He who is extravagant will quickly become poor; and poverty will enforce dependence, and invite corruption.

Spending beyond your means sets off a chain that is easy to miss. First the margin disappears, then you need someone else to cover the gap, and then the person covering it has a say in your decisions. That last link is the dangerous one, because dependence rewrites what you are willing to agree to. Plenty of people are poor for reasons that have nothing to do with spending, and the same chain runs once the margin is gone.

Look at where you depend on someone whose interests differ from yours. Ask what it would take to shrink that. Even a small buffer changes the conversation.