The quote sharpens into a social audit: who is the performance for? By highlighting “people you don’t even like,” it suggests that much spending is aimed at imagined judgment rather than genuine relationships. This is a reminder that financial decisions can become distorted when they are driven by approval-seeking instead of values.
As a transition, this critique also reframes friendship. If a relationship requires you to overspend to remain welcome, the cost isn’t only financial—it’s emotional and ethical, because it trains you to trade authenticity for access. [...]
