Stop pretending. As long as you're still doing the math, you can't afford it.

When you casually pick up a pack of cigarettes at the convenience store, does your mind register the expense? Absolutely not. You don't think about how you'll handle next month's mortgage after buying this pack of cigarettes. The decision to buy this pack has no impact on your life trajectory or risk resilience.
For truly wealthy people, walking into a 4S shop and swiping a card to take home a six-cylinder Bentley, their inner emotions are exactly the same as yours when buying that pack of cigarettes.
So, regarding whether you can really afford it or not, I have a blunt opinion:
As long as you need to think about whether you can afford it, you can't.
Because true purchasing power doesn't require considering conditions or consequences.
But we love to negotiate with ourselves in our minds, always trying to use various assumptions to lighten the psychological burden of spending money.
As long as I get my full bonus next month, I will buy that bag.
As long as the coins I bought double in value, the down payment for that car is no problem.
As long as my assets increase by another ten percent, I will go ahead and buy that large apartment.
Brothers, this kind of self-hypnosis is extremely dangerous.
Real purchasing power has no additional conditions. You can deceive yourself, but when the harsh reality strikes, bluffing is defenseless.
Having seen too many ups and downs in the circle, too many people, once they make quick money, immediately switch to luxury cars and high-end watches, disguising themselves as old money. But in fact, the measure of wealth has never been how much you spend, but whether your asset structure can support your desires.
So how do you know if you really can afford it?
It's simple: if you can always pay in cash and have no worries about future black swan events, then you can afford it.
Admitting that you can't afford it now is not shameful. What's shameful is using future leverage to maintain a fragile wealth expectation.
What we truly need to do is build our personal moat and accumulate core assets that can cross cycles.
By then, not only will you be able to afford a Lamborghini, but you'll also have plenty of time and absolute freedom to enjoy it to the fullest.