MovieChat Forums > Boy Meets World (1993) Discussion > Is Alan's salary realistically able to s...

Is Alan's salary realistically able to support a family of 5?

posted 9 years ago by Jupiter555555
23 replies | jump to latest

I just posted a question about where Eric's funding came from for his cross-country trip and it seems like it must've been his parents. I finally saw the episode that begins their road trip and Alan makes a comment about it being to tour colleges (which doesn't make sense either because wasn't Eric already assuming he got in to one and was taking the trip to celebrate going to college? Plus two months before you're supposed to leave for college is obviously a little tardy to be starting your college tour...)

So anyway: For at least part of the time Amy was a stay-at-home mom. The suburbs of Philadelphia are not a cheap place to live. Alan was the manager of a grocery store.... Supporting three kids, evidently fairly comfortably, as Shawn is always accusing Cory of being "rich" and they intended to send both boys to college (and presumably Morgan several years later,) and even funded a cross-country trip for Eric which was to last two months and include many sight seeing tours. Neither teenager had a job during high school.

So how much are grocery store managers making these days??? Bought 250K? (after conversion rates as it was 15 years ago.)

[–] lilsusieq86 9 years ago

i think if i remember correctly that the mother had a job. i'm not sure she kept it though for they hardly ever mentioned it.

The easiest thing i have ever had to do was give my heart.

[–] Jupiter555555 9 years ago

i think if i remember correctly that the mother had a job. i'm not sure she kept it though for they hardly ever mentioned it.

That's why I said for at least part of the time she was a stay at home mom. You're right, she had some job at a "gallery" at some point, but in the beginning she mentions being a stay at home mom.

[–] FOXracingfan 9 years ago

I don't remember if they ever actually said how much money Alan makes. As for Amy, at one point she was at a "gallery" then in another episode she said something about showing a brick house at such and such time. So I'm guessing she had some sort of real estate job. But in the later seasons she seemed like a full time stay at home mom.

[–] spicyspice_911 9 years ago

I would imagine that Amy had to have been working at some point because in the episode where the family acquires the wilderness store it was because Amy basically just bought it outright from the owner if I remember correctly.

[–] Jupiter555555 9 years ago

She then told Eric that they used his college fund for the down payment.

[–] starseed062 9 years ago

I feel like I remember her selling real estate?

[–] Glozone 9 years ago

Of course he could support a family of 5. He could support them making a lot less than he did. Cory was only "rich" in comparison to Shawn. He deemed his family only "comfortable", and I'd say they were probably middle class.

Neither teenager had a job during high school.

Eric worked at the grocery store. We only saw him at during Season 1, but that doesn't necessarily mean he didn't continue throughout high school.

even funded a cross-country trip for Eric which was to last two months and include many sight seeing tours.

In fairness, it did seem like they more or less lived out of their car or in fleabag motels.

I finally saw the episode that begins their road trip and Alan makes a comment about it being to tour colleges (which doesn't make sense either because wasn't Eric already assuming he got in to one and was taking the trip to celebrate going to college? Plus two months before you're supposed to leave for college is obviously a little tardy to be starting your college tour...)

It was only to look at colleges after Eric found out he didn't get in and decided to take the trip with Cory anyway. Before it was Eric taking the (very) scenic route of driving to campus which was cross-country.

So how much are grocery store managers making these days??? Bought 250K? (after conversion rates as it was 15 years ago.)

The average salary for a grocery store manager today seem to be about 72,000. And since Alan was no neophyte at the job, I have no reason to suspect he wouldn't be at the high end of that. A gallery curator seems to average around 44,000 a year. So, let's say they're at around a 116,000 a year. That definitely puts them in the top 20% of households in the country, and thus actually upper middle class.

And Alan seemed to be even more successful once he bought the Wilderness store. Supporting them's definitely not an issue. This isn't a family of jetsetters. They live a relatively modest life, they live in a small house (Cory and Eric don't even get their own rooms), I don't see them taking extravagant vacations or buying fancy cars. They can live off those salaries, and with proper saving, can easily send their kids to college.

[–] Jupiter555555 9 years ago

But Amy stayed home most of the time. They even refer to her as a SAHM more than once. Yes she had a job for part of the time but I don't think it should be counted in their total income.

[–] Glozone 9 years ago

So you count none of her income? You're jumping to conclusions when you say she was home 'most of the time'. We have no idea. Also, point me to thee myriad occasions where she's referred to as a stay at home mom. That episode where she took a creative writing class at Pennbrook with Eric is the only one where she struck me as a stay at home mom. Honestly, Amy was never focused on enough for it to be clear what she did with her time.

[–] EtaoinShrdlu001 9 years ago

$100+ in the Philly suburbs w/ part time parent SAHD is not enough to put 2 kids through college nowadays. Trust me on this one. You're not rich enough to just Pay for a good school, and you make too much to get any help.

So you mortgage your house, and you kids end up waiting tables to pay their part of college loans off.

You Fill Me with Inertia

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] deem_bastille 9 years ago

mom and pop places but this seems like it was a pathmark type place [trying to find a name of a supermarket that others will know.]

big chain supermarkets do a lot of credit card/check business.

Reading the paper can really be depressing. Mr. Dithers fired Dagwood again.

[–] EmilyTheDramaQueen 9 years ago

I thought about that but of course this wouldn't be the only show that has people living above their means

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[–] PhineasAppleby 9 years ago

My dad didn't make much more than Alan at his job and for a time he a family of 7. My mom was big into using coupons. I don't mean buying carts full of power-aide. In those days coupons weren't only for use at stores, but you could make from them.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] zombienut 9 years ago

The house was beautiful but that doesnt mean it cost a fortune. Feeny had the house next door whild he was just a teacher. Maybe mortgage wasnt taking up a huge chunk of the income.

[–] Glozone 9 years ago

We also know it wasn't a particularly large house, since Cory and Eric had to share a room. Eric even had to sleep on the couch when he moved back home in Season 6 because Cory and Eric's room had been turned into Joshua's room - implying it's only a three bedroom house.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] miaangel345 9 years ago

I always thought he made about 70-90K a year but I could be wrong. They never came off as rich. Amy always worked part time in real-estate.

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[–] 9 years ago

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[–] deircr3 9 years ago

Grocery store managers can make good and some offer great retirement plans. When I was in high school I worked at a restaurant near a grocery. I talked to a guy and he was about 30 and became a customer service manager. This was in 05 and he said he was making $35,000 a year and a bonus of $1,000 every year for all employees. He said the manager made high 60's.

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[–] redban (6318) 5 years ago

He was the manager of a grocery store. I remember one point, he talks about how his boss was cutting people's salaries. He mentions that his boss has another boss, who has another boss, who has another boss. So it's implied that it's a well-known, reputable grocery store chain.

And the show never portrays them as Uncle Phil / Aunt Vivian wealthy. He made enough to be middle class.