Paying for Sanity Lately, Just Needed to Share

A few days ago, a friend visited my apartment, bringing coffee and unsolicited advice.. They recently started tracking expenses. It’s a great habit, and I genuinely felt happy for them.

But as the conversation went on, it slowly shifted to subtle judgment. Comments like “people waste so much on convenience” felt less like general talk and more like indirect jabs. The vibe was clear, my lifestyle is wasteful.

They know I work in a demanding org, but not the details (for context, my workday is 12 hours). Still, I gladly pay for a chef just to survive my exhausting work week.

Normally, I brush off these things. But this time, it hit differently. Not because I felt insecure, but because it trivialized my burnout. My exhaustion was being framed as laziness, and that hurt deeply.

It made me question my choices. Made me wonder: Am I wasting money?

Anyways, Thanks for reading. I just needed to get this off my chest. And also to everyone paying the exhaustion tax without guilt, thank you. You're the reason we keep going.