What is loud budgeting? It’s time to silence quiet luxury and start talking about money

The viral trend of loud budgeting is exactly what it sounds like: being vocal about your financial choices and bringing friends and family in on your budgeting goals. Photo / Getty Images.

In direct contrast to 2023′s viral trend of quiet luxury or ‘stealth wealth’ that encouraged consumption of high-end consumer goods without the in-your-face logos, loud budgeting has been popularised on social media for eschewing spending almost altogether. So what is loud budgeting and how will it help you save money? It’s 2024, New Zealand is officially in a recession, and we should no longer feel embarrassed to talk about our finances. In fact, it’s time we started to respect one another’s long and short-term money goals.

“Loud budgeting has the same feeling as sneaking candy into a movie theatre. You feel like you got away with something. You feel like you’re on an adventure. You feel like you’re coming out of the situation winning.”

Writer and comedian Lukas Battle made this statement in a December TikTok video, proclaiming 2024 was the year of loud budgeting. Since then, the idea has been popularised across the social media platform by young people looking to take control of their finances during a time when many are feeling the pinch.

Essentially, loud budgeting is bringing friends and family into your financial conversion, openly declining social activities because you’re prioritising money, creating boundaries around your spending and verbalising your priorities to meet your financial goals.

The idea of loud budgeting isn’t new, but there is real power in giving it a name, says Frances Cook, financial journalist, author and host of financial podcast Cooking The Books.

“We often get quite embarrassed to talk about our money, and especially to even hint that we might not have all the budget in the world to do whatever we want, which is obviously ridiculous,” explains Cook. “To take back that power, especially at a time when so many people are struggling, is brilliant.”

New data released by Stats NZ shows the cost of restaurants and ready-to-eat food has increased 6.7 per cent in the past 12 months, with alcoholic drinks up 5 per cent and non-alcoholic beverages up 4.3 per cent.

Petrol prices have also risen 12 per cent over the past year and domestic air travel has increased by 7.7 per cent. Supermarket grocery food prices are up 3.9 per cent, but fruit and vege prices have fallen 9.3 per cent. So while we may be saving in the fresh-produce department, this fall is offset by inflated prices across the rest of our household expenditure.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Frances | Money | Investing (@francescooknz)

Trying to stick to a budget in the present financial climate may seem fruitless, but as Cook points out, it’s important not to overlook the impact that making small changes to your spending habits can have on long-term financial success.

“There are very few things in life that are silver bullets, and if you can start making little changes, even if it’s 5 bucks a week into your savings, they build up faster than you think,” she says.

“I think a lot of people have seen this with KiwiSaver; an amount that doesn’t look big, builds up quite quickly. But it also just flexes that muscle of paying attention to money, seeing where things are going. And then you start to see other opportunities where you can make small changes, and they all stack on top of each other and snowball.”

Te Kahukura Boynton knows first hand what it’s like to be a broke university student. After choosing to take control of her finances and seeing the benefits of her own version of loud budgeting, she launched her business Māori Millionaire in 2022. She now uses her platform to share her insights and tips on financial literacy and empower Māori to become financially independent through her community of over 35,000 people from Aotearoa and abroad.

“People in my close circle all know that my financial goals are really important and so I hardly have to justify not wanting to do things for a financial reason,” says Boynton. “Instead, they join in on the journey and try to find free or cheap activities for us to do.”

Boynton says when it comes to creating a budget, people can often feel scared by the thought of having to become strict with their money, but by setting aside pocket money or fun money, you don’t have to restrict yourself completely or opt out of all social activities.

“A budget is simply a plan for your money, helping you to stay on track with your financial goals,” she says. Boynton also recommends undertaking your own financial audit each month to ensure you know exactly where your money is being spent.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Māori Money Mentor 💰 (@maorimillionaire_)

“My own financial audits consist of going over the last month’s income and spending, making an aspirational budget for the month ahead, and setting one realistic goal each week, such as: ‘This week, I am not going to buy takeaways’.”

Boynton believes the best budget is the one that works for you, and if you need help to get started, she suggests joining Facebook groups that discuss ways to save money, or utilising apps such as Gaspy, which helps you find the cheapest fuel in your area, and Grocer.nz for supermarket price comparisons.

Online courses such as Cook’s Money Made Simple are another way to improve your financial literacy and help get you on your way to making small money wins and changing your mindset around savings and money.

“Sometimes, when you literally have nothing, your mindset is the only thing that can keep you going. This is why I believe that mindset is so important,” says Boynton.

“The first step for me improving my mindset was unfollowing all the people on social media who were not helping me achieve my goals. I started following accounts that were about wealth, success, business and wealth mindset. I was strict on what I allowed to be around me; people, content and ideas. They all affect you, whether you notice or not.”