The Ellevest Dictionary is a series where we dig into popular money trends and parse them out — what they are, how they came to be, and what it can all mean for you.

‘Round these parts, we love a budget. So when we started hearing the phrase “loud budgeting” all over the internet, we had to investigate. After all, we love being loud about money — and being even louder about good money habits. So what, exactly, is “loud budgeting,” and is it a bandwagon you need to be on? We break it down for you.

What is “loud budgeting”?

In short, it’s an approach to money management that helps you set financial boundaries with friends and family by ‌communicating what is or isn’t in your budget. It means saying “no” to expensive dinners that aren’t in your budget. But it also means enthusiastically saying “yes” to the things that are.

“Loud budgeting” was declared the next trend of 2024 by comedian and writer Lukas Battle, in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek video posted in December, which now has 1.5 million views. "Loud budgeting has the same feeling as sneaking candy into a movie theater … It’s not ‘I don’t have enough.’ It’s ‘I don’t want to spend,’” he said.

Loud budgeting isn’t about penny-pinching. It’s about knowing exactly how you want to spend your money — and not letting social pressure change how you do that. It means being emotionally honest about what financial tradeoffs you’re willing to make and which ones you’re not.

The Ellevest take

We believe the more that women talk about money together, the better. When we’re transparent about our spending, budgeting, negotiating, earning, and investing, we can better equip each other with the knowledge to be our best financial selves.

Plus, having honest money conversations can help enrich our relationships by identifying shared values and how they align with our spending — and it allows us to be more mindful of accommodating the people we love and their financial situations. (And if you have trouble having those conversations, well, that’s what we’re here for. Here’s a guide to talking to everyone in your life about money.)

TL;DR: We’re big fans of this money trend.

How to practice “loud budgeting”

Make a budget

When it comes to budgeting, everyone’s a little different. It’s always a good idea to know what’s coming in and going out of your accounts. And we believe in creating permissive and values-aligned budgets (or spending plans) that leave room for the occasional splurge — like a daily latte or a fancy night out. Our favorite method? We love the 50/30/20 rule. But some people choose to live by the one-number rule.

Be honest

You don’t have to say no to every unexpected splurge, but you do need to prepare for the unexpected. The more we talk about money with the people we love, the better. You may find, for example, that other friends in your group are also stretching their budgets too thin because they don’t want to be the wet blanket.

Find tradeoffs that work for you

When you set financial boundaries, you give others permission to set boundaries too. And it may force you to find more meaningful ways to not only spend your money but to spend time with your friends or family. Like hanging in the park, having dinner parties at home, or finding free concerts to go to. It’s about spending quality time — and not large quantities of money.