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74% of Americans say celebrating life’s big moments interferes with their financial well-being, Achieve survey finds

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Viral loud budgeting trend is reshaping how Americans participate in milestone events for friends and family, Achieve survey finds

SAN MATEO, Calif., July 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Nearly three in four Americans (74%) find that the cost of celebrating major life milestones with their family and close friends affects their financial well-being. Yet most are loath to share their feelings and concerns with loved ones, according to the results of a new survey by Achieve, the leader in digital personal finance.

Achieve’s think tank, the Achieve Center for Consumer Insights, conducted the “Cost of Being There” survey to examine how consumers manage the expense of participating in major life milestone events like weddings, bachelorette/bachelor parties, milestone birthdays, baby showers and graduations. The research found that while most Americans believe participating in these events takes a toll on their financial well-being, less than half (48%) said they are comfortable citing financial reasons for declining to participate in these events.

How ‘being there’ affects financial well-being

Extremely impactful

10 %

Very impactful

20 %

Somewhat impactful

44 %

Not very impactful

17 %

Not impactful at all

9 %

How much does spending money to attend major life milestone events for friends and family affect your financial well-being? n=1,000 Source: Achieve Center for Consumer Insights

When asked how much pressure they feel to spend money attending milestone events for family and friends:

15% feel “extremely” or “very” pressured36% feel somewhat pressured49% said they experience little to no pressure to spend

Compared to older generations, younger Americans, including members of the Gen Z and Millennial generations, were both more likely to say they’re affected financially by participating in milestone events and more willing to share that reason with loved ones. As a result, 67% of Gen Z respondents said they’ve opted out of participating in a milestone event over the past three years because of the cost, compared to 47% of Millennials, 48% of Gen X and 30% of Baby Boomers.

The impact of loud budgeting

“You only have to look at the loud budgeting trend to see that younger Americans are generally more comfortable talking about their financial challenges than older generations,” said Sean Fox, President of Debt Resolution at Achieve. “Millennials came of age during the Great Recession, while their Gen Z peers watched their parents and families struggle through both the 2008 financial crisis and COVID-19 pandemic. So for many, these topics are less taboo because they’ve had a near-constant presence in their lives. Despite the benefits of creating and discussing budgets, the cost of attending oftentimes pricey events can have a lasting impact on finances.”

“Loud budgeting,” a money management technique recently popularized on social media, encourages individuals to be vocal about prioritizing their budgets and commitment to their financial boundaries or goals.

In examining the loud budgeting trend, Achieve found:

Overall, 44% of respondents have tried or currently practice loud budgetingThe trend is more popular among Millennials (48%) than Gen Z and Gen X (45% each) and Baby Boomers (37%).48% of women have loud budgeting experience, compared to 39% of men.Loud budgeting experience was nearly identical among respondents with household incomes of up to $50,000 (43%) and over $50,000 (44%).

Among respondents who currently practice or have tried loud budgeting, 67% of respondents said the people around them are generally supportive of their financial goals and 59% said others are willing to do less-expensive activities in order to spend time together. However, 29% of loud budgeters said they’ve been criticized or ridiculed for the practice and 10% don’t believe people in their lives respect the boundaries they set about spending. In addition, far fewer respondents said that loud budgeting has led to improvements in their physical health (35%) or love lives (24%).

Is loud budgeting effective?

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Dating and romantic relationships have improved

24 %

54 %

22 %

I’ve been criticized or ridiculed about my loud budgeting habits

29 %

26 %

45 %

Loud budgeting has led to disagreements with friends and family or loss of friendships

31 %

24 %

45 %

I get invited to fewer activities with friends and family

34 %

35 %

31 %

My physical health has improved

35 %

43 %

22 %

I spend more time with friends and family

43 %

35 %

22 %

My mental health has improved

46 %

39 %

15 %

Loud budgeting has helped me reprioritize certain friendships and personal relationships

51 %

36 %

13 %

I do a better job saving money

55 %

31 %

14 %

People in my life are willing to do less expensive activities in order to spend time together

59 %

31 %

10 %

People in my life respect the boundaries I set about spending

63 %

27 %

10 %

Even with loud budgeting, sticking to financial goals is challenging

64 %

23 %

13 %

Loud budgeting makes it easier to stick to financial goals and make ends meet

64 %

27 %

9 %

People in my life are supportive of my financial goals

67 %

25 %

8 %

How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements about loud budgeting? n=437 Source: Achieve Center for Consumer Insights

How much is enough to spend on milestone moments?

So just how much are Americans willing to spend to attend milestone events, and are they ok taking on debt to pay for it? Achieve found that willingness to spend money or incur debt to take part in milestone events frequently comes down to relationships. Nearly half of Americans were more likely to spend over $500 on milestone events for their spouse/significant other, their dependent children and their adult children, including approximately 30% of survey respondents who said they’re willing to spend over $1,000 on the milestones of their immediate family members.

How much will we spend?

Total

$0

Up to
$500

$501 to
$1,000

$1,001 to
$5,000

Over
$5,000

Work colleagues

32 %

59 %

6 %

1 %

2 %

Other adult friends outside of your work and family

22 %

66 %

9 %

1 %

2 %

Members of your extended family

17 %

66 %

11 %

3 %

2 %

Your spouse or significant other’s close friends

25 %

57 %

11 %

4 %

3 %

Your best friend

13 %

65 %

14 %

5 %

3 %

Your spouse or significant other’s family members

16 %

58 %

15 %

8 %

3 %

Your siblings

13 %

59 %

16 %

8 %

5 %

Your parents

14 %

46 %

16 %

14 %

11 %

Your adult children

16 %

40 %

17 %

14 %

13 %

Your dependent children

15 %

39 %

17 %

14 %

15 %

Your spouse or significant other

10 %

40 %

19 %

13 %

17 %

How much money would you be willing to spend to participate in a major life milestone for the following people in your life? n=1,000 Source: Achieve Center for Consumer Insights

Achieve found that 79% of Americans typically need more than a month to save money or make other financial arrangements to attend milestone events, including 18% who said it typically takes over six months to prepare financially.

“Saving money ahead of time, rather than using credit cards and paying them off later, is a helpful strategy to mitigate the financial strain of attending milestone events because it can reduce or eliminate additional interest charges that can make an expensive event even more costly,” said Fox.

In addition to being willing to spend the largest amounts of money on the milestone events of their significant others and both young and adult children, respondents also said they were more willing to take on debt to cover these expenses. Conversely, respondents said they’re less interested in spending money on events for coworkers and the friends of their spouse or significant other.

Taking on debt to attend milestone events

0 %

1% to
25%

26% to
50%

51% to
75%

76% to
100%

Work colleagues

52 %

33 %

8 %

4 %

2 %

Other adult friends outside of your work and family

51 %

33 %

9 %

5 %

2 %

Members of your extended family

41 %

36 %

15 %

5 %

3 %

Your best friend

36 %

39 %

15 %

7 %

4 %

Your spouse or significant other’s family members

36 %

35 %

19 %

5 %

5 %

Your spouse or significant other’s close friends

44 %

30 %

15 %

6 %

5 %

Your siblings

31 %

37 %

19 %

8 %

5 %

Your parents

26 %

30 %

20 %

11 %

13 %

Your adult children

26 %

24 %

22 %

14 %

14 %

Your spouse or significant other

23 %

27 %

22 %

13 %

15 %

Your dependent children

21 %

23 %

24 %

14 %

18 %

How much of the amount that you would spend on milestone events would you be willing to take on as debt that takes more than one month to pay off? n=1,000 Source: Achieve Center for Consumer Insights

Methodology

The data and findings presented are based on an Achieve survey conducted in April 2024 consisting of 1,000 U.S. consumers ages 18 and older, and is representative of Census Bureau benchmarks of the U.S. population for age, gender, race and ethnicity.

About the Achieve Center for Consumer Insights

The Achieve Center for Consumer Insights is a think tank that leverages Achieve’s team of digital personal finance experts to provide a view into the state of consumer finances. In addition to sharing insights gleaned from Achieve’s proprietary data and analytics, the Achieve Center for Consumer Insights publishes in-depth research, bespoke data and thoughtful commentary in support of Achieve’s mission of helping everyday people get on the path to a better financial future.

About Achieve

Achieve, THE digital personal finance company, helps everyday people get on, and stay on, the path to a better financial future. Achieve pairs proprietary data and analytics with personalized support to offer personal loans, home equity loans, debt resolution and debt consolidation, along with financial tips and education and free mobile apps, Achieve MoLO (Money Left Over) and Achieve GOOD™ (Get Out Of Debt). Achieve has 2,500 dedicated teammates across the country with hubs in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas. Achieve is frequently recognized as a Best Place to Work.

Achieve refers to the global organization and may denote one or more affiliates of Achieve Company, including Achieve.com (NMLS ID #138464); Achieve Home Loans, Equal Housing Lender (NMLS ID #1810501); Achieve Personal Loans (NMLS ID #227977); Achieve Resolution (NMLS ID # 1248929) and Freedom Financial Asset Management (CRD #170229).

Contacts

Erica Bigley
Vice President
Corporate Communications
ebigley@achieve.com 415-710-9006

Austin Kilgore
Director
Corporate Communications
akilgore@achieve.com 214-908-5097

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SOURCE Achieve

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Ramki Sankaranarayanan Receives EGA’s Hermes Lifetime Achievement Award for Pioneering Innovation in Global Content Operations

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LOS ANGELES, April 4, 2025 /CNW/ — The Entertainment Globalization Association (EGA) has honored Ramki Sankaranarayanan, Founder and Global CEO of Prime Focus Technologies (PFT), with the 2025 Hermes Lifetime Achievement Award. The accolade recognizes Ramki’s visionary leadership and transformative impact on entertainment localization and media technology worldwide.

Presented at the prestigious Hermes Awards for Entertainment Localization Excellence, the honor celebrates Ramki’s role in reimagining global media supply chains—seamlessly blending AI innovation with human creativity to enable scalable, culturally authentic storytelling across geographies.

A trailblazer in media tech for over two decades, Ramki spearheaded the launch of the industry’s first Media ERP, laying the foundation for cloud-based Supply Chain that subsequently was articulated within the MovieLabs 2030 Vision. Under his leadership, PFT has continuously pushed the boundaries of localization—leveraging AI-assisted subtitling, dubbing, and metadata solutions through its CLEAR® and CLEAR® AI platforms. Early innovations such as automated subtitle retiming and hybrid AI pipelines have redefined scale and speed in global content delivery.

PFT’s localization capabilities span an impressive 150 unique languages globally, including 92 European, 24 African, 18 from the Indian subcontinent, 10 East Asian, and 6 Central Asian languages, showcasing unparalleled depth and reach. Today, PFT supports over 2 million subtitled minutes and 1 million dubbed minutes annually for leading platforms including Star TV, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Warner Bros. Discovery, Crunchyroll, etc.

With 13+ patents and seven NAB Product of the Year Awards, including a 2023 win for AI-led localization, CLEAR® AI exemplifies contemporary Agentic AI, defined by its autonomous Localization Agents capable of independent decision-making, real-time collaboration, and continuous improvement. CLEAR® AI leverages Multi-Agent Collaboration, orchestrating agents specialized in several tasks across content lifecycle. This market-defining approach dramatically improves accuracy, accelerates time-to-market, and reduces manual intervention, reflecting a strategic shift towards intelligent, collaborative AI in localization.

PFT’s latest breakthrough, CLEAR® AI Content Studio, further exemplifies this momentum by turning dormant archives into dynamic, revenue-generating content libraries.

“This award is deeply meaningful,” said Ramki. “It honors not just my journey, but the passion and relentless innovation of our PFT team & the pivotal role clients have played in embracing the innovation—and the vibrant localization community driving global storytelling forward.”

EGA’s recognition underscores the rising strategic importance of AI-led, human-enhanced localization—and the visionaries who are shaping its future.

About the Entertainment Globalization Association (EGA)
The EGA is the leading professional body for executives driving content globalization. Its Hermes Awards celebrate excellence in localization and the innovators behind cross-cultural storytelling.

About Prime Focus Technologies (PFT)
Prime Focus Technologies (PFT) is the creator of CLEAR®. It offers streaming platforms, studios, and broadcasters AI technology and media services powered by the cloud that help them enable creativity, efficiency, and, most importantly, revenue generation. PFT works with major companies like Channel 4, ITV, Sinclair Broadcast Group, A&E Networks, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, Crunchyroll, Insight TV, JioStar, BCCI, Tegna, Amazon MGM Studios, and more.

For more information, visit: www.primefocustechnologies.com.

Press Contact
T Shobhana
Senior Vice President and Global Head of Marketing
Prime Focus Technologies
Los Angeles, CA
t.shobhana@primefocus.com

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SOURCE Prime Focus Technologies

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S’moresUp Launches “It’s a Family Thing!” to Help Moms Get Their Pink Back This Mother’s Day

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From the Team Behind Two-Time App of the Day S’moresUp, Comes a Smarter Family Management App

LOS ALTOS, Calif., April 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — S’moresUp, the trusted family management platform with over 300,000 users, announces its next evolution: It’s a Family Thing! (IAFT)—just in time for Mother’s Day.

Inspired by the phrase “getting your pink back,” IAFT is designed to help moms reclaim their energy and joy while navigating the invisible labor of parenting. Like flamingos that regain their color with care, moms too can thrive with the right support.

S’moresUp has twice been named Apple’s App of the Day. IAFT builds on that success with AI-powered tools, personalized insights, and family-focused features made specifically for today’s overwhelmed parents.

Developed by a single mom and a generative AI technologist—both former PayPal leaders—IAFT reflects seven years of insights from the S’moresUp community.

Key Features:

AI Family Agent: A virtual assistant for managing chores, schedules, and planning.Parenting Weather (PUP Score): Gauges parenting stress and suggests solutions.Chore & Reward System: Includes Photo Proof, Late Penalties, and gamified tracking.Family Analytics: Tracks skill development and offers personalized support.Mood Management: Encourages emotional check-ins and open family communication.Campfire: A private space for sharing updates, celebrations, and memories.AI-Driven Planning Tools: Features like “How To Do Today” and “Weekly Plan.”

More than a digital organizer, IAFT is a lifeline – helping moms reduce decision fatigue, prioritize self-care, and restore balance at home.

Pricing starts at just $3.49/month, with premium features available up to $49.95/month.

Available now on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

“Working mothers are constantly fighting an uphill battle to balance career and home life,” says Priya Rajendran, CEO and co-founder. “IAFT is here to do the heavy lifting so moms can breathe again.”

“With IAFT, we’re doubling down on innovation and family wellness,” adds Reeves Xavier, CTO and co-founder. “This is a lifeline for the modern family.”

About S’moresUp

S’moresUp and now It’s a Family Thing! are family management solutions created by Priya Rajendran and Reeves Xavier, technologists and parents with a passion for empowering families. With experience at companies like PayPal, Microsoft, and Intuit, they bring heart, humor, and cutting-edge AI to parenting. S’moresUp’s mission is simple: Raise independent, responsible, and joyful kids—while making parenting a little less exhausting.

Visit www.smoresup.com

Contact: Ann Dunning, ann@amurraypr.com 

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SOURCE S’moresUp

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DATA BREACH ALERT: Edelson Lechtzin LLP Is Investigating Claims On Behalf Of Oracle Health Customers Whose Data May Have Been Compromised

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NEWTOWN, Pa., April 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Edelson Lechtzin LLP, a national class action law firm, is investigating claims regarding data privacy violations at Oracle Health (“Oracle”). Oracle learned of the breach on or about February 20, 2025. To join this case, go HERE.

About Oracle Health

Oracle Corporation is a multinational computer technology company based in the United States. Oracle Health, a subsidiary of Oracle, specializes in healthcare software, with a focus on Electronic Health Records and hospital management solutions.

What happened?

Oracle recently experienced two separate data breach incidents. The first occurred around February 20, 2025, when Oracle Health discovered a security breach within its network. They initiated an investigation and found that on or after January 22, 2025, an unauthorized third party had accessed the company’s servers and copied patient data to an unknown external location.

The second incident involved Oracle Cloud servers. In this case, a hacker using the online alias rose87168 posted on a cybercrime forum, offering the data of 6 million Oracle Cloud customers. Although Oracle has denied this data breach, evidence suggests otherwise.

What type of information was stolen?

The personal information in the compromised files may have included:

Patient Information From Electronic Health Records

How can I protect my personal data?

If you receive a data breach notification concerning Oracle, you should take precautions to protect against potential misuse of your personal information, including identity theft and fraud, by regularly reviewing your account statements and monitoring your credit reports for any suspicious or unauthorized activity.

Edelson Lechtzin LLP is investigating a class action lawsuit to seek legal remedies for individuals whose sensitive personal data may have been compromised as a result of the Oracle data breach.

For more information, please contact:

Marc H. Edelson, Esq.
EDELSON LECHTZIN LLP
411 S. State Street, Suite N-300
Newtown, PA 18940
Phone: 844-696-7492 ext. 2
Email: medelson@edelson-law.com
Web: www.edelson-law.com 

About Edelson Lechtzin LLP

Edelson Lechtzin LLP is a national class action law firm with offices in Pennsylvania and California. In addition to cases involving data breaches, our lawyers focus on class and collective litigation in cases alleging securities and investment fraud, violations of the federal antitrust laws, employee benefit plans under ERISA, wage theft and unpaid overtime, consumer fraud, and catastrophic injuries.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions.

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SOURCE Edelson Lechtzin LLP

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