Lot of wisdom in this excerpt from CNN/Money:
Less really is more.
You have material desires like everyone else. But you recognize that those desires are fueled by an advertising-driven culture that encourages you to feel like you never have enough. You understand that the quest to possess can be never ending unless you consciously apply the brakes.
The true signs of a financial grown-up: Instead of ratcheting up your lifestyle every time you get a raise, you consciously live below your means, value the nonmaterial wealth in your life, such as family and friends, and resist the urge to buy the next big thing simply because you can.
In the end, says James Gottfurcht, president of Psychology of Money Consultants in Los Angeles, you know that you’ve reached money maturity when you realize that “financial freedom and success go not to those who have the most, but to those who need the least.”