Last week, I mentioned finding the drive-in a frugal experience. I don’t plan to be exploring that experience with the not-so-new-anymore movie, Sex and the City. (I meant to write this article a week or two ago.) Then again it’s not like the makers of the movie are targeting my chromosome pairing.

Before I go too much further, I should issue a warning. I’m probably going to upset some readers. In fact, recently I got in a heated discussion with a friend about this very topic (she doesn’t know about my personal finance blogging). Sometimes you have to take to a stand for what you believe in, even if it means stepping on some people’s toes.

I’m not a big fan of Sex and the City. I gave it a decent shot watching more than a dozen shows in my time, but I just don’t get it. I thought it might be because it’s about the lives of (mostly) single women, and I’m a married man. However, I’ve come to reject that notion as I’m a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer – probably the biggest example of (mostly) single women and their empowerment in the media today.

I’m not a big fan of Sex and the City because of the consumerism of the main character, Carrie Bradshaw. How bad is it? Well Wikipedia currently has 550 words to say on just her wardrobe, including “…Carrie claims she has spent over $40,000 on shoes. Her pairs seem to average at least $400 a pop (according to Miranda), and it is implied that she has at least, if not more than, 100 unique pairs.” With just the two feet, I don’t see how that’s possible. If she doesn’t throw them out regularly (and I would think she’d keep $400 shoes for at least two decades), how does she store them all? I’ve seen the closets in New York City… they aren’t large. You can get large closets if you spend for a big apartment. You know what else is not cheap in New York City? Big apartments.

Also if you are going to spend $40,000 on something few people ever see (shoes), how much does she spend on purses or dresses? I would think that’s got to be triple, right?

According to that Wikipedia article, in one episode she “comes to the conclusion that it is okay to spend that much on oneself, specifically one’s shoes, to make the single girl’s walk through life a little more fun.”

This is precisely the thinking that gets people in huge debt.

In stark contrast, here is what Buffy has to say about her footwear:

“Well, I’m not exactly quaking in my stylish yet affordable boots, but there’s definitely something unnatural going on here.”

From this man’s point of view, I’d rather date someone like Buffy who is more concerned about saving the world than expensive name-brand shoes.