1) Not a guy
2) I am not misunderstanding you. What I'm saying is that quality things cost money. If a really nice pair of shoes costs $200 but will last 5 years, that is better than buying a not so nice pair of shoes that cost $50 but will only last a year--but you need the capital to buy the higher quality in the first place. So, people with more money are going to be the ones buying the higher quality items. Does this translate to a LV purse? Maybe. I don't do purses, so I don't particularly care. But buying a nice pair of jeans, some quality skin care products, etc, I could see. For cars? Many people want to be environmentally conscious, so want to buy hybrid or electric cars... which cost more money. Is buying a luxury car in this class? No, but buying a Tesla may be.
But I can also buy (some of) those things while still working towards wealth because I make sufficient income (and have kept my lifestyle reasonable) such that I am not living paycheck to paycheck. And those who have enough to live comfortably for the rest of their lives may choose to enjoy the experience of a luxury car over going to Europe for vacation every year, for example.
Basically, there are people who are keeping up with the Jones. Then there are those who are working to build wealth but also recognize that we only have one life to live and don't see a reason to build generational wealth.
I read your post and I want to answer this because yes, you too are misunderstanding this issue.
What I was referring to was "consumerism." As Americans and as humans we are conditioned to become unhinged consumers. This is what keeps people poor and prevents their money from growing.
You are using examples of $200 shoes. High school kids are buying $200 sneakers right now. People my age who are residents spend $500-$800 for designer shoes and it only goes up from there. Designer shoes are nice but nobody needs them. $50 is on the opposite end of the spectrum. I would not expect someone with a college degree to buy $50 shoes.
I used LV bags as an example because they cost a ridiculous sum of money and they do absolutely nothing to generate wealth yet people buy them supposedly to impress people about how much money they have. It's quite ironic. The people at LV know how to market and they understand consumer behavior and just exploit it. If you have $10 million in assets, I highly doubt you will be drooling over the newest LV bag. You would rather get that $10 million to $25 million. That's how the wealthy think.
My argument regarding consumerism is that you have to snap out of it. You need to be able to look at an LV purse and say "It's ugly and it has no utility." When you can do that, that's when you will notice that you will have more money and assuming you are disciplined with your investing, that money can then grow.
According to White Coat Investor, a lot of doctors don't even have $1 million dollars and I find that very concerning.
Some people think that doctors have celebrity money and that is just not true. However, if you have financial literacy, you denounce consumerism, and you can think long term, then I think every doctor should be able to retire with $10 million at minimum while still buying "quality" things.
My definition of quality things might be different than yours however. A nice European trip is money better spent for me than it is buying a Mercedes or an ugly ass LV bag.
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