When my company was smaller and struggling, I drove a very modest car. Nothing is a bigger obstacle to success than consumerism. People who squander precious resources on consumables are their own worst enemy. But in the past few years, as the company has become increasingly successful, I have increased the budget on what consumables I purchase. My attitude hasn't changed, I actually spend a smaller percentage of my income on consumables than I used to. It's simply an increase in consumption capacity.
A friend sent me an interesting article on CEOs and their auto choices. People like Warren Buffet drive modest cars. Others drive expensive cars. I am in the faction that drives expensive cars.
Why drive an expensive car to work? Won't that just create resentment and jealousy in my coworkers? My answer is: If it does, then they suck and should quit right now.
In my experience, when people are confronted with the success of another, they are either inspired to do better or they are angered. People who become angry and resentful of other people's success are typically (in my opinion) losers. To be charitable, people who are angered by the success of others typically are just envious of the ability of others or believe that the successful person doesn't deserve that success. In either case, those people have no business working with me. I prefer to work around people who recognize the clear connection between their accomplishments and their material gain.
I think one of the reasons why our company has been so successful is precisely because we tend to attract highly motivated people who know they are the masters of their own destiny. Those who think that success is a matter of dice rolling and become angry or resentful when they see material success are better off elsewhere.