Monday, November 20, 2006

'Stupid' Money

I often wondered where the term 'stupid money' came from. I know people use the term when referring to others spending obscene amounts of money for something that has significantly less monetary value.

I now have a picture to put in my mind when I hear the term 'stupid money'


I need a new black leather purse and I've surfed Ebay for the past month or so to find what I'm looking for. In the process, I've come to know different designers and what their purses look like and what they usually cost.

Yesterday, I scrolled past something that I knew had to be a mistake. My eye could not have seen that price accurately. I checked. Yes, that was the number I saw. Convinced it was still a mistake...that the seller must have typed the wrong number, so I decided to compare prices.

I learned that the Hermes Birkin handbag is a very pricey purse, indeed.

$50 is an average price to pay for a basic leather purse.

Make that purse a designer purse made with vacchetta italian leather and you're talking perhaps $500. To me, that's more than I'd spend on a purse, but it's certainly not an outrageous price.

$1000 seems rather indulgent to me.

$5000 hits the point of rediculous in my eyes. This is the point where I feel a $5000 purse doesn't look any more elegant/classy/well-constructed than the $1000 purse.

Then there's the category of 'stupid money'. It's the price that's so rediculous it blows the mind. It doesn't matter if the purse is made from good quality materials or even if it has a bit of gold or diamonds or something on it. It's a purse. It's not a mode of transportation. It's not a power generator. It's an accessory.

This particular Hermes accessory can be yours for $39,000. Thirty-nine thousand dollars.

Who would be so selfish to buy such a thing?

Buy the thousand dollar purse and use the other $38,000 to fight world poverty. Think of what Muhammad Yunus could do with $38,000. http://www.grameen-info.org/

For a moment, I thought I should buy a knock-off Hermes Birkin for a joke, but then I thought two things.

1. People would assume it's a knock off based on the rest of my apparel.

2. I wouldn't want anyone to think I was stupid enough to pay $39,000 for a purse.

Stupid money.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

holy sneezeballs...

um, yeah. something is definitely wrong with that picture...and then for some people to go and stuff a dog which pees and poops into something that pricey?!

Anonymous said...

holy sneezeballs...

um, yeah. something is definitely wrong with that picture...and then for some people to go and stuff a dog which pees and poops into something that pricey?!

Anonymous said...

39,000$? I've heard about this bag...and I simply can NOT understand what it is that would drive people to drop this sort of cash. One of my best friends has several bags for which she has paid around $1000 each. I can't possibly imagine that >> to me, that's a ticket out of here for a nice vacation. I can't be bothered to spend that sort of money on the very item that I use to HOLD said money.

Stupid money. Excellent phrase, indeed.

xox
m

Anonymous said...

lol
Stupid Moeny is right.
$39k for a freaking purse? I don't think so, and that statement is coming from an official 'purse whore."

$39k will pay off my car, cover this years medical expenses, pay for next years trip to Scotland (hotel, meals, gifts and airfare ... First Class)and still leave more than enough of that "stupid money" to buy two purses I've been eyeballing but can't justify spending money on.

Who indeed would drop that kind of money for a purse? Get the knock-off Lisa and when you see the fool with the real one just smile at her because clearly she has no clue. :D

Carole