There's a specific tiredness that comes from money you've already spent in your head. Call it what it is: pre-owed.

The thought behind it

Once a vague dread has a name it stops being weather and starts being a decision. That is what this sentence does. Under Money Mind the number is never the subject; the decision that produced it is. The line turns on “pre-owed” — remove that single word and what is left is advice you have already ignored.