What’s Loud Budgeting and How Can It Make Your Savings Sing?

If you're like most consumers, you may be facing headwinds ranging from stubborn inflation to the sky-high cost of living to the restarting of federal student loan payments. In fact, one-quarter of Gen Z adults say they're “barely scraping by," while 13% feel completely “underwater."¹

Enter a new trend that's helping people wrestle back control of their finances: loud budgeting. Why whisper your money goals when you can be loud and proud? Read on to find out what loud budgeting is, how it works and how you can weave this financially savvy trend into your life.

What Is Loud Budgeting?

As with many financial trends, loud budgeting originated on TikTok. The term was coined by writer and comedian Lukas Battle, who urged his followers to reframe their thinking from “I don't have enough" to “I don't want to spend."²

With loud budgeting, you're bringing your financial goals into the open by being transparent with family and friends about how much you can afford to spend and how you choose to allocate your money. Loud budgeting is a welcome alternative to flaunting lavish purchases or consuming beyond your means. It's about owning up to your economic limitations and making budget decisions based on your realities.

How Does Loud Budgeting Work?

Loud budgeting is easy—just set spending milestones and tell your friends about them.

With loud budgeting, you shrug off the perceived stigma of sticking to a budget and instead share transparently how you're choosing to spend your money, while being upfront if something is outside your current budget.

Being vocal about your money boundaries can help with accountability and make it easier to resist the peer pressure to go along with your friends' plans to vacation at a luxury resort, brunch at a pricey place or chip in for an exorbitant group wedding gift. Going public with the fact that you're aiming to reduce expenses alerts friends as to why you're making certain spending choices.

Six “Loud Budgeting" Habits To Adopt

Wondering where to start? Here are some easy ways to make loud budgeting work for you.

1. Set goals

Whether it's building an emergency fund, saving for a down payment for a home or paying off student loans, knowing what you want to achieve can help you stick to your plan. Automate your savings to make it even easier, and consider opening a high yield savings account or money market account for easily accessible funds, or a certificate of deposit (CD) for more long-term needs.

2. Be vocal about your intentions

Again, the essence of loud budgeting is speaking up. So instead of declining an outing, suggest a more budget-friendly alternative and tell your friends why. If spendy “drinks-and-dinner" is your default activity, you could say, “I’m saving for a trip to Mexico this spring, so let's do two-for-one Taco Tuesday" instead of hitting the usual cantina that overcharges for their guac.

3. Pay just your share

Stop fuming as you chip in your portion of the tab you're splitting with the friend who always chooses the most expensive entree and then puts in the same amount as you, who only ordered an appetizer.

Today, it's easier than ever to divvy up expenses proportionally rather than dividing it equally. Use a free app like Plates by Splitwise to calculate what each person owes, and then have everyone use a payment app like Venmo to pay their share.

Try announcing your intention to the group when you make the plans or at the beginning of the meal—so very “loud budgeting" of you. You can even offer to front the expense yourself (and earn credit card reward points while you do it). Put the money they send you in a high yield savings account for safekeeping until your next credit card statement.

4. Purchase mindfully

Loud budgeting doesn't mean never spending any money; it's about being more deliberate with your decisions. Rather than mindlessly scrolling and clicking “add to cart" on the candles, soaps and makeup brushes crossing your feed, think about an affordable splurge that's more meaningful, like joining a friend for a manicure after a long week. The best part about making a budget is knowing exactly how much you've allocated for certain expenses, so you can spend it guilt-free.

5. Think “frugal," not cheap

Use a little creativity and you'll find there are lots of ways to save money for the things you do want to purchase:

• Borrow before buying. Just check out local neighborhood groups or ask around your social circle.
• Use a browser extension like Honey or CouponCabin that will scan the web for discounts and apply them automatically.
• Compare prices with apps like Price.com and ShopSavvy.
• Sign up for loyalty programs that offer special savings and perks.
• Use a cash-back rewards credit card and pay it off in full each month.
• Shop the Synchrony Marketplace to find attention-getting deals and discounts on hundreds of select products, brands and services year round.  And as the holidays and special events come up throughout the year, there's no better time to look around for even greater savings. 

6. Share the wealth

You've probably found some great hacks to get the good stuff while spending less money. In addition to telling others about your savings priorities, alert them to great ways they can save money, too, like downloading e-books from the library for free. Or if you have a weekly routine of watching your favorite reality show, encourage each of your friends to subscribe to a different streaming service, and rotate going to their homes for viewing that doubles as a social event.

Be the Right Kind of Influencer

The louder you are about your money aspirations, the more you might inspire your friends to make changes of their own. Loud budgeting replaces FOMO (fear of missing out) with JOMO (joy of missing out), as it allows you to avoid financial regret and know you're hitting the goals that matter to you.

Read more about keeping your budgeting and friendships on track here.