Originally Posted by TheJudge

Whoa! Judgmental much? Let's leave the judging to the judge. The problem with your logic is that there's no "valid reason" for ever doing a lot of things we choose to do in life. Have you ever had Filet Mignon? Why, how dare you be so wasteful when chop steak would have sustained you! Almost everyone in America is exorbitantly rich by international standards where half the world's population lives on less than $2/day.

So if you're blowing cash on DirecTV, iphones, two refrigerators, air conditioning, name brand clothes and food and high end medical care, you're no minimalist. You're a relativist who thinks that by being "a little more reasonable" than the average American you're being reasonable. Get over yourself.

I drive a $75,000 car and so does my wife. They're both brand new. We also own 3 houses and 2 "hobby" cars. We, too, can rationalize our financial exploits as "reasonable" by U.S. standards. I could drive a $120,000 car if I wanted to, and I happen to be VERY into cars so it's not something I wouldn't consider. The reality is I just bought my first new car in December of '14 at age 39, and I waited until I had a pension and my kids college paid for to do it, but that was my prerogative. My salary tops number 1 on the list above and I like fast cars, so I used some of my money to live a little and put a nice car in the garage. I don't see how that's anyone's business but mine, and it's not so everyone else "knows I have money" as you suggest.