What is #loudbudgeting and how does it help Gen Z avoid FOMO?
Gen Z are great at affirming one another’s goal and savings commitments.
As you know, we’re a curious bunch here at Sticky. As part of our work with some of the UK’s biggest financial brands, we wanted to understand a bit more about Gen Z and their money habits.
You might imagine these 20-somethings have buried their heads in the sand ostrich-style given the current economic outlook. Not so. We dug into the data and discovered a few nuggets of intel:
- Gen Z are putting more of their salary into pensions than older demographics – starting between age 19 and 22 – also known as ‘paying your future self’
- 2 in 5 among this demographic are starting to invest by their early 20s, including in crypto
- Gen Z is more financially literate and prepared from an earlier age their older compatriots
- As a result, they’re much more comfortable talking about money, spawning the #loudbudgeting trend on TikTok
- Despite economic pressures, some are still proactively hopeful of being able to afford to buy a home and retire comfortably
This saving-savvy cohort is worlds apart from Gen X who started saving later in life and Millennials who do talk about money, but not as openly. Whether starting young and being loud and proud about their money goals will be enough to get Gen Z there, we shall see.
One great thing about this generation talking more openly about money is that salary disparity will be more difficult for employers to hide. Zoomers also more likely to investigate a company’s salary transparency and a brand’s ethics around tax before applying for a job or giving them their cash.
Another emerging trend is Gen Z’s ‘bucket list’ approach to big events. Because of everything they missed out on during the pandemic, Gen Z is determined to prioritise fun. Known as ‘funflation’, this trend sees Gen Zers spending big on once-in-a-lifetime trips and experiences, such as Glastonbury Festival or Taylor Swift’s Eras tour.
Loud budgeting
#loudbudgeting helps with staying accountable and reaching their savings goals. It’s easier to skip a weeknight in the pub for a bigger goal when you can see on TikTok that your friends are doing the same. Gen Z are great at affirming one another’s goal and savings commitments. The ultimate in loud budgeting is to announce a ‘no-spend’ year. One TikTokker said, “I’ve told my friends that I’m gonna ghost them this year (…) because I don’t want to spend money on the plans.”
But it’s not as simple and carefree as it sounds. Chynna Jones, one of Sticky’s resident Gen Zers, added: “I try and save as much as I can by doing no-spend months and putting part of my salary into a savings account every payday, but it’s not always possible to save effectively when the price of necessities keeps going up. At the moment my saving goals are small and for the near future; I’d like to go on a weekend holiday somewhere hot.”
The key will be for Gen Z to hold fast and accept that life comes with some degree of FOMO – rather than slipping into credit card debt to keep up.
Sticky’s unique Curiosity approach can be a refreshing overlay to traditional demographics, such as age. Want to understand more and learn how to reach Gen Z?
