Reply #72: The recognition that every new widget is paid for by...

[lumberjack_jeff]

some number of the finite hours of your life, is an epiphany.

I highly recommend "your money or your life" by Vicki Robin.

Take your salary, subtract the costs of obtaining it (transportation, costuming, training, etc). Divide that number by the hours you spend at work (or commuting to it, or thinking about it, or decompressing from it) and you have your real wage. Divide the cost of every shiny object you covet by this wage and ask yourself if that item is worth trading X hours of your life for.

By the way, if you're the primary breadwinner, remember that it's your life hours that are being traded for your spouse's standard of living. Only you can determine what's "worth it".

I'm lucky - my wife and I are both on the same page. Neither of us confuse standard of living with quality of life.