Did you know that more than 51% of LGBTQ+ people have less than $5,000 in their savings? According to a recent financial report, almost 20% of queer people lack a savings account altogether.
This is why we need to talk about budgeting for the LGBQT+ community. Especially if you’re planning to start a family.
We want you to walk away from this article feeling empowered to start budgeting and/or perfect your budget like never before. So here are the five reasons budgeting is important for the queer community.
While more than half of LGBTQ+ people self-identify as savers, this report suggests we spend a lot more than we save.
In fact, this study finds that queer people overspend on expenses like going out, entertainment and personal care rather than saving money, especially young queers between the ages 25-34.
Some of those reasons being:
If going out is important to you, that is OK. You can start budgeting by keeping your leisurely expenses to less than 25% of each paycheck.
This is another important reason to start budgeting as a queer person.
We know that in order to feel comfortable with where we live, the cost of living is higher. Some of the most queer-friendly cities in the US are also the most expensive. These cities include:
Whereas places with some of the lowest costs of living—such as West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arkansas—are not only less queer-friendly but even have anti-LGBTQ laws put in place.
What this means is that budgeting is a must. You can use this free budgeting calculator to go through your monthly spending.
There is no doubt that it is more expensive for queer people to have children vs. heterosexual couples. We require family creation methods that simply aren’t cheap with fees that add up very quickly.
And while starting a family is expensive for anyone (roughly $12,980 per child per year), let’s take a look at some of the average costs for the most common LGBTQ+ family creation methods:
If you’re planning to start a family, you should start budgeting now. You can never be too financially prepared to bring a baby home.
According to the Philadelphia Center for Transgender Surgery, the average cost of gender confirmation surgeries range between $1,500 to $26,000. However, if your care requires multiple surgeries, these numbers can spike above six figures.
Here are several ways you can start budgeting for your care:
If you’re planning to cover the costs of gender-affirming care, having a mapped out budget will make the process a lot smoother, knowing you’re financially prepared.
It’s true—queer people make less money than cis folks.
This pay gap is widest for transgender people and queer women of color, according to an NBC News report. On average, queer women make 12% less than straight women throughout the workplace.
These pay disparities impact our budgets tenfold, which is why it’s important to take action and start budgeting as a queer person.
Budget like your life depends on it. Seriously. Here at Daylight Grow, we couldn’t be more empathetic to the financial strains that queer people face across the board.
If you need help mapping out a budget, whether you’re starting a family, getting gender-affirming care, or simply need a place to begin, you can always reach out to our team at info@joindaylight.com.
Disclaimer: The content provided on this blog post is not intended to provide legal, investment or financial advice and is not tailored to anyone’s specific circumstances. For any specific advice about your current circumstances, you may want to consult with a qualified professional. Any information or statistical data provided by Daylight Grow is used for informational purposes only. While Daylight Grow finds this information to be accurate, we do not endorse or guarantee any third-party content.
