I've always been interested in the reasons people make the financial decisions they do. I know there have probably been many studies on this kind of thing, but a couple of examples I have seen come to mind: When my FIL retired, my in-laws purchased a big fifth-wheel trailer and truck. They had long talked about hitting the road in retirement. They made exactly three trips and hated it. But they were stuck with the big expensive trailer and truck. I asked why they didn't rent or borrow a trailer to try out first and their reply was that "this was our dream -- we saw ourselves as the kind of people who hit the road in an RV when they retired."
Example two -- I had a good friend who suddenly, with no previous history of extravagant spending, went on a spree, buying very expensive shoes -- Louboutins, etc. She accumulated thousands of dollars of these very pricey, fancy heels. And then she had a nervous breakdown. Turns out she was having an affair with a female co-worker, had been conflicted for years about coming out as gay, didn't want to hurt her husband, who she loved. Years later, she and the ex-husband are both happily re-married (she to another woman -- not the one she was having an affair with.) She sold all the shoes on eBay at a loss. She said those shoes were her attempts to 'play the part' of the successful straight woman.
Now when I face a big spending decision, I stop to ask myself if this is something I really want to do, or am I trying to fill some expectation that someone else has for me, or live up to some image of myself I have. (I'm the type of person who drives X brand of car.) It's an interesting exercise.
