Are TikTok Budgeting Challenges All They’re Cracked Up to Be?

(DailyDig.com) – TikTok is a wildly popular social media app. Like Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms, TikTok has allowed influencers to help people improve their lives. Recently, the popular trend has been to save money, but can TikTok advice really help?

Budgeting and savings tips are getting millions, even billions of views on Tik Tok, under the hashtags "Fintok" or "Stocktok". Some of these tips say they can save you thousands, but can they?https://t.co/W6bxtabk9Z

— FOX 17 (@FOX17) March 13, 2022

Sarah Blankenship, COO of Wilcox Financial, understands TikTok can be a fun way for people to learn how to save money. However, she stresses that finances take time to learn, which the platform’s two-minute video threshold doesn’t enable.

Blankenship covers some popular methods users on TikTok see such as the cash-stuffing method, #BudgetTok, and 50-30-20 spending. She explains that people need to do what works best for them and not what’s popular on social media. Blankenship noted that while some of these saving methods do work, they’re not for everyone.

There are plenty of videos on the platform covering bi-weekly budgets on #BudgetTok. Blankenship explained how this method has users break down their budgets in extensive journals, but some people prefer to do everything on their phones, making this a difficult option.

Blankenship noted that 50-30-20 spending is a great way to save money, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all method. The idea is to spend 50% of your income on needs, 30% on wants, with the remaining 20% going into your savings.

The Wilcox COO also explained cash-stuffing, or separating income into individual envelopes to divide funds into different bills. Blankenship doesn’t recommend this method because it means leaving physical cash in envelopes in your home, making it susceptible to loss or theft. Instead, she says to trust the bank and set up an automatic savings account.

Instead of following the current trend, it may be wise to try out different budgeting methods to discover what works best for you.