When you are in the income bracket which can rightfully afford a Porsche and a pair of $500 shoes (*), your main fear should be identity theft. Victimization rates in property crimes or violent crimes such as burglaries seems to be relatively low in the upper income brackets (and the property crime rates are consistently declining year over year). Identity theft is on the rise and, most importantly, it's correlated with the income brackets. In 2014, a total of 17,576,205 identity thefts were committed, a meaningful increase from 16,580,500 in 2012. Most importantly, 6,758,000 of the victims (38%) where from the $75,000+ k/year income bracket, while only 13% of Americans make over $75,000 a year. * I doubt one can easily distinguish a $500 pair of shoes from a $150 one unless you holding them in your hands. That is for men, for women it's a different story.
That surprises me coming from you Surf. Shoes are key. I have asked dozens of women over the years whats one of the first things they look at when they check a guy out.... shoes has to be number one. Professional scene aside....You can wear trashed jeans and a cut - up t-shirt... as long as you're sportin some brand new $400 Tims... babes think you're hot. Funny story: Several months ago I get a call at like midnight from a scorching hot friend of mine.... says she's got a flat tire on the side of the interstate and of course she has no money etc lol.... so I drive out there.... pouring rain.... pull over... get out.... its fucking dark, raining, cars are screaming by 2 feet away at 80MPH.... she's standing there with an umbrella and the first thing she says to me.... "Ooooo I like those shoes".
Not that it's a laughing matter, but HIV rates in Congo and DRC are relatively low for Sub-Saharan Africa (2.5% and 1.5% occurrence rates respectively). What you are thinking about is probably the region of South Africa where occurrences are in double digits (e.g. 26.0% occurrence rate in Swaziland)
And in the other direction......... 90% of my socks (those unrelated to hiking or running) are black Gold Toe from Kohls (are they still around??) my latest pair of pants are from Menards, cost $8, and had sand in the pockets. yes, absolutely, cheap-ass peanut butter. AND MIX IN SOME HONEY. yup: ramen: Shock The World with a 3'x2' spice rack, "Ohhhh, yeahhhhhh." frozen burritos -- every day for lunch, since 1985: about 50ยข/day. I own (and *will* own) absolutely nothing with a team name on it. When I was a kid, I paddled a canoe light enough to hold over my head (while standing in water on a life preserver) through Class III whitewater. Cost me <$100 from a local department store. Loved that boat. About half of my mountaineering gear is about half-homemade/modified, and cheaper and lighter than you can get from retail. (Excepting yummy stuff like Western Mountaineering...) I'm 200k into my *second* 1998 Subaru -- the first one kicked the bucket at 249,900k; I'm milkin' this one. Daddy taught me, "It's not the car,....." But now I've got "Client Image" to think about. Shit...... But I have never had an auto loan. I've got more.......
Something tells me that stuff that matters (e.g. ice axes and screws) you purchase from Black Diamond, Grivel or Petzl at "outrageous" prices. What you made your bivy bag from is less important
Lol! Yeah, lots of chicks are into shoes-- my ex loved jimmy Choo and some other brand i dont remember. My faves are cole hahn and nike air collaborations-- super comfortable and look good. I have weird wide feet so 90% of the time i wear flip flops or oloukai mesh -- im not a shoe guy. But watches-- that's an entirely different story - im nearly fanatic in that sector-- despite the slow decline of the swiss watch business.
I have been pondering that question - when does one pull the plug on a car that has served you faithfully for many years. For example, I gave my 2003 Volvo XC70 to a friend when it hit 180 and i felt it was spending more time in the shop then on the road. Oddly enough, he's been driving it for a year and put another 25k miles on it without a hitch. Do I keep doing it until it truly bites the dust? Do I stop life support measures the day a mechanic bill is higher then the book value of the car? Anyway, that's off topic...