I think the mentality is primarily focused on preservation of wealth for the responsibilities that goes with it and to carry it successfully intact and expanded into the next generation of the person's family.
I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. They call it the Main Line. If you read Town & Country Magazine, its that type of place, and mostly populated with blue blood old line money. (my blood isn't blue by the way LOL) I'm mentioning this because you won't find anywhere like it where moneyed people are so completely inconspicuous, discreet in their lifestyle and ultra conservative with their money. Everything in their thought process is based on preservation of wealth and shrewd long term investing. Frugal lifestyles is putting it mildly. They'll keep the same clothes for 20 years. They'll put hundreds of thousands of miles on their cars before they dare buy a new one.
A lot of it goes to charities and social causes. But mostly its just save save save. My sister married into a blue blood family with an 8 figure fortune, but they were cheap as hell though. Only thing they spent money on grandly was playing golf and the like at their country club. When I went to my sister's in-laws estate for a holiday get together, I couldn't believe how it was decorated inside. I mean it was loaded with valuable antique furniture, but it was like the house was the same way from when it was built and furnished 100 years ago. Really surreal.
Excessive conservation is a bit extreme in my opinion. Being frugal is a good thing I think, but life really is here to be enjoyed also and it does take spending money to have fun. I think the idea is to find a happy balance. One where you spend and save in check.
I've gone through different phases and opinions on it myself. One of the reasons I made that lengthy fatherly lecture style post to Brad, was cause I used to be that way too with people. I was pompous, cocky and ostentatious. It wasn't untill I realized that I had lost a lot of good friends being that way, blown a good personal relationship, wasted outrageous amounts of money on things just to impress my friends, and was sitting in a big house all alone thinking to myself is this what making lots of money turns you into that I realized I needed to slap myself in the face, come off of the holier than thou, smarter than everyone throne, and be a real person again.
After you have kids you usually change your thoughts on the way you spend money too. You just naturally start to think of them instead of buying things for your own pleasures. You get the natural desire to protect your money so they are protected.
Money is one of life's most complexing things. It can really fuck your head up if you don't keep things under control. Too much can be as bad as having too litte. Being somewhere in the middle seems to be the best way to go. Enough to have peace of mind, but you still need and want to be challenged with new opportunities all the time.
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