A healthy financial life contributed to getting me a wife. It also would've gotten me laid if life hadn't gotten in the way. A hot lady really liked my fiscal responsibility (her marriage was collapsing because her husband lacked that trait)
I know a few people who are definitely not in a hurry to pay off low-interest mortgages from 2020 and 2021, but I suppose that they're already in a very different financial position from the people who might consider going into debt for a watch.
Those mortgages have an interest rate of less than 3%, but now the returns on even low-risk investments are higher than that, so the borrower is better off investing the money, using some of the profit from that to pay mortgage interest, and keeping the rest.
Had a friend who graduated from Georgetown with a law degree and went to work at a NYC white shoe law firm. Shortly before his first meeting with a client, his boss dragged him into the office and opened a drawer in his desk. The man had half a dozen different watches, none of which were less than $10k/ea. He matched one with my friend's suit and sent him back out. Apparently, clients at that level simply won't take you seriously unless you've got that much on your wrist.
That said, this was at an office on the penthouse floor of a lower Manhattan sky-rise. Nobody making cold calls out of a boiler room in Cincinnati cares that you overpaid for a watch.
Read an anecdote of someone in a similar station who had a client file a complaint against them because their watch was too nice. See, he's the employee who is servicing the client. He's beneath the client. He can't be wearing nicer stuff than the client.
I don't know how these people look at themselves in the mirror every morning.
I mean when viewed from the perspective of his world it makes sense.
He lives in a world where substance is meaningless and all that matters is appearance and bravado. I can appreciate why to him that seems like good advice. Just kinda bums me out people live like that, but I bet he's happy having power and influence and money. Good for him.
I couldn't and wouldn't fuckin live that way and I will stick with my Casio a158, thanks.
Seriously, FUCK YOU if you peddle this hussle culture grindset bullshit. I feel so sorry for the poor souls that fall for this shit because no one ever taught them any better.