Loud Budgets?

“We are thinking of renting a house boat for a week in the summer. You guys could come…”. She paused and waited for a response. I was looking at her, took a few seconds before responding, “mmm that’s not in our budget.” “Oh come on, with three families together, it’s more affordable,” was the response.

So the conversation lagged for a bit as we were watching our kids play hockey. I felt a bit of.. shame? I guess. I was not wanting to commit, or even imply that we may consider such a holiday. So I did feel that. I felt uncomfortable. But I also thought, I don’t have to feel this way, not many people can just accept all these suggestions or offers of weekends, outings, vacations or activities. I don’t need to feel badly.

We know that we have loads of kids hockey stuff to pay for. We know that my Dutch ‘family’ are coming out in the fall. I will want to tour around with them and take them for dinners out. We have a son graduating this year. Our obligations are just elsewhere. And as any parent knows, there’s always sacrifice or compromise involved. We have kids. We have kids in hockey. We don’t take vacations. I would also love new furniture. 😂

I check Bloomberg daily at work to look at finance and economic headlines and I come across an article about ‘Loud Budgeting.’ Made known through TikTok. A newer trend that people are being more transparent about their spending or lack thereof. The idea is to encourage others to spend less and set aside for savings, and achieve financial goals. What is different about this social media trend, is that people feel more comfortable declining social invitations such as meals out – which would mean spending money – by being honest about why they are declining, citing saving for something specific as being important or top of mind.

As I was reading this article I realized that by openly saying such a holiday was ‘not in our budget,’ it was very much in the spirit of ‘loud budgeting.’ Not that I am one to share financial details of my life with people, but I do like the idea of it being more normalized for declining invites without having to feel awkward. It’s always been a bit tricky when people in a different ‘tax bracket’ suggest money spending activities and you give a reason such as, ‘oh, sorry, we’re committed to something else then.’ You could actually say, well, ‘I’m committed to putting my finances towards a down payment for a car actually,’ or, ‘well, we’ve decided that our next trip will be an all inclusive for the two of us before we do any more road trips.’

Everyone has different priorities after all. And everyone has different financial commitments and levels of comfort with spending. Obviously, balance is important. You still need to do some fun things to keep your sanity until a larger goal is reached. But I do like that this has become a trend – being able to stand proudly behind goals that are important to you and true to who you are is always a good thing.

Sending Love,

Devon