Money dysmorphia: Why solopreneurs fall prey to the funhouse mirror of finances

I’ve worked for myself for nearly a decade, and in all but one of those years I’ve earned more than the U.K. average salary. Some years it’s been a little more. I’m naturally frugal, and even during the rockiest stretches, there’s always been enough to cover the basics—plus a safety net if I ever truly needed it.

Yet I worry about money constantly, gnawed by the sense that I’m only one missed invoice from financial collapse. Although I’m generally wary of self-diagnosis, the term “money dysmorphia”—a disconnect between how we feel about our finances and the reality—fits me like a glove.

From the rise of HENRYs (“high earners, not rich yet”) to the boom in “income stacking,” today’s workplace trends illustrate just how messed up our relationship with finances has become. While money dysmo