"Write me a check for Sports Illustrated, will you?" "My subscription ran out." "Don't they have that at work?" "Yeah." "They've also got bathrooms at work, but I want one at home." "That's a big waste of money." "Right, everything I want is a waste of money." "Like you don't go out and spend hundreds of dollars on... food." "Come on, it's a magazine." "Don't be so cheap." "It's not being cheap." "It's living within a budget." "It's a magazine." "That's all I want, okay?" "One thing for me." "Who's the new golf bag for?" "Ally." "Have you ever even seen our budget?" "There's an actual piece of paper that says "budget" on it?" "You have no idea what I do here, do you?" "Why do I need to know?" "Okay." "I'm going to explain it to you." "Don't." "No." "You're going to kill the magic." "Okay." "Once every two weeks, I go into the hamper, I find your pants... and I dig out your paycheck." "You're welcome." "I deduct our fixed costs and figure out how much we have to service our debt." "Whatever's left over is our discretionary fund." "From that, I put away as much as possible... for the kids' college growth and income plan." "You understand?" "You know, one of your eyes is bigger than the other one." "You can't even listen to me." "You can't even hear about the budget?" "You're making it so complicated." "What do you mean, I'm making it complicated?" "You are." "Why don't you just pay the bills?" "I didn't mean what I said." "I didn't mean that." "What I meant was, it seems like it should be easier for you." "It's going to be a Iot easier." "Okay." "I'm sorry." "No, You're right." "I'm making it way too complicated." "Just pay the bills." "All right." "I guess I'll have to show you how easy it can be, then." "You saw daddy talking." "You couldn't stop me?" "Hi, I'm Ray, and I Iive here in Long island with my wife, Debra... my 6-year-oId daughter and twin 2-year-oId boys." "My parents..." "live across the street." "That's right." "And my brother lives with them." "Now, not every family would defy gravity for you... but mine would because...." "Everybody loves Raymond." "Hey, you didn't...." "So, angelina, how are you?" "Did you want something else?" "No, thanks." "I just thought we could talk." "health Department." "That ain't funny, Raymond." "Hey, couple of slices?" "Yeah." "Hi." "How are you?" "Nothing." "Hey, Ray." "Hey, Andy." "Thanks for coming, man." "No problem." "I was in the mood for a little botuIism." "Do me a favor?" "I've been paying the bills for the Iast couple of weeks." "I got this from the electric company." "Take a look at that." "They're turning off your service." "Yeah." "Why?" "I don't get it." "I paid all this stuff six weeks ago." "Can I ask you something?" "Why are you handling the checkbook?" "Did Debra leave you?" "She's made such a big deal about paying the bills." "I'm trying to showher..." "it doesn't have to be that complicated." "Well, no electricity is less complicated." "You're like the Amish now." "All right, you're good with numbers." "Here." "Take a look at this stuff." "I paid all these bills." "There's no reason they should be sending me mean letters." "Here's a reason." "Your check bounced." "What?" "Wow." "You bounced many checks here." "You bounced 14 checks, and you were charged $300 in penalties." "Excellent work." "What do you mean?" "I sent these checks myself." "Checks that didn't clear." "You might as well have sent little pieces of toilet paper." "But I make more than enough money." "Well, mazel tov to you." "You're $3,000 overdrawn here." "You didn't even open up your bank statement." "I trusted the bank." "You didn't reconcile your checkbook." "You have to keep track." "Give me this!" "What did you do here?" "Why did you pay so much on your Visa card?" "Because I'm not going to pay interest charges." "You pay in full, no interest charges." "That is smart." "No money left, either." "Look at this." "Debra had everything in order." "Yeah, Debra." "All right." "I'm sick of this money stuff." "Just tell me what I have to do." "All right." "First, you got to take last month's ending balance." "Then you add the interest accrued on the account." "Then you add all the checks that we knowhave cleared... and then you subtract that number from...." "Ray, what did I just say to you?" ""Accrued."" "You had your little fun with mommy's checkbook." "Now it's time to give it back to her." "No." "I'm not giving it back to her." "Then she's gonna know I couldn't do this." "She may get an inkling when they cut off your power and tow away your house." "I don't get it." "Look at this." "How can it be this bad?" "It's only been six weeks." "That's what so shocking." "You need to put $3,000 in the bank... and you're gonna have to tell Debra about this." "No, I can't." "Eventually she's gonna see that checkbook." "You're right." "I got to do the smart thing." "Good." "I'll make a fake checkbook." "Like that shade?" "Very nice." "Look at this." "Toes." "Just a little bit darker than the nails." "That's what the woman said was in now." "What, did you go to the beauty parlor?" "salon, Grandpa." "Yes." "And it was great." "What do they charge for that?" "$20." "$20?" "That's like... $1 a nail." "What's the big deal?" "I never do this." "I don't think this is the time to start doing things we never do." "You know, I mean we should barely be doing the things we've done." "And maybe cut back a little on those." "Oh." "I get it." "Now that you're doing the checkbook, you're Mr. responsible." "To tell you the truth, I'm surprised you could stay on top of that." "I'm on top of it." "I'm fully reconciled... and accruing." "Great." "To tell you the truth, I was a little afraid to ask." "You don't got to be afraid." "You want to see the... checkbook?" "Yeah, okay." "I got no problem with that." "Here, take a look." "Everything balanced." "Paid in full, except the Visa." "You don't pay that in full." "There you go." "Car, mortgage, electric bill." "All paid up." "What?" "I don't believe this." "You don't?" "This is amazing." "This is..." "beautiful." "Yeah?" "You did this?" "Yeah, I said I would, right?" "What?" "What's the matter?" "I don't know." "You just...." "I mean...." "You've been just doing it." "You didn't complain once." "I was always...." "I don't know." "It was such a huge pressure for me." "There's some pressure for me." "You'd never know it." "Thanks, honey." "You're welcome." "Good night." "Hey, Ray." "How's it going?" "What's so important?" "Nothing." "Keep your voice down." "Something's up." "I saw you sneaking out of your house at 5:00 in the a.m." "Stop watching my house." "And I wasn't sneaking out." "I had to get over to the electric company payment center." "Why?" "'Cause those idiots, they shut off my power last night... and I didn't want Debra to wake up without power." "She likes toast." "What's going on, Raymond?" "Nothing." "You got fired?" "No." "How are you doing?" "Nothing." "Let me ask you something." "Remember when you told me that moving in with mom and dad... was gonna help you put money away?" "How's that going for you?" "You're not moving in with us, Raymond." "What?" "We have a very delicate ecosystem over there." "I'm not asking to move in, all right?" "I'm asking about the money part." "How's that going?" "Good." "I'm saving a little." "Yeah." "Good." "I mean, it's smart." "A Iot of people make fun of a man who lives with his parents... but they don't see the upside to that." "I mean, it's the financial security." "That's exactly right." "Thank you." "I envy you, you know, 'cause you're kind of set." "Matter of fact, I was gonna ask you if could borrow a little money." "Just a quick Ioan." "Wait." "Let's not go too quick here." "So, you need my help." "You know what?" "Forget it." "I shouldn't" "No." "Look, hey, we all stumble." "How much you need?" "No." "It's too much." "How much?" "$3,000." "$3,000?" "gambling?" "No." "Raymond, you're not...." "I'm not doing cocaine, Robert." "I'm gonna give you a phone number." "Robert, it's not" "Just call the number." "I'm having a little trouble paying this month's bills, that's all." "Debra know?" "I want to keep Debra out of this." "You get a lady in trouble?" "No." "Listen, you can level with me." "I'm your brother." "You screwed up." "I didn't screw up." "What did you do?" "Why are you assuming I screwed up for?" "Why can't Debra find out?" "Because...." "She's the one with the problem?" "Yep." "Oh, she's not going nuts with the credit cards, is she?" "I've seen it before." "compulsive shopping." "Rip a family apart." "Yeah, I know." "She feels bad about it already, so let's just" "Wow!" "Yeah." "I had no idea she was like this." "It was a surprise to me." "You know what she needs?" "She needs to get her seIf-worth back." "She should get a job and earn back part of that money." "I thought of that, and then I started thinking, "What about the kids?"" "I mean, they need their mother." "Of course." "I'm sorry." "That's all right." "Stupid." "It's okay." "So, what do you think?" "Can you help us?" "Sure." "Of course. $3,000 enough?" "Yeah, it's good." "What about you, Ray?" "How you doing?" "Do you need anything?" "No, I'm fine." "You know, this isn't about me." "Hello, Raymond." "Where's Robert?" "He was late for work, but he asked me to give this to you." "Oh, good." "Is there anything you want to tell us?" "No." "Like what?" "Like, how come there's a $3,000 check in there?" "Robert!" "Why are you taking money from your brother?" "Keep it down." "Why didn't you just come to us?" "I would love to help Debra with her problem." "He told you about that?" "At least he talks to his mother." "How come Robert's got $3,000 to throw around?" "He should be giving us rent money." "He's our son, Frank." "You don't charge your son." "He's a giant, Marie." "Do you know what it costs just to heat him?" "All right." "Thanks for coming." "Food, too." "He's got $3,000, and I'm paying for the Pudding Pops." "You eat them, too, Frank." "No more Pudding Pops." "And no solid white tuna, either." "The chunk light is perfectly fine." "I'm not running a country club anymore!" "I Iike the solid white." "Too bad." "It's my one luxury." "All right, already." "Come on, I'll give you a tuna boat... if you just give me the check and get out of here." "I don't want Debra to hear this." "Well, maybe Debra should hear." "I see the way she dresses." "And takes these little trips to the mall so that "the kids can get out."" "How long has she been out of control?" "Not that long." "Doesn't she handle your checkbook?" "No." "Not anymore." "That's good." "Cut her off cold turkey." "You don't give a boozer the key to the liquor cabinet." "Guys, come on." "We got to get going." "Hey, Marie." "Hey, Frank." "Hi, Debra." "What a very nice outfit." "Thank you." "Look." "My nails match." "I had them done." "I noticed." "Oh, yes." "See, Ray?" "It was worth the money." "Oh, listen." "Can you give me some cash?" "'Cause I can't find my ATM card." "Oh, yeah?" "I have to pick up Ally at ballet class." "You know, I don't even think I have cash on me." "Dad, you wouldn't...." "No." "No." "Okay." "So just give me a check." "Check?" "Yeah." "I'll just stop at the bank and cash it on the way." "All righty." "A blank check?" "Maybe I'll swing by Tiffany's." "See you later." "My God." "A blank check." "You're dumber than I tell people." "Give me that." "Where are you going?" "I got to put this in the bank before she gets there." "I told him she was too pretty for him." "Thank God I didn't make that mistake." "Are you coming to bed?" "Can't." "How long are you going to be?" "Depends." "On what?" "How long it takes to fix what you've done here." "So, Iike, a few minutes, right?" "Listen." "I'm really sorry." "Yeah, I know you are." "Can I get anything?" "Do you need any help?" "Anything I can do at all?" "Look, shouldn't you just yell at me here or something?" "Ray, when you're on the Titanic, you load the lifeboats." "You don't stop to yell at the iceberg." "Who wants oatmeal?" "I will say this." "Okay." "Good." "Go." "You put so much effort into a fake checkbook." "Why didn't you take a little of that effort in doing it right in the first place?" "I don't have to sit here and take this." "No, really." "Come on." "I want to know." "It's the numbers." "I stink at numbers." "You wouldn't if they were golf scores." "That's what bothers me the most." "It's not that you can't do it." "It's just that you won't do it." "You're like the kids." "They only want to do what's fun." "And yet, you still love them." "You know, I hate doing the checkbook, but I do it anyway." "Do you know why I do it even though I hate it?" "Because deep down, you really like it." "No, Ray." "I know." "I know, 'cause you're an adult." "And if it wasn't for you, all this would be a big smoking crater." "And I...." "What?" "I appreciate what you do here." "You know, you've never said that before." "Sure, I have." "Remember our wedding night?" "It was very nice both times that you said it." "Maybe you could say it a little more often." "Okay." "I will." "I appreciate you." "I appreciate you." "Wait a minute." "It's not a "get out ofjaiI free" card." "We're not done here." "Get back here." "Now, look." "I've gone through your checkbook... and I've gone through your fake checkbook." "And it's just not adding up." "Yeah." "You know what that might be?" "A third checkbook?" "I accidentally bounced a check in the fake one." "What check did you bounce?" "I don't know which one." "It might've been...." "Yeah." "That was it." "Hi, Debra." "Hi, Marie." "Hi, Frank." "You know what happened to me, today?" "What?" "I got a new credit card in the mail, but I think it may be counterfeit." "Really?" "Yes." "would you mind if I compared yours against mine?" "Sure, no problem." "This one?" "Yeah." "What the hell are you doing?" "You'll thank us later, dear." "I appreciate you."