What is Luxury?

I came across a great story recently that got me thinking. A successful woman in her 50s observed that several of her younger colleagues at work, all in their 20s, were furnishing very expensive handbags. She realised that she'd never had a luxury item like that, and if these young folk could afford one, then surely after all these years of work, she could too. She mentioned this to a few friends, and they were all encouraging - splash out, enjoy yourself, you've earned it.

She had a look around and found a Chanel bag that was to her liking. Apparently she even needed to make an appointment to buy the bag. But when the time came to hand over the credit card and make the purchase, she pulled back. She couldn't bring herself to do it. Spending thousands of dollars on a status symbol just wasn't something that she could do.

In this week's episode I wanted to explore the idea of luxury, particularly as it pertains to financial autonomy. Once you've got yourself into a financially secure position, what use do you put that to?

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