Gen Z financial terms like “disastrous spending” and “big budgeting” are rebrandings of old concepts. Are there any drawbacks?

Millennials are entering the personal finance scene for the first time. ”walk around as if renting a place” They are rebranded Having a roommate as a “common living”. Now, Gen Z, and frankly those on social media, are rushing to develop new financial terminology that only reinvents well-worn concepts.

Disastrous spending, retail therapy rooted more in financial existentialism, quiet luxury (sneak wealth), and loud budgeting (spending less than you earn) are not new phenomena. But in a world where everyone is competing for attention by trying to make new phrases go viral, could this just be a harmless “playlist reboot” (did I? ), or is there a downside to emphasizing topicality over content?

This is similar to the short-form video trend audio you’ve no doubt experienced if you use Instagram (Reels and Stories), YouTube (Shorts), or TikTok. The same audio clip is reused by different creators across genres because it seems to work to get our attention. If the recycled audio is music, the catchiness of the song will attract people and encourage them to watch more of the creator’s videos.

But when creators use voice audio clips, such as a conversational exchange between two characters in a movie, we like the creativity of thinking about how it can be applied to different settings. And we will be drawn to the same trending audio from multiple creators. What they all have in common is that trending audio of any kind is temporary. After a while, everyone moves on to the next trend.

Tautologically speaking, the term “term coiner” was coined to describe the trend on social media where people create and spread new phrases. Coming up with a smart rebranding of an existing concept can be done in 15 minutes. According to Google’s search trends tool, “girl math” reached its peak in search popularity in the last week of September 2023. Fast forward to the end of 2023, and her relative search popularity has decreased by over 90%.

Therefore, on the one hand, it seems that everyone wants to achieve fetch, but sometimes something gets stuck. But on the other hand, this constant pursuit of newness risks leading to a dilution of meaning and a kind of economic “fast fashion” in which ideas are rapidly consumed and equally rapidly discarded. .

Big budgeting may be the perfect example to test the tenacity of today’s financial buzzwords. Many may despise the term because it is a rebranding of the timeless concept of personal finance, but far more importantly, the term has inspired enough people to become familiar with finances. The question is whether it will lead to a long-term trajectory change in management. Some people may think so, and others may fall into the de facto graveyard of financial buzzwords, along with girls’ math.

Overall, this neologism trend may be positive for some people. By using humor and creativity, you can make financial concepts more approachable to younger generations. This can serve as a gateway to more meaningful and in-depth financial education that helps individuals navigate the financial world.

Once you understand your personal finances well enough, you’ll realize that moderate retail therapy and catastrophic spending are perfectly acceptable strategies for balancing today’s emotional stress with your long-term future well-being. may judge.

Preet Banerjee I am a consultant to the wealth management industry with a focus on commercial applications of behavioral finance research.