AJLT debuts Aiden’s reboot return after Carrie decides to check in on her ex via email. The two rekindle their romance, though Aiden makes it very clear that he won’t be setting foot in Carrie’s apartment anytime soon. Would that place be triggering after so many difficult memories? Absolutely. Can you make a relationship work if you’re dead-set on never, ever entering the other person’s living space? If you’re rich enough, maybe…

Since Carrie is now loaded with the late Mr. Big’s inheritance, she has enough disposable income to pay a second rent for a place that isn’t haunted by the ghost of breakups past. It turns out that Che, whose TV pilot has recently tanked, is renting out their place to make ends meet, so Carrie strikes a bargain, paying Che for their pad on weekends when Aiden is in town and letting Che crash at her place in the meantime. 

To make Che’s place feel like home, Carrie and Aiden also decide it’s a necessity to furnish the entire kitchen with a pepper mill, espresso machine, and other appliances…which will likely sit there while they enjoy takeout. 

Her new pad is located in the Gramercy Park neighborhood and boasts four bedrooms, three bathrooms, high ceilings, airy windows, and plenty of space for Aiden, his three sons, and her new cat. A home like this can cost upwards of $5 million dollars, so we can safely say gone are the days of Carrie bullying her friends into giving her downpayment money!

Early on in the season, Seema faces a terrifying mugging and we romp into totally bizarre SATC territory with this plotline. The ultra-wealthy realtor, who has admirably worked her way to the top of her industry, is now faced with a terrible loss: her Birkin bag. This storyline is evidence enough that Seema is a fitting new bestie for Carrie. 

The contents of her bag don’t seem to be of consequence, but the handbag itself (a treat Seema bought after her very first sale) throws her into a momentary depression. Why? Well, these days, Hermès Birkin bags can range between $10,000 to $40,000. Distraught over her loss, we see Seema perusing Birkins online available at a $28,000 price point. While she likely paid less years ago, it’s certain that she would still be dishing out a pretty penny for this designer staple. 

Fear not. All is well in the land of riches because a couple of days later, Seema stumbles upon her Birkin stashed underneath a bush. It appears the thief only wanted her money and did not have a penchant for high fashion. Phew! Happy endings.

In the blink of an eye, Lily, Rock, and Brady are all grown up, and I love that the series gave this second generation some time in the limelight. These days, Lily is writing her own music — namely a song titled “The Power of Privilege” — which requires a keyboard rather than the Goldenblatt’s grand piano. Charlotte and Harry feel this is the perfect opportunity for a lesson in money management.

Since Lily is responsible for purchasing the keyboard without help from her parents, she decides to get resourceful and sell old clothes to Real Deal, a resale company that pays cash for designer fashion. One of the items sold is a pink Chanel dress that sends Charlotte into an existential crisis. 

She can’t fathom why her daughter would want to part with this piece and gets so caught up in its sentimental value that she takes Carrie on a Real Deal bender to try and buy back the dress. Eventually, Charlotte makes peace with the dress finding a new home, but given her generational wealth, it’s not surprising that Charlotte overlooks the fact that Lily took the initiative to make her own money. 

Aaaaaaaand, one might argue that Lily selling a designer dress provided by her parents to help produce a song about privilege is more than a pinch ironic…

Only Carrie Bradshaw would cause a biking accident and then proceed to have a fling with the man she accidentally injured. After pausing in the middle of the bike lane for a beat too long due to a rattling phone call with Seema, Carrie nearly collides with a man named George, who crashes his bicycle.

Since she doesn’t want to be sued, Carrie escorts George to the nearest urgent care and waits around for the diagnosis: a broken wrist. When her mega-hottie bicycle guy gets discharged, his credit card declines, but Carrie actively avoids being liable for this dude’s medical bills. The situation is less than ideal, certainly…but we also know that Carrie has deep pockets these days.

Fortunately for George, he’s actually loaded and just so happened to use the wrong credit card! Carrie is relieved by this revelation and makes it up to him when she visits his home with snacks and the offer to type his business proposal.

In SATC-land, the rich just get richer, but I wholly appreciate the financial persity brought into this AJLT season. Women like Charlotte or Lisa Todd Wexley are lucky enough to be able to pursue their passions (art and filmmaking, respectively) due to inherited wealth. The same can be said for Carrie who, at this point in time, has probably tackled the grievous credit card debt accrued in her thirties, thanks to her work as a best-selling author and Big’s money.

Seema, who also lives an incredibly lavish life, is a self-made woman whose impressive bank account has been earned by selling top-tier real estate in Manhattan. Miranda and Nya are also successful career women, who are shown to be living a bit more modestly than their counterparts.

This season, we see a bit more persity in terms of financial status, especially when two of the characters lose their jobs. When Carrie, who is still in her podcasting era, is asked to do a sponsored ad on vaginal health, her refusal to do so ends the podcast and, thus, her job. To Carrie, it’s not really a big deal. She’s still got income from her books and she’s set with plenty of money in the bank from the late Mr. Big. We don’t see her struggle much with her job loss.

Meanwhile, in LA, Che’s stand-up comedy career is suffering, and their TV pilot gets cut, leaving them jobless. This completely rocks Che’s world, causing an emotional spiral. To make ends meet, Che resorts to filming Cameos and Airbnbing their apartment until they take a job at a vet’s office to pay the bills. This depiction of job loss feels far more relatable for the average person, and it’s one of the most realistic depictions of money struggles across the show.

Miranda has always lived a little bit more modestly than other characters, and this season we really see a difference in the way she spends money compared to Charlotte, Lisa, or Seema. Unlike these women who constantly use a car service to get around the city, Miranda, who spent most of her adult life in Brooklyn, is a proud MetroCard holder. (While in LA with Che, we also learn that she has the Uber app on her phone.)Little details throughout the season highlight the way Miranda lives differently than the ultra-privileged woman of generational wealth. For example, she orders a Chipotle burrito bowl and shops at a thrift store to find a new bed. Miranda almost certainly made good money in her successful law career but, like her new friend Nya Wallace, she appears to view finances differently than some of the other characters in the series.

SATC Carrie always had a cigarette in hand. Honestly, this had to be one of her spendiest categories back in the day, though it appears this habit has been curbed over the years. These days, the average price for a pack of cigarettes in New York is $11.96 and World Population Review ranks NY as the most expensive state to be a smoker. If Carrie still smoked as she did in her thirties, she’d be dishing out quite a bit of money every week towards this habit.A massive portion of her budget still goes to her closet, but if she weren’t toting the latest high-fashion style, she simply wouldn’t be Carrie Bradshaw. This season, we do see her purchase a pair of discounted second-hand designer boots from Real Deal — something that SATC Carrie might’ve scoffed at. 

Eating out and ordering in probably remains one of Carrie’s highest-spend areas, but she still cooks her salmon and is newly learning to master a poached egg. 

Remember the days of Carrie maxing out her credit card and asking her friends for money? These struggles are long gone, as seen in the episode where Enid Frick, Carrie’s former Vogue editor, returns to ask for money to launch her new online magazine geared toward older women. Enid has roped in Carrie with Big’s fortune in mind, and Carrie feels pressured into donating, so she sends $100,000 via PayPal without a second thought.

In the original series, the fashionista has moments of shamelessly using others for their wealth and status. It seems the tables have turned and I can’t help but wonder…is Carrie prepared for others to do the same?