That list in the OP is a load of shit. But I do think there is a grain of truth in the rich/poor mentality.
I grew up ‘rich’, family money, family tradition of going to university - mainly Oxbridge, etc, etc. I am absolutely not a spendthrift. I don’t have expensive taste, I don’t own particularly expensive or flashy things, but I do have that sense of security that knowing there’s money in the background can give you. I’m more willing to take risks, I guess. If something breaks, it’s not the end of the world, most of the time I can afford a new whatever it is (up to a point!). Things feel ‘possible’. It’s definitely a mindset.
Contrast this with DH, who grew up poor, to a single mother in a council flat. DH had a shit education at school, but is one of those exceptionally intelligent people and now does a highly skilled job with a six-figure salary (MN cliché klaxon). Obviously he earns wayyyy more than me. But to hear him and his mum talk, you’d think they were still in that council flat. It annoys me that she treats him as if he’s still the poor kid who’s reliant on handouts. His company had a restructure recently and she was getting panicky about what would happen if he lost his job. In truth, DH is now at the level where if he did lose his job he could probably walk into another one straight away and name his price. But MIL still treats him as if he’s some mediocre loser who’s lucky to be clinging on to employment. I feel like she won’t let him level up, if you know what I mean? If he mentions that we’ve been out to dinner or something, she will always ask what it cost. And then there’s a lot of handwringing and disbelief about the prices and it makes him anxious.
There’s a general reluctance to splash out on treats we could comfortably afford and, if we do, it always feels like there’s a sort of underlying anxiety about having spent ‘so much’ money, which spoils it all a little bit.
DH was left quite a large inheritance a few years ago and at the time we needed some building work done on our house. He was really reluctant to spend any of the money on the building work, but my perspective was that what else is the money for if it’s not to help improve our lives and our living conditions? It’s just gonna sit there in the bank while our house falls down around our ears? We did pay for the work to be done in the end, but convincing him was like pulling teeth and it killed him to do it.
My attitude is that it’s important to be sensible with money, of course, but if you can afford to spend some on having fun and nice experiences, then why not? But I realise the only reason I can say that is because I have privilege coming out of my arse, which is nothing to do with ‘hard work’ and everything to do with circumstance and luck really.