The TikTok money trend that could save your finances this year‍

‍Loud budgeting could help savers stick to their financial goals, while increasing financial inclusion and lessening taboos around money.

Saving money has never been more of a concern for most people, with inflation still uncomfortably high across Europe, and the cost of daily essentials rising rapidly. 

This has led to many having to cut back on luxuries and non-essential spending such as drinking and eating out, shopping, travel and personal care appointments.

However, the social pressure to do these things may still be present in a lot of cases, especially with social media still making it seem like everyone you know is living their best life. 

It might also be more uncomfortable and embarrassing to turn down friends and relatives for social gatherings and other activities you may not necessarily want to spend on.

Enter the latest TikTok craze: loud budgeting, which claims to allow you to take back control of your finances. 

Coined by comedian and writer Lukas Battle, loud budgeting took TikTok and other social media platforms by storm earlier this year. It’s all about being vocal, open and clear about having the money, but just not wanting to spend it.

Through this, not only do people manage to lessen taboos around discussing finances, but also set firm goals and boundaries for themselves.

“Being authentic and having boundaries around how we are spending our money, along with being able to communicate that message to the world around us, will lead to saving more money and paying off more debt,” said Alaina Fingal, owner of budgeting website The Organised Money, as reported by CNET Money.

However, it’s not about not going out at all, or rejecting every social invite. Rather, it’s about prioritising the ones you really want to accept, instead of the ones you feel peer-pressured to say yes to.

“There’s a lot of pressure to spend, especially when you are seeing so many products being advertised to you all the time, or lifestyles that aren’t very attainable,” Battle, reportedly told CNBC.

“Let’s send a message to corporations about the national inflation level. Let’s take a stand. It’s not ‘I don’t have enough.’ It’s ‘I don’t want to spend.’”

Why should you try loud budgeting?

Loud budgeting emphasises sharing financial goals and hopes openly and without hesitation with the people in your life. In a way, this also allows you to break free of societal expectations around finances and lifestyle and prioritise your own goals and needs.

As such, when one turns down a social engagement, you can give the exact reason why you’re choosing to save that money and what you would rather spend it on.

This can be smaller goals, like saving up for a special occasion or item, or bigger ones, such as a house or a luxurious holiday. It could also be prioritising other more important or pressing payments such as mortgages, student loans and other kinds of debt.

In doing so, it also encourages a sense of financial community and inclusion, by sharing and acknowledging that the majority of people have debt, are struggling with the cost of living, or prefer to stick to a budget for a variety of reasons. In this way, it also reduces social isolation and fear of missing out (FOMO).

Not only that, but this practice of being more open with finances as a society and community could also lead to more shared goals, as well as tips and plans to accomplish them. People could also find themselves being more supported by friends and family, while at the same time being more accountable towards themselves, thus more likely to stick to their budget.

Source: EuroNews