One of the big lessons I’ve learnt, which ties closely to many of the principles of the FIRE movement, is that over your lifetime you will earn a finite amount of money. What you spend that money on is the result of the choices you make.
If you chase immediate gratification and get yourself into debt to own things, you will end up spending a large portion of the money you earn in your lifetime on repaying that debt.
On the other hand, if you are able to delay gratification and save up for the things you want, you will spend less money on debt repayment and more on having wonderful experiences.