Spike and Money

[tangent]

Okay, so as we know in season 4, 5 and 6 of BTVS Spike is reduced to a pitiful state, eventually reduced to doing odd jobs for the scoobies in order to earn money for blood and smokes and scavenging scrap for his furnishings.

But in season 2 Spike famously enlists the help of the Order of Taraka who i can't see as being a cheap option, so where'd he get the money? Did he have money and then somehow lose it perhaps? Did he manage to get the remnants of the Order of Aurelius to club together? Or did perhaps the Order of Taraka work on credit for him (and how unpleased would they be afterards if so).

Is spike having mone the norm or is he skint by nature and just on hard times and if the former how would he have got the money in the first place. Was it perhaps finds like that in The Harsh Light of Day (although he didn't seem very interested in any of the gold just the Gem.)

What do we think?

[Wolfie Gilmore]

I assumed that, when he's "free range Spike", he kills people and nicks their stuff. But when he's chipped, he can't do that, so he can only steal from the living (surely not that hard, if you can move at super-speed? But perhaps he's a bit lazy?). Generally I doubt he's money motivated though, or structured enough to actually make much money within the system (unlike, say, that movie producer type vampire in the first ep of Angel).

[Nina]

I also think Spike nicks money. Wasn't he stealing money from Xander somewhere in season 4 or 5?

[kana]

Agreed with the above. Spike's a very joie de vie sort of character who lives life, day by day. If he needs money, he'll find a way to get it, but yes, I doubt he'd be the put money away for a rainy day type.

[tangent]

Well that makes sens but how did he manage to get enough to pay the Order of Taraka. I reckon he would have needed a substantial sum to meet their costs. I think they would be pretty expensive, especially for a contract against the slayer.

[kana]

I'm not sure exactly but he could have called in a deal. I'm not even sure how the Order was paid. Some were humans but there is more than one way to make a deal other than money.