TMNT and Money
 

One thing I've not understood in some TMNT is how they have managed to produce money to pay for pizza.

Some of Donatello's high tech hardware is probably paid for in some capacity unless he's found some real steals in the junkyard.

Then there is the tech job for Donatello in the recent film. Surely his role is by electonic payment rather than cash in hand (which the Cowabunga Carl role is more likely to work as).

Just some thoughts anyway. This topic has probably already been discussed before but I thought I'd give it a shot.

===HERO

maybe they mug muggers?

They sell stuff they find. Back in the 80's and early '90's, he did it through the Second Time Around - April would give them a cut. Now they just hop on eBay.

Back in the days of the OT, I thought they earned it by doing odd jobs here and there in disguise. I was 13 years old and did not know how/when you got paid for "doing odd jobs" IRL.

Nowadays I think it is likelier they collect money people have dropped. They raid fountains for coins. Or Splinter collected money from Hamato Yoshi's estate. Or somehow they found a BIG stash of money when they were young.

Regardless, it is a major PLOT HOLE.

Was'nt the pizza thing a concept introduced by the old cartoon? Pizza itself is another 'Plot Hole' topic considering a group of agile trained/training ninjas are eating a source of food that's very overloaded with carbs.

The money to buy pizza or anything in the first place is always something I've wondered about since I was a young un.

===HERO

Here's a few of answers I came up with:

1. Borrow money from April and Casey with the intent of never paying them back.
2. Steal from places, like fountains, fallen thugs, trash cans (or maybe they eat out of the trash), baby carriages.
3. On that note. how do they get cable, or electricity. Wouldn't the city send someone down to investigate after a while? And you'd think some sewer worker would have found them. How would they get the money to bribe him (yes him I don't think a lot of women would work in the New York City sewer system).
4. Sell materials back to pawn shops, with April as a medium.
5. Donatello's a genius, maybe he might be making drugs.:tshifty: Actually now that I think about it how big do you think their clothes are when they're in disguise? Not the trench coats, something like in Fallen Angel or Turtle Tracks or that FF episode where they were dressed in suits. Those clothes had to be custom made on account of the shells.

Carbs are actually an excellent (and needed) source of fuel for the body as long as you are active. So...seeing as they are extremely active as ninjas...I would imagine they require an exceptional amount of carbs to maintain themselves.

they find it, recycle...

When I was a kid I never thought about it. Now that I'm older I try to reason how they can always afford pizza. Watching the first movie for the first time in years I speculated that maybe they use money that falls down into the sewers, but that's not a very reliable source of income.

IN new york? You'd be amazed what you can find in the sewers. I'd bet they get a decent amount of cash that way, and then occasionally pawn other things they find down there.

Well, after watching a behind the scenes with the 2008 Olympic athletes, and watching in astonishment the garbage Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps eats on a daily basis, what the Turtles ate and managed to keep their agility and physique on pizza and other junk was no longer an implausible idea.

I found two dollars on a staircase today. Imagine how much they can find in all the sewers they roam combined.

Don's making fake money
<_<
>_<
>_>

O_O

This is actually my question for a long time. But since you've already laid some answers, I'll give my insights for each one.

The Turtles are already doing well financially even before they meet April and Casey. They just met April when they were 15 years old already.

:lol:

When Mikey plugged the TVs, the store uptown had blackout. So they don't pay for electricity, they steal it. THey connect to the circuit of a suspecting store and maybe Donnie changes victims every weeks or so to avoid cops.

Yes, they have disguises, they can do that even without April. They're ninjas, remember?

:lol:

Is a cartoon so nothing makes sense.;)
btw. Wasn't there a episode where they talk about that they found cash in the sewers?
And there is an episode where the really run low on cash so mike gets a delivery boy job by a pizza shop which was run by shredder lol.
But he didn't got any money for that iirc.

I remember that episode. Pizza By The Shread I think it was called. Michaelangelo wanted a belly-board but was broke as was the other turtles from fixing up a left behind Neutrino cruiser.

I remember Michaelangelo breaking the news that he was going to go get a job and Leonardo in protest replied something like "You can't! Being a Turtle is already a full-time job".

Great episode too involving the Rat King as well.

"I had my belly set on that heart-board"

===HERO

NINJA = No Income no job or assets

1) April moaned in mouser episode that the turtles were trashing her apartment .So she will get wise to no money back guarantee trick. Casey on the other hand maybe esayily fooled. But who does this to his/her friends? It is just not correct to treat your friends like that

2) Well then it is bringing someone some luck (fountains). "Baby carriages" that just palin evil no wonder in the epic begins the one old lady had a machine gun in her trolley! Just one question i heard of money that got flushed but who throws away cash?

3) What about that bunny ear antenna (antennas shape like a bomerang and look like bunny ears) . Its Usally put on the tv .They can use that to watch tv for free. I have one of those (But i have DSTV). So then they don't have to wire tap.

4)No i don't think so. "Nyah see Nyah im selling drugs Nyah". Maybe Don sells custom made cellphone like their turtle coms or anything he make out of random junk.

Splinter could be a great artist selling his paintings because he is definitly interested in art. Like wow he named his only sons after 4 great painters/scuplters. May even have his own yoga book for meditation and work out.

Money does fall into sewers....coins, bills, blank checks :lol: