Money is a tool, not a scoreboard. Treat it like a scoreboard and you’ll never feel like you’re winning.

Money does a job, and a tool gets measured by what it builds rather than by how much of it is sitting in the shed. Treated as a score it becomes unwinnable, because there is always a number above yours and the target moves with whoever you happen to be standing next to. People who enjoy what they have usually stopped comparing at some point.

Decide what you want money to actually do: security, time, something you care about. Write down three. Then check whether your spending matches that list or the scoreboard.