A $240K engineer is stressed about money. His$72K neighbor just paid cash for a renovation. Same city. Different drug. Weunpack why status spending is the most invisible — and most expensive — lineitem in modern personal finance, why hedonic adaptation eats every raise, andthe one audit that exposes how much of your spending is just signaling. Comeswith a five-purchase test that will rewire how you think about every upgrade

KEYWORD TAGSstatus spending · lifestyle inflation · morgan housel· stealth wealth · frugal living · high income earners · hedonic treadmill ·personal finance psychology · financial independence · money and happiness