Name: Loud budgeting.
Age: New for 2024.
Appearance: Tight and proud.
How much noise can budgeting actually make? As much as you want.
If this is about screaming at my kids for leaving the fridge open, I’m already doing that. Think of loud budgeting as the antidote to quiet luxury.
OK, I will, but first: what is quiet luxury? It’s a casual, “low-key” approach to luxury styling: “A battered Hermès Kelly bag or a £1,000 camel coat thrown over an ancient pair of vintage jeans,” according to Vogue.
Sounds stupid. It’s also very 2023. Loud budgeting is the opposite.
An ancient camel coat thrown over £1,000 jeans? More of a wholesale rejection of aspirational consumerism and an open embrace of thriftiness. The concept comes from a viral post by the TikToker Lukas Battle, now viewed more than 1.5m times.
Is he just telling me to admit I’m poor? “It’s not ‘I don’t have enough,’ it’s ‘I don’t want to spend,’” says Battle.
He’s saying I should give up trying to be like rich people. According to Battle, this is being like rich people. “If you know any rich people, you know that they hate spending money,” he says. “So it’s almost more chic, more stylish, more of a flex.”
And this is catching on? In the US it is. Social media is full of people telling you to “broadcast your spending limits” and be financially upfront with friends.
What are some of the techniques of loud budgeting? Financial experts suggest putting “deactivation stickers” on your credit cards, to remind you what you’re saving for.
I’m not doing that, but carry on. Turn down costly social invitations, and be honest about why. Unfollow luxury brands on social media. Be proud to pack your own lunch.
Hang on. Is this communism? No, this is actually the secret key to capitalism: being mean.
But being mean isn’t new. Apparently it’s a bit of a novelty for Gen Z.
Gen Z … Are they the ones who can’t afford to buy houses because they eat so much avocado toast? No, that was millennials.
And now we’re telling the next generation they can survive financial catastrophe by proudly bringing their own coffee from home? It’s a wonder they don’t murder us in our sleep.
Do say: “If it takes the stigma out of budgeting in these difficult times, then I’m all for it.”
Don’t say: “Are you gonna eat that?”
