This is an interesting phenomenon that I know happens in young men’s brains. I doubt it happens to such an extreme with young women, but I will let you be the judge.
I call it the wealth paradox. When you are young, there are so many things you could imagine doing if you had money. Big fancy homes, expensive cars… lots of bling designed to impress other people. This desire for wealth drives people to work hard and accomplish much so they can earn a lot of money to pay for these things. What’s interesting is unless you are very lucky or very good, it will take decades to make the kind of money that allows you to make super extravagant purchases. As those decades pass, the motivations you had in the early days fade and your priorities in life shift.