Money dysmorphia

shop talk

/ˈmə-nē dis-ˈmȯr-fē-ə/

A nagging uncertainty about one’s finances, even when one is on solid ground, most common among Generation Z and millennials.

Flashy cars. Five-figure handbags. Island vacations.

With the steady stream of conspicuous consumption on social media, it can be easier than ever to feel like you’re always on a beer budget, even when you can afford a little champagne.

And there is a name for that: “money dysmorphia.”

While this term is not entirely new, it has been circulating on the Internet as a way to describe people’s often complicated relationship with money. It is taken from the term ‘body dysmorphic disorder’, a mental condition that causes a person to become obsessed with a perceived physical flaw.

Money dysmorphia (not an actual diagnosis) refers to someone who is irrationally insecure about finances. That mindset, say financial planning experts, can lead to money missteps, including overspending or risky investments.

It’s like “keeping up with the Joneses,” says Courtney Alev, a consumer financial advocate at Intuit Credit Karma, a personal finance company. For those who feel like their wealth doesn’t match up, it’s easy to “give it up completely and waste their money on things that might make them happy at the time but will leave them with no savings later.”

In a recent survey of American adults, according to Qualtrics for Intuit Credit Karma, 29 percent said they experienced money dysmorphia.

It hits younger people the hardest, the study found. Forty-three percent of Gen Z respondents, who are in their late 20s or younger, and 41 percent of millennial respondents, who are in their late 20s to early 40s, said they experienced money dysmorphia. In contrast, 25 percent of Gen

Legitimate financial concerns like a cooling job market, student debt and skyrocketing housing and childcare costs may make it harder for some younger Americans to imagine meeting the financial milestones set by previous generations. Ms Alev said the ostentatious lifestyles they saw online often exacerbated feelings of inadequacy.

In a Survey 2023 For Edelman Financial Engines, a financial planning firm, a third of respondents said they spent more than they could afford on things like a vacation or a luxury item to keep up with the “digital Joneses.” That number rose to more than half for respondents who spent more than three hours a day on social media.

The recent proliferation of financial content on the Internet and social media — some expert and some less expert — can also make it harder for people to feel confident in their choices, said Kevin Mahoney, founder of Illumint, a financial planning firm aimed at millennials.

It’s easier than ever to find people online talking about “how much they make, how quickly they made X amount of dollars or ‘Here’s what you should have accomplished by age 30,'” said Mr. Mahoney. “That doesn’t mean it applies to your life.”