They say music reflect the current times. But in this day and time, the lyrics of the song– “Upgrade U” by Beyoncé Knowles– don’t cut the mustard:
Partner Let me upgrade you
Audemars Piguet you
Switch your neck ties to purple labels
Upgrade you
I can (up), can I (up)
Lemme upgrade you
Partner let me upgrade you
Partner let me upgrade you
An Audemar Piguet watch with the barest of features would set you back a cool $7,000. For those of us struggling with paying the rent or house note, $7,000 could translate to approximately several months of the amount needed to keep a roof over our heads. And those purple labels that Beyonce warbled about? A direct reference to the Ralph Lauren’s Purple Label Collection, one of the priciest collections the designer has slapped his name on.
In some areas of the U.S. of A., the gas prices are already hovering around the five dollar mark. In comparison, it may be small comfort to know that the people of Norway are definitely shelling out the green while singing the blues– they earned the dubious honor of having the highest gas prices in the world.
Audemars Piguet watch
Dimples in ya necktie
Hermes briefcase
Cartier top clips
Silk lined blazers
Diamond creamed facials
VVS cuff links
6 star pent suites
In these uncertain economic times, just how much of a downgrade in luxuries are we willing to accept? Personally, we all have our litmus tests in deciding which luxuries to jettison. Perhaps instead of putting the potato bread in the grocery cart without a second thought, we might settle for store-brand white bread. Instead of having a Hummer parked in your driveway as a status symbol, you trade it in for a fuel-efficient vehicle without all the bells and whistles. Instead of being 100% organic in consumption, we may compromise with a few decidedly inorganic and hormone-ridden food items. But what if the economic downturn impacted your business dealings and travel?
How would you react if you were handed a flyer similar to this one:
From the refined Ritz Carlton to the moldy Motel 6? Talk about a serious slide in downgrading. Staying at the Holiday Inn would be a holiday compared to lodging at the Motel 6. My better half– A.K.A. the hubby– snapped this gem that was tacked on the lunchroom refrigerator at his workplace. His coworkers were grumbling– despite the flyer being an obvious and somewhat bizarre joke– about the fact that it’s a question of when, not if, the relative luxury of business travel accommodations would stoop that low. With Motel 6 cheap rates comes questionably cheap service. One coworker bemoaned that the meals offered at the “seedy motel” would more likely be catered by either Kentucky Fried Chicken or McDonalds.
I find it interesting how the pundits swear up and down that we are not in a recession yet. Look around…most people are squeezing their nickels so tight, the buffaloes are stampeding and herding. But i got just four words for those punks–I mean, pundits: “It’s the economy, stupid.” Fast forward sixteen years later since that famous phrase made its rounds, giving birth to interesting variations. It’s dejá vu all over again, with the same issues (Iraq and the economy) playing out in the 2008 elections.
Back to the topic. What material luxuries you currently have that you’re willing to either hand them over or hang on for dear life, despite the economy downturn? Would you be willing to sacrifice certain business luxuries that you’re accustomed to in order to help your company’s bottom line?
© Copyrighted material. This article cannot be copied, reproduced or redistributed without the express written consent of the author. As with every blog on this website, this blog does not reflect the opinion of DeafDC.com.
No related posts
8 Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
(Ahem, there’s a typo in the picture of that flyer.)
We’ve already traded in our beloved Toyota Highlander for a Toyota Matrix, and we’ve been talking about trading in our mini-van for a smaller, more gas-economic car. We’ve downsized also by selling our suburban house and moving into a smaller urban house within walking distance to downtown Frederick (and two Starbucks!) and not far from bus / trains I take to DC for work.
Funny — while typing this, I realized that we were doing this for the environment as well as the economy. Nice to know that being environment-wise can also be economical as well.
We’ve also cut back on travelling as well, opting to do more “staycations” (stay-at-home vacations) with day trips to nearby points of interest.
I’m an admitted germ-phobic. I replace my toothbrush every 2-3 weeks. I don’t know if I can give THAT up.
Man…I just read Mrs. Porter’s blog and I’m shaking my head. It is true…we are dealing with a lot changes in the economy, which is forcing us to live check to check or make some changes so we can be financially secure.
If I was handed a flyer like that, I’d whip out my red pen and make the necessary corrections. They obviously can’t afford to use the spell check feature! Sorry, that was the editor in me coming out…anyway…back to the point….I know they’re trying to attract people by offering FREE food, which is generally what attracts people, but come on, have some class! If you want to make a good impression on a small budget which will not be easy but it is possible.
I know I might have to give up the most expensive gas, which lasts longer. I commute to and from work 5 days a week, 90 miles a day but it does a lot of good for my mind, as driving is my sanctuary. I’d have to cut down on ordering food and forcing myself to cook more often…ugh! But it is indeed cheaper to cook food at home and bring it to work but dang..it’s no fun cooking for myself! *grins*
We’ve given up our cable and long distance, and take turns driving our one car. We have no atm card, debit card, credit card, and do not even use checks. When we need to buy something, we go to the bank and withdraw the cash that we need. Doing this has helped us evaluate what we really need vs. what we just want- and has prevented a lot of unecessary impulse buys. It sounds a little extreme but honestly, getting rid of those things has put us in a much better financial situation than a year ago. I also hunt for useful items on Freecycle and have saved hundreds of dollars over the mall and big box stores when I’ve found absolutely unbelievable household and decorating items at Goodwill!
Forgoing some of the little “luxuries” was strange at first but now I wouldn’t do it any other way. I didn’t think I could live without my cable, but I don’t even miss it! The only thing we didn’t sacrifice was high-speed internet.
Perhaps you should reconsider your decision to keep high-speed internet. From what I hear, dial-up is much cheaper.
Guess you can call this the life style of the poor& infamous these days.
Another thing, it would be nice to have a reality show on life style of the poor & infamous. Show how much homes price range and trips infamous ppl take where they shop and eat at. you’ll get your money worth and won’t be bored on watching that show. Tune in next week for this show @ 9pm on mtv cribs.
Martha Stewart will be the special guest on the show. Mark this down in your notebooks, SK1 ,2 & 3.