Why did Ricky and Fred act cheap with their finances - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 04-17-2022, 04:11 AM

If not "cheap" then "frugal" to put things more kindly. For starters, wasn't Ricky Ricardo big and established on the night club scene? So what was with all the scrimping and budgets? Meanwhile, the Mertzs owned the building, and yet Fred was even cheaper than Ricky and spent his days in bib overalls with a wrench fixing the boiler.

ThisLittlePiggy · 04-17-2022, 02:44 PM

The first thing that springs to mind as an explanation is that it was used to give story. Lucy always had to worry about going over budget so she'd have to scheme and hide things from Ricky.

GentlemanJim · 04-17-2022, 03:04 PM

Fred likely had to pay crushing mortgage payments, staggering utility bills, and spiraling property taxes.

Ricky, otoh, as the sole breadwinner had to impose some sense of discipline to avoid the "your job is to earn it, my job is to spend it" mentality that I'm sure Lucy would have put in practice, if allowed to.

When it's your hard earned money, it's one thing to be generous, but quite another for some one to take that generosity for granted. So there need be rules to define the playing field.

Both families had TV sets...a luxury in the early 1950s....while their furniture was not lavish, it didn't appear trashy or threadbare, and they obviously were eating well....so for families just 15 years out of the depression...neither was doing too bad.

TMC · 10-29-2023, 04:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

If not "cheap" then "frugal" to put things more kindly. For starters, wasn't Ricky Ricardo big and established on the night club scene? So what was with all the scrimping and budgets? Meanwhile, the Mertzs owned the building, and yet Fred was even cheaper than Ricky and spent his days in bib overalls with a wrench fixing the boiler.

Also, why was the Mertzs' apartment so drab and why everything Lucy had was so much fancier than everything Ethel had? And Fred always expected Ricky to pay for things. And there was also the episode where Lucy gave Ethel her old used washing machine and the one where Lucy gave them their old furniture.

04-17-2022, 04:11 AM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 126,334	Why did Ricky and Fred act cheap with their finances If not "cheap" then "frugal" to put things more kindly. For starters, wasn't Ricky Ricardo big and established on the night club scene? So what was with all the scrimping and budgets? Meanwhile, the Mertzs owned the building, and yet Fred was even cheaper than Ricky and spent his days in bib overalls with a wrench fixing the boiler.

04-17-2022, 03:04 PM	#3
GentlemanJim Concerns, Support, & Feedback Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 26, 2019 Location: The back country Posts: 5,443	Fred likely had to pay crushing mortgage payments, staggering utility bills, and spiraling property taxes. Ricky, otoh, as the sole breadwinner had to impose some sense of discipline to avoid the "your job is to earn it, my job is to spend it" mentality that I'm sure Lucy would have put in practice, if allowed to. When it's your hard earned money, it's one thing to be generous, but quite another for some one to take that generosity for granted. So there need be rules to define the playing field. Both families had TV sets...a luxury in the early 1950s....while their furniture was not lavish, it didn't appear trashy or threadbare, and they obviously were eating well....so for families just 15 years out of the depression...neither was doing too bad.
	__________________ On my word as a gentleman!

04-17-2022, 02:44 PM	#2
ThisLittlePiggy Member Forum Junkie Join Date: Nov 02, 2013 Posts: 84,661	The first thing that springs to mind as an explanation is that it was used to give story. Lucy always had to worry about going over budget so she'd have to scheme and hide things from Ricky.