40-50 years ago a Vette was my dream car but could not afford one so I settled for a lesser sports car (Austin Healy 3000). Now that I can afford to buy one or two of them, the desire is not there. Maybe I now lack a necessary amount of testosterone...
I think as we get older, a sense of practicality begins to set in. Also, I've noticed that once I can actually afford something with ease, it sometimes seems less special, somehow. Perhaps part of it is the thrill of the chase, and dreaming about something that's beyond your reach.
Back in 2004, when I was getting my condo ready to sell, I thought I was going to clear about $40,000 on it. I had a pipe dream of getting a new Chrysler 300C, with the Hemi, which had just come out as an early 2005 model. It probably would have eaten up that entire $40K, but I figured it would be a nice splurge.
Well, by the time my condo went on the market and sold, I ended up clearing about $76,000. And in a moment of perfect timing, I made the final payment on my then-current car, a 2000 Intrepid, at about the same time, so that was ~$350 a month that was now freed up. But then, suddenly, a funny thing happened. I didn't want that brand-new 300C anymore. I could've walked in and paid cash, and had plenty left over, but the desire to have it was gone.
At that time though, I was only 34 and nowhere near financially independent, so investing the money for the future, rather than splurging on a depreciating asset seemed like a much better choice.