My wife and I are fortunate enough to be in the top 5% (barely), and we're pretty good with our money (with the exception of that whole buying-a-house-in-2004 thing
). We keep our cars a long time, and up until I got the d, mods were relatively minimal (compared to some members, they still are
) I had my E46 for 13 years, and its only mod for mods sake was a Dynavin. I upgraded the suspension, brakes, and cooling systems when they needed to be replaced, but that's about it. Wife's 2007 RX350 has only gotten an XM tuner and hitch. In the first 6 months or so, the D has gotten tint, winter tires, summer wheels/tires, a JBD and an iPad Mini, with an amp and speakers forthcoming and possibly a few other things.
While we could technically afford relatively expensive cars if we really wanted to, we try to keep those expenses down by getting just enough to keep us happy, and by buying "almost new". Both the RX and the 335d were Demos, with around 10k miles, never titled, and huge discounts off list. That frees up lots of extra money for things like fancy vacations, some nice meals on occasion, and lots of saving for retirement. Oh yeah, and some mods now
It also means when my wife's job is offshored later this year, we won't be crushed by the sudden loss of 55% of our income.