Loud budgeting

Social media trends famously come and go. Some are stupid, some are dangerous … but once in a while you come across a trend that actually makes sense.

Thanks to social media, the pressure to keep up with the proverbial Joneses and appear more affluent than one really is, it seems, is bigger than ever.

But I just caught wind of something called “loud budgeting.”

Apparently in some areas (the articles I read focused on New York City), there is a great deal of social pressure NOT to admit you’re on a budget. Therefore if you’re invited out for drinks or a meal or a nightclub, you feel compelled to go and must never admit you can’t afford it.

“Picture this,” begins one such article. “You’re out to dinner with a friend who you know makes a lot more money than you do. When you open the menu, your heart sinks. There’s not an entree in sight that’s less than $35, and even a soup is going to run you $18. Then the waiter comes by with…oh God, is that an in-house sommelier? That’s it, you’re dropping $100 tonight, at the very least. If you’ve been in this scenario (and let’s be real, who hasn’t) you probably left the dinner and vowed to subsist on dollar pizzas slices until payday to make up for it. But what if you just turned to your friend, closed the menu, and said, ‘Sorry, I have to be honest. I can’t afford this. Let’s go somewhere else?’”

And that defiant act – telling your friend you can’t afford something – is now called “loud budgeting.” Excuse me while I stand up and cheer and pump my fist in enthusiastic support of this trend.

The trend may have started as something of a joke on TikTok, but those in the financial services industry are getting on board as well. The trend has even been highlighted on Good Morning America.

One financial advisor says she’s seen social media add pressure to her clients to spend beyond their means on luxury items they can’t really afford, and welcomes a movement to mitigate that: “I think [social media] can make a lot of younger people feel like they’re behind to some capacity and that they have to keep up with that and they have to be buying luxury and brand named items, whether it’s clothing or cars or whatever the case may be, and put it out there.”

In short, younger people are learning financial struggles are the norm, not the exception; and that frugality and avoiding debt is freedom, not slavery. This is a very, very good lesson to learn at a young age.

One person said, “Staying quiet about your finances and setting spending limits don’t have to be shrouded in shame.”

Trends may come and trends may go, but hopefully this one sticks around.