'Pretty Little Liars': Exactly How Much Money “A” Spent Torturing the Girls
Anyone who watches Pretty Little Liars undoubtedly has a lot of questions. How come the girls never went to class? Why didn’t they ever tell an adult when they were getting life-threatening text messages, like, every day? Why was Ezra so angry at that can of chickpeas? However, as every member of the #PLLArmy knows, the process of looking for answers is half of the fun of watching Pretty Little Liars.
One of the biggest mysteries of the series concerns the financial habits of the elusive villain “A.” Real talk: every single incarnation of “A” has been a majorly big spender, and we’re not entirely sure how this villain managed to afford all those cars and computer equipment, let alone that Guinness World Record-winning collection of dolls. We decided to break down all of the expenses from the smaller things like postage stamps, to the bigger expenditures like an electric fence. Get ready, because the grand total is going to blow your mind. Here is exactly how much money Original “A,” Big “A,” and Uber “A” have spent while trying to ruin the Liars’ lives:
1/14Multiple variations of the “A” uniform: Approx $975
While each member of the “A” team played the game differently, the aesthetic of “A” hasn’t really changed too much. Both Mona and CeCe embraced the combination of black hoodie and black gloves, and from the limited clips we’ve seen of Uber “A,” it looks like he or she is going for the same fashion. A plain black hoodie, especially when bought in bulk, could run as cheap as $10, but tough black leather gloves are a little more expensive — usually around $45 a pair. If each villain had ten hoodies and five pairs of gloves to choose from (and that’s being pretty conservative), that would be a total of $975.
2/14A wide selection of latex masks: Approx $3,000
“A” loves a good mask. Mona and CeCe each wore the quintessential Ali mask, but there have been masks of all the girls throughout the series. Additionally, both Original and Big “A” have been seen wearing that scary zombie baby mask, and, if we’re assuming that Uber “A” (and not Elliott) kidnapped Hanna, we know that he or she had access to a latex Hanna mask. A custom-made latex mask costs approximately $300 each and “A” has used a lot of them.
3/14Car expenses: Approx $160,374
“A” has owned — and destroyed — a lot of cars. For example, Mona hit Hanna with her car, and CeCe hot-wired a car and drove it straight through Emily’s house. Let’s assume that each “A” has owned at least two cars: one for regular travel, and one for destructive purposes. An average compact car costs $20,000, and if each “A” has owned two cars, that’s a total of $120,000. When we factor in insurance, gas, and maintenance fees, we have to add another $6,729 per “A” per year, which is the estimated annual cost for owning and operating a small vehicle. If the math is hurting your head, don’t worry, we did it for you — that would be another $13,458 for Mona, $20,187 for CeCe, and $6,729 for Uber “A.” All together, we get $160,374 in car expenses over the course of seven seasons. Yikes.
4/14Travel: Approx $1,800
While the majority of the action of Pretty Little Liars has taken place in Rosewood, Pennsylvania, “A” has had to travel to follow the Liars any time they left town. “A” was in New York with the girls (although we’re still not sure what was up with that squad of hoodie-wearing ninjas in the park) and “A” even followed Spencer to London to plant that vial of blood in her bag. An average round-trip plane ticket from Philadelphia to London runs approximately $1,400, and train tickets from Philly to New York City are roughly $200 for a round trip. Of course, “A” has also traveled back and forth from Ravenswood to Rosewood, and we’ve seen her at bus stations, so we can safely add another couple hundred dollars to this category.
5/14All those cell phones: Approx $7,805
Without a cell phone, “A” is essentially devoid of all power. We know how much “A” loves those text messages ... and Uber “A” is all about the emojis. Throughout the series, “A” has had five different types of cell phones: a Motorola Droid, a Motorola Bravo, and three iPhones: the 4s, 5, and 6. Oh, and one burner phone. The approximate base retail prices for each of these phones are as follows:
- Motorola Bravo: $70
- Motorola Droid: $100
- iPhone 4s: $140
- iPhone 5: $200
- iPhone 6: $545
Burner phones — a.k.a. phones with prepaid basic plans — aren’t too expensive, and retail for about $30. An average cell phone plan is approximately $80/month, and considering that “A” has been torturing the Liars for 84 months, that’s $6,720 on cell phone bills. With the costs above, “A” has spent a whopping $7,805 on phone related costs.
6/14High-tech laptop computer and software: Approx $3,700
Mona, CeCe, and Uber “A” are all computer geniuses. Perhaps they even rival Caleb’s skills — that is, unless Caleb is Uber “A.” All of our villains have had rugged, military grade laptops, which average to $1,000 apiece. Add surveillance software for each laptop, and that’s an extra $200 per “A.” We also know that “A” had access to an electronic shredder, when she shredded the ID cards for Paul Varjack. The average price for an office shredder is $100.
7/14The Black Swan masquerade ball costume: Approx $2,000
Okay, so, technically “A” didn’t wear the Black Swan costume (Melissa did), but “A” bullied Melissa into wearing it, with the goal of tricking the Liars. The costume had a blueprint, so it was definitely customized, and not just something that “A” found in the Halloween store at the mall. A custom costume can range from $500 to $3,000, and considering that the Black Swan getup was pretty detailed, we’re guessing it was on the higher end of that spectrum.
8/14So. Many. Dolls: Approx $1,300
Despite the fact that CeCe began her journey as “A” with a text that read, “Mona played with dolls, I play with body parts,” she was still pretty into the whole doll theme. Over the course of the series, there have been multiple sets of Liar dolls. Some were porcelain, others were ragdolls, and there were even Barbie dolls that looked like the Liars. Here’s a quick breakdown of how much each type of doll costs:
- Unique porcelain dolls are approximately $150 each
- Customized ragdolls are roughly $95 per doll
- Dolls that are more like Barbie are typically cheaper, and are $15 each.
So, if “A” had three sets of the Liars for each type of doll, that would be $1,300. And let’s face it: we’ll probably meet several more dolls as we get to know Uber “A.”
9/14Postage for all the “gifts” that have been mailed: Approx $150
“A” has sent a lot of things in the mail: blackmail photos, handwritten cards, ironic birthday presents, and even animal body parts (we’ll get to that in a minute). If we estimate that “A” has utilized the US Postal Service an average of five times per season, and only sending things locally for approximately $5 per package, that averages out to $150 for six seasons.
10/14Some of those creepy gifts: Approx $140
There have been a lot of things delivered to the Liars. Some of the highlights were the cow tongue that was sent to Aria, the necklace made of teeth that was delivered to Emily, and a DIY snowglobe. Cow tongue is one of the more expensive cuts of beef and runs approximately $20. In order to make a necklace, you need these supplies that you can get at any craft store: jewelry wire ($4), beads ($5), and wire cutters ($5). (We're not even going to begin to think about pricing out human teeth.) Making your own snowglobe is easier than it looks, and it costs about $30 for a DIY snowglobe kit. “A” also gave Emily a book on Home Repair, a $50 gift card, and duct tape after she demolished her living room with her car. All of those little thoughtful gifts together are approximately $140.
11/14Mona’s lair at the Lost Woods Resort: Approx $38,000
Mona’s lair was located in the Lost Woods Resort, which was a run-down motor inn located on the outskirts of Rosewood. An average motel room in a rural area is approximately $45 per night, and Mona was occupying her lair for at least two years. Soooo that’s $32,850 for just the hotel rate alone, and let’s not forget all of the things that Mona had in her lair:
- The walls were lined with hundreds of photos, which isn’t terribly expensive. Most drugstores will print a batch of photos for less than $10.
- Mona had a pretty elaborate toy dollhouse, which costs approximately $140.
- And, of course, her lair was outfitted with surveillance equipment, which is pretty costly. It most likely hit her wallet for almost $5,000.
Soooo, the cost of Mona’s lair was essentially the same as one year of college tuition. Casual for a teenager.
12/14Human body preservation: Approx $893
After Ali’s grave was dug up in the middle of the night, “A” started sending the girls items from her casket. Later, the body was revealed on the Halloween Train, and there were clips of “A” preserving the casket with ice and treatment used in funeral homes. The cost of embalming ranges from $495 to $1290, with the average being $893.
13/14Uniforms for “A”’s sidekick(s): Approx $300
At the end of Season 6A, we found out that Sara Harvey was working with CeCe and disguised herself as Red Coat and the Black Widow. We’re assuming that she needed a couple versions of each outfit — girl liked taking showers, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that she liked doing laundry. A stylish red trench coat with a hood retails for approximately $100, and black lace veils are roughly $50 a piece. If Sara Harvey had two of each, that would be $300.
14/14The freaking dollhouse: Approx $222,329
Okay, we saved the best for last. TBH, we could write an entire article about the cost of the dollhouse, because it’s probably the most in-depth of anything “A” has ever done. Let’s start with the actual structure of the dollhouse itself. It was built underground, and just the process of building the house would be almost $200,000. But Charlotte didn’t just have an empty dollhouse — it had fully-furnished bedrooms for each of the Liars, and even if she elected cheaper furniture, that’s still roughly $1,500 for the five bedrooms plus the game room. But LOL, that’s not even close to the end of Charlotte’s dollhouse inventory. She also had:
- A fully-functioning surgical station: $4384
- Microchips for all the Liars: $45 each
- Five fancy prom dresses and a tux: Approx $200 per dress and $150 for a tux rental
- An electric fence that circled the perimeter of the dollhouse: $1,600
- A film projector and a screen: Together those would be $970.
- An overhead paging amplifier for when “A” wanted to summon the girls: Approx $750
- Decorations for the fake prom: The cheapest decoration sets can run $250
- A sprinkler system: $4,000
With that, Charlotte aka Big “A” spent a whopping $222,329 on that scary dollhouse.
Okay, are you ready for this? You might need to sit down.
GRAND TOTAL: $442,766
…………...K, we think we need to check ourselves into Radley now.
