The Best Budgeting Trick I Learned From TikTok

By Beelinger Staff
Estimated read time: 4 minutes

If you told me last year that a TikTok video would finally help me understand budgeting, I would’ve laughed (and kept doom-scrolling).

But one viral budgeting hack hit different—and it’s the first method I’ve actually stuck with for more than a week.

The TikTok Hack: Budget With Highlighters

Here’s how it works:

1. Print your last month’s bank statement.
2. Grab 4 different colored highlighters.
3. Color-code every expense:
   • Blue = Essentials (rent, groceries)
   • Orange = Wants (takeout, Target)
   • Green = Income
   • Red = Regrets (stuff you wish you didn’t buy)

I was shook by how much red there was—and how little blue. It made everything visual, fast, and real.

Why This Worked (When Everything Else Didn’t)

Here’s why this TikTok trick worked for me:

• ✔️ It was low-pressure: no spreadsheets, no logins
• ✔️ It forced me to see patterns in my spending
• ✔️ I didn’t need an app or budget category system to start

It wasn’t about guilt. It was about awareness. That one printout showed me I was spending 4x more on takeout than on groceries—and didn’t even realize it.

How I Took It to the Next Level

Once I had a better sense of my spending, I downloaded You Need A Budget (YNAB) to go digital. It made my budgeting smarter—but that TikTok trick made it possible.

Now I do a mini “color check” every month. It’s like a spending highlight reel—and yes, I still cringe when I see the red.

One $0 trick changed the way I budget. And I found it between cat videos. Thanks, TikTok.