The purchase made to look established may delay becoming financially comfortable.

Spending to look settled and being settled pull in opposite directions. The car, the address, the right things in the kitchen all announce a position you have not reached yet, and the announcement is paid for out of the very margin that would have got you there. It is an easy trap because the signals are visible and the security is not, so nobody congratulates you for the boring version.

Ask of a large purchase whether you would still want it if nobody could see it. That question sorts most of them quickly, and the answer is usually available before the receipt is.