Honestly, I don't think this is even a moral failing. We're all performing versions of ourselves constantly. If someone occasionally stretches the truth about their finances to fit in or avoid judgment, that's just human nature dealing with the very real shame and anxiety money creates in our society. The real question is why we've made having money such a core part of identity in the first place.

I mean, who hasn't? Wedding gifts we can't actually afford, renting a nicer car for job interviews, acting casual about a purchase that stressed us out for weeks. It's so normalized we barely notice we're doing it. The real question is whether small social lies about money matter compared to the systemic inequality that makes us all feel like we need to perform wealth in the first place.