Saturday, January 31, 2015
Happy Saturday. I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about and reading about this elusive thing called money, and thought I would share my thoughts with you whether you are interested or not. LOL You work so hard for money and can never seem to have enough to have what you “really want”. I am currently in Harlem NYC spending time with friends and was having a discussion with a couple about something as simple as a Prada bag. I personally do not own one and have never even Googled one until today because I have always assumed that the price was out of my reach. I do have a friend who owns at least a handful and gracefully allowed me to walk around using hers since I took the train in with my backpack and duffle bag from CT and couldn’t carry my purse as well. So the couple an early/mid 40’s semi-retired Jewish man and a late 30’s African American woman were admiring the purse. I immediately advised them that the purse belonged to my friend/their friend and the man states how much he admires Prada bags and how they have such beautiful craftsmanship. I then ask the woman if she owns one and she immediately says “Nooo, its way to expensive, but they are beautiful bags”. This leads me to think. From my prior knowledge the woman is gainfully employed in the fashion industry and she moved into a place that the man was already living in which means the financial situation is different than when two people buy a place together. Theoretically she can afford a Prada bag and if they both believe that it is such an amazing bag, together they can purchase this bag. Now I’m back at the apartment and decide to Google the bag. How much could they really be? SHOCK, AWE, WTF $1800 for a pocketbook, $2950, $4600 Saks see for yourself folks. Now if I had $2950 cash right now, just received, not allocated towards bills, would I purchase a Prada bag? Absolutely not. I would go right ahead and purchase a new Mac Book because my computer is outdated and heavy and put the rest of the money into my savings account. From reading all of the personal finance articles that I read, I believe that other than the few people that are wealthy, many people purchase high end items on Credit. They pay as much as they can at a time until they pay it off or not. You don’t need a zero balance to keep buying you just need available credit……….Yes Americans are in debt. Young people who like to purchase nice high end items are in debt. People who previously made a large salary and do not make the same amount but still maintain the same spending habits are in debt. Young adults fresh out of college are in debt. Is a Pocketbook something that is worth going into debt for? So I must add a disclaimer, I live and work in Hartford County where high end designer bags and shoes are not as commonplace as NYC. I do not know my friends’ full financial situation so I cannot say whether or no she is in debt due to Prada I will say that she does own at least $10k in pocketbooks. In reference to the couple, I will say that they can afford Prada, however they are the couple that would utilize public transportation instead of a cab to save a few dollars because they have determined that they are more comfortable being thrifty than taking advantage of convenience if the price is higher. Just remember friends, just because someone wears expensive items and drives an expensive car doesn’t mean that they are wealthy or are standing on a stable financial footing. And just because someone is pulling out coupons or seems to be way too thrifty it doesn’t mean that they do not have money, it could very well mean that they are trying to preserve what they have. But you already knew that. We all know that. So why are we impressed with the girl wearing the Prada Bag?
What are your thoughts?
Darley~
Hartford Craft 