From moneymaxxing to revenge saving to budgeting out loud—and everything in between

If you ever click on a social media post on personal finance, your feed will likely get flooded with similar posts from financial influencers, commonly known as “finfluencers,” touting everything from investing tips to economic commentary. These tips sound like a great idea at first, but are they worth the click and the hype?

Yes and no, according to Nate Crayton, a senior financial center leader at Bank of Albuquerque.

“As a millennial, I’m on social media too and I see what’s out there,” he explained. “I look at these tips as strategies—and there are many types of financial strategies. Social media can provide some ideas, but I also recommend speaking to a financial expert like your local banker to get more information so you can make the best decisions about what’s right for you.”

To help you decide which trending strategies might be right for you, here is an overview of each one, as well as some tried-and-true personal finance tips.

Moneymaxxing

The name “moneymaxxing” comes from the world of role-playing games (RPGs), where players can use “min-maxxing” to minimize a character's undesirable traits and maximize a character's most-desirable traits. Similar trends in health and nutrition include “sleepmaxxing” and “proteinmaxxing.”

Transferring that concept of maxxing to personal finance, it means making the most out of every dollar through steps such as cancelling subscriptions and memberships that you don’t use, earning the most interest on your savings that you can, utilizing rewards points and paying off debt with the highest interest first.

However, though the term moneymaxxing itself is new, at their core, these approaches to making your money work for you aren’t. For instance, Crayton said one of the most common questions people have around saving is how to make their money work harder for them, such as by putting their savings in certificates of deposit (CDs), high-yield savings accounts and money market accounts.

“We provide the resources and tools to help them navigate what they’re trying to do,” he said. “We’re here to help them out with solutions. Most people just want peace of mind at the end of the day.”

Revenge saving

“Revenge saving” simply means aggressively saving and drastically reducing discretionary purchases. It’s the flipside of “revenge spending,” a trend that took place shortly after the pandemic, when consumers were released from lockdowns and began splurging on dinners out, travel, shopping and other purchases they had felt deprived of while waiting for COVID to subside.

However, for many, the high inflation that’s overshadowed more recent years has made it more attractive to revenge save rather than revenge spend.

“When people walk out of their house, go to the grocery store and see that everything is a higher price than they expected, they’re going to start looking at their budget,” Crayton noted. “They’re going to consider what expenses they can cut, how to be more cost-efficient and put more money away. There’s just a heightened sense of urgency to have extra money on hand.”

According to Crayton, putting money in savings vehicles is always a good idea and he wants to dispel the misconception that you need a large amount of cash to start saving. “If you put small amounts into savings, leave it there and consistently add to it, then it will accumulate and get bigger. It’s a matter of being proactive, taking the initiative and telling yourself you don’t want to touch it because you want it to grow.”

No-buy challenges

Other personal finance trends that have taken hold on social media in a similar way are “no-buy challenges,” where people challenge themselves not to spend money on former discretionary purchases or on anything at all for a day, week or months at a time, opting out of the consumer economy in favor of saving their money.

Crayton cautions that this approach could potentially have long-term impacts outside of one’s personal financial situation. “If everyone says, ‘I’m not going to buy things because of inflation,’ that could be detrimental to the economy. That could lead to businesses generating less revenue, so they may be unable to invest and grow, and they may start laying people off. It starts this domino effect, which could lead to a recession.”

Alternatively, he recommends finding a balance of saving and spending within your means.

Budgeting out loud

Those who are looking to budget are also putting their foot down about sticking to it, known on social media as “loud budgeting.”

Getting “loud” means verbally letting friends and family know you have a spending limit you won’t budge on, proudly proclaiming boundaries and financial goals, especially during times when spending creep tends to happen, such as dinners out with friends or vacations.

Why save

People save for different reasons. For most, it’s to have funds beyond covering day-to-day expenses. Some save for vacations, homes or other big-ticket items or experiences, but one of the biggest reasons people save is to have a safety net in the event of an emergency such as a sudden job loss or a medical crisis. If revenge saving is prompting you to start putting money in the bank, it’s helpful to have a goal in mind.

Most financial advisors recommend three to six months of living expenses to cover a job loss. In addition, some financial experts are starting to recommend more savings to cover a catastrophic event such as damage to your home and livelihood from a natural disaster.

Using tools to save

Crayton said people can take advantage of different methods and tools out there to help themselves save.

Round up: Many banks have an automated round-up tool you can set on your debit card to round up each purchase to the nearest dollar and deposit that amount into your savings to help add up.

Automation: You can set up an automatic transfer every time your paycheck goes into your checking account. In that way, a specified amount is transferred into savings before you get a chance to spend it.

Budgeting apps: Having a financial tracker right in your hand with apps such as YNAB (You Need a Budget), Monarch or your bank’s mobile app can help you visibly see where your money is going, identify spending habits and find where you can cut back.

Above all, Crayton recommends avoiding extreme reactions to whatever is happening in the economy. Consider saving as a healthy ongoing financial habit to build emergency funds and work toward goals to acquire things you want or need. “We always want to brace for the worst but expect the best,” he said.