A TikTok personal finance guy named Lukas Battle has done the seemingly impossible – he’s made it cool for people to say no to spending.
In a recent video, Mr. Battle talks about a trend called loud budgeting. The point is to frame the idea of not spending money as a bold personal choice. “It’s not, ‘I don’t have enough,’” Mr. Battle explains. “It’s, ‘I don’t want to spend.’”
In our always-connected world, it’s hard to avoid messaging that spending money brings a sense of belonging and happiness. Declining an invitation for a night out or a trip can make you feel like an outsider. Not buying something can make you feel deprived.
Loud budgeting empowers people who want to say no to spending, and it solves the problem of how to phrase things when you’re declining an invitation. Just say, “have you heard of loud budgeting? That’s what I’m doing this year.”
In his video, Battle says loud budgeting is also a way to push back against corporations that have been jacking up prices in the past couple of years. He’s right on that. If you want to do something to help cool inflation, try to buy less of the stuff that keeps soaring in price.
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Rob’s personal finance reading list
Top 10 retirement planning mistakes
Results of a survey of 2,700 financial professionals around the world about the most common errors people make in retirement planning. The second-ranked mistake jumps out – underestimating how long you will live. In my experience, people think their biggest risk is dying young.
The $0 fun budget
A smart take on financial new year’s resolutions. They’re bound to fail if they depend on factors like zero spending on fun stuff.
How to afford the move to a more affordable city
Tips on moving across the country for more affordable housing or a better job. I like this idea: Spend some time “test living” in the new city you’re targeting.
Vacation inflation
Advice for how to get back on track if you overspend on vacation, a problem that has to be increasing as a result of the surge in travel costs in the past few years.
Ask Rob
Q: What is the best way to shop and compare insurance for car, house, motorcycle, snowmobile?
A: I’m going to bring Dr. Google in on this one. A simple search along the lines of “insurance quotes for snowmobiles” will produce a list of insurers offering quotes for their own coverage and financial websites offering quotes from multiple insurers. Websites offering multiple quotes should not be treated as if they are surveying the entire market – some carry quotes for only a limited number of insurers. While it’s time consuming, I suggest you get at least half a dozen or more online quotes. Premiums vary widely.
Do you have a question for me? Send it my way. Sorry I can't answer every one personally. Questions and answers are edited for length and clarity.
Tools, Explainers, Guides and Charts
A customer-focused look at the big banks and what differentiates them from each other.
The Money-Free Zone
TVO’s Steve Paikin writes an appreciation of a great Toronto Maple Leaf – Ron Ellis, a winger who was a favourite of mine when I started following the Leafs as a kid. Auston Matthews is about to pass Ellis in fourth spot on the list of all-time Leafs goal scorers.
Watch this
A consumer insolvency expert offers tips for couples on helping each other pay off debt.
On social media
David Chilton, author of The Wealthy Barber, says on X that he is considering an update to his personal finance classic book. My reply: Do it.
In case you missed these Globe and Mail personal finance-related stories
– How steep is the CPP contributions increase in 2024? Here’s how it compares with previous years
– Is a bedroom for the cat a sign of Canada’s new housing aristocracy?
– Millennials and Gen Z – retirement is possible, just start small
More Rob Carrick and money coverage
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Even more coverage from Rob Carrick:
- 🎧 Catch up on Stress Test: Why millennials and Gen Z are Alberta-bound for a more affordable life • Rising interest rates brought pain for new homeowners – and opportunity for house hunters • Why more Canadians are choosing to be childfree or delay parenthood • Love in the time of inflation: How to manage rising costs when dating • You're not bad at money – you're suffering from money shame • Retirement might look different for Gen Z and millennials. Here's how to plan for it • Recession-beating tips for the job market, housing, investing and the cost of life • Is the middle class dead for millennials and Gen Z?
- ✔️ The housing file: A house isn’t special. Get your head straight about the reality of home ownership • The good, the sad and the unaffordable: Saving for a home downpayment in Canada’s big cities • Property taxes are popping in some cities – how worried should you be about other tax hikes? • Our other real-estate problem – people have too much wealth tied up in houses • Borrowers and savers, here’s how to time the eventual rollback of interest rates
- 📈 Investing: Canada's top digital broker is TD Direct Investing, with an assist from the TD Easy Trade app • 2023 Globe and Mail ETF buyer's guide part one: Canadian equity ETFs • For the ultimate in cheap investing, check out the Freedom .08 ETF Portfolio • Yes, there is risk in Canadian bank deposits for the unwary and complacent • CDIC covers bank deposits, but who protects your investments if your broker goes bust? • Answers to your questions about the low-risk ETF paying almost 5% • Happy fifth birthday to one of the all-time best investing products for everyday people • An investing strategy that wins cleanly over the long term by outperforming in bad years like 2022
- 💰 Your money: Mortgage holders, savers and GIC investors, it’s time to change your thinking on interest rates • How much debt is each generation of Canadians carrying, and how do you compare? • For the sake of their financial futures, young people should leave Toronto and Vancouver • This practical new spin on a savings account might just peel you away from your big bank • Rental fraud grows amid rise in fake, falsified tenant applications • Are Canadians worse off financially now than in the 1980s? • From groceries to auto loans, here’s how much more it costs to live right now • When saving for retirement, should you change your asset mix over the course of your career? • Do retirement income needs always rise alongside inflation? Not necessarily • When the bank suggests you lock in your variable rate mortgage, it has an angle
Rob Carrick