Archive for February, 2009

Sandwiched between serious doctor shows and reality television, ABC’s “Scrubs” stands apart as a humorous look at hospital life. Starring Zac Braff as John “JD” Dorian, Scrubs started following first year medical and surgical interns in Sacred Heart Hospital in 2001. Now in its eighth season, viewers have watched medical intern JD climb the hospital ladder, now an attending physician in his own right. But eight years after his med school graduation, viewers may be wondering if JD has managed to successfully pay off his undergraduate and medical school debt.

Who is John “JD” Dorian?

Viewers know that JD put himself through undergraduate and medical school, not something his traveling salesman father could afford. When fellow intern Elliot Reed’s parents stop paying her way and she feels that she’s in financial trouble, JD reminds her that at least she isn’t sitting on the mountain of school debt that he and surgical intern Turk have been facing. JD survived his residency at Sacred Heart, later becoming chief resident, and eventually a doctor of internal medicine and an attending physician at the hospital.

What has JD earned over the years?

Though everyone assumes that doctors make good money, it’s important to remember that they don’t necessarily start out that way, especially if, like JD, they graduate from school with debt. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine , their first year residents make approximately $45,000 a year. Salaries increase yearly at a rate of $2,000.

An attending physician, however, makes a good deal more money than a resident. The U.S. national average salary for a doctor of medicine is $117,207, according to CBSalary .

How do JD’s finances look?

JD has made some smart financial decisions over the years. Viewers never see him splurging on expensive items, and he makes a wise financial choice by sharing an apartment with both Turk and Elliot over the years. Rather than run up his credit cards in early seasons when his income was held back by his school loans, JD was seen stealing toilet paper and pudding cups from the hospital. As time passes, he states that he has a small investment portfolio, but attempts to enhance it by purchasing a lot, where he simply builds a deck since he can’t afford a house. JD rarely uses or discusses credit cards, leading viewers to assume that he manages to live within his means without acquiring any credit card debt.

While it’s unlikely that JD has paid off the hundreds of thousands of dollars of debts that he has accumulated with his schooling, it is likely that he’s now able to make his monthly payments without emptying his bank account.

Though he doesn’t appear to be raking in the cash, JD appears to be keeping his debt to a minimum and living within his means. As his income increases and he’s able to pay off his school loans with a bit more room to breathe each year, JD makes mature choices, including living alone.

Even though JD started off with mounds of debt, this fictional character does appear to live within his means and keep his debt down, credit card or otherwise. What an example for recent college graduates and struggling medical interns.

Kelly Herdrich

From ancient burial grounds in Cuba to horrific crime scenes in New England, Dr. Temperance Brennan of Fox’s “Bones” uses her expertise and experience in forensic anthropology to make the world a better place. She worships at the altar of facts, working with her fellow “squints” to determine cause of death for FBI Agent Sealy Booth. But how can Brennan afford her spacious apartment in Washington as well as her designer wardrobe?

From Bones to Books

Dr. Brennan works full-time for the Jeffersonian Institute, which is loosely based on the real-life Smithsonian. She spends her days examining remains in the lab or traipsing through crime scenes with Booth, occasionally joining him for interrogations of potential suspects.

It is estimated that the average annual pay for a forensic anthropologist is around $33,000. However, Brennan states that the closest forensic anthropologist other than her lives in Montreal, which suggests that she is highly valued by the Jeffersonian.

Despite her lack of pop culture knowledge, Brennan is the best-selling author of several crime fiction novels, which certainly pads her salary from the Jeffersonian. Although the average salary for an author working 1-4 years is under $40,000, Brennan’s interviews with talk show hosts and numerous fans at book signings indicate that she is not the average writer.

Life in the Capital

Washington has a higher cost of living than most U.S. states, with high property values and expensive restaurants. Brennan lives in a posh apartment not far from the Jeffersonian and frequently mentions her acts of charity with the money she earns. On several occasions, she demonstrates her lack of social tact by mentioning her heightened intelligence and bank account balance.

From all appearances, Brennan is not worried about money and owns secure investments in addition to her liquid capital. She is seen pulling out credit cards numerous times throughout the show, but someone of her affluence probably pays off those exclusive credit cards every month when the statement arrives.

Nevertheless, other than her wardrobe and her residence, Brennan’s tastes do not appear to be extravagant. She mentions several times that she does not watch television, so it is unlikely she pays for cable. She probably paid off her apartment with the first few royalty checks from her book sales, and therefore does not have a mortgage or rent payment to fulfill every month.

She is rarely seen dining out in expensive restaurants, preferring the small diner on the corner where she meets Booth and the squints for drinks and dinner. And although she travels extensively, those trips are most likely covered by whoever has hired her to examine remains.

Hard-Knock Life

Brennan comes from a broken home, which might be the reason for her practicality with money. Her parents, who were bank robbers, abandoned her and her brother, Russ, when she was 15, leaving her a ward of the foster care system. She paid for her education and her living expenses on her own, and therefore learned how to manage money from an early age. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of credit card debt in her past, and certainly none in her future.

Steve Thompson

Ari Gold is the power agent in the HBO hit “Entourage.” He is a heavy hitter, a shrewd dealer, and he knows how to play the Hollywood game. As a power agent he rakes in the money, at least when his clients are working. To stay on top, Ari has to follow the cardinal rule of Hollywood: You have to spend money to make money.

Ari Gold — Earnings Potential

Hollywood agents typically make 10 percent of value of the contracts and royalties that their clients bring in. This means that when Vince signs an acting contract worth $60,000, Ari gets $6,000, and when he signs a $5 million contract, Ari gets $500,000. This is why Ari prefers when his top clients take on big-budget studio film projects instead of low-paying theater and independent film projects. If Ari’s average client makes $1 million a year and he has 10-20 clients each year, then Ari has the potential to gross $1 million-$2 million a year.

Business Spending

Credit cards play an important role in a Hollywood agent’s life. Credit cards are used to track business expenses without having to deal with loose receipts. Ari uses credit cards when he picks up the tab for entertaining clients and for business lunches and dinners. Ari Gold also uses credit cards to pay for business related expenses such as transportation to location shoots, printing business cards, paying for hotel rooms and paying for gifts for his clients.

Personal Spending

Credit cards are not only used for deductible business expenses, but also they are used for non-deductible expenses that relate to doing business as a power agent. For example, since image is everything in Hollywood, Ari uses his credit cards to buy designer suits that average $2,000 a piece and to pay for trendy salon visits that can cost several hundred dollars a session. He uses credit cards to pay for other status symbol items such as designer office knickknacks and furniture, which range from several hundred to several thousand dollars each. Finally, don’t forget the bling. Ari’s jewelry and timepieces are top of the line and expensive.

Credit Cards and Ari Gold

In Hollywood, credit cards are the preferred currency. They allow players to quickly make purchases and to spend beyond their means. The type of credit card that a Hollywood player carries also adds to his image, as some exclusive credit cards are only offered to financial power players like Ari Gold.

Eisla Sebastian

At one time or another, most people wish that they could travel back to a time when life was less complicated. Police detective Sam Tyler, the slightly confused hero of “Life on Mars,” accidentally gets that very opportunity. Yet he finds that life in New York City circa 1973 makes him feel as if he’s living on another planet.

Sam Tyler is a modern-day detective who does things strictly by the book. After being struck by a speeding car in 2008, Sam wakes up in New York City in 1973. Inexplicably, he’s wearing 1970s-style clothing, has police identification in his wallet that’s valid until 1974, and he owns a muscle car.

Though some evidence indicates that the world around him is just a hallucination, Tyler sees the streets of New York in incredibly vivid detail, including a heart-stopping view of the newly-constructed World Trade Center. Sam isn’t sure if he has lost his mind, been abducted by aliens, or if he truly has gone back in time. The only thing that he knows for sure is that Gene Hunt, his boss, knows how to throw a punch.

Spending Power in 1973

According to Payscale.com , the current mid-range salary for a police detective who has 10-20 years on the force is $63,568. At age 39, Sam Tyler easily falls into this salary range in 2008, but things are a bit different in 1973. During a candid conversation, one of Sam’s co-workers reveals that he makes “300 clams a week plus change,” which comes out to approximately $15,600 annually.

Assuming that Sam makes just as much as his colleague, he does benefit from some additional job perks. As a new transfer to the 125th Precinct, the police department has put him up in a seedy apartment building, which contains all the clothes that were shipped from his last assignment. Sam also has a free-spirited neighbor who, on at least one occasion, makes him a heaping pan of lasagna.

With no expenditures for rent or clothing, at least for the time being, Sam has more disposable income than other detectives. A music enthusiast, he probably spends a few bucks on vinyl record albums, which cost between $4.98 and $6.99 on the average. Before the first OPEC oil crisis, gas cost about 40 cents per gallon, allowing Sam to freely cruise the streets in his muscle car.

Debit and Credit Cards on “Mars”

Though debit cards tied to bank accounts are quite common these days, the ATM was just starting to gain popularity in 1973. (In the Midwest, one banking chain affectionately referred to their early ATMs as “ugly tellers.”) To cash his paycheck or get a few extra dollars for the weekend, Sam has to stand in line at his bank or head over to a check-cashing place.

In 1973, credit card companies also began using magnetic strips on a wide basis. Though he probably had a MasterCard, Visa, American Express and one department store card in 2008, with his detective salary, Tyler may only qualify for one card with a smaller credit limit in the 1970s.

Sam Tyler’s Past and Future Earnings

Because no one, not even Sam Tyler himself, is exactly sure when he is, his future earnings potential is hard to gauge. If Sam really is a time traveler and returns to the modern world, he’ll find himself in the middle of an economic crisis where banks and credit card companies are failing. If he stays in 1973, Detective Tyler faces inflation and higher gas prices. Neither alternative sounds very attractive.

Steven Bryan

Watching “The Office” is filled with painful moments for viewers, many of which revolve around the Scranton, Penn., branch’s regional manager, Michael Scott. Scott manages to both alienate and endear himself to viewers and his employees, often in the same episode. Unfortunately for him, it isn’t only his professional and personal life that is in need of assistance — his financial situation is disastrous, too. Are his financial situations realistic? And if so, how did he get this far gone?

Who is Michael Scott?

The regional manager of Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch, Scott is known for his socially awkward and often inappropriate behavior. But you can’t help but feel bad for the guy, who’s heart is often in the right place, even though he doesn’t know how to act. Though his salary specifics are never mentioned, it’s reasonable to expect that someone in his position, without a college degree, might make in the realm of $70,000. It’s likely that All Business School’s estimate of $84,000 is a bit high, especially considering the perk of a company car and the fact that Scott does not have a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree, as they assume. We also know that Scott briefly made a comparable salary to warehouse director Darryl. Scott ’s financial troubles come to a head in Season 4, where he admits to his staff that he is in financial trouble and is considering declaring bankruptcy.

How did Scott get into financial trouble?

Scott’s salary of approximately $70,000 is a high one for the Scranton region, according to Simply Hired , which places the Scranton average salary at just under $29,000 a year. In addition, Scott’s only real investment appears to be his condominium, which he purchased in Season 2. However, he has repeatedly stated that he has no investments and no money saved. In addition, he regularly splurges, spending money on office gatherings that are unauthorized by the company, improv classes, and using his credit cards to treat office employees to lunches and special items from Victoria’s Secret.

Scott’s financial situation didn’t get dire, however, until his unemployed girlfriend, Jan, moved in with him, intent on spending his money left and right. Their financial situation was so bad, Scott had to take a second job to make ends meet. It culminated in help from employee Oscar, who helped him with debt consolidation.

Did Scott learn the error of his ways?

Though his financial situation, credit card debt, and money mismanagement came to a head in Season 4, it doesn’t appear that Dunder Mifflin’s regional manager has managed to get his financial situation back on track. After debt consolidation, Scott would have been wise to all but eliminate his credit card spending. Yet, we regularly see him spending money.

With Scott mismanaging his money left and right, viewers are reminded that even those with secure jobs and decent salaries run the risk of credit card troubles if they don’t watch their spending and live within their means.

Kelly Herdrich