How much did/will that son cost you??? On that note, I do advocate family, and a big one so your odds of having at least one decent progeny to run your affairs in the future are increased!
I had to do some maintenance to the house, painting new freezer etc. Spending/consuming is work, after 2 months of shopping, I was sick of it. And you know what I barely notice the new paint job. My hernia operation though, thats a gift that keeps on giving
I think that one could easily extend much of this discussion to overall "lifestyle" spending, many individuals likely spend far more than they should, even on the simpler choices. For example, I recently had the opportunity to travel for the first time to the Bahamas, for a company paid trip. First choice facing someone traveling to the Bahamas - how do you want to get there? I flew economy on Air Canada, but for roughly double the price you could instead fly executive. Benefits? Express check-in, and slightly more overall room around you (leg room, etc.). Perhaps one could instead "need" to fly there on a time-shared or private jet? Next choice - where to stay? This was another item that was out of my hands, so I was at an all-inclusive resort, cheapest rates were around $600US per night. I chatted with a professor from a Florida University on the way to Ft. Lauderdale, and I believe that he was spending around $200 per night for a fairly nice hotel on the beach. Another choice - what type of room do you "need" to stay in? The $600US per night that I previously mentioned was for a fairly basic room. The same resort of course had rooms that are priced far, far higher than that. Ultimately though, what is more important - your room or the resort? Is the resort more important or the beautiful location that you are staying at for a few days? My point with all of this is that not only do many people in our society seem to require all of the expensive toys (big house, fancy car, all the latest electronics, regular expensive dinners, expensive clothes, etc.), but they also get sold on the need to spend huge sums of money on travel. I personally want to travel during my life, to see more of the world, but I'm going to do so within my means.
Except for housing, i think that Cars, TVs, and Air Travel etc are alot cheaper than they were 10 or 20 years ago. Houses have kept up with inflation, but because of competition and technology, previous status symbols like a new BMW or a big TV are now much more affordable than they used to be.
Maybe $600/night is a lot to you, but to someone else it's chump change. How do you know the people staying in that resort are living beyond their means? After all, you stayed there. These days I never stay in anything less than a 5-star hotel. So what if it costs $150 more? I'm not gonna die rich and give half my money to the government, after I've been giving them nearly half every year of my working career.
The purpose of my post was not to merely state that "x" amount of dollars per night/flight/etc. is expensive, because you are correct, each individual's definition of "expensive" is relative to their wealth. The intent was to instead provide another example of the choices that we all make, many individuals likely choose options that are higher than their personal category of wealth. Similarily, you could argue that buying a BMW would be "chump change" to some - I believe the purpose of this thread was to talk about the types of individuals "needing" to purchase BMWs that should not be doing so.
There is no better stress killer than living below the means, 'cause financial stress can be overwhelming, shameful and outright breaker of relationships. I am no big fan of $200 dinners for two or buying designer fashions when middle of the line might look just as good. Just pinning four stars on the shoulder does not make one a 4-Star General, so wearning $600 suit does not make one rich.