How to Beat the High Cost of Living
“A hilarious new comedy for everyone who ever wanted to give the oil companies gas pains, turn off the power companies lights and make the banks stand in line for a change.”
Synopsis
In order to beat inflation and subsidize their alimony checks, three suburban housewives plot to steal $1 million from a large plastic ball which is displayed in a local shopping center.
Credits
Related titles
No curated related titles yet. Use the edit affordance to add "More from this director", "Same franchise", or "Adaptation source material" entries — every change goes through the wiki review queue.
How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 62+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Bill ButlerShot by James CrabeScored by Patrick WilliamsDesigned by Lawrence G Paull
Box Office
1980 · Box office
Grossed $7.5M worldwide
Worldwide gross
$7.5M
Also known as
- Zahltag im Supermarktde
- How to Beat the High Co$t of Livingen
- Cómo combatir el alto coste de la vidaes
- Ladre e contenteit
Community tags
Be the first to tag this page — tags appear right away. Try a theme, capability, or subject (e.g. WWII, heist, slow burn, time travel, A24).
Help complete this page
We’re missing mpaa rating, logline. Sign in to add what you know.
Cast & Crew
62 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Supporting cast
38Al Checco
as Tim Lundy
Susan Tolsky
as Patty
Garrett Morris
as Power & Light Man
David Lunney
as Leon - Stage Manager
Michael K Daly
as Sheriff - Antique Store
Byron Morrow
as Charlie Goldring
James Izzy Whetstine
as Eddie - Bartender
Jack Krupnick
as Man in Chevy
James Aday
as Richard - Architects' Office
Wesley Baldwin
as Billy
Sarah Leonard
as Laurie
Allan Warnick
as Steve
Robin Hickman
as Singing Salesman
Daniel Mayes
as Shoe Salesman
Tom Morrison
as Shoe Salesman
Jane Van Boskirk
as Woman in Vets' Office
Jon Dickman
as Donald - Garage Sale
Bill Ritchie
as Festive Young Man - Garage Sale
Robert Canaga
as Man - Garage Sale
Stan Boyd
as Card Cronie
Jerry Zinnamon
as Card Cronie
Tom Gressler
as Card Cronie
Pip Miller
as Security Guard #1 (as Philip Miller)
Ralph Garrett
as Security Guard #2
Robert W Talbot
as Security Guard #3
Harvey Lewis
as Process Server
Nanci Westerland
as Woman Civilian
Joan Schumacher
as Woman Civilian on Stage
Scott Barkhurst
as Man Civilian on Stage
Linda Hall
as Woman Civilian on Stage
Craig Jackson
as Man Civilian on Stage
Larry Woodruff
as Man Civilian on Stage
Colleen Murff
as Lady at Garage Sale
Jonathan Schwartz
as Shoe Salesman (as Jonathan Schwarz)
Wendy Shawn
as Assistant - Pageant
Cindy Douglas
as High School Student
Chris Strong
as Follow spot operator
Carmen Zapata
as Mama (uncredited)
Directors
1Writers
3Producers
3Other crew
8Parents Guide
AI Personalities
Advisory Bot AI
I keep the family-safety picture honest — community advisories, AI-moderated, summarized without spin.
Ratings & reviews
We’re attempting to crowdsource this data.
Please submit below if you know where it’s available in your region — accurate confirmations help everyone find what they’re looking for.
Where to watch
Not currently streaming on any platform we track.
Gallery
Add imageNo community images for How to Beat the High Cost of Living yet
Add a still, a storyboard, or concept art — every image gets its own page where members can discuss it.
Trailers
No trailers logged for How to Beat the High Cost of Living yet — add the first one below.
Spot a trailer we’re missing?
Add a trailer from any film, show, or game.
Media & Uploads
Scripts, set photos, storyboards, score sketches — community-curated reference material for film students and industry professionals.
Did you or a loved one work on How to Beat the High Cost of Living?
Every stage matters — pitch decks and treatments from development, location scouts and table-reads from pre-production, set photos and crew anecdotes from production, edit-bay notes from post, and press kits, festival memories, or marketing ephemera from distribution. Any moment that didn't make the press tour, any document or photograph that's been sitting in a box — please share it so it's not lost to time.
We particularly welcome contributions from writers, producers, cast, crew, festival programmers, distributors, marketing teams, their families, and anyone who was there at any stage.
Sign in to contribute scripts, stills, photos, or behind-the-scenes stories.
Be the first to share something on How to Beat the High Cost of Living.
Scripts, scans, photos, score sketches — anything that helps another reader study this work.
Memorable quotes
Browse all →No quotes logged for How to Beat the High Cost of Living yet — add the first memorable line below.
Got a quote we’re missing?
Submit a line from any film, show, or game.
The conversation
Loading the conversation…
Comments (0)
on How to Beat the High Cost of LivingNo comments yet. Be the first to share what you think.
Edit history
Loading edit history…