Mack has several jobs that only last a certain period of time, which means that the uncertainty surrounding money is always evident to the children. After several house moves, including in with Mack's mother in Scotland, the family is finally evicted and forced to move in a bed and breakfast hotel ironically named "The Royal Hotel", which used to be a grand place but has become dirty and poorly maintained by ambivalent staff. Elsa nicknames the hotel "The Oyal Htl" due to the missing lettering on the hotel front. Elsa watches her family become more and more disheartened and down-trodden as they are forced to live in one room and stigmatised due to their status, and tries to help by making jokes, but this is not usually appreciated.