Allison DuBois stirs up controversy in the NBC TV series “Medium” as a consultant to various police detectives, helping to solve crimes. She mostly helps out D.A. Devalos, but there are others as well. What’s so controversial about DuBois is the fact that her detective skills come in the form of dreams. She is a medium, possessing the ability to envision crime scenes from the past and future, envision the thoughts of others, as well as communicate with the dead. At first, only those whom she works with know her secret. As the series progresses, the public eventually becomes aware. This is where her job gets tougher.
Family Life for Allison DuBois
Outside of her career as a psychic consultant, Allison has a loving husband and three daughters. Her husband Joe is an aerospace engineer. They live in Phoenix, Arizona, where the median price of a home is $164,000. When the two are not working, they spend a great deal of time together, as well as with their three children. The family enjoys their time together, but is not seen spending extravagant amounts of money.
The Family Budget
Credit Card Stash?
Even with some savings, Allison may have had a good stash of credit cards to keep the family going during that time when Joe was unemployed. For times of uncertainty, the best choice would be a low interest credit card. Many cards have a 0% interest rate for a 6 - 12 month introductory period. But resorting to credit cards to maintain a lifestyle is a bad idea.
The median income for a Phoenix psychic is around $53,000. A Phoenix aerospace engineer would make about $79,000. Combined, the two would average around $132,000 per year. For some, that would seem a comfortable financial level. But, factor in the cost of raising children and the price of a mortgage, as well as monthly bills, and $132,000 may not be as much as it sounds. However, it seems that the DuBois family is very good at budgeting.
It is only when Joe is without work for a short time that the family struggles with some financial burden. They make do with what they have for a while before Joe regains employment, which suggests some very good budgeting or that there may be some savings available or credit card usage going on. Being that Joe’s income is the highest, any time he is not working, the financial strain would be quite significant. A family of five used to spending a certain way would certainly be in trouble, losing over half of the annual income, even for a short time.
There also was a short period of time, after her secret went public, where she was unemployed. If she chose the credit card way, which is often the American way, that would mean that the family is dealing with credit card bills from that time, which could add a great deal to monthly bills, depending on how many credit cards the family had to resort to using. It also is possible that interest rates could be high, depending on the family’s credit score. Since the family is not very extravagant where spending is concerned, they may be able to pull off keeping those bills up to date, while also maintaining the household.
