When a CEO complained that his £250,000 salary was not enough to live on, we discovered a painful truth — modern people largely suffer from “money bias” and underestimate their wealth by an average of 30%!

“Is an annual salary of nearly 8 billion VND low? Earning that much money and still being poor enough to eat dirt?” will be a common question of many people. For most people, this problem is too strange — after all, if we saw such high numbers appear on our paychecks, we would probably laugh and run straight to the bank, because at least that means you have firmly entered the top 1% of earners in the UK.

But the former CEO of a British satellite company — Frank — is that oddball. He recently sued his former employer, claiming that after the company suspended bonus payments, his “tiny” six-figure annual salary was simply not enough to “keep him alive.”

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The CEO, who lives in a designer mansion in the US and a holiday home in Glasgow, said he was in “financial panic” after losing his £150,000-a-year bonus.

Although the judge dismissed his request, the bizarre comedy exposed the tip of the iceberg of “collective financial anxiety” that weighs on the modern middle class.

When the rich feel they are still poor

In psychology, this phenomenon is called “money perception disorder” — that is, feeling poorer than you actually are.

And Frank is not alone. A businesswoman who owns three homes, after hearing her financial advisor say she is “financially free,” still despaired and said, “I feel like I could go bankrupt at any moment.”

Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown earns $250,000 per episode, but when it comes to buying sunglasses, she has to hold a family meeting to vote. She humorously laments: “My husband wants to wear Prada, but I only dare to go to cheap supermarkets.”

Actress Millie Bobby Brown still doesn’t feel rich enough despite earning more than the average person. Photo: The Independent

Research shows that about 70% of people tend to underestimate their own financial situation. Part of the reason is “social comparison”: we tend to look at people with higher incomes and use their living standards to project onto ourselves.

Psychologists point out that social media, with its constant wave of showing off, combined with the pressure of prolonged inflation, has created the illusion of “relative poverty” even for high-income earners.

It’s like looking through a distorted mirror — even though your account balance increases, you always feel like you’re one level below everyone else.

In addition, the “cognitive accounting” effect also contributes to people feeling deprived: people tend to set very high standards for certain expenses (like mortgage payments, private school tuition), and if their income cannot meet their “hard needs” in time, they will feel a financial crisis.

Social media and blind financial anxiety

Even though his bank account was still full, he still felt insecure. Like the CEO above — he was used to a high-paying lifestyle, so when his income fell short of expectations, he immediately felt like he was going “bankrupt,” even though his £250,000-a-year salary was still far above 99% of the UK population.

So next time you look at your paycheck and still feel poor, remember – your brain may be playing tricks on your perception. Think only celebrities suffer from “poverty anthrax”? Normal people are even scarier.

The average British person underestimates their income by up to 30%, according to research from HSBC Bank in February.

What’s even more strange is: the higher the income, the more “blind” it is — in the group of people with an income of 100,000 pounds/year (about 3.15 billion VND), up to 90% affirmed that they were “not rich”, despite the fact that this income level has surpassed 96% of workers in the UK.

Age also affects how people define “financial security”: younger people feel they need more money to be considered rich.

Specifically: The 18-24 age group believes that it takes £343,000/year (about 10.8 billion VND) to be “rich”; The 25-34 age group puts that level at £324,000/year (about 10.2 billion VND).

Meanwhile, the 35-46 age group is much more modest, only needing £135,000/year (about 4.2 billion VND) to feel “financially stable”.

These numbers expose a harsh reality: today’s young generation, living in a social media environment filled with images of luxury, has stretched the definition of wealth out of control.

The 2024 survey conducted by The New Statesman magazine has a darkly humorous tone: among people with an income of 80,000–100,000 pounds/year (about 2.5–3.2 billion VND), up to 60% of British people think their income is only “normal”.

A lavish lifestyle can make us lose financial security. Illustration photo

In fact, the average household income in the UK in 2021 was just £31,400 — meaning these people are earning three times the national average, and still don’t feel rich!

“Childhood experiences are like an alarm system built into the brain,” points out financial psychotherapist Dr. Christine Hargrove.

Millie Bobby Brown is a case in point — despite being an A-list celebrity, she admits, “I grew up poor, which gave me a psychological barrier when it came to spending money.”

Research shows that people who grow up in financially disadvantaged families often carry “financial post-traumatic stress disorder” with them for life.

When salaries increase by $10,000 but expenses increase by $20,000, it has become the “unspoken rule” of modern life. Private education is no longer a luxury but a necessity, while rising taxes and fees on second homes are enough to make high-income couples gasp for breath.

“People often underestimate two types of spending — large, infrequent expenses (for example, repairs on a luxury car cost three times as much as a regular car) and small, everyday expenses (subscription services that nibble away at your wallet like ants),” warns Dr. Hargrove.

Credit union expert Courtney Alef astutely observed: “The modern person’s comparison object is no longer their neighbor, but the blogger with millions of followers online.”

Statistics show that 25% of Americans feel financially anxious because of social media. When your news feed is filled with pictures of unboxing Hermès bags, flying private jets, and taking luxury vacations, even if you earn 50 million VND/month, you can still easily feel like a “slum girl”.

Theo The Independent