The 'bougie broke' guide for living the high life started out as a joke. But it's getting embraced on TikTok — and it says a lot about the world we live in.
- The Sunday Times released a comical guide on mastering the 'Bougie Broke' lifestyle.
- The guide has split Twitter and TikTok users, who are both deriding and championing the trend.
A new guide on embracing a "Bougie Broke" lifestyle — a personal finance trend crafted as a humorous yet critical response to the cost of living crisis — has stirred a cocktail of amusement and ridicule online.
Recently published by the UK's Sunday Times, the guide's comical tips for maintaining a luxurious lifestyle on a budget include "canceling a few osteopath appointments" and tricking hotels into doing your laundry for you despite not being a guest.
And now, these tips have become a lightning rod for social media commentary.
User @mel_buer tweeted on Sunday, "Losing it at the weirdo who dyes his scrambled eggs so they look more posh." The commenter were referring to the Times' mention of a man who used orange food dye to make his eggs appear as though they has been bought from an upmarket store.
Another user @writerbxtch tweeted: "Tag yourself: I'm taking Xanax to suffer through flying coach," seemingly responding to the author of the guide, Sophia Money-Coutts, writing about a friend who now avoids flying business class by taking the pill before takeoff and upgrading himself to a "business class of the mind."
However, not everyone is ridiculing the trend — "bougie broke" is getting a far warmer reception on TikTok.
One user, Freddothecat, commented in reaction to a video about going broke for an expensive meal. "I'll wear my socks till they're thin, but I'll eat like queen. Priorities."
Another user, Home Decor Decorator, commented on a video of cheap finds from Walmart and Target, "Bougie broke is my favorite kind . Finding the lowest price or best deal is the best kind of high #iykyk." "Iykyk" refers to internet slang for "If You Know, You Know."
The "bougie broke" trend originated from TikTok, where users bemoaned about how broke they were while pursuing a luxury lifestyle.
Though much-derided on Twitter now, Emily Irwin, the managing director of advice and planning at Wells Fargo's Wealth & Investment Management, told CNBC in a report published July 8 that the "bougie broke" trend was helping to spark rare discussions about money — typically a taboo topic.
The Times' guide comes as Brits face a cost of living crisis, with the UK-based Economics Observatory's Michelle Kilfoyle writing in March, "The prices of food and non-alcoholic drinks in the UK have risen at the fastest rate since 1977 in the past year."
Even in the US, more than a third surveyed American adults using social media said they felt negatively about their finances after seeing others' posts on social media, according to a survey published on July 18 by financial services company Bankrate.