Consumers increasingly face simultaneous tension between financial well-being and social participation. As affordability pressures rise and participation in social life becomes more visible through social media, experiences such as holidays, festivals and other live events, can feel essential despite being financially challenging. Affording participation is increasingly enabled through financial mechanisms such as Buy Now Pay Later services, credit cards, overdrafts, and informal borrowing. These tools can make participation possible while concealing the financial, social and psychological costs associated with debt. This track explores what we term a belonging trade-off: the choice between visible social exclusion and hidden financial vulnerability.