What really gets me is when I hear one of the phrases mentioned along the lines of:
I work hard, I deserve __________ or I treated myself to _________
And, then hear from the same person:
I can't afford ________ or I'll never be able to retire.
Invariably, the items they deserve or treat themselves to are wants and luxuries. Where the things they can't afford are, to my ears, more fundamentally important.