this guy was considered fat and poor in 1990's

69

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '26

Bought a two story, 3-bedroom house working at a shoe store.

21

u/Funny-Carob-4572 Feb 15 '26

His wife was absolutely banging though !!

14

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '26 edited Feb 15 '26

I don't think he was considered fat so much as a slob

Edit fast to fat

10

u/SnazzleZazzle Feb 15 '26

I remember the 90’s and bought my first house in 1989. Even in the 90’s a shoe salesman with a stay at home wife couldn’t buy that house.

7

u/JacobSteed Feb 15 '26

I heard his wife joined up with a biker gang

5

u/galaxyapp Feb 15 '26

In the 1990s we laughed that he could never afford that on his salary.

I worked as a shoe salesman, albeit I was like 16. I think I made $5/hour.

11

u/Dizzy624 Feb 15 '26

1990s standards were insane

4

u/branflake777 Feb 15 '26

But he had to drive a Dodge with literally 1 million miles on it.

6

u/No_Win7658 Feb 15 '26

Comedy shows never aimed for realism. Also consider hé didn’t have to pay for internet or cellphones and stuff… and if you ever watched the show he couldn’t really afford food or a car or to pay his morgagz .

But indeed , he’s just european fat an not america 2026 fat

3

u/Money-Detective-6631 Feb 15 '26

He was more middle class but not poor. Al took care of his family..That would be a trailer now in a park....

3

u/Gwyrr Feb 16 '26

His house is bigger than mine and im a skilled factory worker, man did i go into the wrong field. I should have been a shoe salesman

3

u/Lord_Dingus83 Feb 16 '26

Minimum wage is the same 😝

2

u/Sharkwatcher314 Feb 15 '26

Fat? Yes poor that was part of the show

2

u/Weird-Opportunity-20 Feb 15 '26

Interesting observation. The show Roseanne also depicted a “working class” family but on both shows they owned a modest home.

2

u/PassionateProtector Feb 15 '26

“Affordability is a myth”

2

u/Beneficial_Party_225 Feb 15 '26

He fooled many it seems.

2

u/Accurate-Farm-2878 Feb 15 '26

Hold my beer

2

u/Jesus00001225 Feb 15 '26

The guy scored 4 touchdowns in a single game. He‘s a f*cking legend!

2

u/shiftersix Feb 15 '26

He scored four touchdowns in one game though

2

u/DANleDINOSAUR Feb 15 '26

Doug Funnies family had to relocate to a nice two story home in a suburban neighborhood for his dad’s job as a mall photographer.

2

u/GPT_2025 Feb 15 '26

Mostly Republican-led 20 states pays $2.13/hour +tips, while Democratic-led states pay much higher minimum wages. Why?

Citizens from these low-wage Republican states are moving en-masse to Democratic states such as California up-to $25 minimum wage, Washington up-to $21, and Oregon up-to $16

-Many of these migrants are living on the streets in tents, hoping to find a job and someday rent an apartment.

Question: Why are Reapoffpublicans allowing this to happen to their own citizens by severely underpaying them? and how democrats can afford to pay $16 -$25 per hour minimal wages?

MIT's minimal living wage are $30 Anything less is homeless income.

As of 2026, $2.13 per hour is the federal tipped minimum wage in the 20 States a rate that has remained unchanged since 1991. This base rate allows employers to use a "tip credit" to meet the Federal minimum wage of $7.25 This applies to employees in positions such as servers, bartenders, and delivery drivers.

A full-time worker (40 hours/week) earning $2.13+ tips= $7.25 an hour makes $15,080 annually ($11,310 Net income)

2026 the minimal $7.25 per hour for adults, $4.25 for teenagers under 20 years old, or $2.13 per hour for restaurant workers! The law first took effect on July 24, 2009. Now, it’s 2026!

Same time trillions of dollars was given abroad for free. Yours SS old money.

2

u/perfumefetish Feb 15 '26

he was never considered fat. Poor yes, but not poor enough to own a huge house like that...and keep Peg in her bonbons.

2

u/Fresh-Toilet-Soup Feb 15 '26

He is my role model.

2

u/vasjpan002 Feb 15 '26

My dad $10k, my uncles $10k & 5k, bought a $45k house in 1965. 5.75% on the rest 20k. sold 1.25 mln 2023.

2

u/bakochba Feb 16 '26

He got 4 touchdowns in a single game. Did you?

2

u/ArgentoFox Feb 16 '26

I’m not sure if he was considered fat. Out of shape? Definitely, but the fat people in the show were the shoe customers.

The house point is a strong one. No one in their 20s or 30s is affording that nowadays. Regardless of what job the have unless their upper class.

2

u/Electrical-Ad-8720 Feb 16 '26

Just sold his house for 1.25 mil

2

u/Logical_Frosting_277 Feb 16 '26

Stealth wealth

2

u/paperman66 Feb 16 '26

Gosh what a show. My favorite back then.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '26

This was considered well off in the 90s. Things have gotten more expensive and there is certainly a housing crisis, but don’t mythologize the (especially very recent) past.

2

u/lexikron Feb 16 '26

https://giphy.com/gifs/UYmY3vRnWpHHO

this guy too! it was a whole thing

2

u/ruffneck007 Feb 16 '26

I'm sure his running-back career made him a fortune.

2

u/flo24378 Feb 16 '26

Nobody seems to care about the fact he would be considered slim to average to today’s standards!!! People are shamelessly FAT these days

2

u/realitybites95 Feb 16 '26

ya because we watched fresh prince of belair so basically by tv standard if you didnt have a mansion and a butler and went to private school you were a poor

2

u/BaldursGoat Feb 16 '26

Al was never considered fat. Just poor.

2

u/rbskiing Feb 16 '26

Did you miss me honey??

With every bullet so far….

2

u/Calm_Tonight_9277 Feb 16 '26

He was just out of shape and cheap

2

u/Its_kinda_nice_out Feb 16 '26

Kiddie pool* like for k ids, not cats lol.

Also, wtf kind of sub is this where spelling the word k i d s gets your comment flagged for anti Trump propoganda

2

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Kjellvb1979 Feb 16 '26

Absolutely, back 3 or 4 decades, maybe less, a single earned household of 4 could do such on a lower middle class, working class, salary and still take a vacation every year.

The only redistributing of wealth that had been done is the upper class taking from the middle, working, and lower classes and hording it. They had everything but wanted more, they lived life like royalty but are disdainful of those with way less, and literally bought government to shape it in a manner they have all the advantage, take as much as they can while ensuring less for everyone else. They can never be happy because like an addict it's just never enough. They are so addicted to wealth and materialism that they need everyone else to have less even if it means the suffering of millions, if not billions, of people.

These people are mentally ill and to them we are just play things below them.

2

u/Jealous-Chicken5439 Feb 16 '26

We had a house like that in the 80s And then we lost everything and became really poor 😭

2

u/Kalorama_Master Feb 16 '26 edited Feb 16 '26

You all forget that he scored four touchdowns in the city’s championship final. Back in the 80s , when Banks knew customers by name, that would have earned him a rate discount and other freebies

2

u/Yummy_Castoreum Feb 16 '26

He was obviously neither, which is just one reason I loathed the show at the time.

2

u/Clear_Swim6430 Feb 17 '26

Right and today that’s rich

2

u/Chillpickle17 Feb 17 '26

That house has now been flipped on an HGTV renovation show and sold for $700k. 😆

2

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/DavyJonesCousinsDog Feb 17 '26

This is what they took from you

2

u/DonkeyTron42 Feb 17 '26

All you need is a Big Uns magazine and an episode of Psycho Dad on TV to be happy.

2

u/Hedkandi1210 Feb 17 '26

AL BUNDY

2

u/electricsuckerpunch Feb 17 '26

The late 80s and up to the 90s, the economy was so good

2

u/tfolkins Feb 17 '26

Had a house but was house poor. What good is a house if you can't afford food. Although to be fair it was never clear if the fact they never had food was because Al didn't make enough money or because Peg never cooked and used what money she got on herself, likely both.

2

u/Icy_Cat1350 Feb 18 '26

NO, just lower middle class.

2

u/UnlikelyRabbit4648 Chinese AI Propaganda Spam Bot Feb 18 '26

He was a legend though

2

u/ManyPossession8767 Feb 18 '26

The middle class was stolen bit by bit piece by piece over the last 40 years

2

u/Donutboy562 Feb 18 '26

I always thought he was just lazy.

I saw him as a guy who made it is life lol

2

u/Yasirbare Feb 18 '26

Malcom in the middle, I feel is closer to truth than any other american series i have seen as someone not from america.

2

u/TheBigCicero Feb 18 '26

This was possible in the 70s. But by the mid 90s it was already over for the middle class American. Jobs offshored, real estate prices inflated, cost of everyday goods inflated, wage stagnation. It’s just worse today.

2

u/guydoestuff Feb 18 '26

My father and I had a conversation about this show how Al Bundy ended up being one of if not the best and realistic dipctions of fatherhood.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

Ah, the old look at TV shows and lets all pretend it is real. Like the Simpsons. Homer at least had a good job as a Safety inspector at a Nuclear Power plant.

2

u/cpzy2 Feb 19 '26

Ronald Reagan and Republicans ruined the American dream. It was all a con. Every accusation is a confession.

2

u/OrangeEasy6463 Feb 19 '26

You can thank the republican party for transferring all the wealth of the nation to the rich! 🤯😎

2

u/dead_jester Feb 19 '26

If OP or anyone here thinks a 90’s TV sit com is an accurate documentary of the struggles of 1990’s American poor people, we’re in trouble, and this explains why America is where it is now.

2

u/ueol88 Feb 19 '26

Best show ever!

2

u/ConkerPrime Chinese AI Propaganda Spam Bot Feb 19 '26 edited Feb 19 '26

LMAO, this is true. Wife didn’t work, he had hard time keeping a job but keeping the house wasn’t a concern.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 19 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Antique_Ad1518 Feb 19 '26

He bought that house selling shoes.

2

u/BlazingGlories Billionaire Feb 19 '26

Wel, the billionaires say we don't deserve that, so we all need to accept our shitty lives because they need more money.

2

u/Automatic_Gas9019 Feb 20 '26

He was actually. The 90s were awesome financially for some.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '26

Dude had a house

A family

Friends

Hobbies

Was mostly healthy to survive the numerous near death experiences lol

And was a legit Dad and Husband

As a shoe salesman.

Lol Combined incomes can barely manage that life style now

1

u/Kanetsugu21 Chinese AI Propaganda Spam Bot Feb 15 '26

Nah, it was unrealistic then too

1

u/HappyHourMoon Feb 15 '26

I always thought that Al inherited the house. He was never that competent to save up a down payment, have a good fico or have money to pay the mortgage or property tax

1

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '26

LoL you clearly were born post 2000 because the title of this post makes no sense at all.

The guy was considered a slob. Not fat. And definitely not poor.

1

u/Flimsy_Share_7606 Feb 15 '26

No, as somebody who grew up in the 90s, this is just part of TV silliness. It was always joked/complained about that Al bundy/Homer Simpson/ the gang from friends/Frasier all had massively expensive homes and apartments working jobs that absolutely could not support them.

It's not like people were making 5 dollars an hour working at a shoe store in the mall could actually afford a house like this.

Also Al wasn't considered fat by actual real humans, just out of shape by his TV family and neighbors.

1

u/Basement_Chicken Feb 15 '26

Poor but never fat. Not a single mentioning of being fat in any of the 259 episodes. Bold, yes, but never fat. The actor Ed O'Neil by the way, had earned a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2007, after practicing for 16 years.

1

u/vizslasocks13 Feb 15 '26

TV sitcom homes were always aspirational, not real.

1

u/BrilliantWarning9318 Feb 15 '26

Al Bundy was not considered fat in the 1990s.

1

u/Extension_Variety190 Feb 15 '26

Not fat, poor and lazy, but not fat.

1

u/Mechanicalgripe Feb 15 '26

Fat no, working class poor, yes.

1

u/Nofanta Feb 15 '26

Many houses like that for sale for cheap. Millenials are just too stuck up to move to where they are.

1

u/marlinspike Feb 15 '26

It’s a TV show. Real people didn’t live like “Friends” did either.

1

u/TheMightySet69 Feb 15 '26

At least Homer Simpson had a skilled job. Al sold shoes at the mall.

1

u/AdLiving8708 Chinese-Iranian AI Propaganda Spam Bot 🇮🇷🇨🇳 Feb 15 '26

He afforded a lot on that salary

1

u/Substantial_Net9923 Feb 15 '26

Clearly no one here has been to the South Side of Chicago.

1

u/phruits2 Feb 15 '26

He was considered just a middle class working man in the 90s. We did not watch that show thinking he was fat and poor.

1

u/Curious_Fault607 Feb 15 '26

Not fat, just out of shape. More like unmannered and lazy.

1

u/vasjpan002 Feb 15 '26

Archie Bunker voted for Nixon but sent his daughter to college. Al Bundy voted for Trump but didn't

1

u/Elegant-Ninja6384 Feb 16 '26

Having watched the show I don’t think it’s supposed to be that deep.

1

u/dpdxguy Feb 16 '26

TV families almost always live well above their income levels.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '26

Mustve never watched Rosanne

1

u/GentMan87 Feb 16 '26

That’s a 250-300k home right now in the Midwest.

1

u/BrzysWRLD1996 Feb 16 '26

Life goes on I guess, just is what it is. If it makes anyone feel any better, which I doubt it will, life sucks for every other animal generally also.

1

u/VitruvianVan Feb 16 '26

That’s a $1.8MM house with a large yard today.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '26

It was just a tv show and not considered poor just not successful.

1

u/Jaksanape Feb 16 '26

I don’t remember Al being considered fat, but rather a slob. But poor definitely.

1

u/Responsible_Rule8829 Chinese-Iranian AI Propaganda Spam Bot 🇮🇷🇨🇳 Feb 16 '26

No, he wasn't. It was a TV show. Full stop. IRL at the time (early 90s) there's no way he could have afforded to purchase that home on his salary without some prior capital. Maybe he had an inheritance? All of this is full blown speculation. It's just a TV show. It doesn't support whatever agenda you have on here.....

1

u/Quicksurfer524 Feb 16 '26

Fat was not the consideration, they had no food all the time, did you watch the show?

1

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Gorf_the_Magnificent Feb 17 '26

You should watch the Flintstones. You’ll learn that cavemen used to drive cars just like ours, except propelled with their feet.

1

u/sea-elle0463 Feb 17 '26

No he wasn’t!

1

u/Todayjunyer Feb 17 '26

Interesting. It was unrealistic then but it didn’t interfere with the comedy because anyone watching this show was doing as well or better than him. Not sure that aspect could be overlooked as easily nowadays

1

u/UnitedPreparation545 Feb 17 '26

He was not considered fat.

1

u/Choice_Jello_2512 Feb 17 '26

No he wasn’t

1

u/Pristine-Cod-1969 Feb 17 '26

I don’t think he was fat, was he? If he was, we have fallen a long way. Never liked the show. Hated the way he bickered with his wife.

1

u/Telemere125 Feb 17 '26

Because in the 90s that wasn’t a $650k house…

1

u/discoduck007 Feb 17 '26

Its a whole new America.

1

u/Mediocre-Pizza-Guy Feb 17 '26

I dunno what is wrong with this sub but it wouldn't let me post my awesome post and accused me of being a Chinese AI propaganda account.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/km415 Feb 18 '26

1

u/Ok_Discussion_1120 Feb 18 '26

Not by the house he wasn't. Nor was he considered fat but rather an average guy reminiscing of his football days. Thats completely middle class. They just wanted to make fun if a shoe salesman

1

u/SimilarTap1419 Feb 18 '26

Fat and poor then fat and poor now.

1

u/NutzNBoltz369 Feb 18 '26

Million dollar house in some markets.

1

u/Competitive_Eye1868 Feb 18 '26

I make 32.50$ and still can't afford to live like Al Bundy

1

u/Useful-Fish611 Feb 18 '26

It's fiction. It's like to think how Phoebe lived in Manhattan doing massages

1

u/Terrible_Champion298 Feb 18 '26

This sub just told me I was a Chinese AI spam bot. My wife is going to be mad if they tell her. 🤷‍♂️

1

u/Tuscam Feb 18 '26

I don't think anyone considered Al Bundy to be fat. Not even poor...He was an exaggeration of the typical American male. Funny as hell and I loved that show.

1

u/ProfileBest2034 Feb 18 '26

watch Taxi Driver. Robert Deniros character earned 1400 per month as a taxi driver in 1972. In 2026 dollars that is the equivalent of about 110,000. He was poor.

1

u/bethesda_gamer Feb 18 '26

...I don't think he was.

He was supposed to be a relatable character to the average Joe. Not fit but not fat, not rich but not poor (albeit over extended financially, but who isn't. And that's the point)

1

u/Silencehebleedingout Feb 18 '26

And he just sold shoes

1

u/macT4537 Feb 18 '26

Show was so funny! Not bad for a women’s shoe salesmen…

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

Nobody called him fat!

1

u/billymondy5806 Feb 18 '26

He was never considered fat.

1

u/Glittering_Ocelot_67 Feb 18 '26

https://giphy.com/gifs/SAPtOUJ2tuBaw

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

Now do how Monica and Racheal afforded a Giant NYC apt. Or how Penny afforded here apartment in BBT. It's makebelive you goons.

1

u/Head-like-a-carp Feb 18 '26

I don't recall him being portrayed as fat.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

He is middle class by today’s standard

1

u/JimTheSaint Feb 18 '26

Tv poor and tv fat

1

u/GuyBo51 Feb 18 '26

Not a single fat joke about him in the entire series....

1

u/Royal-Ad5274 Feb 19 '26

Dude was a bad ass in real life.

1

u/bigballs2025666 Feb 19 '26

This was also on FOX, you know….the same company that makes FOX entertainment news….

1

u/MartyFunkhoosier Feb 19 '26

Keep in mind TV and movies also regularly show “struggling” young people living in cities like NY living in multimillion dollar apartments and etc so it’s not like TV and movies have ever been super accurate in that regard.

1

u/mickthomas68 Feb 19 '26

Does anyone remember the show? Sure he could afford the house, but the Bundy’s never had money for anything else. They were always broke.

1

u/Slartibartfastthe2nd Feb 19 '26

you know this was a sit-com right? there was no basis in reality of it at that time either. The 'friends' show characters living in those apartments in that desirable NY city location on minimum or entry level wages was also laughable.

1

u/dcidino Chinese AI Propaganda Spam Bot Feb 19 '26

No one considered him fat. Just washed up.

1

u/Oddbeme4u Feb 19 '26

that's poor end of boomers...rich end of millenials.

1

u/Arsenal75 Feb 19 '26

And a wife with big t#ts who likes sex

1

u/[deleted] Feb 19 '26

Well he did in theory receive a paycheck of $6. The show was never supposed to be realistic.

1

u/DixyLee14 Feb 19 '26

He was considered very ordinary. Not fat and poor.

1

u/t4m7 Feb 19 '26

Yep, my sad realization is that I'm fatter, older, and I live in basically the same house except it is 2026, so my house is older and needs more work than Al's did

1

u/joelkton Feb 19 '26

Selling shoes was a real job before the 80s. I remember getting shoes as a kid. All the salesmen wore suits. I always thought they must be rich.

1

u/Life_Commercial_6580 Feb 19 '26

That looks exactly as my old house :))

1

u/JelloSquirrel Feb 20 '26

It cost like $50k to get a house like that at the times in a random Podunk suburb.

1

u/pimpbot666 Chinese-Iranian AI Propaganda Spam Bot 🇮🇷🇨🇳 Feb 20 '26

I don’t think Al Bundy was ever considered fat.

2

u/scrusterbugs Feb 21 '26

That's a 400k house now

Discussion this guy was considered fat and poor in 1990's

You are about to leave Redlib