As one of the people who got overly judgmental in this thread, I again want to apologize. I have friends with money who have bought nice houses with it and I haven't batted an eye. I have others that did the same thing that I have very good reason to believe were self-medicating in the same way that an addict might. Where my best friend is concerned, I have good reason to think it was the latter. So, yes, I have an opinion about it that goes beyond some knee jerk reaction to blatant consumerism. Do I think also think her 7000 square foot home for two is excessive. Yes, I do. Do I think a 3500 square foot home is? Not really. Is there a bright line about such things? No, but that doesn't mean it's a conversation not worth having. And I don't think it's wrong to encourage one another or others to consider other things other than their own needs or desires. We do that all the time with any number of environmental and social issues.

While I'd like to wholeheartedly agreed that how people spend their money is none of my concern, the reality is that sometimes it is. There are environmental concerns. There are economic concerns. There is a societal cost to more and bigger stuff. We don't make these very personal decisions in a vacuum.