Just to follow up on what you said, one of the things I've learned after a couple of years in online retail is that a huge proportion of people genuinely enjoy spending money.
They don't consider the opportunity cost or feel the pain of lost potential, but get a rush of "feeling rich" whenever they spend $50 on a T-shirt they'll wear once.
It's cross-cultural, natural psychology, and I doubt it'll go anywhere.
A lot of people have this; I certainly do: when I buy something new it feels good, for a short time.
I actually live a fairly frugal life, and I think acknowledging this is important: "do I really want or need this or am I just making myself feel better for a few hours?"
They don't consider the opportunity cost or feel the pain of lost potential, but get a rush of "feeling rich" whenever they spend $50 on a T-shirt they'll wear once.
It's cross-cultural, natural psychology, and I doubt it'll go anywhere.