Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty, and supped with infamy.

Living to be seen as prosperous costs more than living well, and it draws on a fund that does not refill by itself. The spending starts while there is plenty and feels harmless there. It continues past the point where there is plenty, because stopping would be an admission, and that stage is where the quiet damage happens. What began as display ends as something you have to explain.

Look for the expenses in your life whose main function is to be noticed. Cut one of them this month and watch how few people remark on it. The audience you are paying for is generally smaller than you think.