Have you heard of spaving? According to social media, it’s the practice of spending more money in order to save money.
TikTokers have taken to the web to share their spaving behaviors that include buying in bulk, participating in BOGO sales or purchasing multiples of items to get more bang for their buck, but in the end, how much are they really saving over time? Shavon Roman, an Atlanta-based personal finance expert says spavers should take a serious look at their money mindset, particularly as more Americans are grappling with the harsh reality of rapidly rising living costs.
“I would think most of the population are probably spavers and don’t even realize it, especially now, because stuff is just really expensive,” Roman tells ESSENCE. “To me, there’s this concept, almost just a judgmental view of what spaving is, in that it is voluntary. But for a lot of people, it’s not. Many have to move money over from their savings or even their retirement accounts to cover basic necessities. So it could be this idea of like, ‘yeah, I’m ordering more to get free shipping on Amazon.’ But no, it’s even bigger than that. People are having to move money from really important places just to pay their bills.”
Recent data sheds a spotlight on this—the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco outlined in a May 2024 report that many Americans’ debt to savings ratios far outweigh one another, and suggests “that American households fully spent their pandemic-era savings as of March 2024.”
Roman says the first step to tackling the spaving cycle is reimaging the meaning.
Redefine spaving.
“This concept of spaving has a negative connotation attached to it and it almost sounds like spazzing, like you’re doing something just out of control, “ Roman tells ESSENCE. But what we need to remind ourselves is these behaviors are almost always out of necessity. Groceries are up over 30 %, rent has spiked across the country, so consumers are trying to save however they can, but aren’t necessarily willing to deprive themselves of what they want and need. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I do think theres’ a way to remove the shame surrounding the spending/saving cycle so you can put yourself in a better position over the long term.”
How do you do this? It may be obvious but Roman says it bears repeating; get out of debt, namely credit card debt.
“The resolve for this climbing out of debt has to be something other than credit cards,” Roman says, referencing the crippling $1.14 trillion credit card debt national average, the highest US balance since 1999.
Roman continues: “Sadly, the average American doesn’t have $400 in their savings account, so my suggestion is to pick up a side gig to bring in extra income to take care of the credit card debt. That is the biggest hindrance between most people and taking the first steps to creating wealth.”
The average American carries about $6,000 in credit card debt, and with just minimum monthly payments, users can expect to stay in credit card debt for about 25 years.
Create a spending plan.
In keeping with reframing your money language, Roman says budgeting isn’t a solution when it comes to escaping the spave cycle.
“I don’t like the term budget because it seems really restrictive,” Roman tells ESSENCE. “I help my clients create a spending plan to have line of sight of what they actually spend and what they can afford to spend. Marketers are really, really smart. So, think about the dress that you look at or the shoes that you look, they follow you online. When they go on sale, it pops up. And now you’re with in-app purchase ability on social media, spending money you don’t have is easier than ever. I would start with unsubscribing from all the sales email, store accounts on social media and erasing my cookies so these stores can’t follow you around on the web and subconsciously encourage you to spend money. I’d also encourage you to create a challenge for yourself where for 30 days, you only buy what you need, not what you think is going to save you money in the long run. It’s highly likely that it won’t.”
