I’ll agree with CT on this one. Having what you have worked for, and buying top quality so that it lasts is not “materialistic”. It seems to me that someone owning a Bugaboo stroller (because it is “pas nisht” not to have one) and being on food stamps, is more “materialistic” than someone who owns a decade old luxury car.
In addition, since CT does live out of town, his costs are way lower than “in town”, allowing him for additional disposable income. In many aspects, living in the Hipster neighborhoods of Williamsburg, Washington Heights and the Lower East Side is also a “materialistic” action.