The role money plays in Blood Brothers relates to the fact that the brothers grow up in totally different socioeconomic circumstances. Edward grows up with all the money he could ever need, but lonely, while Mickey grows up in an impoverished household in which he will be subject to negative influences which shape his life in profound ways.

We see the influence of money and its role in the boys' lives when Mrs. Lyons repeatedly uses her means to stand in the way of the blossoming friendship between Edward and Mickey. When the boys are still small children, she relocates to the country, and when the Johnstone family is allocated a home nearby, she tries to use her wealth to bribe Mrs. Johnstone to move her family away.

Money drives an ever-greater wedge between Mickey and Edward as the two get older, with Mickey facing unemployment and impending fatherhood while Edward has the means to go out and enjoy himself. Edward offers Mickey money, which leads to an argument between the two.

While Edward lives a comfortable life, Mickey's desperation for cash leads him to crime, a seven-year prison sentence, and drug addiction. It is partly Mickey's drug addiction that drives a wedge between Mickey and his wife, Linda, for whom Edward has had feelings for years.

By the time the story reaches its end, both Mickey and Edward have lost their lives—Edward having been shot by Mickey in a jealous rage, and Mickey having been shot by police.

In a nutshell, the boys' socioeconomic status sends their lives in two different directions: while Mickey's poverty sends him into a whirlwind of drugs, crime, and mental health issues, Edward finds that being of means entitles him to just about anything he wants—at least until he is met with the rage of his less fortunate brother.