NSRP.
No, I didn’t mean MSRP. I said NSRP, which stands for New Stupid Rich People.
I’m talking about the tons of sob (not S.O.B., I actually meant crying) stories about rich banking executives, car dealers and vice presidents having to cut down to four vacations a year instead of five. Oh Boo Farking Hoo…
Even more disturbing are the prevalance of articles talking about the latest Richie Rich fad - wealthy nabobs jumping on the Live Within Your Means bandwagon. Thrift stores are the new Louis Vuitton shop. And so on.
At first, I was mighty ticked off at these penny pinching poseurs. They sometimes call them “bargain divas”. I’m not a big fan of divas (or divos for guys?) to start with, so when they start to intrude on what I consider to be “our” turf, I get mightily annoyed. Give the eeekconomy a few years to start to recover, and the rich slobs will be back on the luxury train, having forgotten any possible life lessons that they’d learned about saving money.
But then, I started to realize that just as American Idol needs a shite-licker like Simon Cowell, so do Cheaplanders absolutely need stupid rich people. Without them, thrift stores would be as crowded as Lindsey Lohan’s driveway. No one would buy anything unless it was absolutely necessary. Everyone would cook at home every night. I think a lot more stores would go out of business.
So, here’s a little prayer that goes out to all the millionaires and moguls who feel down on their luck: I hope you come to your senses and get back into the swing of purchasing luxury items and unneeded things very, very soon. The world needs your loose wallets and purses right now. Will you step up to the plate?
[Editor’s Note: This is a very unscientific, probably faulty analysis of an economic trend by a non-business econ major. So it’s probably full of Holes, dug by little moles, angry jealous spies, got telephones for eyes.]
Source: CNNnnnnn
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March 16th, 2009 at 11:50 am
I dunno–more thrifters means more thrift stores, and I’m always in favor of more thrift stores! I’m also fond of the rash of garage sales being held by the “NSRP” as they typically yield high-quality, new/barely-used items for peanuts.
March 16th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
The ones that make me angry are the ones who are all over the “news” crying because their taxes are going up and they don’t want to have to “support” people who they view as not having tried or worked hard enough with their tax dollars. One thing I would have hoped people learned through this deep recession is that people don’t always fail for lack of trying, but often simply because of a lack of choice.
Also, honestly, for a Christian country, an awful lot of people in the U.S. have serious issues with the concept of “thy brother’s keeper”.
March 16th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
@luci - I see what you’re getting at, but interestingly at least in my area I find thrift stores actually CLOSING. Also, one thing I know is happening is that there are more thrifters, but LESS people donating items. So there’s more thrifters and less items to go around. But yes, I like the NSRP garage sales - such excellent new stuff to be found.
@orchid - That’s true. Personally, I’ve no problem if my tax dollars go to help those less fortunate, but I know a lot of folks absolutely can’t stand that. Still, it is hard to keep looking away when people continue to make the wrong decisions with money. I think you’re right about lack of choice, and on that note, education and parents passing down a solid financial philosophy is so important.
March 16th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
I have no problem helping people who actually need it. I got annoyed every time I visited a friend in low income housing, and I saw the FOUR sattelight dishes on his neighbor’s house. These places only had 5 rooms, including the bathroom!
My in-laws are NSRP. I’ve tempered my irritation with their wastefulness by picking up thier discards. I have tons of clothing, furniture, and household stuff that they’ve dumped. I’ve never bought new towels in my life thanks to them.
March 17th, 2009 at 6:42 am
NSRP @ CNN
March 17th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
@holly - I had a friend who was kinda NSRP - he had so many different cable, tv, cell phone and other bills, plus was living the life of a swinging bachelor w/ disposable income - the other day he called and said, “Man, it’s tough, I’m actually am not able to make payments on everything”.
He has over a hundred grand income.
@luci - LOL… well, people should do this all the time, instead of only when the recession looms. interesting they seem to have used my “divas (divos)” idea.
March 18th, 2009 at 7:09 am
@bryan- My in-laws have $100k income too. My MIL spends money like a sailor on leave, and my FIL complains constantly about how poor he is. They don’t know how we can live the way we do, with one car, cutting our own hair, shopping at “poor” stores like Foodmaxx and Aldi, etc. I don’t know how they can live so wastefully.