I started buying more shit once I was strapped down with family responsibilities.

When I had little responsibilities going for a weeklong hike and camp or whatever is liberating and costs almost nothing so can save a lot. With a shrieking toddler you'll be very lucky if they tolerate something like that for 2 miles and a few hours, so the unhappiness of being unable to fulfill your goals gets replaced by some meager slivers of efficiency from material goods and home-based hobbies that cost money in the form of the rent to house the hobby if nothing else.

I wonder how much of this is "I can no longer do the shit that I really enjoy for free, so I'm at least going to buy a nice lobster to eat in the 15 minutes I have before the next meltdown of the toddler or caretaking of the elderly parent."