You should never model your life based on others' expectations. You should certainly model it based on your own wants and preferences, but after giving it some

You should never model your life based on others' expectations. You should certainly model it based on your own wants and preferences, but after giving it some thought first because what you think you want and why isn't necessarily what you really want and why. For example, what does wealth mean? For someone, it can be that you can buy a BMW. However, if you want to buy a BMW you're never just buying a BMW: you're buying something else that actually satisfies you. The BMW is just a symbolic token for what you really want. If you know what that is then you also know whether buying that BMW is the right choice. It might be the perfect symbol for freedom or whatever in your life. Then go buy it. But you might be longing for something else and buying the car wouldn't eventually make you happier. Then you would be looking for something else again but as long as you don't know what you really want, you'll be shooting in the dark. For me, wealth is independence. The more independent I am the wealthier I am. In corollary, people with FU money are the richest people on the Earth on that scale. Myself, I'd happily live cheaply if that meant I could basically choose what to do instead of having to work to keep up with my spending. Once in a while I count how much would I need to own to produce capital income that would give me a basic standard of living and the money for some hobbies I'm interested in without constantly having to think much about money. Maybe status is worth something for someone. Maybe if you show status (buy that BMW) and hang around with people wealthier than you, some of it actually sticks and you gain even higher income and status because of your connections, eventually. Or maybe, by looking for other people's acceptance by the token of status, you're just trying to find a way to convince yourself that you're perfectly okay yourself and accepted just as you are. Then it might be less painful to deal with that first instead of hunting status for half of your life.