Lifestyle creep is real. As is the Jones' element.
The amount of frivolous bullshyt I get invited to spend money on with my friends making $170-300K...
I'm in the same income range & have pretty similar baseline economics (income, rent or mortgage, taxes, utilities, etc.), so it's obvious who is getting help from their parents or just not saving.
They're my friends, so I try to spend time, but your boy isn't above pre-gaming meals in order to order less at whatever new tapas fusion restaurant we need to try.
I came really close to falling in that comparison trap, but COVID lowkey saved me underscoring the lunacy of all of it.