Interesting topic.
I quite often describe my reasoning for not buying things as "feeling poor at the moment" to friends and colleagues and it is something I should very much stop doing because it is a) almost certainly offensive to people who are actually poor and b) reenforces the idea that struggling financially is a normal state of being. When I say it, what I almost always mean is that I've not budgeted for that specific expense and have prioritised adding to my savings over buying whatever the item was. My spending priorities are 1) living expenses 2) a very small number of carefully curated luxuries that I believe add greatly to my quality of life 3) savings/investments 4) other luxuries.
I work with a lot of people who live pay check to pay check and I don't know how they manage. We get paid monthly and always just before payday they are researching their next large purchases while at the same time complaining about only having $12 left for the week.
I think the 'feeling poor in the moment' is a really interesting statement, considering you're talking about not spending money on things that aren't worth the return (right? Unless I've misunderstood your post...). To me, not being poor is being able to buy the things I need/things that significantly improve my life. Spending money on non-priority things that don't improve my life would MAKE me poor, sure, but doing that wouldn't make me happier.
To me, feeling rich isn't about the money - it's the security and options. I live with my partner and our kid, we have a house, etc - financial obligations, basically. We have a lifestyle that can easily be supported on one salary. If we needed to, we could cut further. If we needed to, we could make mortgage payments on significantly less than what we're currently bringing in. We dress nicely, eat luxuriously, live in a gorgeous location we're happy to be in, and are near the people who matter to us, and none of that is precarious. Like, sure, we could lose the house via a complete collapse of the economy that left both of us completely and utterly unemployed for multiple years, but that's basically what it would take. So... if one of us decided we wanted a different job that required a pay cut? Or if we need some form of medical care? Or if my husband actually decided that his job was crap and he hated it and wanted a few months to find something he wanted to do? All of those are options, and there's no financial noose around our necks holding us to a situation we dislike. Enough money comeing in AND control of lifestyle inflation = freedom to make different choices if needed, basically. That freedom? Totally worth more than yearly vacations south that keep me chained to my cubicle the rest of the year.
And then, if we're in a situation where we're already saving 40-50% of our take-home pay, and then a bonus or return or whatever comes in, that's just icing on the very comfortable cake, rather than something desperately needed to keep us afloat. Complete abundance, basically. I like the mindset. (Of couse, the trick is to control lifestyle inflation while in that mindset...)
