Loud Budgeting – Variation Of An Age-Old Concept

I love how something old suddenly becomes new when given a trendy twist.  

Budgeting and saving are concepts that have stood the test of time.

According to an article I recently read, the new term, loud budgeting, emphasizes transparency and accountability. The idea is to be vocal when you opt out of something that conflicts with achieving your financial goals or when you make savings a priority over spending. 

For example, the article suggests you let a friend know you’re intentional about managing your money by proposing a meeting for coffee instead of dinner. Or you should set a spending limit for one of your budget items, work towards not exceeding it and post how it’s going on social media. Supposedly, displaying openness and accountability about your reason minimizes guilt.

I’m all about saving and budgeting, so the article’s concept sat well with me until I got to the guilt comment. You should never feel guilty about smart money management. 

Let me say that again!

You should never feel guilty about smart money management. 😡

Take pride in your efforts to control your finances, whether loud or quiet about it. The threats to your ability to do so increase every day.

• Businesses continue to lay people off in record numbers.

• The price of everything is, like an old friend used to say, “high as giraffe pu**y.”🦒

• Companies intentionally use all kinds of tactics to offer less and charge more for their products/services.

Everywhere you look, war is waged against your finances. Each battle you win, large or small, is to your credit.

I am, however, in favor of the accountability aspect. Turning budgeting and saving into a game can enhance the appeal of this lifelong task. Games are fun and challenging when you play against someone else and are accountable for your actions. 

Speaking of budgeting, how about what’s happening with student loans? Congrats to those who took advantage of a loan forgiveness program that excused their debt. If you’re not one of the fortunate ones, you may soon have to squeeze loan repayment into your already stretched budget.

Hopefully, you’re among the one third of borrowers who continued to make payments during the various pause periods. The word is that over 5 million borrowers who missed payments for more than 270 days will have debt deducted from their wages, government benefits or tax refunds. And let’s not forget the effect on your credit score when loan default goes into collection.

If you still owe on your student loan, the best thing to do is check your status at StudentAid.gov. Then look for an email notice from the Federal Student Loan Office which will instruct you to reach out to the Education Department’s Default Resolution Group.

The May 6, 2025 Morning Brew newsletter article suggests the options for those in trouble include “income-driven repayment programs, consolidating loans to prolong repayment, or getting a loan payment pause through forbearance or deferment.”

By the way, I totally agree - student loans should be forgiven under certain circumstances. But fair or not, if you are in default, it may be time to loudly or quietly massage that budget and pony up.

Are you biting your nails over your student loan or do you have the situation under control?

Remember, ‘loud budgeting’ is always an option.