I have enough money but I still don't feel "safe"

Do you ever feel like you’re always on the brink of financial catastrophe, no matter how much money you have in your bank accounts? The term “money dysmorphia” describes the disconnect between our financial reality and how we actually feel about our finances, and nearly half of Gen Z and millennials struggle with it.

This week, Reema talks with writer Lindsey Stanberry and financial therapist Amanda Clayman about how childhood experiences and social comparison shape our perceptions of money, and what it takes to feel safe in an uncertain world.

A few takeaways from this episode:

• Money dysmorphia can shape our spending habits, relationships, and even day-to-day decisions. “A lot of guilt. A lot of denial of things that you need,” Stanberry said. “Buying stuff that's inexpensive and then having to replace it because you didn’t shell out for the thing that's maybe a little bit more high quality.” Stanberry said one way to combat these patterns is to be intentional about what matters most to you. “You can feel good about your expenses if you’re being really thoughtful about how you’re spending your money.”

• Be specific about what number would make you feel safe and work through the discomfort. “That gives a person feelings of like, ‘Yeah, I still have the feelings but I'm able to take the action that is consistent with my values and what's important to me,’” said Clayman, “and not necessarily just limited by these old echoes of fear that are attached to things like this.”

• The goal is to build confidence in your ability to handle uncertainty rather than eliminate it. As Clayman put it, “The place that we can come to feel a greater sense of safety is not necessarily that the world is safe, but rather that I have the capacity to live and navigate through an unsafe world.”

Also in the episode, another edition of “Alice Gets Her Life Together.” This week, producer Alice Wilder debriefs with Reema on her largest purchase yet: a home.

If you want to tell us what you thought about the episode or anything else, email us at uncomfortable@marketplace.org, leave a message at 347-RING-TIU, or fill out the form below.