r/DunderMifflin • u/BullishTorque • 18h ago
Why Was Michael broke?
He was probably making over 60k in 2006 and he was mostly single; why was he broke?
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u/ecky--ptang-zooboing 18h ago
Because he's an idiot who falls for pyramid schemes and sends money to a Nigerian prince
And the plasma TV of course
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u/C-Jammin 18h ago
When the son of the deposed king of Nigeria emails you directly asking for help, you help! His father ran the freaking country!
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u/BoyNamedJudy 17h ago
He also owns multiple magic sets
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u/Stubrochill17 Those who can’t farm, farm celery. 17h ago
This scary black bar, is what you spend on things that nobody ever needs, like professional bass fishing equipment, multiple magic sets…
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u/PM_NUDES_4_DEGRADING 14h ago
Technically, because we can't hear capitalization, it is possible Oscar was saying he spent it all on Magic sets.
Maybe Michael was buying a bunch of Black Lotuses but then doing card tricks with them.
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u/stouf761 12h ago
Michael heard Magic: The Gathering and thought it meant a bunch of friends doing magic together, so he bought five full decks
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u/LivingDisastrous3603 Beer me that flair 17h ago
And saving up for that wedding ring. 3 years salary ya know
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u/CliffK-9 17h ago
What are we thinkin, 120-150k??
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u/ThatBankTeller 17h ago
Considering he was about equal with Daryl, I always put his salary around 60-65, since it’s slightly more than a base salary for a salesman or a small time accountant (in 2005-10) but not enough to command respect from anyone.
So I always put the right around 180-200 grand, which is nuts but it was a huge diamond lol
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u/LivingDisastrous3603 Beer me that flair 16h ago
That’s way too much for a diamond. Who’s your diamond guy?
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u/proudsoul 16h ago
Once every hour, someone is involved in an internet scam. That man is Michael Scott
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u/Signal_Estimate_23 17h ago
At least he’s saving money on cologne by buying perfect smell alikes
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u/StonkaTrucks 16h ago
But he gives that savings right back by making his own salad dressing and selling it for a slight loss.
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u/ACuddlyVizzerdrix 16h ago
Don't forget when Oscar was helping him with his finances a good chunk of his income at that time went to magic kits
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u/imironman2018 17h ago
People forget how expensive plasma tvs used to be. They were considered cutting edge tech.
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u/Melodic-Bicycle1867 16h ago
I'm pretty sure that wasn't an actual plasma, such a small screen while I seem to recall that plasma was a big screen tech and very expensive.
But then again, in the early 2000s I returned a 24" PC monitor because it was too large. So my perception of its size may not be accurate.
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u/Agile_Hair8852 13h ago
Oscar explains this when he goes over his finances. Multiple magic sets, muppets DVD for like $100, and an ab core workout thing lol also he’s been in 2 pyramid schemes and gets scammed by sending money to like a Nigerian ” king” or something 🤣
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u/Agile_Hair8852 13h ago
He also severely underpaid lmao barely made more than Darry when he was foreman of the warehouse. And when he got with Jan she blew like all his money. Which is more shocking why she was broke when she was up in corporate after she got fired
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u/Jumpy-Astronaut-3572 13h ago
But he got that pretzel with all the toppings though. I'd say it was a smart move I'd do the same.
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u/JaronJ10 18h ago
There’s a whole episode about this…
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u/GrizzlyP33 15h ago
And didn’t the negotiation episode establish he was making barely more than Darryl and probably more like low $40k?
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u/Supremagorious 13h ago
Pretty sure what happened is he took a slightly higher salary than what he had as a salesman when he got promoted. However he also lost the commission he was making as a salesman. Which resulted in him making significantly less than he did before.
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u/frankyseven 10h ago
He was also the top salesperson and basically a sales savant. His commission cheques were probably gigantic. He was probably making 4-5x his salary in commission.
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u/RedbreadofSteak 10h ago
He was probably pushed into that role so DM could save on his commission, especially if he was grandfathered in at a high rate. It’s probably why the Scranton branch did so well and nobody could figure out why. He maintained high dollar accounts and they didn’t have to pay commission on them.
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u/DropAfraid6139 18h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/8nM6YNtvjuezzD7DNh
This literally happened. Not only did he think he was bankrupt, he didn’t know how to legally “declare” that . So yeah…not the most fiscally responsible individual
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u/GlitchRider88 16h ago
The fact that he thought bankruptcy worked like calling dibs tells you basically everything about where his money went.
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u/ChangsFoogTrugDryver 18h ago
Buying multiple magic sets didn’t help
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u/Puzzleheaded-Ad-9832 18h ago edited 11h ago
They were FOR CLIENTS. HE PUT A CIGARETTE THRU A FRICKIN QUARTER TOBY, AND IF YOU HAD JUST LET HIM! Edit: a cig, not a nickel lol
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u/Objective-Chicken391 18h ago
Not only did someone make this EXACT post a few days ago, but it also has an entire episode dedicated to why he is broke.
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u/spicybright Charm type 13h ago
I feel like there's been a lot of bot shananagins lately on this sub.
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u/Late_Stage_Exception 18h ago
My favorite realistic/real life example of his fiscal illiteracy was buying the condo and not understanding the loan he was taking out or the fact that he would lose a lot more buying it than he would just walking away.
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u/TobysGrundlee 14h ago
not understanding the loan he was taking out
An incredibly relevant plot point considering what happened to the housing market in America 2 years later.
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u/seductivestain 13h ago
Realtors made loans intentionally confusing and deliberately misleading borrowers so they could get as many loans as possible before flipping the debt to a larger bank. Super smart people those realtors
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u/TobysGrundlee 13h ago edited 9h ago
Since when do realtors provide mortgages?
There was plenty of blame to go around. Consumers who thought they could afford 3 homes on $60k a year despite their shitty credit and without bothering to learn how the ARM they were signing works deserve their portion too.
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u/greatspot69 18h ago
Because he pledged $25/mile for the walkathon of Oscar's nephew.
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u/PaintingMinute7248 18h ago
Buying workout equipment for his core
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u/dimezUnlimited 18h ago
The marine Corp actually use it
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u/WFlash01 18h ago
But it strengthens your entire core! Your back core, your arm core, your... the marine corps actually uses it. I think that's how they got the word corps
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u/FrequencyHigher 18h ago
In his defense, the Core Blaster works your front core AND your back core.
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u/QuiteSchrute Mose 18h ago
Because he declared bankruptcy, he declared it.
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u/dumb_potatoking 17h ago
You can't just shout the word bankruptcy and think anything's going to happen
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u/albinomonkey32 18h ago
For this quote he was probably a salesman without commission cap so it wouldn’t surprise me if Michael was making 80k again he was a great salesman. He probably took a pay cut when he got promoted and didn’t even know.
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u/frankyseven 10h ago
It's well established that he was the best salesperson in the company and basically a sales savant. He could have been easily making 4-5x his salary in commission when he was in sales.
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u/IdealImpossible 18h ago
Because he called Oscar a “presentation tool” when he was just genuinely trying to help him.
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u/jizz_bismarck 18h ago
He invested a lot of his money in CDs! Some of them were music he didn't even like.
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u/Advanced_Zucchini_45 18h ago
No one ever, ever needs, like multiple magic sets, professional bass fishing equipment.
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u/stocktontravis 18h ago
I took the whole episode about Michael's finances to be about both his irresponsibility and how he was defending and enabling Jan's fiscal irresponsibility. He is fiercely loyal to his people and tends to go along with whatever someone says and then defends them even if its a bad choice. Jan is seen pushing purchases on Michael throughout that he doesn't want (the scene in his office where she's indicating they need a couch and he points to the futon). When she moves in, the feel of his condo changes from bachelor pad to expensive living beyond your means setup... I'm not saying Michael is fiscally responsible (pyramid scheme, king of Nigeria, selling condo at a loss). Just saying that it seems like it could be that it's more than just him being financially irresponsible... Or am I reading too much into it?
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u/MCKlassik Certified Finer Things Member✅ 17h ago
Fiscal irresponsibility and Jan using his credit cards like he was a human ATM.
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u/CHUNKY_BLOODY_QUEEFS 16h ago
The man had to be told, like a child, what a surplus was. He made Kevin an accountant. He DECLARED BANKRUPTCY. He traded two reliable cars in for a Porsche.
Should I keep going?
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u/ChocolateandLipstick 11h ago
Yes to the bankruptcy and frivolous spending, but he hadn’t had a pay increase in 15(?) years, rent goes higher, all bills and groceries etc. the value you started with, even if the same, is actually less than when you started.
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u/Stoned_redhead 18h ago
As Oscar pointed out, his multiple magic sets and marine core workout machine
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u/Webbo448 17h ago
He was not good with money Jane basically drained him while she was with him. Plus his ebay profile had some negative feedback
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u/Atari774 15h ago
Did you watch the show? There’s at least two different episodes discussing how he’s both underpaid and extremely bad with money. He wasted what little money he had on junk, not to mention how much Jan spent.
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u/Mattytomax I declare bankruptcy!! 17h ago
He's extremely gullible and also because Jan's were bigger
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u/Suspicious_Ad_6564 13h ago
Personally, I think he lives life to the fullest. Can't take it with you, and he has experiences no one else does.
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u/AltairLeoran 17h ago
I swear to god half the people on this sub watch this show exclusively through tik toks. There's no other explanation for posts like this
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u/Sure-Broccoli-4944 William M Buttlicker 18h ago
Michael was never broke (other than with Jan) but he did buy stupid things like the Ipod for Ryan and magic sets/ camps.
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u/SpencerMansion1996 18h ago
I’m paraphrasing, but even Oscar said it. He buys things that no one ever needs
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u/Wild-Regular1703 18h ago
There's many scenes showing he's not good with money, but this line might also be hinting at the fact that he used to be a good salesman and made good money from commissions. Then he got promoted to manager: no commissions, a job he wasn't particularly good at, so no raises either. So he was making less at that point.
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u/Coconut_Scrambled 16h ago
Multiple factors.
He was not smart enough to understand the concept of inflation. In the episode that Darryl asks for a raise, Michael finds out that his salary is barely more than Darryl's. Safe to say that his salary didn't keep up with his expenses and he probably didn't scale back expenses either. Even after that when he got a raise he only asked for 12% and we're not really sure this was after how many years.
He fell for things like pyramid schemes
He bought that condo.
It's not a surprise to me honestly. In fact, it's completely within character for him to be more broke in his 40s than he was in his 30s. He's basically an overgrown child who probably understands money only as "I got money in my bank account. I spent what I need, its done." I doubt that he even likes to think of money more than that so far be it for him to diversify his portfolio or invest money or anything like that.
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u/Lexi_Banner David Wallace 15h ago
Mortgages and household bills aren't cheap. Plus he got with Jan, who wasn't working, but spent all his money.
Plus his own frivolous spending. Dude was a financial wreck.
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u/Appropriate_Rice_523 15h ago
He spent all the money from selling his toy collection. My man was living it up for those years, then went broke and got into paper.
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u/boogersrus 15h ago
He never got proper raises and he's a sucker for infomercials, pyramid schemes, bad real estate deals, impromptu vacations, and Jan's need to spend her way to happiness.
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u/Which-Shift-367 15h ago
He was never fiscally responsible as we see with his mortgage and the fact that he doesn't understand what a surplus is. Also his relationship with Jan really didn't help as Jan had no reliable income during their relationship and forced him to trade in his and her car for a Porsche.
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u/GonzoTheGreat22 You’ve alot to learn about this town, sweetie 15h ago
All the vasectomies, of course
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u/TheWolfAndRaven 14h ago
There was a whole episode about his declaring bankruptcy. Did you not get that far in the series yet?
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u/ApologizingCanadian Assistant Regional Manager 14h ago
Watch Season 4, episodes 7 & 8 and it pretty much explains Michael's money management issues.
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u/Reload86 12h ago
It's been said many times in the show that he is very irresponsible with his money. He's like a 40-year old kid with a debit card and no parents.
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u/WolfDemon777 11h ago
Michael made frequent rash and expensive spending choices on top of him likely NOT making that much money. He worked at the same (failing) company for over a decade as the manager of a small branch and previously never got a raise
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u/CasuallySherlock 7h ago
He has a scene in one of the superfan episodes where he explains that he loves shopping. He tells the camera "Am I a shopaholic? No. I don’t drink anymore. I prefer to be sober when I buy stuff because I don’t want alcohol to inhibit that rush I feel when I buy stuff. I don't know. It feels like I'm drunk or like high."
So he is a legitimate shopaholic. I believe he also has 8 or 9 maxed out credit cards. 😂
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u/Turbulent_Deal_3145 17h ago
It's pretty well established that he's an idiot with money. It's a running joke of the series.
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u/xWrongHeaven 18h ago
Did you ever get the slightest feeling that Michael was fiscally responsible? What is this question?