For Gen X, popularity was always, always about money. Families with money could afford the "right" clothes, the parents had the leisure to make sure they got to enough extra-curricular activities to spend lots of bonding time with other kids, and had "stuff" at their houses to attract other kids--video games, pools, basketball hoops, etc. And their parents threw killer parties for them. I didn't care very much about fitting in, but I would have wondered less if something was wrong with me if I'd realized that money and popularity were the same thing.