Seriously? You're an idiot. No one thinks you're cool because you can "afford" to spend $800 on the jeans you already own. And no one likely notices when you're wearing them, aside from the few other misguided douchebags who think the same way. The rest of us just think you're an idiot.
I get it...you've got all this money that you can spend on stylish clothes, and you want everyone here to know it. Even better, you want everyone here to know that you have even more money to spend on even more jeans, simply because they're cool. Here's the thing: No one really cares.
Still, I'll take the challenge and one-up you. I took a one month unpaid leave-of-absence in September, and quit my job for good on November 1 because my career path had me miserable and I needed a change. I haven't worked since, and probably won't until the summer. My wife just starting looking for a part-time job (she hasn't worked in eighteen months). Our credit cards remain unused.
I'm going back to school (paying out-of-pocket) to start a new career that fits what I want to do. You might laugh at the two pairs of ragged $10 K-mart Wranglers I own (or my *paid for* beater van), but they're a good part of what has allowed me to say, “Fuck this, this isn't the life I wanted, it's time for a change!” I'm not rich by any stretch, and unless I win the lottery, I never will be. I don't need to be, though; I'm not foolish enough to spend $200 on a pair of jeans that cost $3 to make.
Save for my mortgage, everything I own is paid for. My bills are small enough that I can take a few months off from work and still live without drawing down savings, by my wife and I working odd jobs. Starting in Feb, we'll have tenants to pay our mortgage, and in a few more years our house will be ours free and clear unless we decide to sell it before then.
We're not rich, but we live within (well, below) our means, and it gives us the freedom to live our lives as we want to. It gave my wife the freedom to quit her miserable corporate job and stay home with the kids, and it's given me the freedom to quit my miserable corporate job and start on a new career that actually fits. We're able to do it all by easily cutting expenses, and drawing down on some of our savings to pay for my tuition.
Think about that when you get your next credit card statement. Think about that the next time you have a miserable day at work. Remember that in five or ten years when you find yourself stuck in a miserable job that you need to keep in order to pay for your lifestyle...and consider that you've not even been living it for yourself, but to try to impress other people who honestly don't give a fuck.
Then think of me, happy as a clam, in my new, fulfilling career; with no debt, wearing a worn-out pair of $10 K-mart Wranglers and probably still driving that old, paid-for, beater van. I won't give two shits about you, but if I did, I'd probably be laughing.