As money-focused social media trends go, one of the more peculiar this year is that of “financial flexing” – the unapologetic practice of flashing cash and, in the process, winning followers and influencing others.
The problem goes far beyond surface-level depictions of eye-watering spending on designer swag or impromptu destination trips, as the glamorous global fad is fast exposing itself as a one-way descent into debt.
A US financial services company, Credit One Bank, last month published a new report showing how Gen Z and Millennials view credit scores through the lens of social status. While around half of respondents play the cautious game and pay heed to minding what little money they may have, over one-third admitted to financial flexing on a regular basis. Social media, social situations and even dating determined why and when such false financial impressions were likely to come into effect.
While it might be easy to point fingers and say this is an American problem, looking rich but feeling broke is actually nothing new and certainly not confined to younger age groups or to the US. With the crippling ongoing cost-of-living crisis, seasonal splurges beyond our means have all too often become the norm for many of us.
Keeping up appearances
This includes an obligatory summer holiday for the family in keeping with expectations, back-to-school costs to ensure your child appears to belong to a household that isn’t struggling and won’t set them apart from their classmates, and even Christmas commitments.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) says that while spending is steady in Irish households this festive season, borrowing is still common. Its Christmas Shopping Research 2025 shows that €1,163 is the average spend this year, down slightly from €1,177 last year. One in five of us will borrow to meet the cost and will spend about three months clearing it.
That’s assuming, of course, that normal everyday expenses like rent, mortgages, and weekly grocery and heating bills don’t push households further into debt.
And while financial advisers will caution against such behaviour, it has unfortunately become part and parcel of a wholly consumer-centric celebration. Nobody wants to ruin the magic of Christmas even when the financial odds are against them. Surely the household finances can cope with being overextended for a couple of weeks?
How many of us share such happy occasions across social media platforms, knowing that the dreams of a beautifully decorated home or festive dinners out have been made possible by dipping into an overdraft, or covered by a credit card or two? Or a “buy now, pay later” scheme?
And so the vicious cycle of debt required to keep up appearances continues.
The great equaliser
In the age of social media, financial flexing is often dismissed as youthful ignorance. Yet it is a practice that’s as old as the hills. Laura Ellen Ford, a senior tax associate at Eversheds Sutherland LLP, says the difference now is how it is brandished in real-time compared to our grandparents’ generation and beyond, where such financial showboating was usually undertaken to keep up with neighbours.
“Watch The Gilded Age, watch House of Guinness or any of these TV dramas, or go back to Pride and Prejudice, and you have all a class of nobility that had large estates and wives who would be in the height of fashion every season, but they’re all skint.
“I think the biggest thing in my opinion is that financial flexing has gone from being utterly aspirational historically – where there was no way Mrs Smith, who lived in a poor area of London, was going to be able to try to keep up with Lord Salisbury, and they might not even have been aware that these people had these dresses or luxuries.
“I feel like social media, in some ways, has been the great equaliser, and in some ways, it’s been the great punisher because such affluence is pushed in your face.
“You do also need a certain amount of money to financially flex, because you need to be able to either access credit or pay for these things upfront, but it does mean leaving yourself short elsewhere. Our grandmothers did it, it’s just the scale of financial flexing has changed. Back then, they were competing with Bridie who lived five doors down. Today, you’re competing with Tony in London because that’s what is accessible to you across social media.”
The FOMO effect
Ford uses the example of Drunk Elephant, a “gentle” skincare brand launched in Houston, Texas, in 2013 by Tiffany Masterson, a mother of four who struggled to find products suitable for her sensitive skin.
The bright packaging and natural ingredients found an unlikely set of followers thanks to its TikTok “smoothies”. Suddenly, young children and tweens wanted/needed to have this brand and Masterson’s company exploded in popularity as birthdays and Christmas wish lists included €80 face creams for users who had no disposable income of their own.
“Suddenly, Christmas lists were €700-plus between these skincare products, Uggs and whatever else is the popular choice of the moment. Children have no concept that they are asking for something so unaffordable. And then parents don’t want to be the ones saying no and of course, it means they are squeezed and spending more than they have.
“You had the great Chanel uplift from a few years ago as well when Chanel reassessed all its products and decided they were undervalued, so it upped them. And when it did this, everyone else followed. I think what we have to start addressing is that this type of shopping just isn’t feasible for a lot of people, even if it’s the popular thing to do.
“I think it’s a time for people to be brave and honest with people around them when it comes to spending money. The way to counteract financial flexing is a bit of honesty and that’s embarrassing and painful. But taking a step back and using that honesty to suggest something you can actually stretch to will take the heat out of the moment.”
A stand is under way. FinTok, the financial corner of TikTok which has long promoted budgeting tips and “no spending” challenges throughout the year, is already making noises around financial flexing.
As we embark on the final weeks of 2025, consumer rebellion is already extending to an upsurge in social media posts around financial literacy.
So while one cohort of Gen Z continues to financially flex, an even larger number of that same generation is encouraging a far healthier approach to money, understanding its value and how easily it can be taken away. For the rest of us, it’s a trend worth following and one that might even make 2026 a less financially stressful year.
You can contact us at OnTheMoney@irishtimes.com with personal finance questions you would like to see us address. If you missed last week’s newsletter, you can read it here.
