Are You Loud Budgeting? How to Make Your Financial Goals Stick

If you don’t like talking about money, you’re probably not going to like loud budgeting, but you may want to consider it anyway.

That’s because loud budgeting is a way to get clear on your goals and stay committed to meeting them.

Here’s why the strategy can be effective.

“I think of it as someone being very clear and upfront when making the decision that is contrary to what’s being asked of them,” says Sandi Bragar, a certified financial planner and chief client officer with wealth management firm Aspiriant in San Francisco. “And giving a budgeting reason for why they’re not going to participate.”

This approach may fly in the face of the taboo around talking about money, but it’s not complicated.

“Loud budgeting is just clear communication about what’s going on,” says D’Andre Clayton, co-founder of financial firm Clayton Financial Solutions in Greensboro, North Carolina.

“When you say it out loud and share it with someone or many people, then you’re asserting that that’s what you’re working toward,” Bragar says.

Being open about your finances also helps your friends and family understand your boundaries, so they can offer support instead of peer pressure. They might stop asking you to go out to pricey dinners and propose more low-cost activities, like hiking or getting coffee.

“They can actually become the people who help you,” Bragar says.

In practice, loud budgeting acts like a verbal affirmation. You say you’re doing it, so you’re more likely to get it done.

It may also help you get more comfortable talking about money — and helping others overcome the stigma.

“I think it’s amazingly wonderful that Gen Z and the younger generation are saying, ‘You know what? I’m going to talk about it,’” says April Lewis-Parks, director of financial education for Consolidated Credit, a credit counseling and debt management firm in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “‘I’m going to figure it out and not be ashamed.’”

“Between inflation, grocery prices, [and] gas, I think people are feeling squeezed,” Lewis-Parks says. “We see it here every day.”

Loud budgeting feels like a way to take control when money is tight and the future may feel uncertain.

“You can survive in rougher times, like now economically, if those boundaries are set and they’re communicated very clearly,” Clayton says.

Setting those boundaries can also help people feel more confident about their financial decisions.

“It helps take an element of shame away from feeling like you don’t have enough money,” Lewis-Parks says. “And flipping it into, ‘I’m just going to make choices with my money that are important to me, and I’m not going to worry about what other people think.’”

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About the author

Kate Ashford is a writer and spokesperson for NerdWallet. She is a wealth management specialist (WMS)™ and certified senior advisor (CSA)® and has more than 20 years of experience writing about personal finance. Previously, she was a freelance writer for both consumer and business publications, and her work has been published by the BBC, Forbes, Money, AARP, LearnVest and Parents, among others. She has a degree from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. Kate has been quoted by outlets including the Associated Press, MarketWatch, NBC and Fortune. She is based in New York.