'Friends': Did Phoebe Buffay Make A Lot More Money Than We Thought?
PhoebeBuffay was, by far, the most mysterious Friends character. Think about it, sure she’s shared tidbitsabout her childhood and background, but a lot of critical points changedepending on the situation. It’s also assumed that her rough and tumble early lifehas led to a less-than-stable financial situation. While that is often thecase, it doesn’t look like its true for Phoebe. While she alleges in Season 1to be one of the “poor” friends, it seems like she might have been pulling inmore money than she let on. Dare we say it, she might have even been able toafford her life in Manhattan.
What was Phoebe Buffay’s job?
Fans who are not well-versed in the world of Friends oftenthink Phoebe was a struggling musician by trade. While the flighty blondenjoyed making up her own songs and sharing them with the captive audience of acoffeeshop, it wasn’t a paying gig. Instead, Phoebe was a massage therapist. Atthe start of the series, she worked for a significant spa chain, earning apretty decent salary.
Bustlenotes that Phoebe was consistently employed during the entirety of the series, somethingthat the other Friends characters can’t claim. She even landed a job ata high-end spa towards the end of the series, which assured she was making plentyof money to get by.
How much would Phoebe have made as a masseuse?
The writers for Friends originally called Phoebe a masseuse, while the term was acceptable a couple of decades ago, professionals in the industry now prefer to be called massage therapist, and they are exceptionally well-trained in New York. In New York, a massage therapist must complete the proper schooling and pass a licensing test to work in a spa or therapy office. They must also keep their license active to continue to practice in the state.
For their dedication to their profession, the averagemassage therapist is paid $20 per hour up to $45 per hour according to ZipRecruiter.Therapists also have the chance to double their salary with tips. If you assumePhoebe made the national average and worked roughly 40 hours a week, it’s safeto say she made about $38,000 per year before tips. With tips, it is likely Phoebeearned around $50,000 per year by the time the series ended. Today, she’d likelypull in a salary of approximately $70,000 a year.
Could she afford her Manhattan lifestyle?
So, the real question is whether or not Phoebe could makeher salary work in a city like Manhattan. Phoebe’s expenses were substantially lowerthan her friends’ expenses. One can assume that she wasn’t paying rentwhile she was living with her grandmother, and when she was livingwith Monica, prior to when the series began, she was splitting arent-controlled apartment.
Phoebe also despised anything mass-produced, and her quirky stylewas mainly procured at thrift stores and second-hand shops. She didn’t have apenchant for expensive shoes or boots, and she was completely okay with justhanging out at Monica’s most nights. Basically, besides food and a MetroCard,her expenses were basically nothing. Overall, Phoebe likely could have survivedin Manhattan on her salary because of her creative, free spirit. She may nothave earned the most out of her friends, that distinction goes to RossGeller, but she surely would have done okay.
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