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Catherine Klimes
Stacey Dearing
English 106:742
11 November 2014
Conspicuous Consumption and Credit Cards
It is no shock that America has a major debt problem. 77 million American adults are in
non-mortgage debt, and with an average amount of $5,187 (qtd. in Geewax). The cause of this
debt ranges from unforeseen medical expenses to a simple overdue gym membership (Geewax).
However, a lot of debt that Americans are in could be caused by a social issue. Conspicuous
consumption is the behavior of putting more importance on purchasing luxury items than
shopping at bargain prices and being frugal. Generally, it is motivated by the need to be
perceived as wealthy. Therefore, people who fall into the behavior of conspicuous consumption
tend to emphasize the significance of social status rather than managing spending that is good for
their well-being (Sundie). Credit card debt is often the result of purchasing goods one can not
afford, in hopes of being able to have the money for it at a later date. George Saunders in his
short story The Semplica-Girl Diaries comments on the prevalence of conspicuous
consumption in todays society, drawing attention to a potential cause of credit card debt, a
major economic problem in America today. An often-overlooked yet significant cause of credit
card debt is the behavior of conspicuous consumption; A cause that can be solved by making the
public more aware of its existence.
The short-story The Semplica Girl Diaries by George Saunders is about a man whose
family is poor compared to other families in the community. This short story is a commentary on
our contemporary situation of competing for social status. The narrator of the story states, Do

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not really like rich people, as they make us poor people feel dopey and inadequate. Not that we
are poor. I would say we are middle. We are very very lucky. I know that. But still, it is not right
that rich people make us middle people feel dopey and inadequate (Saunders 5). In the story, the
narrator buys a winning lottery ticket, which he and his wife decide to invest in a garden fully
equipped with slaves called semplica-girls. They did this for their daughters birthday party so
that they could prove to all of the other families that they werent poor. By the end of the story,
the family finds themselves in deep financial trouble due to a course of unexpected events. One
moral of this story is that spending mass amounts of money on luxury and entertainment is not
necessarily something that people with less money should prioritize.
The series of events that occurred in The Semplica-Girl Diaries is the perfect example
of people falling into debt due to unexpected fees. Not all credit card debt is caused by
conspicuous consumption. Neal Conan interviewed Richard Barrington and Donna Freedman as
part of his segment on NPR called Talk of the Nation where the three experts, along with
listeners calling in, discussed the concept of a rainy day fund. Donna Freedman comments, I
know from personal experience that consumer debt can be absolutely unavoidable - for example,
medical debt. (WHTTRDF). Freedman is emphasizing the importance of saving money here
and there for expenses. Credit card debt will be easier to avoid if one sacrifices the small daily
indulgences to save a couple dollars a day. Once this rainy day fund is built up people can
afford to indulge a little bit in luxury items without the fear of being submerged in debt by
unanticipated expenses. Not all credit card debt is caused by people thoughtlessly spending
money they dont have. In fact, Marilyn Geewax, also from NPR, states, A lot of these overdue
bills start out as relatively minor problems, such as past-due gym memberships or cellphone
contracts. But once those old bills get turned over to the collection industry, troubles mount for

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the debtors, whose credit scores worsen (P11). It is clear that debt is sometimes unavoidable,
but that doesnt make it good or acceptable or even a situation in which people should feel
comfortable. The obvious consequence of spending more than they earn (especially on luxury
items) is best described a snowball effect the amount owed becomes larger over time without
the proper down payments. When the interest is added on, it can be impossible for consumers to
climb out of debt (Meadows). So, in events that debt is not caused my emergencies or
unintentional overspending, what is the motivation to spend money that simply isnt in the bank
account?
It is recognizable that credit card debt is often a result of forces that are out of a spenders
control; however, there is undoubtedly a group of Americans that try to live beyond their means
by spending money they dont actually have through the use of credit cards. The Semplica-Girl
Diaries is the perfect illustration of this mentality and behavior. The narrator expresses the
following about the use of credit cards, Is nice for when you do not actually have money to do
thing you want to do You may say, safe in your future time, Wouldnt it be better to simply
not do thing you cant afford to do? Easy for you to say! (Saunders 7). The phenomenon of
people simply spending money they dont have on goods they purely want and dont necessarily
need is not uncommon. A predominant cause of overspending is conspicuous consumption.
Before the relationship between credit card debt and conspicuous consumption can be
completely understood, the motivation behind conspicuous consumption itself needs to be
grasped. Found in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the article Peacocks, Porsches,
and Thorstein Veblen: Conspicuous Consumption as a Sexual Signaling System by Jill M.
Sundie, et al. describes four studies that all evaluate conspicuous consumption and how it relates
to mating and sexual signaling. The study hypothesizes that conspicuous consumption is a social

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signal used to attract mates and examines the type of people who use the signals and how
observers interpret and respond. The conclusion of the studies is that men who send out sexual
signals using conspicuous consumption are typically looking for non-committal relations and
women who respond to these signals perceive them accordingly. This is very interesting when
paired with the social idea of power.
Power is the ability to get both what you want and need, regardless of any societal or
human-based obstacles that stand in the way (Meadows). Many would assume that people that
have a lot of power in society would utilize it to obtain everything they could possibly want.
However, this isnt the case. Conspicuous Consumption Versus Utilitarian Ideals: How
Different Levels of Power Shape Consumer Behavior written by Derek Rucker and Adam
Galinsky in the Journal Of Experimental Social Psychology describes the procedures followed
for five experiments that involved Northwestern students and analyzes the correlation between
power and consumption. The studies found that people with more power tend to purchase
products based on quality and practicality, and people with less power tended to base their
purchases off the criteria of whether or not having that item would gain them social status. This
study is fascinating because it suggests that the people who most commonly spend money on
things that will make them appear wealthy, are actually the ones who are less able to do so.
From this, its probable that people who are less able financially to spend money on items that
will make them appear wealthy are the ones who do so the most frequently.
Comparing these two studies, it can be determined that men who do not have power,
from a sociological standpoint, purchase luxury items (whether they an afford them or not) as a
way to gain social status and consequently find themselves temporary sex partners. In this way,

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not only is spending money one does not have on luxury and entertainment not going to create
good long-term financial standings, it also wont create long-term, meaningful relationships.
The Semplica-Girl Diares connects these studies to the behavior of living beyond ones
means by showing a situation that is highly likely among American citizens today. The family is
middle class, they have enough money to get by, but dont always save the extra money they
have for a rainy day fund. Instead, they spend it immediately on a luxury item that they think will
bring them happiness because it will bring them a better social status among the other families in
their community. If conspicuous consumption is being used to attract the affection of other
families, those relationships are not necessarily quality. This illustration of conspicuous
consumption is strong evidence that the behavior could be the cause of a lot of the current credit
card debt in America. However, the large portion of standing debt could be eliminated if the
public realizes the reality of conspicuous consumption.
If people knew the truth about conspicuous consumption then its possible that it could
decrease, therefore causing a drop in credit card debt. Most people that purchase luxury items as
a display of wealth as opposed to buying items at reasonable or bargain prices are actually the
people who have less power. These are the people that are trying to prove their power. Also, if
people realized short-term and insignificant the results of conspicuous consumption, like less
stable financial situations and relationships influenced by the importance of status, less people
would participate in it. Being conscious of social surroundings could be the key factor in
improving the economic condition and decreasing the credit card debt of the modern American
society.

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Works Cited
Geewax, Marilyn. Chances Are Pretty Good That's A Bill Collector Calling. The Two-way:
NPR. National Public Radio, 29 July 2014. Web. 29 October 2014.
Meadows, Bethany. Personal interview. 5 November 2014.
Rucker, Derek D. and Adam D. Galinsky. Conspicuous Consumption Versus Utilitarian Ideals:
How Different Levels of Power Shape Consumer Behavior. Journal of Experimental
Social Psychology 45.3 (2009): 549-555. Elsevier ScienceDirect Complete. Web. 22 Oct
2014.
Saunders, George. "The Semplica-Girl Diaries." The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 15 Oct.
2012. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.
Sundie, Jill M., Douglas T. Kendrick, Gladas Griskevicius, Joshua M. Tybur, Kathleen D Vohs,
Daniel J. Beal. Peacocks, Porsches, and Thorstein Veblen: Conspicuous Consumption
As A Sexual Signaling System. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Vol 100.4
(2011): 664-680. EBSCO Host. Web. 22 Oct 2014.
What Happened to the Rainy Day Fund? Talk of the Nation. Host Neal Conan. Richard
Barrington and Donna Freedman. NPR. WBUR, Boston, 21 February 2012. Web.