Money Dysmorphia: When Your Ledger Says You're Fine But You Feel Broke

General
1

I have $47,000 in savings, no debt, and my Beancount ledger shows I’m tracking toward my financial goals.

So why do I constantly feel broke?

I just learned there’s a name for this: money dysmorphia—a disconnect between your actual financial situation and how you perceive it.

And according to recent research, I’m far from alone.

The Numbers Are Sobering

A Credit Karma study found that 29% of Americans experience money dysmorphia. But it’s hitting younger generations especially hard:

  • 43% of Gen Z feel this disconnect
  • 41% of Millennials report the same feelings
  • Even people with substantial savings feel “financially behind”

And the consequences are real: 95% of those affected say it negatively impacts their finances through overspending, increased debt, or reduced savings.

What Money Dysmorphia Looks Like

Here’s how it manifests for me:

My Beancount ledger shows:

  • Emergency fund: 6 months of expenses ✓
  • Retirement on track for age ✓
  • No credit card debt ✓
  • Savings rate: 22% ✓

But I feel like:

  • I’m always one emergency away from disaster
  • Everyone else is doing better financially
  • I should have way more saved by now
  • Spending $50 on something fun is “irresponsible”
  • I’m falling behind my peers

The data says I’m doing fine. My emotions say I’m failing.

The Social Media Comparison Trap

The term “money dysmorphia” originated on TikTok in 2023, and that’s not a coincidence.

Social media creates a distorted financial reality:

  • Friends post vacation photos (not their credit card statements)
  • Influencers show luxury purchases (not their debt)
  • LinkedIn celebrates promotions (not the 47 rejections before it)
  • Instagram shows the new house (not the 30-year mortgage)

I find myself comparing my real financial situation (which I track obsessively in Beancount) to everyone else’s highlight reel.

And no matter how good my numbers look, I feel inadequate.

The Beancount Paradox

Here’s the uncomfortable question I’ve been wrestling with:

Does tracking my finances in Beancount help my money dysmorphia, or make it worse?

Arguments that it helps:

  • I have concrete data showing I’m financially stable
  • I can prove my emergency fund exists
  • I can see my net worth growing over time
  • I have evidence I’m not “broke”

Arguments that it makes it worse:

  • I obsessively check my balances multiple times per day
  • I ruminate over every “unnecessary” expense
  • I compare my savings rate to others in the community
  • I feel guilty when my net worth graph dips (even from normal market volatility)
  • The precision makes me hyper-aware of every dollar I don’t have

I genuinely don’t know which is true.

The “Never Enough” Mindset

I think part of money dysmorphia comes from constantly moving the goalposts:

  • At $10K saved: “I need $20K to feel secure”
  • At $20K saved: “I need $50K to feel secure”
  • At $50K saved: “I need $100K to feel secure”

No amount ever feels like “enough.”

And Beancount makes this worse because I can quantify exactly how far I am from each new goal I set.

Questions for the Community

I’m curious if others in the Beancount community experience this:

  1. Do you ever feel “broke” despite having savings? Does your ledger data contradict your emotional state?

  2. Has Beancount tracking helped or hurt your financial anxiety? Does seeing the numbers reduce stress or amplify it?

  3. Do you compare your financial metrics to others? (Savings rate, net worth growth, etc.)

  4. Have you set “enough” as a target? Or does the goal keep moving as you hit milestones?

  5. How do you combat social media comparison? When you see others’ financial success, how do you stay grounded in your own reality?

The research shows that 95% of people with money dysmorphia say it negatively impacts their financial decisions—overspending to “keep up,” or under-spending due to irrational fear.

I’m trying to figure out which camp I’m in, and whether my Beancount ledger is the solution or part of the problem.

How do you balance financial awareness with mental health?

2

This hits close to home. I’ve been using Beancount for 7 years, and I’ve experienced exactly what you’re describing.

Your ledger numbers are objectively excellent. 6-month emergency fund, 22% savings rate, no debt—you’re in the top quartile of financial health for Americans. The data doesn’t lie.

But I understand why it doesn’t feel that way.

The Tracking Obsession Spiral

I went through a phase (around year 3 of Beancount) where I was checking my ledger 5-6 times per day. I’d reconcile every transaction within hours. I’d stress about $3 discrepancies.

Looking back, that wasn’t “good financial habits”—it was anxiety disguised as diligence.

What helped me:

1. Scheduled reconciliation windows

  • I reconcile once per week (Sunday mornings, 30 minutes)
  • The ledger is “off limits” outside that window
  • If I’m tempted to check mid-week, I literally close the terminal

2. “Good enough” categorization

  • Old me: Spent 5 minutes deciding if coffee was Expenses:Food:Coffee or Expenses:Dining:Cafe
  • Current me: Expenses:Food:Dining and move on
  • It’s a $4 transaction. The exact subcategory doesn’t matter.

3. Acceptance of volatility

  • My net worth fluctuates ±$5K every month due to markets
  • I used to panic when it dipped
  • Now I only look at 6-month trends, not daily snapshots

The “Never Enough” Problem

At $10K saved: “I need $20K to feel secure”
At $20K saved: “I need $50K to feel secure”

I did this for years. Hit $50K and felt no relief—just “now I need $100K.”

What broke the cycle for me was defining “enough” as a specific number tied to a goal, not a feeling.

Example:

Emergency fund target: 6 months expenses = $18,000
Status: $19,200 saved
Conclusion: ✓ DONE. Stop obsessing.

Once I hit the target, I stopped checking that account. It exists, it’s funded, I can move on.

The “never enough” trap is moving the target every time you get close. Force yourself to celebrate hitting the goal, then pick a new goal (not just “more”).

Beancount as Tool vs. Beancount as Obsession

You asked: Does Beancount help or hurt money dysmorphia?

My answer: It depends on how you use it.

Healthy use (Beancount as a tool):

  • Track spending to identify waste
  • Build a realistic budget based on data
  • Monitor progress toward specific goals
  • Review monthly/quarterly, not constantly
  • Use data to make decisions, then move on

Unhealthy use (Beancount as obsession):

  • Check balances multiple times per day
  • Ruminate over past “bad” spending decisions
  • Tie self-worth to account balances
  • Feel anxiety when you haven’t reconciled
  • Avoid living your life to stay “on budget”

The difference is whether the tool serves you, or you serve the tool.

The Social Media Reality Check

I compare my real financial situation to everyone else’s highlight reel.

This is brutal, and I do it too.

Here’s what helped me:

  • Unfollow accounts that trigger comparison (especially “FIRE by 30” influencers)
  • Remember that Beancount gives you an unfair advantage (you actually know your numbers; most people are guessing)
  • Stop treating net worth as a scoreboard (your financial health is about stability, not leaderboards)

I also started a practice: Every time I feel “behind,” I open my ledger and look at 2019 vs 2026. The 7-year trend is undeniably positive. That helps ground me.

My Answer to Your Questions

1. Do you ever feel “broke” despite having savings?
Yes, especially when comparing myself to others. My ledger says I’m fine; my emotions say I’m failing.

2. Has Beancount helped or hurt financial anxiety?
Both. It helped me build healthy habits, but it also enabled obsessive checking. I had to set boundaries.

3. Do you compare your financial metrics to others?
I used to obsessively. Now I try to compare only to past me, not to peers or internet strangers.

4. Have you set “enough” as a target?
Yes, and it was life-changing. Once I defined specific targets (emergency fund = $X, retirement = $Y), I could actually feel “done” instead of always chasing more.

5. How do you combat social media comparison?
Unfollow triggering accounts. Remind myself that I’m seeing highlight reels, not full financial pictures.

Bottom Line

Your $47K in savings, 22% savings rate, and zero debt are objectively excellent. You’re not broke. You’re not failing.

But if Beancount is making you feel broke despite the data, then it’s time to adjust your relationship with the tool.

Try this experiment: Don’t open your ledger for one full week. See if your anxiety decreases or increases. That will tell you whether Beancount is helping or hurting.

And remember: Financial health is about stability and flexibility, not perfection.

You’re doing great. The numbers prove it.

3

I relate to this hard, but from a different angle.

I’m a spreadsheet guy. I track everything: net worth trends, savings rate by month, investment returns vs benchmarks, spending by category with YoY comparisons.

And I’ve definitely experienced the “never enough” feeling despite objectively solid numbers.

But here’s what I figured out: Money dysmorphia often comes from tracking the wrong metrics.

The Problem with Absolute Numbers

When you focus on absolute account balances ($47K savings, $200K net worth, etc.), you’re setting yourself up for dissatisfaction because:

  1. The number always feels arbitrary

    • “Is $47K good? I don’t know. Someone on Reddit has $200K.”
    • There’s always someone with more

  2. It doesn’t account for progress

    • You had $30K last year → $47K this year (+$17K)
    • But you’re focused on “$47K isn’t enough” instead of “$17K growth is great”

  3. It ignores context

    • $47K at age 25 is exceptional
    • $47K at age 45 might be behind
    • Comparing raw numbers without context is useless

The Metrics That Actually Matter

I shifted from tracking absolute balances to tracking relative progress metrics, and it completely changed my mindset:

1. Savings Rate (not total savings)

Your savings rate: 22%
National average: ~5-7%
Recommended target: 15-20%

Verdict: You're crushing it. ✓

Savings rate is behavior-based, not outcome-based. You can’t control market returns, but you can control your savings rate. And yours is excellent.

2. Months of Expenses Covered (not emergency fund $)

Your emergency fund: 6 months
Recommended: 3-6 months

Verdict: Target met. ✓

This metric is relative to your lifestyle, not a random dollar amount. Someone making $200K/year might need $100K in emergency savings; someone making $50K might need $25K. You’re comparing apples to apples.

3. Year-Over-Year Growth (not absolute net worth)

2025 net worth: $200K
2024 net worth: $175K
Growth: +$25K (+14.3%)

Verdict: Strong growth trajectory. ✓

This shows progress over time, which is what actually matters. Your net worth could be $50K or $500K—if it’s growing consistently, you’re winning.

How I Use Beancount Without Going Crazy

I track obsessively, but I’ve built guardrails to prevent dysmorphia:

Rule 1: Review metrics monthly, not daily

  • I reconcile transactions weekly (just data entry)
  • I analyze trends once per month (first Sunday)
  • No checking balances between review sessions

Rule 2: Track trends, not snapshots

  • I don’t care if my net worth is down $3K this month (market volatility)
  • I care if my 6-month or 12-month trend is positive
  • Single data points are noise; trends are signal

Rule 3: Compare to past me, not to others

  • My Beancount query: “Am I better off than I was last year?”
  • Not: “How do I compare to the median FIRE blogger?”

Rule 4: Set “good enough” thresholds and stop optimizing

  • Emergency fund target: 6 months → DONE
  • Retirement contributions: 15% → DONE
  • Once I hit the target, I stop obsessing over that metric

The “Moving Goalposts” Fix

You mentioned:

At $50K saved: “I need $100K to feel secure”

This is the hedonic treadmill applied to money. The fix is to define “enough” in advance and commit to it.

My approach:

Emergency fund: $30K (6 months expenses)
Status: $32K saved
Action: STOP contributing. Mark as ✓ COMPLETE.

I literally have a spreadsheet section called “Goals Achieved” where I move completed targets. Seeing the list of finished goals combats the “never enough” feeling.

The Social Media Reality Distortion

I compare my real financial situation to everyone else’s highlight reel.

This is brutal. Here’s the truth:

  • You see: Someone posts “Hit $500K net worth at 30!”
  • You don’t see: They inherited $200K, or they have $400K in student loans, or they’re miserable in a job they hate

Beancount gives you perfect information about yourself and zero information about others. Comparing the two is irrational.

I started a practice: Every time I see a “brag post” online, I open my ledger and run this query:

SELECT
  YEAR(date) as year,
  SUM(position) as net_worth
FROM CLOSE
WHERE account ~ 'Assets|Liabilities'
GROUP BY year

This shows my multi-year growth trajectory. As long as it’s trending up, I’m winning. Doesn’t matter what someone else posted on Twitter.

My Answers to Your Questions

1. Do you ever feel “broke” despite having savings?
Yes, when I compare myself to internet strangers. No, when I compare myself to past me.

2. Has Beancount helped or hurt financial anxiety?
Helped, because I track the right metrics (savings rate, YoY growth) instead of vanity metrics (absolute balances).

3. Do you compare your financial metrics to others?
I used to. Now I only compare to benchmarks (national averages, recommended targets) and to my own historical data.

4. Have you set “enough” as a target?
Yes. Emergency fund = 6 months (done). Retirement = 15% (done). House down payment = $80K (in progress). Once a goal is hit, I mark it complete and stop optimizing.

5. How do you combat social media comparison?
I remind myself: “I have perfect data about me, zero data about them. Comparison is irrational.”

Try This Experiment

For the next month, stop checking your account balances and instead track only these three metrics:

  1. Savings rate this month (did you save 20%+?)
  2. Months of expenses covered (are you above 6?)
  3. Net worth YoY growth (are you up vs last year?)

If all three metrics are green, you’re winning. The absolute dollar amounts don’t matter.

I bet this will reduce your anxiety significantly.

Bottom line: You’re doing objectively great. 22% savings rate, 6-month emergency fund, zero debt—these are top-tier metrics. The dysmorphia is in your head, not your ledger.

Track the right metrics. Compare to past you. Define “enough” and stop moving the goalposts.

You’re not broke. You’re crushing it.