Nearly three in four Americans (74%) find that the cost of celebrating major life milestones with their family and close friends affects their financial well-being. Yet most are loath to share their feelings and concerns with loved ones, according to the results of a new survey by Achieve, the leader in digital personal finance.
Achieve’s think tank, the Achieve Center for Consumer Insights, conducted the “Cost of Being There” survey to examine how consumers manage the expense of participating in major life milestone events like weddings, bachelorette/bachelor parties, milestone birthdays, baby showers and graduations. The research found that while most Americans believe participating in these events takes a toll on their financial well-being, less than half (48%) said they are comfortable citing financial reasons for declining to participate in these events.
|
How ‘being there’ affects financial well-being |
|
|
Extremely impactful |
10 % |
|
Very impactful |
20 % |
|
Somewhat impactful |
44 % |
|
Not very impactful |
17 % |
|
Not impactful at all |
9 % |
|
How much does spending money to attend major life milestone events for friends and family affect your financial well-being? n=1,000 Source: Achieve Center for Consumer Insights |
|
When asked how much pressure they feel to spend money attending milestone events for family and friends:
-
15% feel “extremely” or “very” pressured
-
36% feel somewhat pressured
-
49% said they experience little to no pressure to spend
Compared to older generations, younger Americans, including members of the Gen Z and Millennial generations, were both more likely to say they’re affected financially by participating in milestone events and more willing to share that reason with loved ones. As a result, 67% of Gen Z respondents said they’ve opted out of participating in a milestone event over the past three years because of the cost, compared to 47% of Millennials, 48% of Gen X and 30% of Baby Boomers.
The impact of loud budgeting
“You only have to look at the loud budgeting trend to see that younger Americans are generally more comfortable talking about their financial challenges than older generations,” said Sean Fox, President of Debt Resolution at Achieve. “Millennials came of age during the Great Recession, while their Gen Z peers watched their parents and families struggle through both the 2008 financial crisis and COVID-19 pandemic. So for many, these topics are less taboo because they’ve had a near-constant presence in their lives. Despite the benefits of creating and discussing budgets, the cost of attending oftentimes pricey events can have a lasting impact on finances.”
“Loud budgeting,” a money management technique recently popularized on social media, encourages individuals to be vocal about prioritizing their budgets and commitment to their financial boundaries or goals.
In examining the loud budgeting trend, Achieve found:
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Overall, 44% of respondents have tried or currently practice loud budgeting
-
The trend is more popular among Millennials (48%) than Gen Z and Gen X (45% each) and Baby Boomers (37%).
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48% of women have loud budgeting experience, compared to 39% of men.
-
Loud budgeting experience was nearly identical among respondents with household incomes of up to $50,000 (43%) and over $50,000 (44%).
Among respondents who currently practice or have tried loud budgeting, 67% of respondents said the people around them are generally supportive of their financial goals and 59% said others are willing to do less-expensive activities in order to spend time together. However, 29% of loud budgeters said they’ve been criticized or ridiculed for the practice and 10% don’t believe people in their lives respect the boundaries they set about spending. In addition, far fewer respondents said that loud budgeting has led to improvements in their physical health (35%) or love lives (24%).
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Is loud budgeting effective? |
|||
|
Agree |
Neutral |
Disagree |
|
|
Dating and romantic relationships have improved |
24 % |
54 % |
22 % |
|
I’ve been criticized or ridiculed about my loud budgeting habits |
29 % |
26 % |
45 % |
|
Loud budgeting has led to disagreements with friends and family or loss of friendships |
31 % |
24 % |
45 % |
|
I get invited to fewer activities with friends and family |
34 % |
35 % |
31 % |
|
My physical health has improved |
35 % |
43 % |
22 % |
|
I spend more time with friends and family |
43 % |
35 % |
22 % |
|
My mental health has improved |
46 % |
39 % |
15 % |
|
Loud budgeting has helped me reprioritize certain friendships and personal relationships |
51 % |
36 % |
13 % |
|
I do a better job saving money |
55 % |
31 % |
14 % |
|
People in my life are willing to do less expensive activities in order to spend time together |
59 % |
31 % |
10 % |
|
People in my life respect the boundaries I set about spending |
63 % |
27 % |
10 % |
|
Even with loud budgeting, sticking to financial goals is challenging |
64 % |
23 % |
13 % |
|
Loud budgeting makes it easier to stick to financial goals and make ends meet |
64 % |
27 % |
9 % |
|
People in my life are supportive of my financial goals |
67 % |
25 % |
8 % |
|
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements about loud budgeting? n=437 Source: Achieve Center for Consumer Insights |
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How much is enough to spend on milestone moments?
So just how much are Americans willing to spend to attend milestone events, and are they ok taking on debt to pay for it? Achieve found that willingness to spend money or incur debt to take part in milestone events frequently comes down to relationships. Nearly half of Americans were more likely to spend over $500 on milestone events for their spouse/significant other, their dependent children and their adult children, including approximately 30% of survey respondents who said they’re willing to spend over $1,000 on the milestones of their immediate family members.
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How much will we spend? |
|||||
|
Total |
$0 |
Up to |
$501 to |
$1,001 to |
Over |
|
Work colleagues |
32 % |
59 % |
6 % |
1 % |
2 % |
|
Other adult friends outside of your work and family |
22 % |
66 % |
9 % |
1 % |
2 % |
|
Members of your extended family |
17 % |
66 % |
11 % |
3 % |
2 % |
|
Your spouse or significant other’s close friends |
25 % |
57 % |
11 % |
4 % |
3 % |
|
Your best friend |
13 % |
65 % |
14 % |
5 % |
3 % |
|
Your spouse or significant other’s family members |
16 % |
58 % |
15 % |
8 % |
3 % |
|
Your siblings |
13 % |
59 % |
16 % |
8 % |
5 % |
|
Your parents |
14 % |
46 % |
16 % |
14 % |
11 % |
|
Your adult children |
16 % |
40 % |
17 % |
14 % |
13 % |
|
Your dependent children |
15 % |
39 % |
17 % |
14 % |
15 % |
|
Your spouse or significant other |
10 % |
40 % |
19 % |
13 % |
17 % |
|
How much money would you be willing to spend to participate in a major life milestone for the following people in your life? n=1,000 Source: Achieve Center for Consumer Insights |
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Achieve found that 79% of Americans typically need more than a month to save money or make other financial arrangements to attend milestone events, including 18% who said it typically takes over six months to prepare financially.
“Saving money ahead of time, rather than using credit cards and paying them off later, is a helpful strategy to mitigate the financial strain of attending milestone events because it can reduce or eliminate additional interest charges that can make an expensive event even more costly,” said Fox.
In addition to being willing to spend the largest amounts of money on the milestone events of their significant others and both young and adult children, respondents also said they were more willing to take on debt to cover these expenses. Conversely, respondents said they’re less interested in spending money on events for coworkers and the friends of their spouse or significant other.
|
Taking on debt to attend milestone events |
|||||
|
0 % |
1% to |
26% to |
51% to |
76% to |
|
|
Work colleagues |
52 % |
33 % |
8 % |
4 % |
2 % |
|
Other adult friends outside of your work and family |
51 % |
33 % |
9 % |
5 % |
2 % |
|
Members of your extended family |
41 % |
36 % |
15 % |
5 % |
3 % |
|
Your best friend |
36 % |
39 % |
15 % |
7 % |
4 % |
|
Your spouse or significant other’s family members |
36 % |
35 % |
19 % |
5 % |
5 % |
|
Your spouse or significant other’s close friends |
44 % |
30 % |
15 % |
6 % |
5 % |
|
Your siblings |
31 % |
37 % |
19 % |
8 % |
5 % |
|
Your parents |
26 % |
30 % |
20 % |
11 % |
13 % |
|
Your adult children |
26 % |
24 % |
22 % |
14 % |
14 % |
|
Your spouse or significant other |
23 % |
27 % |
22 % |
13 % |
15 % |
|
Your dependent children |
21 % |
23 % |
24 % |
14 % |
18 % |
|
How much of the amount that you would spend on milestone events would you be willing to take on as debt that takes more than one month to pay off? n=1,000 Source: Achieve Center for Consumer Insights |
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Methodology
The data and findings presented are based on an Achieve survey conducted in April 2024 consisting of 1,000 U.S. consumers ages 18 and older, and is representative of Census Bureau benchmarks of the U.S. population for age, gender, race and ethnicity.