Even though we have lots of marketing tell us how happy we might be if we spend money we can "afford" on things we don't need, but we want, we're pretty bad at predicting how much actual happiness we'd get from it. The BMW is a great example. You're getting joy and fulfillment from living a modest life, where good relationships and the reduced stress from your practical budgeting give you continual real world benefits and peace. The alternative, where you sign over a huge chunk of money, often with interest, so you can take home that BMW might put a smile on your face from time to time, but you also give up some of the joy you had before from knowing how much other parts of your life benefit from those smart budget choices. Ultimately, were those few smiles worth $50, 60, 70k? Seeing that car payment leave your bank account?