tThink about all the money you've wasted out of sheer inconvenience. The £750 hen do weekend in Ibiza that you felt obligated to attend, because no one else seemed to raise an eyebrow at the thought of spending a month's rent on a 48-hour trip to the Balearic Islands. The time you agreed to split the restaurant bill, even though you ordered the salad while everyone else was eating steak. Now imagine if you had just… explained your cash flow situation and said “no.” Liberating, right?
That's the reason behind the “high budget,” a concept coined by TikTok creator Lukas Battle. It's about expressing your financial limitations and prioritizing your savings goals (rather than spending money through gritted teeth on things you know you won't enjoy). “It's not 'I don't have enough,' it's 'I don't want to spend,'” Battle said in his original post. “It was supposed to be a dumb idea that allowed people to be financially transparent without feeling embarrassed,” the New York-based comedian later said. Evening Standard.
This “silly idea” has certainly resonated (perhaps because Battle was simply expressing feelings we've probably all felt at some point). His video has now been viewed 1.4 million times on TikTok and has prompted many more creators to share their tips on how to best approach those awkward conversations and talk honestly about your budget limits with the people close to you; #loudbudgeting has recorded 10.8 million views and counting on the app. “It's a very public statement of what you plan to do with your finances,” says Bola Sol, financial advisor and author of How to save it. “People have moved beyond the silence mentality of talking about their money because it hasn't always worked in their favor… A high budget represents the creation of boundaries.”
It's easy to become cynical about TikTok's endless rotation of “trends,” which generate endless digital columns but don't always make it from the online world to real life. But this (loudly) says a lot about a change in attitudes towards spending. Of course, cutting and carefully controlling the budget is nothing new. For many of us, it's the only way to stay out of the red between paydays; However, thanks to our collective sense of social shame when it comes to speaking candidly about money, it has never been something that people have proudly stated. Maybe we were afraid that our wealthier friends would call us “stingy.” Now, however, frugality has become something that's roundly celebrated online, from saying “no” to those expensive social occasions to shouting about the bargains you found on Vinted. Once your social media feeds have been exclusively filled with influencers encouraging you to spend, spend, spend on expensive cosmetics or fashion pieces; In 2024, you're likely to see snappy clips showing simple ways to budget, for example, or fancy infographics breaking down someone's monthly spending. And there are plenty of apps that have essentially turned saving into a game, trying to make it fun instead of a hassle.
Author and financial advisor Clare Seal is the founder of the Instagram account @myfrugalyear, which she created in 2019 to track her progress getting out of credit card debt. She welcomes the shift from exaggerated online get-rich-quick advice to more realistic and honest conversations. “It's nice to see people talking about the braver side of money, the rougher side, and not about 'how to make a million pounds in a day',” she says. “Many people have to cut expenses and every time I am a little vulnerable [about money] with my [online] community, it seems to be very cathartic for them to say, 'Yeah, that's me too!' … People are desperate to talk about it.” And posting online can help create a sense of accountability, adds Rajan Lakhani, who works at financial management app Plum. “When you go public and talk about loud budgets, you're exposing yourself; that's often a trick people use to make sure they stick,” he says. “Once you've said, 'Look, I'm going to do something,' it adds that extra incentive.”
This is, of course, a change that is largely based on need. It will not have escaped anyone's attention that we are currently mired in a generational cost of living crisis, a crisis that has seen energy prices skyrocket and inflation jump to the highest rates since the 1980s. According to research by think tank The Resolution Foundation, real wages (incomes adjusted to take into account inflation) will not return to early 2022 levels until late 2027, while the Office for Budget Responsibility has warned of a fall 3.5 per cent in living standards compared to the pre-pandemic era – the biggest drop since the Office for National Statistics began keeping records in the 1950s. “It's that daily routine of having to watch the pennies; everyone has to participate in it,” Seal says.
When we talk about these budget trends, many of them are born out of necessity.
Rajan Lakhani, head of communications at Plum
The movement towards savings seems especially pronounced among the younger generations. A PWC survey conducted in 2022 found that people ages 18 to 34 faced concerns about rising costs of living “more sharply” than their elders, and 42 percent planned to save more money, compared to 27 percent. percent. of all adults, and 38 percent plan to learn more about personal finance. “When we take a step back and look at Generation Z and to some extent also millennials, we see that they have less support from the state compared to other generations,” says Lakhani. “They are having to spend more on college tuition and more on housing. So I think when we talk about these budget trends, a lot of them are born out of necessity… [Young people] They have to do a lot more for themselves.”
Louise Millar, chief strategy officer at Gen Z-focused marketing agency Seed, agrees. “Gen Z is much more focused on good financial health,” she says. “They're in a bad situation right now with the cost of living and they definitely know that some of those lifestyle milestones” (buying a house in their 20s and 30s, like their parents might have done, for example) “They are very out of reach.” Plus, she continues, “they've witnessed some of the mistakes millennials made in the last recession.” [in 2008] like credit card debt and 100 percent mortgages… Basically they know there is no guarantee for them. Any standard expectations [they] there could be about so many different things in life have been completely eliminated. Then there is a total change of attitude.” Many of them, he adds, have a DIY spirit when it comes to filling in the gaps in their financial education. “And they share it among themselves because they believe in a much more democratic system.”
Hence the rise of advice related to frugality on TikTok, demystifying finances. “For tech-native Generation Z, information that was previously protected or cost money to access is available for free online, and anyone can learn to invest or save,” says Alice Crossley, a forecasting analyst at the agency. trends The Future Laboratory. “If you grew up with a variety of creators who are open about how they budget, then you end up stuck in that,” adds Lea Karam, behavioral scientist at Behave. “So if one of your group of friends starts saying 'you know what? I've started [turning down plans to save money], others find it more normal. While millennials? We used to hide everything and anything. [to do with money].” He cites the example of his 20-year-old younger brother. “I literally see it firsthand. He said 'no' to a friend's trip to Amsterdam because he wants to make sure he has enough money next year to do things that bring him more happiness, in quotes… [Gen Z] They do not fear judgment.”
On a societal level, I think there are still a lot of big stigmas around being perceived as “bad” or being in debt.
Clare Seal, founder of My Frugal Year
The proliferation of financial advice can be a double-edged sword: a 90-second video can't always cover all the nuances of a topic as important as investing, and not all creators will be qualified to give advice. And an overemphasis on frugality at all costs isn't always helpful or realistic, Seal warns. “Being super frugal is something people are really excited about. There's a side to it where it's something that people wear as a kind of badge of honor, how little they can spend, and that goes for all those “no-spend challenges.” [on social media] I also find that quite problematic.” He previously described such challenges (where people promise to go a certain period of time without buying anything) as the financial equivalent of a “crash diet,” with the risk of a disordered relationship with money.
The shame we often feel around our finances, he suggests, may be deeply rooted: it will probably take more than a wave of social media chatter to eliminate it completely. “On an individual level, I talk to a lot of people who, in their lifetime, their attitudes have changed. [But] On a societal level, I think there are still a lot of big stigmas around being perceived as “bad” or being in debt. They are still there. It's just a case of crumbling and disintegrating, and then maybe one day everything will crack.” For that reason, he considers, “the trends in which people start to open up and talk about how things really are for them… [are] “just something good.” So, the next time your friend tells you he can't go out for drinks at that place you both know is a scam, don't roll your eyes and make him feel bad: maybe talk about something fun you can do at its place. And definitely don't feel bad about RSVPing and saying “no” to the exorbitant bachelorette party (you won't regret it).
