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It started as a joke.
At the end of 2023, as social media users were posting “information” for 2024, comedian and author Lucas Battle did something similar, popularizing the term “out loud budgeting.” Ta.
“Flashy budgeting is a new concept I'm announcing for 2024, and it's the opposite of quiet luxury,” he said in a TikTok post posted on Dec. 29. I don't want to spend gas money to come see you and listen to your ex talk for three hours. ”
The joke went viral and a new financial trend was born. His TikTok post has now been viewed more than 1.5 million times, and other users have also embraced the new terminology.
Battle told CNN that budgeting out loud is “a new term that people use when they don't want to spend money.” [It’s a] It's a term people can use to talk about money without feeling awkward. ”
CNN
Comedian and author Lucas Battle is the man who popularized the term “loud budgeting.”
Not a weekend girls trip to Cabo, but student loan repayment instead. Alternatively, you can avoid attending an expensive dinner with friends and invite them for drinks in advance. All you have to say is, “I'm picky about budgeting.”
Thousands of Battle's 600,000+ TikTok followers are making an impact.
“Someone said spending money would be bad in 2024 and now I'm living by it,” one user wrote in the comments section of the video.
“Shouting budget into 2024 goals,” another wrote.
Although unattainable for most people in an online world where luxury and extravagance are always on display, “budgeting out loud” makes being on a budget cool and acceptable. This is the opposite of “quiet luxury,” which became popular on social media last year and encourages people not to flaunt their wealth or to be modest about it.
“It definitely started as a joke,” Battle said of his now-viral trend. “But then I became even more supportive of my idea after seeing the response I got. Being financially independent and being confident and transparent about your money situation is the key to being financially independent. As great as trying to be flexible and buy all the big-ticket items.”
Gen Z and Millennials, the most active users of social media, were entering the job market or working when the pandemic hit. Because they have less personal assets than other generations, their greatest burdens are high inflation, expensive mortgages, and student loan payments.
Despite having the lowest financial literacy of all generations, recent economic uncertainty has left them the most hungry for financial information. According to a report by the TIAA Institute, approximately 52% of Gen Z and 48% of Millennials are motivated to increase their financial literacy.
“I think they're hungry for financial information, but not just because they're curious or smarter than previous generations. I think it's out of necessity,” says the former Wall Street trader. said Vivian Tu, CEO of Your Rich BFF financial literacy website, which has a combined 4.7 million followers on TikTok and Instagram.
CNN
Vivian Tu, CEO of Your Rich BFF financial literacy website.
According to a report from S&P Global Market Intelligence, 75% of people who spent more than five hours on social media were Gen Z and Millennials.
“With the social mediaization of society, 'keeping up with the Joneses' is no longer about the Joneses. We keep up with the Kardashians. You're starting to get a visualization of wealth that you never have,” Tu told CNN.
Millennial Giovanna Gonzalez is a financial educator and author of the book Cultura & Cash! She says that in her 20s, she couldn't be honest with her friends about her financial situation and she suffered from FOMO.
“I spent most of my 20s penniless, living paycheck to paycheck. I felt embarrassed to say that,” Gonzalez said. “I'm really happy that this whole concept of budgeting out loud is being introduced to the younger generation, because budgeting out loud allows you to take back your power.”
Gen Z and Millennials spend hours scrolling through social media. Much of it is aspirational content. According to S&P, they are more likely than any other generation to purchase brands and products from targeted ads on these platforms.
But for brands that have found success with social media marketing, big budgets can come at a cost.
“I think budgeting and FinTok are too noisy. [Financial TikTok, or a community of users sharing financial advice] It is a reflection of consumers looking at the products offered within the economic system and wondering, “Is this all acceptable?” ” said Michael Hirshfield, CEO and founder of consumer fintech company Acru Savings.
Tu believes the rise of FinTok could help shed light on the lack of financial literacy among younger generations. But she cautions that it's important to cross-reference financial information provided on social media with other reliable sources.
“Talking a little more about finance, personally, I really wish the federal government would mandate personal finance as a graduation requirement in public schools, because it’s the only subject we don’t learn in school. Because it's a topic that everyone needs to know about,'' said Ms Tu.
