What is an “influencer”?
Influencers are more of a modern term gaining popularity in the last several years, due mainly to social media. By simple definition: an influencer is someone present on social media, who has gained a reputation through their followers, is regarded as someone with authority or expertise on a certain subject matter, and engages with large numbers of people through their social media accounts.
They gain popularity through the posts that they put on their feeds, and by sharing day-to-day usage of various said products they are promoting on their stories. They also incorporate personal interactions with their followers, telling them about their day, what’s going on in their lives, etc. to make you feel more connected to them, and invested in their opinions and suggestions. Those who follow this said person can then go and watch these videos, or see the photos they post on their own time.
With that being said, an influencer can range the gamut of topics from sports and fitness, to nutrition and fashion, to beauty and budgeting. Yes, you read that one correctly, even budgeting.
Social Media and Budgeting can go hand in hand
There are two people that come to mind when I talk about social media and budgeting. These are @debtfree.mom and @thebudgetmom. Both of these ladies share information about their daily lives, and how creating and STICKING to budgets help with their busy households. They share ways to stay out of debt, and what to look for as triggers to impulse spending, and they also share tips on things they have found to help cut dollars from their own personal budgets, plus much, much more.
One of these influencers was recently on vacation. She hadn’t been posting as much as she normally does, for obvious reasons (i.e., spending time with kids and family) but each day she gave a breakdown of what they had been doing, and what they had spent. Things she has included in these updates ran from food purchased for meals in, beach snacks, to meals out, ice cream treats, fun evenings of putt-putt to how much they are spending on gas. She even shared on her stories about how their emergency fund came into effect while on vacation because their car battery died and had to be replaced while traveling! What a great – unexpected lesson for all of her followers!
They make learning about budgets and finances fun with not only their daily stories, but they have found fun, creative ways to explain things through their various posts as well.
So outside of budgeting, how else can an influencer also affect my budget?
Shockingly enough I share this as a tip to help you save money. Because, even though one of an influencer’s main job functions is to promote products and drive business to said product, which in turn usually means making impulse buys for you, they offer promotional codes for following them.
Now, I say this is a tip for helping with your budget because if you have been eyeing a product of theirs that you have been wanting to try now for a while, or have been patiently saving up to purchase, these promotional codes could save you sometimes amounts of 15-30% off items.
If you follow a beauty and skincare influencer and already use the products they are promoting, this is a great way for you to save. You can either buy ahead at this discounted rate, knowing you will be eventually using the product in the near future or even better, it’s perfect timing and you were about to repurchase it anyway!
An account I was following just the other day had a promotional code for workout items, that when you bought the one, promoted item, you got the other promoted item FOR FREE using the promotional code the influencer was sharing. It was close to a $250+ savings by doing this! Of course, you had to want (or be in the need) both of these items for this to be beneficial for you, but if you had been contemplating getting either one of these promoted items, and were waiting for the right moment, that moment would have been with this promotional code for sure!
Beware of the *Sale*
I know I have fallen victim to it too, “But it was on sale!”. So be careful with these promotional codes. Make sure it is something you truly have been thinking about getting, or in need of, OR that you have been *BUDGETING* for, before making the purchase. Just because it is “on-sale” or you are getting a discount, don’t let this derail you from what your true priorities are, and the hard work you’ve been putting in to stay on budget!
I am sure you are already following @RamseySolutions on social media but if you do not already follow @debtfree.mom and @thebudgetmom, check out their Instagram page today to be positively influenced when it comes to your budget! If you’d like to meet with one of our financial advisors, or our financial coach, visit our website and schedule a meeting with one of them today!
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