I think you should make quality of life improvements as they are usually worth paying for those things you actively dislike. It is not a waste of money for situations that irritate you every day. We can all get a "better" car or house, but there is a difference between serviceable and bad. I paid to tile and wood my floor which makes the interior of our house "ugly" for resale but makes my wife and I very happy as well as the maid that the floor can be made much cleaner.
I don't think you need to pay for counseling on the fear of an unstable job, it is a legitimate one. Rather, consider saving a rainy day fund for if that day comes to buy you time to retrain for something else. Maybe, consider making that investment right now (teaching license is a low hanging fruit but relatively stable if you are debt-free).
If you don't work to work at work more, consider the time that you spend being thrifty to be working at life. Also, if you have children, I firmly believe (as it was done to us) that you should try for a middle-class lifestyle even if you make above middle-class wages. Your children seeing you "struggle" a little like you still have financial aspirations (it's be so nice if we could replace this carpet, so we're going to save some money for this) is an example that serves well. Teaching restraint and patience is reinforced by practicing it yourselves (especially when you actually know you don't have to).
That's what the excess is for me, I don't have to do anything. It's a nice feeling to have.
As for destination vacations, not my cup of tea as I vastly prefer to make my home circumstances even more comfortable (paying household taxes >>>> vacations to me), but you did earn it, you should choose your own preferences.
@radio frequency , what's wrong with Aldi? The German organics line is quite a bit better than some of the crappier offerings at Whole Paycheck. I really wish we had European food standards here for organics.