The Rise of 'Main Character Money' – Are You Spending for the Plot?

The psychology of main character spending is a new phenomenon that has creeped into the personal finance world through TikTok and Instagram. How do we define main character money? Essentially, this is what happens when main character energy takes over your wallet.

The world of TikTok and Instagram, and the aesthetic culture it’s created, has made people view their circumstances differently. On the face of it, main character energy is a harmless online quirk. It’s about backing yourself as the star of your own show, having the confidence to write your own story and be the main character. Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City vibes.

Money is a big part of this, or more specifically the lifestyle it can afford. Main character luxury spending is a natural outcome as people move to put themselves first in what is also an expression of self-care. The main character doesn’t wait for their turn – the main character books that holiday they’ve always wanted, makes that big city move, buys that dream outfit. Whatever it is, main character energy leads to narrative-based spending. The sentiment is positive. Money can’t buy you happiness BUT it can temporarily cheer you up.

Living like a main character budget isn’t a bad thing, as long as there crucially is a real budget to back this up.

Am I spending for the plot?

This can quickly come down to aesthetic spending vs practical spending. The former is rarely sensible or wise. Main characters don’t celebrate themselves by getting their boiler serviced for instance. Instead it’s about splurging and “retail therapy”.

Emotional spending habits can of course be harmful and the people who are most likely to advocate “main character energy” are potentially the most vulnerable. Statistics show the average age of a regular TikTok user is someone in their early twenties, and this is the same cohort most likely to be struggling the most with the cost of living. People in their early twenties statistically have the lowest in savings, pay the highest proportion of their salary on rent and will have the most modest incomes as they are earlier in their careers.

This financial situation can easily lead to emotional spending. Psychological studies suggest millions of people in their early twenties, unhappy with their financial situation, will become susceptible to images of wealth and comfort on TikTok and Instagram. This aesthetic culture can be very persuasive and easily lead to retail therapy spending.

However, like any expenditure – from a cup of coffee in the morning to a 10-night stay in Dubai – this needs to be affordable. Main character energy is a fun notion but not one grounded in reality. For example, we rarely see main characters in TV and film worry about money if it isn’t material to the plot. In the world of fiction main characters have different lives and we understandably don’t see their day-to-day of budgeting, commuting, having to contend with a flat share etc.

Simply put, main character energy is all fun and games until it starts damaging your finances. At this point it’s important to remember what is displayed on TikTok and Instagram is just social media content, and not a guide on how to live life.

Avoiding unnecessary spending

Retail therapy will not fill a void, and if anything could create long-term damage.

It may sound odd but getting hold of your finances has a better chance of delivering real main character energy and gaining control of your circumstances. Influencer culture and FOMO spending habits can be harmful, which is why it’s important to focus on the reality and not what is pushed forward by algorithms on Tik Tok and Instagram.

As such, here are some simple ways to manage you personal finance while still celebrating main character energy:

• Get your house in order. Our lives are constantly changing, from job changes to house moves, and our finances can easily get messy as a result. Take time to go through your finances and have a spring clean – update your contact info, cancel outstanding direct debits, review the terms of accounts you’re already signed up to. You could be easily losing money every month through fees that could easily be cancelled.
• Review your outgoings. In a similar way to cancelling old direct debits, have a look through your past statements and see where you spend the most money. Is it worth it? This isn’t about the surface level and lazy criticism that many people face around paying for too many coffees, but are there simple areas where you pay too much? For instance, do you need a gym membership to get fit if you only use the treadmill when you could run outside for free?
• Automate your savings. It’s great to have goals but be smart about it. Calculate how much your goal is (a deposit, holiday etc) and then work out how much you can afford to set aside each month. You can easily set up an automatic savings tool that puts this sum away each month for you. Saving is a hard thing to stick to, but this simple step can easily get it sorted.

It may not chime with the aesthetic culture we face online every day, but financial freedom – or at the very least smart spending habits – can be a sensible and realistic way to celebrate your main character energy.