History Main / FinancialTestOfFriendship

* ''Series/{{Jessie}}'': When the Ross' assets are frozen due to a tax accounting error, despite the fact she is no longer being paid to look after her charges, Jessie chooses to stay with the children during this crisis. Tony allows them to live in his apartment until the error is resolved.
* A rare example of this trope being used as backstory rather than as a StatusQuoIsGod situation is ''Series/MortalKombatConquest''. When The Baron dies, Siro effectively loses his job as the Baron's bodyguard. Kung Lao lets Siro stay at the Trading Post to run the Trading Post with him and Taja since the three of them became friends during the events of the first episode.
* ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody:'' Mr Tipton invests all of his money in a diamond mine that doesn't have any diamonds. When London's presidential suite and her valuable assets are seized by the bank as partial payment of the debt incurred, Maddie invites London to stay with her family, though she was reluctant at first, but started to enjoy it over time. At the end of the episode, the mine yields a massive oil reserve and the Tipton fortune is restored.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "The Old Man and Lisa", bad investments cause Mr Burns to temporarily lose all his money and be thrown out of his mansion. His right-hand man Smithers tells him his best immediate action is to move in with him, even continuing to dote over him and refer to him formally as "Sir" despite Lenny now being his employer and Burns essentially being Smithers' lodger without rent pay.

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987''. Repeated several times in the original series of Duck Tales, with many episodes occurring where Scrooge temporarily loses all his money. His staff (Duckworth, Mrs Beakley, and Launchpad) all remain loyal to Scrooge despite him being unable to pay for their employment and often help him solve the dilemma needed to regain his fortune.

* PlayedWith in ''Fanfic/TheKarmaOfLies'': After Adrien's father is exposed as Hawkmoth and arrested, he finds himself in an increasingly precarious financial position, especially after losing access to his family's emergency account when [[spoiler:Lila cleans it out]]. As his circumstances worsen, the majority of his classmates stand by his side, save for Marinette and Chloe... mainly because Adrien previously [[BetrayalByInaction refused to help]] ''Marinette'' back when ''she'' was struggling. Furthermore, Chloe realizes that he was a FairWeatherFriend to ''her'' as well, only invoking their status as {{Childhood Friend}}s whenever it suits his needs, such as when he tries to convince her to help him convince Marinette to do what he wants. In other words, Adrien's plight is used to illustrate what an EntitledBastard he is, expecting everyone to drop everything and assist him in ways that he [[AllTakeAndNoGive refuses to do for anyone else]]. Ultimately, the friends that stand beside him [[spoiler:learn how he betrayed ''them'' as well by refusing to do anything about Lila, and dump him as well]].

!Examples:

* PlayedWith in ''Fanfic/TheKarmaOfLies''. After his father is exposed as Hawk Moth, Adrien finds himself in an increasingly precarious financial position, especially after losing access to their emergency account when [[spoiler:Lila cleans it out]]. As his circumstances worsen, the majority of his classmates stand by his side, save for Marinette and Chloe... who leave him be because of how he previously [[BetrayalByInaction did nothing to aid]] ''[[BetrayalByInaction them]]'' when they needed ''his'' help, ignoring his [[EntitledBastard entitled demands]] that they bend over backwards to save him. Ultimately, [[spoiler:the rest turn on him after learning how he betrayed ''them'' as well by letting Lila bilk them for all they were worth]].

* ''Series/ThreesCompany'': When Mr. Furley gets fired due to a series of DIYDisasters, the titular trio let him move in with them for a time. However, when he becomes TheThingThatWouldNotLeave, they conspire to get him reinstated as the building manager so he can move back into his own place again.

* ''Literature/ALittlePrincess'' is probably one of the prime examples of this. Sara Crewe is the apple of her rich father's eye, since her mother died quite early. She is pampered and lavished with all sorts of comforts, but still remains a sweet girl and thus manages to endear herself to nearly everyone at her prestigious boarding school in London. She has never known any other life and even wonders if she is only that nice and gracious because she has everything she could possibly want. (Her friend Ermengarde points out that the school's second-richest student, Lavinia, constantly behaves nastily despite having a similarly comfortable life.) Things take a turn for the worse for poor Sara, though, after a business deal with diamond mines in their home country India goes wrong for her father. He dies and the investors still want their money so every last penny is taken, leaving nothing for Sara, who is forced to work at the boarding school as a scullery maid. The friends Sara made in the beginning of the story still do their best to be there for Sara, sneaking her food, trying to improve things for her, and helping her when she is about to lose hope. Unbeknownst to her the mines turned out to be very profitable after all, even if it took a bit and when Mr. Carrisford, the business partner of Sara's father, learns of this, he sets out to look for her, so he can turn over her half of the investment to her properly.

* In an early episode of ''Series/{{Friends}}'', Monica begins working as the head chef of a restaurant and starts making good money, much like Chandler who is now a floor manager, and Ross who is a head paleontologist at the museum. To celebrate Monica's new job, the gang get together for a fancy dinner with the wealthier members of the group ordering decadent entrees, and the poorer half ordering smaller, more frugal dishes. After the check is given and Ross tries to split the hefty bill into five equal parts (excluding Monica, who the celebration is for), an argument erupts due to Phoebe, an independent masseuse, Rachel, a waitress, and Joey, a struggling actor, having to pay an unfair amount that they can't afford. When [[DontYouDarePityMe the latter three refuse to accept free tickets]] to a "Music/HootieAndTheBlowfish" concert from the former three, the arguing gets worse when the former group reveals that they went backstage for free when a promoter for the band recognizes Monica as his old babysitter. The arguing stops when Monica gets fired for taking some ingredients from her restaurant and company policy didn't accept her offer to replace what she took.

[[InterclassFriendship Interclass Friendships]] are the most common examples involved in this situation. The friend's actions can be considered a demonstration of UndyingLoyalty.

* ''Literature/ALittlePrincess'' is probably one of the prime examples of this. Sara Crewe is the apple of her rich fathers eye, since her mother died quite early. She is pampered and lavished with all sorts of comforts, but still remains a sweet girl and thus manages to endear herself to nearly everyone at her prestigious boarding school in London. She has never known any other life and even wonders if she is only that nice and gracious because she has everything she could possibly want. (Her friend Ermengarde points out that the school's second-richest student, Lavinia, constantly behaves nastily despite having a similarly comfortable life.) Things take a turn for the worse for poor Sara, though, after a business deal with diamond mines in their home country India goes wrong for her father. He dies and the investors still want their money so every last penny is taken, leaving nothing for Sara, who is forced to work at the boarding school as a scullery maid. The friends Sara made in the beginning of the story still do their best to be there for Sara, sneaking her food, trying to improve things for her and helping her when she is about to lose hope. Unbeknownst to her the mines turned out to be very profitable after all, even if it took a bit and when Mr. Carrisford, the business partner of Sara's father, learns of this, he sets out to look for her, so he can turn over her half of the investment to her properly.

* In the ''Series/{{Monk}}'' TieInNovel ''Literature/MrMonkIsCleanedOut'', Monk loses all of his savings in a massive Ponzi scam at the same time as being laid off by the police department, meaning he's unable to afford Natalie's services. While Natalie admits that at some point she may have to leave Monk to fend for himself due to needing to support herself and her daughter, she tries multiple times to get herself and Monk employed somewhere else and quits more than one job in solidarity after her former boss/friend gets fired.
* ''Literature/ALittlePrincess'' is probably one of the prime examples of this. Sara Crewe is the apple of her rich fathers eye, since her mother died quite early. She is pampered and lavished with all sorts of comforts, but still remains a sweet girl and thus manages to endear herself to nearly everyone at her prestigious boarding school in London. She has never known any other life and in some adaptations even wonders, if she is only be that nice and gracious, because she has never known any other life, but her comfortable life. Things take a turn for the worse for poor Sara though, after a business deal with diamond mines in their home country India goes wrong for her father. He dies and the investors still want their money so every last penny is taken, leaving nothing for Sara, who is forced to work at the boarding school as a scullery maid. The friends Sara made in the beginning of the story still do their best to be there for Sara, sneaking her food, trying to improve things for her and helping her, when she is about to lose hope. Unbeknownst to her the mines turn out to be very profitable after all, even if it took a bit and when Mr. Carrisford, the business partner of Saras father, learns of this, he sets out to look for her, so he can turn over her half of the investment to her properly.

* ''Literature/ALittlePrincess is probably one of the prime examples of this. Sara Crewe is the apple of her rich fathers eye, since her mother died quite early. She is pampered and lavished with all sorts of comforts, but still remains a sweet girl and thus manages to endear herself to nearly everyone at her prestigious boarding school in London. She has never known any other life and in some adaptations even wonders, if she is only be that nice and gracious, because she has never known any other life, but her comfortable life. Things take a turn for the worse for poor Sara though, after a business deal with diamond mines in their home country India goes wrong for her father. He dies and the investors still want their money so every last penny is taken, leaving nothing for Sara, who is forced to work at the boarding school as a scullery maid. The friends Sara made in the beginning of the story still do their best to be there for Sara, sneaking her food, trying to improve things for her and helping her, when she is about to lose hope. Unbeknownst to her the mines turn out to be very profitable after all, even if it took a bit and when Mr. Carrisford, the business partner of Saras father, learns of this, he sets out to look for her, so he can turn over her half of the investment to her properly.

* In an early episode of ''Series/{{Friends}}'', Monica begins working as the head chef of a restaurant and starts making good money, much like Chandler who is now a floor manager, and Ross who is a head paleontologist at the museum. On Ross' birthday the gang chips in for the cost of a fancy dinner, and after the total amount comes to a hefty sum, an argument erupts due to Phoebe, an independent masseuse, Rachel, a waitress, and Joey, a struggling actor, couldn't afford it. When [[DontYouDarePityMe the latter three refuse to accept free tickets]] to a "Music/HootieAndTheBlowfish" concert from the former three, the arguing gets worse when the former group reveals that they went backstage for free when a promoter for the band recognizes Monica as his old babysitter. The arguing stops when Monica gets fired for taking some ingredients from her restaurant and company policy didn't accept her offer to replace what she took.

* In an early episode of ''Series/{{Friends}}'', Monica is working as the head chef of a restaurant and begins making good money, much like Chandler who is now a floor manager, and Ross who is a head paleontologist at the museum. On Ross' birthday the gang chip in for the cost of the fancy dinner, and after the total amount comes to a hefty sum, an argument erupts due to Phoebe, an independent masseuse, Rachel, a waitress, and Joey, a struggling artist, couldn't afford it. When [[DontYouDarePityMe the latter three refuse to accept free tickets]] to a "Music/HootieAndTheBlowfish" concert from the latter three, the arguing gets worse when the latter group reveals they went backstage for free when a manager recognizes Monica as his old babysitter. The arguing stops when Monica gets fired for taking some ingredients from her restaurant and company policy didn't accept her offer to replace what she took.

[[AC:''Comic Books'']]
* In one old ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' comic, Bruce Wayne loses his fortune. Alfred sticks around despite being unemployed at this point and even mows lawns and gives the money to his former employer.
* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': When Jack Drake bankrupts Drake Industries and has to sell his mansion next door to Wayne Manor, he falls into a depression and none of his old friends try to keep in touch, but his new wife stays resolutely by his side and (along with Tim) does most of the paperwork needed even though the extravagant dates that Jack had taken her on are now out of reach. Of course, as she points out, Jack is far from penniless and is still more wealthy than most of the middle class.

[[AC:''Literature'']]

* In the episode "Down and Out in the Teen Club" of ''WesternAnimation/BeverlyHillsTeens'', Tara becomes penniless after a relative claims her parents' fortune. She is forced to take a job at the Teen Club, thereby ending up serving her friends. All of them are sympathetic to her plight except, of course, Bianca, who goes out of her way to add to Tara's humiliation by being a snotty customer. But Tara's friends have her back and set up a plan to make Bianca think she's penniless too. When the plan is revealed, Bianca is anything but understanding and threatens to get Tara fired, only for Tara to then get a call that the relative was a fake and her family's money is secure. Her friends are delighted, while Bianca acts like nothing happened now that Tara is a peer again.

[[InterclassFriendship Interclass Friendships]] are the most common examples involved in this situation.
The friend's actions can be considered a demonstration of UndyingLoyalty.

[[StatusQuoIsGod The money is usually restored by the end of the episode.]]
Expect BrokeEpisode plots to result from this scenario. Contrast FairWeatherFriend.

[[AC:Comic Books]]

* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': When Jack Drake bankrupts Drake Industries and has to sell his mansion next door to Wayne Manor he falls into a depression and none of his old friends try to keep in touch, but his new wife stays resolutely by his side and (along with Tim) does most of the paperwork needed even though the extravagant dates that Jack had taken her on are now out of reach. Of course, as she points out, Jack is far from penniless and is still more wealthy than most of the middle class.

[[AC:Literature]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* In the episode "Down and Out in the Teen Club" of ''WesternAnimation/BeverlyHillsTeens'', Tara becomes penniless after a relative claims her parents' fortune. She is forced to take a job at the Teen Club, thereby ending up serving her friends. All of them are sympathetic to her plight except, of course, Bianca, who goes out of her way to add to Tara's humiliation by being a snotty customer. But Tara's friends have her back and set up a plan to make Bianca think she's penniless too. When the plan is revealed, Bianca is anything but understanding and threatens to get Tara fired, only for Tara to then get a call that the relative was a fake and her family's money is secure. Her friends are delighted, while Bianca acts like nothing happened now that Tara is a peer again.

* ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody:'' Mr Tipton invests all of his money in a diamond mine that doesn't have any diamonds. When London's presidential suite and her valuable assets are seized by the bank as partial payment of the debt incurred, Maddie invites London to stay with her family. At the end of the episode, the mine yields a massive oil reserve and the Tipton fortune is restored.

Expect BrokeEpisode plots to result from this scenario.

[[AC: Comic Books]]

[[AC: Literature]]

* A rare example of this trope being used as backstory rather than as a StatusQuoIsGod situation is ''Series/MortalKombatConquest''. When The Baron dies, Siro effectively loses his job as the Baron's bodyguard. Kung Lao lets Siro stay at the Trading Post to run the Trading Post with him and Taja, since the three of them became friends during the events of the first episode.

* In an early episode of ''Series/{{Friends}}'', Monica is working as the head chef of a restaurant and begins making good money, much like Chandler who is now a floor manager, and Ross who is a head paleontologist at the museum. On Ross' birthday the gang chip in for the cost of the fancy dinner, and after the total amount comes to a hefty sum, an argument erupts due to Phoebe, an independent masseuse, Rachel, a waitress, and Joey, a struggling artist, couldn't afford it. When [[DontYouDarePityMe the latter three refuse to accept free tickets]] to a "Music/HootieAndTheBlowfish" concert from the latter three, the arguing gets worse when the latter group reveals they went backstage for free when a mamnger recognizes Monica as his old babysitter. The arguing stops when Monica gets fired for taking some ingredients from her restaurant and company policy didn't accept her offer to replace what she took.

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987''. Repeated several times in the original series of Duck Tales, with many episodes occurring where Scrooge temporarily loses all his money. His staff (Duckworth, Mrs Beakley and Launchpad) all remain loyal to Scrooge despite him being unable to pay for their employment and often help him solve the dilemma needed to regain his fortune.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "The Old Man and Lisa", bad investments cause Mr Burns to temporarily lose all his money and be thrown out of his mansion. His right hand man, Smithers tells him his best immediate action is to move in with him, even continuing to dote over him and refer to him formally as "Sir" despite Lenny now being his employer and Burns essentially being Smithers' lodger without rent pay.
* In the episode "Down and Out in the Teen Club" of ''WesternAnimation/BeverlyHillsTeens'', Tara becomes penniless after a relative claims her parents' fortune. She is forced to take a job at the Teen Club, thereby ending up serving her friends. All of them are sympathetic to her plight except, of course, Bianca, who goes out of her way to add to Tara's humiliation by being a snotty customer. But Tara's friends have her back and set up a plan to make Bianca think she's penniless too. When the plan is revealed, Bianca is anything but understanding and threatens to get Tara fired, only for Tara to then get a call that the relative was a fake and her family's money is secure. Her friends are delighted, while Bianca acts like nothing happened now that Tara is a peer again.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "The Old Man and Lisa", bad investments cause Mr Burns to temporarily lose all his money and be thrown out of his mansion. His right hand man, Smithers tells him his best immediate action is to move in with him, even continuing to dote over him and refer to him formally as "Sir" despite Lenny now being his employer and Burns essentially being Smithers' lodger without rent pay.

* In the ''Series/{{Monk}}'' TieInNovel ''Mr. Monk is Cleaned Out'', Monk loses all of his savings in a massive Ponzi scam at the same time as being laid off by the police department, meaning he's unable to afford Natalie's services. While Natalie admits that at some point she may have to leave Monk to fend for himself due to needing to support herself and her daughter, she tries multiple times to get herself and Monk employed somewhere else and quits more than one job in solidarity after her former boss/friend gets fired.