I think it's more a matter of priority than being stupid and/or rich. When I was in high school and junior college I had two jobs. One was for near minimum wage at a diesel shop the other doing contract janitorial service for the same company. Most of my money then went to a truck payment, music, apparel, and consumables. You might say I wasted a lot, but I had different priorities back then. I bought a $400 pair of Tony Lama's for example. I still have most of nearly 300 CDs purchased during those years. I also had a lot of magazine subscriptions.
Today, on the other hand, I'll wear a $30 pair of New Balances for five to 10 years and buy very little music. I use an Amazon.com credit card for almost all of my bills and that nets me a free $50 to $75 in certificates to spend on their site with free shipping every month. Those free certificates alone would get me platinum every year.