What Is Loud Budgeting?
There is a new technique being used today called loud budgeting that allows you to take a proactive and transparent approach to money management. This out-loud approach is unique and encourages people to engage in money conversations about spending, saving, investing, and more. Loud budgeting lets you be candid about finances and makes it easy to say you don’t want to spend money on certain things without feeling embarrassed about doing so.
Smart Finex Credit Union members know that effective budgeting is important when it comes to personal finance. The loud budgeting approach is an exciting, in-your-face way to be proactive and share your financial goals as well as which spending activities do not support your efforts.
How Loud Budgeting Works
If you are interested in practicing loud budgeting, the first step is to be open about your budget and goals and to be accountable for your choices. The plan should be to stick to your goals rather than following the crowd and how they spend, with it being OK to say no. loud budgeting enhances communication around money and helps you better understand your relationship with money.
Benefits of Loud Budgeting
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Enhanced Accountability and Motivation – Nothing helps keep you motivated to stay on track with finances more than accountability. Making and keeping goals is important and loud budgeting can help you stay accountable by prioritizing things that are important to you versus doing what others are doing with their money including trips you can’t really afford or concert tickets that cost more than your car payment.
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Better Financial Transparency – You will most likely find the financial transparency and support you want and need within families or groups. Instead of feeling so isolated because you are trying to save money and make the best financial choices for your unique situation, you can instead share your struggles with others and also hear about their choices and money challenges.
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Firm Control of Finances – When your salary each week is allocated for a certain purpose, you begin to take control of your money. Designating money for expenses and savings gives you the control you need to understand whether you can afford that dinner out with friends without even stressing, because it is already part of your budget intended for fun, social, events.
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Increased Financial Knowledge – As you practice loud budgeting, you will learn so much about yourself as well as about the way others manage their finances. Engaging via social media is a fun way to express your loud budgeting approach and also learn more about finances to keep you empowered with new knowledge to make the best possible financial decisions.
Avoid These Common Pitfalls of Loud Budgeting
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Oversharing – While the purpose of loud budgeting is to share and have conversations about money choices, be careful not to overshare. Everyone does not need to know everything about your self-imposed financial restrictions. Share the basics but most importantly, hold yourself accountable.
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Watch What You Say - Loud budgeting can sometimes be taken in a negative light when someone hears you do not want to spend money on their expenditure. Peer pressure to spend money can be tough, but stand firm, and be kind. Instead of telling your friend you can’t waste money on the exotic group trip he wants to take, tell him that you’re on a budget and look forward to the next trip that fits with your financial plan and wish him an amazing adventure.
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Potential Privacy Concerns - Loud budgeting is about sharing while also protecting your privacy. It is crucial not to reveal too much personal information via social media. To avoid scams, take the typical precautions like strong user names and passwords and don’t share sensitive details like birthdays, Social Security, full names, birth city, mother’s birth name, or credit card info.
Practical Tips for Implementing Loud Budgeting
Loud budgeting can be implemented with the following tips:
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Share Your Financial Goals – Since loud budgeting encourages open communication and transparency about your personal financial choices, make a plan to share your goals with others. The point is to be clear about your budget limitations when you decline a social event, to spotlight your choice to make a financially responsible decision, and to set financial boundaries to manage your budget effectively and transparently.
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Find a Group of Accountability Partners – The key to being transparent and voicing your budget choices is to find people who also want to experience the loud budgeting process with similar financial goals. Accountability partners can include friends, family, and online communities created especially for loud budgeting. Maintain regular conversations and interactions about finances and spending choices with your accountability partners for a supportive environment that will help you all achieve your goals.
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Utilize Visual Reminders – Visual reminders can prompt you to question every purchase. Try putting a sticker on your credit card that deters you from spending and encourages you to save. When you have to qualify every purchase, it helps you make the right money choices.
Who Should Consider Loud Budgeting?
Loud budgeting occurs when the social pressure to spend money on things gets to be too much. Since loud budgeting gives people permission to say no to things that are not their financial priority in a socially acceptable way, loud budgeting is something everyone can use. From young families and newlyweds to college students, and retired folks, everyone can benefit from saying no to the expensive bridesmaid dress, the extravagant couples’ trip, or the overpriced, popular daycare.
Finex Resources for Effective Budgeting
Creating and sticking to a budget is one of the most important things you can do to achieve your financial goals. Finex Credit Union offers a variety of budgeting tools and educational resources to help members.
- Finex Budget Calculator - Allows members to see the impact spending has on their income.
Embrace Loud Budgeting for Financial Empowerment
Having open communication and permitting yourself to say no via loud budgeting is a great financial strategy to achieve your future goals. Finex offers support for this transparent way of budgeting and can help you gain control over your finances.
Get empowered to practice loud budgeting today by using Finex's budgeting resources and contacting the experienced Finex team for personalized assistance that can help you develop financial goals and a spending plan.
