I was a loud budgeter before TikTok existed

This past weekend, WilliamB sent me a Washington Post article about a TikTok trend called “loud budgeting“.

(Here’s another article about loud budgeting, not behind a paywall.)

Basically, people are doing away with any shame related to their penny-pinching, and they’re talking publicly about their money-saving efforts.

So basically they’re doing what I have been doing here since 2008. 😉

And what Amy Dacyzyn did in her Tightwad Gazette days.

(though I must say, Amy’s openness is more impressive than mine because frugality was decidedly uncool back then!)

I have rarely felt ashamed of my frugality

I don’t know exactly why this is, but I have never understood people’s hesitance to discuss money and frugality.

I mean, I do understand that people have their reasons, but to me, the topic of frugality doesn’t feel even faintly embarrassing. It’s not like I’ve had to overcome any level of reticence; discussing it seems nearly as unbothersome as discussing the weather.

In years past, I have occasionally felt embarrassed or frustrated about a lack of income, but those feelings never extended to my frugal practices themselves.

Being resourceful is not embarrassing

When I think of frugality, what comes to mind is this: making a beautiful life on less.

As I wrote when I interviewed myself, I am not here for a life of deprivation in the name of frugality. My goal is always, always, to simply find less expensive ways to live a lovely life.

So, when I redo a piece of worn-out furniture I don’t feel embarrassed. I feel tickled with myself, and I want to show everyone who will look at it.

(This tendency does explain why I ended up as a frugality blogger. Haha.)

If someone visits my house and compliments a lamp, I will 100% say, “Oooh, thank you! I got it for free on my Buy Nothing group.”

When someone says, “That dress looks lovely on you!”, I will always express my gratitude for the compliment and also slip in something like, “I got it on clearance.”

I tell people all the time that I got my last two semesters of college paid for with scholarships.

And I’m not embarrassed to:

• mend things
• cook at home
• buy stuff on eBay
• purchase refurbished items
• tackle DIY things instead of hiring someone
• eat packed lunches
• drink from my free conference water bottle*

*I understand this may mean that in the future, I will be the only nurse on my floor who is not drinking from a Stanley cup.

I just think all these things are awesome ways that I manage to stretch my dollars and live the good life for less. And that’s not embarrassing!

I’ve often said that if someone was on the outside looking in at my life, they probably would not be able to tell that I’m pinching pennies.

But since I never keep my mouth shut about it, everyone around me has always known that I’m pinching pennies. 😉

What about when frugality isn’t a choice?

I think maybe this is a circumstance when people start to feel more ashamed.

If you could buy new clothes, but you choose to shop on eBay, that’s one thing.

If you can’t afford new clothes at all, that feels way worse.

And maybe this is where the loud budgeting movement is going to be particularly helpful; perhaps it will normalize those hard circumstances where frugality isn’t a choice.

When people share the reality of their lives, it helps others feel less alone.

More realness on social media? I support!

One of the much-talked-of downsides of social media is the faux “reality” it feeds us.

People tend to post the highlights of their lives, so as you scroll through your feed, you can easily get the impression that everyone else is traveling constantly, eating out all the time, and buying new clothes weekly.

And if you mistake this for normalcy, you might be tempted to overspend to try to match what you see online.

So, some loud budgeting on social media seems like a welcome change; lots of us stay in at night, cook our food at home, and wear the same clothes over and over.

It’s more normal than people imagine.

This reminds me of a post format I saw on Instagram recently…people were sharing their normal houses, and it was refreshing.

We get so accustomed to seeing beautiful, airy, aesthetically-pleasing spaces, that we forget that it is quite common to have formica countertops, old tiles, and unfinished laundry rooms.

Seeing a more realistic representation of life helps to recenter our perception of what normal really is.

In short…

I’m super happy to hear that loud budgeting is a thing. I hope that, unlike most trends, it will stay.

(if, on the other hand, the ASMR restocking videos go away, I won’t mind at all. 😉 )

What about you? Are you a loud budgeter or a shy one?