Remember, you live in the consumption capital of the world. More than ever, you're being bombarded from all sides at all times with ingenious advertising designed for the sole purpose of separating you from your money. Even your friends, family and colleagues are constantly encouraging you to spend more and more, even when they don't know they're doing it. You've been lied to your entire life - you've been told that spending ever-increasing amounts of money will make you happier and "better off" and it's plainly not true.
Why do companies advertise stuff? Solely to further their own agenda. It's not about you.
I just finished reading "Your Money or Your Life" [2] - an excellent book that walks through the steps needed to break out of the cycle you're stuck in. It's a little self-helpy, but the message is great, and if you follow the steps they outline, you'll absolutely be completely financially independent and won't need to go to work if you don't want to. Of course, you can if you do want to.
The tldr; is very simple - stop consuming so much stuff you don't need that isn't making you any happier, at which point you'll find you earn more money than you need, so you can work less and focus more on the things you want to, then you'll spend even less, etc. etc. etc. The amount of money you spend is directly related to the amount of time you must go to work. Spending is not what you want to be doing.
Find the things that make you happy, and focus on those. Spending money does not equal happiness, so stop playing that game.
From my personal perspective, I highly, highly, highly recommend taking a couple of years off to figure out what actually makes you tick. I spent two years driving Alaska->Argentina because I wanted to, and another friend that is unemployed right now has never been happier and more in touch with herself in her entire life. The first couple of months feel strange and awkward and lazy, etc. After a while, you become so busy with what makes you happy you can't imagine how you ever found time to go to work. Once you have that perspective, it's doubtful you'll feel happy consuming, because every time you do that, you have to work more.
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7315456
[2]http://www.amazon.ca/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationsh...
EDIT: Just for fun, do an audit on how much you spend month-to-month. Include every single cent that you pay out. Cable, Internet, Cell phone, gas, car insurance, food, groceries, snacks, clothes, shoes, transport, entertainment, vacations, personal grooming, lifestyle things, etc. etc. etc. I guarantee you'll be shocked at how much money you're spending on crap you don't need, and didn't consciously know you were spending it on. I make a fraction of what you make, and I'm saving more than I ever have in my life, simply by being extremely conscious of all the crap I don't need to spend money on.
And follow it up by reading something like: https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Path-Wealth-financial-independ...