spendthrift

A spendthrift (also profligate or prodigal) is someone who is extravagant and recklessly wasteful with money, often to a point where the spending climbs well beyond their means. "Spendthrift" derives from an obsolete sense of the word "thrift" to mean prosperity rather than frugality, so a "spendthrift" is one who has spent their prosperity. Historical figures who have been characterised as spendthrifts include George IV of the United Kingdom, King Ludwig II of Bavaria, and Marie Antoinette the Queen of France. The term is often used by news media as an adjective applied to governments who are thought to be wasting public money. Etymology While the pair of words may seem to imply the opposite of its meaning (as if you are thrifty in your spending), it follows the tradition of the earlier word "scattergood", the first part being an undoing of the second.