10 moments where Carrie from Sex and the City proved she shouldn’t be in charge of her finances

If you haven’t heard Sex and the City is back with the revival series And Just Like That… premiering on Thursday 9th December! With the last finale being watched by a record-breaking 10.6 million viewers, it’s safe to say we were all witnesses to Carrie’s lavish lifestyle, but that lifestyle doesn’t come hand in hand with good financial management.

The team at Raisin UK have analysed (and totally not rewatched on their lunch break) the film and series to gather the top 10 moments where Carrie didn’t manage her budgeting well, at all.

1. HER INVESTMENTS IN DESIGNER FOOTWEAR
In the fourth season, and the episode Ring a Ding Ding, Carrie is on a mission to buy back her apartment. When she turns to the bank for a loan, she is faced with rejection due to her financial status (no shock there), leaving her wondering where all of her earnings go.

Miranda, one of Carrie’s friends, then helps her calculate just how much of her cash she has been spending on designer shoes. The damage we hear you ask? $40,000!

2. HER BULLYING BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS CHARLOTTE
After Carrie splashes out on luxuries instead of necessities, she is in dire need of a bailout. Turns out, Carrie could have used some of her spending money on a downpayment for her apartment.

With no bank loan insight for Carrie, she turns towards her friends for support. Well… when we say turns towards her friends, we mean verbally harassing them. And when we say friends, we mean poor Charlotte. Awks!

After the heated conversation, Charlotte did agree to give Carrie her old engagement ring to sell. Whilst this interaction didn’t affect their friendship, we wouldn’t recommend guilting a friend into helping you.

3. MAXED CREDIT CARD? NO PROBLEM!
When you think of Carrie, you may think of her pulling out her American Express card to fund her expensive lifestyle. From lush brunches to designer shopping sprees, Carrie wasn’t afraid to swipe her card.

Although we never got sight of her debt statement, we can predict it’s a pretty hideous figure, yet it barely seems to bother her. Whilst I’m sure we’d all love a little laissez-faire attitude to spending, nobody wants to relive the moment Carrie had her credit card cut up by the cashier at Dolce & Gabbana in Season One, The Power Of Female Sex.

4. GIFTING IS USUALLY A SINGLE TRANSACTION
Being grateful is critical when receiving a gift. We all know the feeling of getting that present you don’t really want, but you still smile and say thank you. Well, apparently not Carrie. Carrie’s first response was if her friend could return the cashmere scarf gift she had just received and keep the money.

5. SHE ISN’T ALLERGIC TO THE SUBWAY – WE PROMISE
The subway will always be cheaper than a cab! Whilst Carrie’s skill in hailing a taxi is impressive and a huge part of her character, we might suggest she takes public transport. Saying that, in a singular episode of Season 4, we did witness Carrie have a financial reckoning and ride the bus exactly once.

6. DOES CARRIE ACTUALLY OWN A KITCHEN?
Why yes she does, but she does store her sweaters in the oven. Does she use the kitchen for cooking? Well, actually, never. Carrie is either dining for brunch, lunch, happy hour, and then dinner, which gives us the impression her food bill will be quite high. Cutting down on the dining experience, and large quantities of takeouts might actually save her some cash.

7. SHE LIKES HER MONEY WHERE SHE CAN SEE IT, IN HER CLOSET
If only Carrie put as much effort into her finances as she did her fashion. I mean, nobody rocks a tutu like Carrie!

Whilst we get the idea that Carrie gets gifted certain pieces from some of her wealthy associates, she also loves retail therapy. In fact, it was estimated that she spent $175,000 upwards on her wardrobe in Season 4. Looking good comes at a price.

8. KICKING HABITS CAN ALSO KICK COSTS DOWN
Whilst Carrie’s smoking habits did fit the trend for the ‘90s and 2000s, Carrie made her cigarettes part of her style. So, in case her cab rides, designer clothes, and expensive footwear weren’t enough to make you cry, just add the price of her monthly cigarette purchases!

9. WE ALL WISH WE COULD HAVE OUR OWN PERSONAL ASSISTANT
Looking at the movie, we all remember when Carrie hired Jennifer Hudson as her personal assistant. Whilst her career development from Vogue contributor to book author is impressive, it seems a little much to onboard a PA.

Email checking or love advice, Carrie did make use of her PA so maybe it wasn’t one of her worst investments?

10. JEOPARDIZING HER FINANCIAL FUTURE, EVERY SINGLE DAY
Whilst Carrie is a very fun character, she doesn’t help herself much. With the amount of debt she will have racked up month on month, and with no visible signs of any savings (unless you class her wardrobe as her stash), future Carrie may have very difficult financial decisions to deal with.

Whilst Carrie’s salary is disputed, it’s thought she would earn approximately $4,333 a month, according to Glassdoor benchmark salaries. With that in mind, it’s safe to say that her cash flows didn’t quite add up. In fact, overall she is estimated to make her way through $6,059 a month! It doesn’t take a genius to work out that Carrie is racking up the debt.

Carrie is estimated to overspend by $21k a year, which when totalled up throughout the series and movies leads to her landing herself in a staggering quarter of a million dollars in debt!

Whilst Carrie remains a 90s fashion icon, it’s probably best not to copy her spending habits.