Agree about the two living on the beach and Tyrone but don't think the word 'broke' applies to quite a few of the others. The Uber driver and his wife seem to have lived the high life at various points (he was a photographer and then had some kind of hi-tech company). They've raised three sons who've flown the nest, only one still at home. They were drinking wine and eating what looked like quite a fancy meal – and all this just on his earnings? In London the wife could walk into any number of jobs; she was smartly presented and well-spoken. I could instantly imagine her in sales. Just because they've blown all their money on living well does that mean we're expected to feel sorry for them?
Confused by Eryl. She seems to have left her home in Wales unoccupied while she's working in Liverpool. Surely she could have let it to someone in the village or a member of the family while she was away working? I mean, you will be broke if you're paying a mortgage, council tax, water rates and standing charges on an empty house and also rent, council tax, water rates and utility bills on your rental place. If she had rented the place out then that would probably have covered most of her costs. Something didn't add up.
The nurse also puzzled me, but I wondered whether she'd been financially abused by an earlier partner. It seemed a very nice house so perhaps she'd overstretched herself and got into debt.
Scottish undertaker also struck me as being odd. Would have thought that rather than running five businesses that all made very little profit it would have been better to concentrate on one or two and build them in such a way as to make more money. Otherwise he'll just be working himself to death and alienating his wife and child for nothing. Again, it seemed to be about strange decision-making as much as anything else.
I'm not unsympathetic to anyone who's hard up, but as someone who has really scrimped and saved in the past and went without holidays etc in order to pay a bit more off the mortgage or put something in my retirement fund I can't find them all sympathetic. I'm currently trying to sort out a family member's finances. He seems broke, but when you look at what his money's going on – Sky subscription, new car lease, constant expensive phone upgrades, premium calls – he's just stupid.