Spending money to impress people who don’t check on you is the worst investment on the market.

Spending aimed at other people rarely reaches them. Whoever you wanted to notice is busy thinking about themselves, and the attention you buy is brief and then gone, while the money is gone for good. Wanting to be seen is completely ordinary and nothing to be embarrassed about. It just cannot be bought at that price.

Before a big purchase, ask who you are picturing when you imagine owning it. If the answer is an audience, give it a week. If you would still want it alone in your room, that is a different question.