Move over, FIRE movement. The budget lifestyle is having a different moment in the social media spotlight right now.
The topic of spending one’s money, cutting back on expenses and setting savings goals may not sound like the most exciting conversation starter. Recently, though, a new social media viral trend called “loud budgeting” is making headlines and helping people talk about their finances.
Loud budgeting turns the older generation’s feelings of avoiding money conversations with others on its head. Essentially, people jumping on the loud budgeting trend want to be assertive with their financial goals and declare their actions to family, friends and even social media.
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What is Loud Budgeting?
At the end of 2023, 26-year-old Lukas Battle (@lukasbattle) used the term loud budgeting on his TikTok account when talking about the trends for the upcoming year. At the top of the list, he declared the “quiet luxury” trend out and “loud budgeting” as in for 2024.
In 2023, the quiet luxury fashion trend, also known as “stealth wealth,” focused on consumers buying quality, understated pieces but investing more money in them.
Battle challenged this thinking in a follow-up video explaining his view on loud budgeting, saying he felt many wealthy people keep a close eye on their money and don’t spend needlessly.
“It’s not, ‘I don’t have enough,’ it’s saying ‘I don’t want to spend,'” he said.
@lukasbattle Replying to @operelly ⬠original sound – Lukas Battle
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Battle’s two videos introducing the loud budgeting concept have had 2.5 million views so far, and the timing for this new financial literacy and transparency trend couldn’t be better. With consumer prices continuing to rise on everything from housing to household staples, people are scrambling to find ways to reduce the economic pinch.
Embracing the Loud Budget Mentality
Beyond “loud budgeting” being a clever wordplay-based counterpoint to “quiet luxury, ” there is more to it than that. For many people jumping on this trend, it’s about openly talking about a subject that was taboo while growing up. It helps them keep themselves accountable and removes any shame involved in discussing financial topics.
Libby Brooks (@libbyonthelabel) told her TikTok followers she wanted to embrace the honesty that came with the loud budgeting movement because she grew up in a house where her parents did not talk about finances.
“I grew up very much in fear,” she explains. “Because I always had the question in my mind, ‘Can we afford this?’ and that question was never answered.”
@libbybonthelabel How do you feel about the #loudbudgeting trend thats been circulating tiktok? #2024budgeting #talkingaboutmoney ⬠original sound – Libby Brooks
Parents’ Views on Money Talk Slowly Changing
Brooks’ view confirms information CNBC shared in a 2022 report about parents’ views on financial issues and children.
In that report, 83% of people said parents are responsible for teaching their children about money. However, in the same study, more than 30% of parents said they never talk to their kids about the subject.
Overall, though, children today hear about their family’s situation much earlier than previous generations
A 2023 study by Northwestern Mutual gave a breakdown of the average age at which parents brought their children into the household financial conversation. Baby Boomers and older first learned about family finances at 22 years old. The age is decreasing with each generation; today, Gen Z is getting the information at 15 years old.
What Loud Budgeting Looks Like
As young people get more exposure to education about spending and saving, they appear to be using their voices and platforms to share their struggles and successes. All you need to do is search #loudbudgeting on social media platforms and you’ll see young adults openly discussing their goals and methods.
After Battle’s videos, the #loudbudgeting trend took off, and many other social media users shared videos about how they plan to embrace this new-to-them lifestyle. And, they are not being shy about sharing the details of their spending.
Allison (@abmmcarthy5757) gave a full breakdown (including what she spent last year) of how she intends to save more than $4,000 this year by cutting certain expenses:
@abmccarthy5757 How im saving money this year! #greenscreen #thingsimcuttingoutofmylife #savingmoney #millennialbudget #debtfreejourney #loudbudgeting #budgetingtiktok #whatispendinaweek #savinggoals ⬠original sound – Allison
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Manny (@stressedoutmillenial) walked his viewers through his payday routine, which is when he earmarks his earnings to savings, emergency fund replenishment and all other expenses:
@stressedoutmillenial Pay day routine!! I want share more of how im managing my money and starting now with how im budgeting out my momey from my recent paycheck. #loudbudgeting #creditcarddebt #debtjourney #debtfreejourney #adhdbudgeting #adhdfinances ⬠original sound – Manny
How to Practice Loud Budgeting
There are many ways to be more assertive with your money habits. Many of the tips we found start with small changes. Others are much more drastic.
Some of our favorite tips we found when scouring social media for loud budgeting tips include the following:
- Cut back on expenses related to eating out, including delivery services, which often tack on extra fees.
- Try this challenge: Cut out restaurants and takeout for a week or a month and see how you do. This includes your coffee run! (Don’t worry, you can make fancy coffee at home.
- Plan meals at home to avoid impulse deliveries and to help prepare lunches to take to work.
- Start a subscription/service diet: Check all your streaming services and regular expenses to see what you’re paying for every month, then reduce or eliminate what you can.
- Take advantage of the library for reading new books and renting movies, TV shows or even video games. There are quite a few ways to read books for free, for example, and watch movies for free.
- Consider changing up your regular beauty routines and doing them at home — dye your own hair or polish your own nails, for example. To extend the life of your beauty services, you could revive your at-home beauty routine from when salons shut down due to the pandemic.
The goal with loud budgeting is not to deprive yourself of everything. You want to be deliberate about where your money goes each month so you can reduce financial stress in your life. But whatever you do, speak up about it!
This story originally appeared on Don't Waste Your Money.
