Loud Budget

lowkey the 3 most powerful words of 2026: "I can't afford that." $78K salary, NYC, broke every month — until I said it out loud. 12 months later: $3K saved. 0 friends lost. Free 7 scripts drop next week — DM for early access Kit $14 code LOUD7 🫶

i pulled their friend-text template + the value-list worksheet into the Starter Kit. $14 with LOUD7: DM for early access (drops next week)

7. they tracked NOTHING beyond the auto-transfer. no apps, no spreadsheets after the first month. cognitive load too high during a reset. it took 5 months to hit $1,500. another 6 months to hit $4,200. they're not done. they sleep at night now.

Alex's "broke reset" 12-step recovery, indie dev income $72K, Seattle: 1. they froze the cards. not closed (credit score), frozen via the bank app. one friction layer = 80% of impulse buys gone.

Alex says losing that one friendship was the cleanest cut. "she liked the version of me that was performing money i didn't have."

if you want to do free or cheap hangs i am SO in. if our friendship was mostly based on the dinners i'll understand." 2 friends doubled down — started doing free Discovery Park walks weekly. 1 friend went quiet for a month then came back. 1 friend never replied.

Alex's reset moment was a text they sent to 4 friends in december. they read it to me: "hey. i'm going through a financial reset for the next 12 months. i love you. i'm not going to dinners over $30, no trips, no concerts over $50.

- sep: hit their card limit - oct: missed a credit card payment for the first time - nov: had a panic attack at a Whole Foods checkout they told me "Maya i wasn't living above my means. my friends were living above mine."

Alex's "what went wrong" — last summer's timeline: - june: friend group all hit Series A bonuses, started doing $200 dinners weekly - july: said yes to all of them. "just this once" × 7 - aug: birthday trip to Big Sur. $1,400 they didn't have

Alex is 29, Seattle, indie game dev. last summer they went broke. like, $214 in checking, $0 savings, 2 maxed credit cards broke. today: $4,200 emergency fund. same income. they did it by burning down the friend group and rebuilding. heavy story. worth telling.

quiet sunday question for the loan girlies: do you know your monthly payment off the top of your head? i didn't for 2 years. mine is $340. saying it out loud took 3 tries. reply with yours if you want. or just nod at this post. i see you.

i added an IDR + savings calculator to the Starter Kit specifically because of Devon. $14 with LOUD7: DM for early access (drops next week) 🤍

if you're carrying loans and trying to start saving — Devon wants you to know: the $250/mo doesn't feel like much. four months later it's $1,000. it's not nothing. it's the start.

Devon's "loud budgeting WITH student loans" method. the part nobody talks about: 1. he got on income-driven repayment (IDR) the day he started his nonprofit job. $145/mo instead of $510. zero shame in the lower number, that's literally what the program is for.