The theory I came up with: at middle class income level, spending money gives hope of increasing happiness, or reducing stress. So if you have an unreliable ca

The theory I came up with: at middle class income level, spending money gives hope of increasing happiness, or reducing stress. So if you have an unreliable car, it may be cheaper to keep spending money on car repairs -- but it can leave you stranded when you really need to get to work. So buying a newer more reliable car reduces that stress. But it increases financial stress. I wonder if people are wired to prefer a single stress source (financial), instead of a bunch of smaller stresses.