‘Sex and the City’: Carrie Bradshaw Was Making More Money Than You Might Think
Sex and the City follows Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) navigating life in her 30s with her best girlfriends living in New York City. As a writer and fashion lover, fans have always questioned how Carrie was able to live so extravagantly. However, in the ’90s and with a rent-controlled apartment, things weren’t as expensive in NYC as they are now.
Moreover, Carrie made a lot more money than fans might have initially thought.
In ‘Sex and the City’ Carrie Bradshaw spent a lot of money on fashion
Carrie Bradshaw has always been that fashion girl. She spent quite a bit on her wardrobe, and looking fabulous was a major part of the character’s blueprint. In Sex and the City Season 4, episode 16, “Ring A Ding Ding,” Carrie comes to the realization that over the years, she’s spent at least $40,000 on shoes.
Carrie was horrified by the realization saying, “I spent $40,000 on shoes, and I have no place to live?” But it forced her to start paying closer attention to her finances.
Carrie Bradshaw was making more money than fans might think
One of the jokes about Sex and the City was that Carrie lived such an extravagant life on a writer’s salary. However, in the last ’90s, writers still made a decent living at trades. Also, New York housing prices weren’t nearly as sky-high as they are now.
The character Carrie is based on Candace Bushnell, who worked as a columnist in New York City in the ’90s. Bushnell said while her pay for her column wasn’t much, she was also making a decent living at Vogue. “It was a real-time for media,” she told The New Yorker .” I worked for Vogue, writing the ‘People Are Talking About’ column, and got paid $5,000 a month.”
This means that Carrie made at least six figures in the earlier seasons, and her expenses, especially as a childless woman presumably without any student loans, enable her to live a more extravagant life.
In ‘Sex and the City’ Carrie Bradshaw was terrible with money
Though she made a good living, especially after her Vogue contract and book deal, Carrie lived paycheck to paycheck. She spent a great deal of money on designer goods and other extravaganzas like cabs all the time. Most New Yorkers take the subway because of the convince and cost-effectiveness. However, Carrie didn’t live her life in the same way.
All this bubbled to the surface following her failed engagement with Aidan Shaw. During their relationship, Aidan had purchased Carrie’s apartment. However, once their relationship ended, she asked her to purchase it from him or be evicted.
At that point, Carrie realized she didn’t have any savings. Ultimately, one of her best friends Charlotte York (Kristin Davis), helped her with her down payment.
