In the third season, it is revealed that Lily is a shopaholic, and goes shopping whenever something bad happens. She keeps her multiple credit cards in a "box of shame". She and Marshall struggle with her credit card bills, especially when they were about to buy an apartment, which leaves Marshall no choice but to abandon his dreams of being an environmental lawyer and take a job at a big corporate firm. They eventually get the house, only to find out that the neighborhood is situated near a water sewage treatment plant and that the floor of their apartment is crooked.