Erin Lowry, Columnist
Mixed signals about the economy have made it tough for some younger adults to know where they stand financially.
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Erin Lowry is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering personal finance. She is the author of the three-part “Broke Millennial” series.
Never hesitant to rebrand an existing phenomenon, millennials and their Gen Z frenemies are admitting to having “money dysmorphia” — a feeling of insecurity around their financial situation even when the true picture reveals little cause for concern. Some 43% of Gen Z and 41% of millennials say they suffer from a flawed perception of their finances, according to a recent Credit Karma study. While it might sound like just another form of TikTok-induced anxiety, money dysmorphia is a real problem that can cause someone to make poor or ill-informed decisions.
Having a financial perspective rooted in fear rather than fact is nothing new. Those of us with grandparents belonging to the Greatest Generation will recognize the Depression-era scarcity mentality.
