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The first. I find most luxury items to be a waste of money, with a few exceptions. I’ll spend money on food & travel, material things don’t make me happy
Except for a ginormous tv
It’s a mixture of both, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say not many people in corporate America will ever feel like they can properly enjoy spending their money on luxury items. I know that I sure don’t and I’m quite well off. Whenever I think of spending I think of how many days of work it required to earn/save the amount I’m spending. Unless you work in a career where your earnings aren’t directly correlated to the amount of time/effort you put in or you somehow managed to earn a ridiculous amount of money via luck and not hard work I’m of the belief that wants will always drive income.
In my opinion, I think the drive to earn more comes from the societal aspects. If you live in a nicer/wealthier area, there might be an expectation that you continue moving up in your career and making more money. Also, I think the influence from peers and relatives is a factor. If you continually see people showcasing their best life in pictures/videos, such as a really luxurious vacation, then you will feel like your life is not really complete until you can achieve something similar to that.
This is coming from someone with simple wants/desires, so I don't feel like I'm being deprived by not earning more money. The majority of the things I enjoy doing don't cost a lot of money, or they are actually free in some circumstances (hiking, camping, free live music, etc.). I would tell you not to choose these things just because they are affordable, but I'd encourage you to give some of them a shot to see if you enjoy them. You can still go on nice vacations once in a while, but it's important to realize that you can still get a lot of joy/happiness out of things that don't cost a lot of money :)
All responses were very FIRE worthy :) Thanks all.