A first wage changes the meaning of prices seen every day.

Before you earn anything, a price is just a number on a label. After the first wage, it converts into time: so many minutes on your feet, so much of a shift. The world does not change, but the currency you think in does, and things you passed without noticing start to have a weight.

If you are near that first pay, notice the conversion happening rather than rushing past it. Work out what one hour buys, then spend some of it on something you actually wanted. The point is not thrift for its own sake, only knowing what you are trading and choosing to trade it.