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I've been on a Rugrats binge and I'm just wondering how the hell Tommy's parents own a house

Uzumaki Goku

Uzumaki Goku

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I was pleasantly surprised with Rugrats. Seasons 1-3 hold up pretty well as there's humor for both kids and adults to enjoy. But looking back at it, I'm just wondering how the hell Stu and Didi are able to afford a home considering that

Stu is a stay at home inventor who I presume makes his money by selling his inventions to toy companies and Didi is a part-time teacher which makes me wonder how the hell they can afford to have a house. Maybe it was possible in the 90s, but one of the things Drew points out to Stu in the movie is that Stu has no stable income of his own, (The prize money is $500 which seems... low by today's standards)

Things like this make me realize how much easier things were in the 90s to own a home.
 
CatAssTrophy

CatAssTrophy

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Yeah that was always something easy to gloss over as a kid, and you'd just assume that toys are BIG BIZ but it's definitely suspect in hindsight.

They could have easily just added a throwaway line in an early episode about how he gets regular royalty checks for coming up with some really popular toys at one point in his career.
 
Calamari41

Calamari41

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Oct 25, 2017
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Toys make a lot of money, and he probably has royalty checks on top of royalty checks coming in. Wasn't he involved with the Reptar line? Bank.
 
Archduke Kong

Archduke Kong

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I wonder if Grandpa Lou contributed his retirement money or something. There were three adults living in that house after all

Calamari41 said:
Toys make a lot of money, and he probably has royalty checks on top of royalty checks coming in. Wasn't be involved with the Reptar line? Bank.
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Oh yeah that too, he probably made a few bangers and used that money to buy the house
 
CharlesAznable

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Uzumaki Goku said:
I was pleasantly surprised with Rugrats. Seasons 1-3 hold up pretty well as there's humor for both kids and adults to enjoy. But looking back at it, I'm just wondering how the hell Stu and Didi are able to afford a home considering that

Stu is a stay at home inventor who I presume makes his money by selling his inventions to toy companies and Didi is a part-time teacher which makes me wonder how the hell they can afford to have a house. Maybe it was possible in the 90s, but one of the things Drew points out to Stu in the movie is that Stu has no stable income of his own, (The prize money is $500 which seems... low by today's standards)

Things like this make me realize how much easier things were in the 90s to own a home.
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Yeah you answered your own question. It was the 90s, or maybe even late 80s depending on when they bought it.

Completely different era.
 
TheMadTitan

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Oct 27, 2017
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None of these characters should be able to own homes. Only accurate depiction we had growing up was Malcolm In The Middle.
 
Tokyo_Funk

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Remember that Gramps lives with them? Maybe it is really his house? There is no grandma, so maybe it was an inheritance?

I know a dude that has rarely worked a stable job in his life, but daddy moneybucks handed him a house for nothing.
 
captmcblack

captmcblack

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Oct 25, 2017
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In the 90s, people in my family bought whole-ass houses in NYC for $1xx,xxx.

By the year 2000, it was like 2/3xx,xxx to do the same.

In 2021, it's like 6/7xx,xxx to buy even the shittiest 100-year old houses in NYC.

Stu Pickles probably copped that shit for like 50k. Plus he only eats pudding, so they probably saved a ton on expenses.
 
The Real Abed

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When The Simpsons started, they made a big deal about how the family wasn't able to afford things like cable or Christmas presents. But very quickly they were able to afford random trips all over the world and Homer rarely ever actually goes to work and has been fired numerous times.
 
Fat4all

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i bet Stu invented the View Master and the Speak and Spell and coasted on checks for a bit
 
Friskykillface

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Tommy's mom was a substitute or permanent teacher and Stu got that contract with that toy company because Tommy almost killed him
The 90s made all this possible

I'd say Lou Pickles and his business helped his son get the house for a place to live and be with his son, dawww

unfortunately you had to buy a house pre 2000 to get it for cheap :/
 
Nairume

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El Bombastico said:
I wonder more how the Simpsons can afford a 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom house with just Homer's paycheck.
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Abe helped them buy the house.

Tokyo_Funk said:
Remember that Gramps lives with them? Maybe it is really his house? There is no grandma, so maybe it was an inheritance?
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Deep Rugrats lore and all, but Grampa Lou used to own a mechanic shop with the family home above it. He probably had enough money to help Stu buy a house.
 
lazerface

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Same with the simpsons, homer lazes around work all day eating donuts but can afford a house and 3 kids and be able to hit the bar up regularly.
 
UglySofaGaming

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The Real Abed said:
When The Simpsons started, they made a big deal about how the family wasn't able to afford things like cable or Christmas presents. But very quickly they were able to afford random trips all over the world and Homer rarely ever actually goes to work and has been fired numerous times.
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I think Homer owns the Denver Broncos so that probably covers the misadventure budget
 
I am a Bird

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The answer is most likely that Stu is a successful inventor. Stu probably came up with some really novel devices for assembly lines or an easier way to produce a product and makes a decent amount to buy a house and focus on designing something that he is really passionate about creating.


Looking at some of the toys Stu has made like Mr. Friend, an advanced if not overengineered toy I could totally see him having previously worked in some sort of mechanical field like designing mass production machines. It would also fit Stu and Didi moving to Arkon at one point for work.
 
AlgusUnderdunk

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The Real Abed said:
When The Simpsons started, they made a big deal about how the family wasn't able to afford things like cable or Christmas presents. But very quickly they were able to afford random trips all over the world and Homer rarely ever actually goes to work and has been fired numerous times.
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"THIS IS A PALACE!!! I LIVE IN A CRAPPY APARTMENT ABOVE A BOWLING ALLEY AND BELOW ANOTHER BOWLING ALLEY!!!!"
 
The Smoking Man

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A lot of early 90s shows have this. The Simpsons is another one, even lampshaded in later seasons. It helps that they at least have Grandpa probably contributing some retirement money and social security, presumably.
 
ArgyleReptile

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Lou had his own business so that probably helped. And Stu invented a lot of crap. There are a few jokes of them not working, but he actually had a decent amount of successful joints, like that bubble maker toy. Maybe Stu was an engineer or something before Tommy was born and saved up some cash to buy and house and pursue his dream to be a toy maker.
 
B-Dubs

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Calamari41 said:
Toys make a lot of money, and he probably has royalty checks on top of royalty checks coming in. Wasn't he involved with the Reptar line? Bank.
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This. Stu's problem, from what I remember, always seemed to be he wanted to do the next big thing instead of constantly reiterating on popular toys. So when he hit it he really knocked it out of the park. I mean, remember when he went to Paris to sell something to Reptar Land? You don't do that shit unless you're a big shot.
 
Nostremitus

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The Smoking Man said:
A lot of early 90s shows have this. The Simpsons is another one, even lampshaded in later seasons. It helps that they at least have Grandpa probably contributing some retirement money and social security, presumably.
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Simpsons isn't strange. Homer is a Nuclear Operator. They make six figure incomes (at least here in Alabama). So in suburbia middle America he'd have a home, an RV, a boat, and whatever else he wants as long as he wasn't drowning in debt from student loans...
 
WrenchNinja

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What did Howard and Betty do?

I think Chaz had some office job

Drew was an accountant and Charlotte was some kind of executive

Suzi's parents Lucy and Randy were a doctor and TV writer
 
OP
OP
Uzumaki Goku

Uzumaki Goku

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I mean the show "Roseanne" (yeah I know she's a right wing crackpot these days) was ahead of it's time.
 
Mirado

Mirado

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BlackGoku03 said:
I wonder the same with Married With Children.
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It amazes me that the Bundy's low class white trash life is actually something aspirational. Al and Peggy own a house on Al's crappy mall shoe store salary and support two kids along with Peg's crippling addition to the Home Shopping Network. They have a shit ton of bills and their car is crap, but they somehow avoid being completely destitute.

Honestly, I think a lot of people would love to be in the Bundy's position. Married With Children did a fantastic job of simultaneously letting you laugh at Al and his family, but also make you feel a little bad for doing so. I go back to Al's best speech every once in a while and it kind of scares me for how true it is:

 
Slayven

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BlackGoku03 said:
I wonder the same with Married With Children.
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Crazy cause they live in Chicago.

I alwys amazed that in Friends Monica and Rachel has a corner apartment with a huge skylight, but Joey and Chandler look like they stay in a crackhouse. Their apartments don't look like they are in the same neighborhood let alone the same building
 
Calamari41

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VariantX said:
My theory is Homer doesn't actually work at work so much as occupy that space so Burns doesn't have to spend money on having a real nuclear safety inspector to address any of the myriad safety issues at the plant.
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Remember, Burns gave him the job in the first place to break a strike. It's a make-work position with the added benefit of providing a scapegoat.
 

IneptEMP

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Jan 14, 2019
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Rugrats clips have been in my feed thanks to the algorithm; the adults are an aspect of the show I didn't appreciate fully as a child
 
Uncle at Nintendo

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This was considered a middle class home in the 1990s

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data west

data west

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Imagine you work 50+ hours a week at Conglom-O and your neighbor works at a fucking comic book shop.
Ponyboy said:
both Spongebob and Squidward work at a fast food restaurant and live in multi story homes. It's even joked on at least one occasion they both pay Mr. Krabs to work there, rather than get paid for working there.
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Spongebob lived there before the job. I always assume his parents bought it for him or something similar.
 
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