This week with the announcement of Budget 2026, the Government managed to pull off the most unenviable of political paradoxes; they outlined what economists warn is an unsustainably large increase in spending, without making many people happy.
One reason for the negative reactions is the removal of previous so-called once-off cost-of-living supports. Because these measures provided significant universal supports and were repeated in multiple budgets, their absence now feels like a loss in income for individuals. So even those on the higher end of the income distribution scale may think they are worse off after this budget, whether or not that is actually true.
When it comes to our finances, there is always an objective reality; financial facts that are easily demonstrated by our bank balance, salary, or net worth. However, for many people there is a disconnect between their financial reality and their perceived financial status, a phenomenon the internet has dubbed “money dysmorphia”.
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