Could Carl Winslow REALLY Afford That House on a Cop's Salary? Family Matters

Could Carl Winslow really afford that Chicago house on a cop's salary? We run the real 1989 numbers behind the Winslow family from Family Matters. Eight people under one roof, seven bedrooms, a grandmother, an aunt, a cousin and Steve Urkel eating their food, all supposedly paid for by one Chicago police sergeant. So we priced it out: Carl's estimated pay, what a house cost in 1989, the episode that quietly admitted the Winslows were short on money, and who was really paying the bills. We also look at why Judy Winslow disappeared, the real Lincoln Park house from the opening credits, what the Winslows' costs look like in today's dollars, and the full Receipt of their yearly budget. Next up: How did Hal and Lois feed five boys in Malcolm in the Middle? Did the Winslows seem rich to you growing up, or just like a normal family? Tell us in the comments. Rerun Receipts runs the real numbers behind your favorite sitcoms from the '80s, '90s and 2000s. Subscribe for a new episode every week. Salary and cost figures marked as estimates are our own calculations, not numbers from the show. For entertainment and pop-culture history only. #FamilyMatters #RerunReceipts #90sSitcoms #TGIF Chapters: 0:00 Could a Chicago cop afford the Winslow house? 1:21 Carl's job and what a sergeant made 2:24 Seven bedrooms on a sergeant's salary 2:44 What a house cost in 1989 3:31 The "Two-Income Family" episode 4:30 Grandma Winslow, the family bank 5:31 Aunt Rachel's restaurant 5:58 Quick rulings on the Winslow budget 6:18 The Steve Urkel problem 6:40 Why Judy Winslow disappeared 7:30 The real Winslow house in Lincoln Park 8:07 Then vs. Now: the house in today's dollars 8:53 The Receipt 9:42 The verdict 10:14 Judy's lost comeback