I don’t spend money on needless splurges like high tea but do take European vacations every year with my family, which many people would consider a splurge, with a sub $300,000 HHI. Drive used cars too. I value experiences over anything else, but would not throw my money away on a $10,000 Taylor Swift concert or something like that when I could take my family to the Italian Riviera for a week to that much if we got airfare with miles.

Our HHI for a family of 5 is closer to $400k but in a very expensive area where we are probably making a lot less then most. Still, we do spend money on “fancy experiences” from time to time. Life is short, and I want to do some really cool stuff with my kids before they are grown. So on vacation we’ll spend the $1000 plus to do the private rock climbing, snorkeling boat, private guided safari tours etc. We budget other ways in our daily life by rarely eating out or getting take out. We also don’t have a regular cleaning person, and live in a smaller and older home.