chloe ... there's magic in awkwardness!

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proserpina65

proserpina65

I was with Jim on this one.  I get that taking care of a child all day and working at night is really tough, and I understand needing time for yourself now and then, but spending your bonus paycheck on an expensive spa day when you're living rent-free with your parents, eating their food and have massive credit card debt is out of line.

14 hours ago, Katy M said:

Kind of a boring episode.  yes, they should be paying rent, or if not actually paying a set amount of rent, help out with some bills or buying groceries.

I didn't think it was boring, but yeah, they should at least be contributing some money to the household expenses.  And so should Connor if he isn't already.

At least Georgie is contributing in some ways, such as helping around the house.

53 minutes ago, MollyMelrose said:

The gradual morphing of bitchy tight-ass Audrey into snarky smart-ass Audrey has been a much needed and delightful character adjustment.

Yeah, the slow evolution of her character has been so beneficial to the show overall.

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Dimity

Dimity

28 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

And so should Connor if he isn't already.

I haven't seen this episode yet so maybe this is explained - but do they ever talk about whether Connor has any source of income?  It always seems that he doesn't work, yet as others have pointed out his room is filled with expensive stuff.  Have his parents been funding all that?

 

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StaceyNotStacie

StaceyNotStacie

The longer this series goes, I’m finding I like Audrey more than Jim.   Outside of him being mad about Mandy using the paycheck for a spa day instead of paying down the credit card debt, he’s becoming a bit insufferable.  
 

Unless I missed something last week, was anyone aware that Connor’s girlfriend was camping out in Connor’s room?  You’d think his parents would ask why he was taking so much food with him.  

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

24 minutes ago, StaceyNotStacie said:

Unless I missed something last week, was anyone aware that Connor’s girlfriend was camping out in Connor’s room?  You’d think his parents would ask why he was taking so much food with him.  

Jim did ask. Likely this will be revisited soon.

Connor and what's-her-name's scenes were too much of a cringe-fest of awkward lines awkwardly delivered.
Maybe the writers et al. don't spend as much time on their scenes?
Where's this going? 
Are they going to be rich and famous musicians? 
Or is she going to get pregnant and add another tiny* tax deduction to the family?

*pun intended

AD35

AD35

(edited)
15 hours ago, Katy M said:

I'm not really calling her out.  Connor should be helping, too, which I imagine he is not.

As far as household chores go, Jim did asked him about doing some and why he hasn't before. Connor mentioned that no one asked him to. So that might imply that he doesn't pay rent either because Audrey and Jim never asked him to. As far as the income itself, I don't recall the show actually mentioned what Connor did to earn any. There was that ep that had him (sort of) working as a waiter when he went with Georgie and Jim on their road trip. So he seems capable of working somewhere. it's just never been established where or with whom or for how long.

Edited by AD35
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possibilities

possibilities

(edited)

She wasn't camping out there until this episode. They told us this week that she's been sleeping on the couch of a friend, until she asked Connor for a few days at his place this episode. 

I do suspect she will stay longer, and this will be discovered soon, and lead to more conflict.

What I don't know is how it will be any different than what they showed us this week: the kid and partner living for free on parental largesse. Jim will definitely not like it, and I don't blame him. Mom will be conflicted because she likes having Connor as her helpless baby but she will have trouble with her baby having a sex life. The girlfriend does have a job, but I bet it doesn't pay well enough to afford housing-- a lot of jobs don't these days. I'm not sure what the housing marekt was like in the 1990s when the show is set, but around here, being unable to afford rent (or find anything not already rented to someone else) is pretty common, even for the most responsible people. So I am not guessing how the show will handle it. But it does seem like it hits on a similar theme to thiss week's episode, with just a different offspring in focus.

 

 

Edited by possibilities
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Dimity

Dimity

I really liked this episode.  I think my favourite moment was when Audrey said she hoped Ceecee would grow up to appreciate Mandy in the same way that Mandy appreciates Audrey.  Good one, Audrey!

I also liked that while I did sympathize with Jim and totally agree that he should not be housing and feeding his adult children at this stage in their lives it was also nice that Audrey turned things around and showed him exactly why Mandy felt that she needed a little break. 

Yes she should be responsible with her money but she's working two jobs and has a small child, it's not like she's, oh, for example, living above her parents garage making music and doing pretty much nothing else!

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shura

shura

7 hours ago, Dimity said:

I also liked that while I did sympathize with Jim and totally agree that he should not be housing and feeding his adult children at this stage in their lives it was also nice that Audrey turned things around and showed him exactly why Mandy felt that she needed a little break.

Well, it’s not like she gets no breaks even if she is spending everything she earns from her two jobs to pay down her debt and take care of Ceecee.  Being housed and fed without contributing anything is her little break.  At the very least don’t act all entitled to spend your first decent paycheck on a spa day.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

28 minutes ago, shura said:

Well, it’s not like she gets no breaks even if she is spending everything she earns from her two jobs to pay down her debt and take care of Ceecee.  Being housed and fed without contributing anything is her little break.  At the very least don’t act all entitled to spend your first decent paycheck on a spa day.

"Spa day" is a kind of break she's not getting.

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Chit Chat

Chit Chat

1 hour ago, Dimity said:

Why does everyone assume it was her whole paycheque? Did they say that at some point?

She was showing her check to Georgie and her mom & dad, but they didn't do a close up of it.  If Mandy hadn't made a point of proclaiming "spa day," and just went and did it without them knowing, it wouldn't have been a big deal.  It's a bad look when everyone knows that you've got a huge amount of credit card debt and then throw it in their faces that you're going to spend your money frivolously.  Not that she doesn't deserve to be pampered, but she shouldn't complain about owing money and having to live with her parents if she doesn't tighten up on the finances.  

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possibilities

possibilities

We have seen that Georgie does childcare, too. And so does Audrey. Mandy is not some single mother who needs a break, or even a full time parent who has to do all the childcare and never gets a break. She has an active coparent, two grandmothers who want to share the childcaring to the point that they jockey for the right to do it more, and she reacted angrily wqhen Georgie even gently suiggested they cook one meal for her parents who house them rent free.

I agree that stay at home moms and working parents need time off. But I don't think this show made even the tiniest of cases to demonstrate that Mandy is actually in the position she claims she is in, where she never gets a break and nobody appreciates her and she has nobody else to thank or who needs pampering or appreciation.

If they wanted to make that case, I just think they did the worst possible way of doing it, and actually they did the opposite.

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nora1992

nora1992

2 hours ago, shura said:

Well, it’s not like she gets no breaks even if she is spending everything she earns from her two jobs to pay down her debt and take care of Ceecee.  Being housed and fed without contributing anything is her little break.  At the very least don’t act all entitled to spend your first decent paycheck on a spa day.

Thank you!  There are those who fear debt (that’s me) and those who are way too comfortable with it.  If I were in Mandy’s position, I’d not only pay down my debt with the money, but I’d sell the diamond earrings (which was an even worse financial move (where was Jim’s indignation at that?)) and look to take up more hours at the diner.  This may sound overdramatic to those who are comfortable with debt, but interest will take more of a toll than a spa day can offer in respite.  To me, it boggles the mind to spend tomorrow’s income on last week’s comforts.  That is the most vicious cycle I can imagine.

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Dimity

Dimity

I think I Mandy has been spoiled by both parents, but especially by Jim and she also sees her 26 yr old brother living in what is basically a private apartment rent free with meals included.

 She is paying her credit card debt, that's why she took the job at the diner. Where she isn't sitting comfortably behind a desk. I've worked jobs like that, and it's exhausting.

 

 

 

 

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nora1992

nora1992

8 minutes ago, Dimity said:

I think I Mandy has been spoiled by both parents, but especially by Jim and she also sees her 26 yr old brother living in what is basically a private apartment rent free with meals included.

 She is paying her credit card debt, that's why she took the job at the diner. Where she isn't sitting comfortably behind a desk. I've worked jobs like that, and it's exhausting.

 

 

 

 

But applying the TV money towards the debt means she could be free from the exhausting job sooner.  Not even one day sooner, but at least weeks - if not months.  One spa day or (at least) one week off a physically demanding job: which is more relaxing? 

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Dimity

Dimity

12 minutes ago, nora1992 said:

But applying the TV money towards the debt means she could be free from the exhausting job sooner.  Not even one day sooner, but at least weeks - if not months.  One spa day or (at least) one week off a physically demanding job: which is more relaxing? 

It was one day not a two week vacation in Paris. Jim overreacted and I liked that Audrey stepped up for Mandy.

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nora1992

nora1992

32 minutes ago, Dimity said:

It was one day not a two week vacation in Paris. Jim overreacted and I liked that Audrey stepped up for Mandy.

If the price of one spa day equals the take home pay of one week of waitressing, how relaxing is it?  When I’ve had to make those choices earlier in life, I didn’t follow Mandy’s example.  I’m still poor, but I have zero debt.  What little money earned is entirely mine: no finance company gets a penny.  I don’t have the knowledge to compare that feeling with a spa day experience, but my stress levels are low.  

Enough “one-day” indulgences mean 2 weeks in Paris will NEVER be an option

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Dimity

Dimity

The other aspect of this episode that I was surprised that I liked was the focus on Conner and his girlfriend.  It was pretty offbeat actually and something that you don't really see too often in a more typical sitcom. 

I guess they're still fine tuning Conner's character and they've added in the "he likes girls and has sex" component but they can't seem to decide where to go with that.  

I mean yay they aren't turning him in a Howard Wolowitz (horny engineer version) and he isn't Sheldon (not interested in sex for most of the run of BBT)  but on the other hand his grudging reaction to his girlfriend suggesting they shower together had me laughing.

Not sure where they're going with this but at least they kept it funny for a change.

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Browncoat

Browncoat

27 minutes ago, nora1992 said:

If the price of one spa day equals the take home pay of one week of waitressing, how relaxing is it?  

The spa day money was the extra TV money, not a week of waitressing money.  Maybe I don't see so much wrong with treating oneself every now and then.  Back in the day, I had a part-time job (fewer than 10 hours/week) in addition to my full-time job, and I used the part-time job money for "fun" things like going to the movie or eating out.  I was and am very fiscally responsible with my full-time job money.

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Dimity

Dimity

47 minutes ago, nora1992 said:

Enough “one-day” indulgences mean 2 weeks in Paris will NEVER be an option

The spa day indulgence was just a vehicle to have Jim get all pouty about Mandy taking what he and Audrey do for them for granted.  It was never about Mandy having credit card debt that she should be paying off it was about her living rent free.  Which was fair of Jim, up to a point.   Jim lost my sympathy when he tried to give Georgie a raise as a way of still not taking rent from them.

 

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shura

shura

I just want to say that spending money on expensive things she felt she deserved is exactly what created all this debt Mandy is working hard to get out of.  It’s fine that she wants to treat herself, but the optics are not great, it simply looks like she keeps doing what created the problem in the first place instead of working harder at solving it.  Especially when she admits that it’s expensive but she is going to do it anyway because she wants to.

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Dimity

Dimity

15 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I thought this was a little dull until the end. I liked Connor and his girlfriend singing. They’re my fave characters. Give them a. Spin-off!  

Maybe I was just in the right mood for this show when I watched it but it is one of the few so far that I really liked.   I think at least one reason is the show really needed to make Audrey more relatable and while in doing that they seem to have made Jim a bit more of a jerk, well, I'll take it.

I'll be interested to see if they keep it up though.  I suspect if they have another episode with Mary we'll be back to vicious Audrey again.

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Yeah No

Yeah No

(edited)
On 4/25/2025 at 11:09 AM, proserpina65 said:

I was with Jim on this one.  I get that taking care of a child all day and working at night is really tough, and I understand needing time for yourself now and then, but spending your bonus paycheck on an expensive spa day when you're living rent-free with your parents, eating their food and have massive credit card debt is out of line.

I would say yeah under different circumstances, but her parents are making that an option for her by giving her so much for free. 

When I was her age I was living independently, working full time and had a part time job at a gas station just to make ends meet. I didn't have the luxury of parents that could put me up to ease my burden such that I had the option of spending a bit of it on a luxury for myself.

And I wasn't raising a child either.

So I think some of the responsibility ultimately falls on her parents for that situation. But as far as I can see she is doing her part here and then some. She didn't have to take the initiative to take on that weathercasting gig. She could have sat on her ass and just lived off her parents and Georgie. But she didn't.

I'm assuming that the waitressing money is going to pay off debt so it's not like she isn't addressing that in other ways. One day at a spa can't possibly cost more than what in today's money - $300-500 dollars tops? They'd pay more than that on childcare in just a few days. And I'm assuming that the "TV money" was pretty good money.

If I were in that situation my husband would have told me I deserved to pamper myself for a day and to go ahead and indulge myself (in fact he watches this show and he said that!). That was "found money" anyway. It would show that he recognized how much I was doing and deserved a break. And he is by far not the type to endorse spending money capriciously either.

I liked it that neither Georgie or Mandy's mom was upset with her for spending that money. That was all Jim. She earned that money fair and square. If her Dad wants to give her a break on room and board that's a gift and he shouldn't act like he begrudges her spending her own money here and there just because of that. Of course if it became the rule instead of the exception I'd feel differently. And it's not like he's handing them money either. He's letting them live in his house, it's not like he's paying their rent.

Jim getting twisted about the expenditure is inconsistent when he's putting them up and paying Georgie more than he probably would ever make anywhere else. He's not exactly showing evidence of expecting his kids to have a "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" mentality so how can he expect that of Mandy in this instance especially when Connor gets pretty much a place of his own and expensive musical equipment quite possibly for free or at least subsidized? And there's little evidence that he does much around the house or contributes in other ways that help justify that arrangement.

 

Edited by Yeah No
Typo.
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Dimity

Dimity

2 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Jim getting twisted about the expenditure is inconsistent when he's putting them up and paying Georgie more than he probably would ever make anywhere else. He's not exactly showing evidence of expecting his kids to have a "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" mentality so how can he expect that of Mandy in this instance especially when Connor gets pretty much a place of his own and expensive musical equipment quite possibly for free or at least subsidized? And there's little evidence that he does much around the house or contributes in other ways that help justify that arrangement.

This.  The episode really wasn't about Mandy and her credit card debt, that was old news that may or may not ever be referenced again, in typical sitcom fashion.  

This episode was about Jim and his relationship with both his children.  

We learn that he spoiled Mandy as a child to a ridiculous degree and we also learn that while he may say he resents them 'taking advantage' of him financially he actually seems to want things to remain that way.  Trying to give Georgie an  undeserved raise that, apparently, is equal to whatever was on that rent cheque Mandy gave him for example.

We also already knew that 26 yr old chronically unemployed Conner is still living at home and being provided with full room and board at no cost.  But now we know that he lives, essentially, in his own private apartment where he can entertain (and feed his parents food to) friends for days at a time without anyone knowing about it.  Sweet deal.

If Mandy doesn't seem as grateful as Jim would like her to be I get jt.  But he has no one to blame for that but himself.

 

Unless this is another one and done type episode I'd strongly suspect we're being set up for something regarding Jim's finances.  Maybe the tire store is failing?  But if so him trying to give Georgie that raise doesn't make sense.

Anyway, what am I doing? Really,  trying to make sense of financial stuff on a sitcom is a waste of time!

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proserpina65

proserpina65

On 4/26/2025 at 10:37 PM, Dimity said:

Yes she should be responsible with her money but she's working two jobs and has a small child,

One job is only once in awhile at this point so wasting that paycheck on a spa day was really irresponsible.

On 4/27/2025 at 12:38 PM, Browncoat said:

The spa day money was the extra TV money, not a week of waitressing money.  Maybe I don't see so much wrong with treating oneself every now and then.  Back in the day, I had a part-time job (fewer than 10 hours/week) in addition to my full-time job, and I used the part-time job money for "fun" things like going to the movie or eating out.  I was and am very fiscally responsible with my full-time job money.

She has massive credit card debts, so using the entire check on a spa day was pretty damned wrong.

On 4/27/2025 at 11:32 AM, Dimity said:

It was one day not a two week vacation in Paris. Jim overreacted and I liked that Audrey stepped up for Mandy.

It sounded like it was the entire paycheck from the tv station, which isn't even for a regular gig, so no, he didn't overreact.

On 4/27/2025 at 7:01 AM, Dimity said:

Why does everyone assume it was her whole paycheque? Did they say that at some point?

She definitely acted like it was.

On 4/27/2025 at 12:57 PM, Dimity said:

The spa day indulgence was just a vehicle to have Jim get all pouty about Mandy taking what he and Audrey do for them for granted.  It was never about Mandy having credit card debt that she should be paying off it was about her living rent free.  Which was fair of Jim, up to a point.   Jim lost my sympathy when he tried to give Georgie a raise as a way of still not taking rent from them.

 

Except that is was about her being irresponsible with money, and he had every right to be upset about it.

DoYouLikeMutton

DoYouLikeMutton

For some people, any amount of money burns a hole in their pocket.  They've got to spend it even if they are in arrears with other debts.  It wouldn't be a bad idea for her and Georgie to save their money and/or start an account for CeeCee's college.  Maybe they are.

That said, one small gig as a weather girl isn't going to make or break them, so some pampering and a massage probably would have done her a lot of good. Too bad the strife, courtesy of Jim, probably offset any relaxation she acheived from the massage. 

If Jim thinks Mandy and Georgie ought to contribute financially towards the household, that's an entirely different conversation that needs to be had.

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