Gay money is big money
I’m a size queen when it comes to money, and even more so when it comes to gay money. Here’s why gay money matters and how we can all get more.
The Gay Benjamins
In the USA, the purchasing power of gay money is estimated at almost $1 trillion! That’s more than the Asian, African American and Hispanic communities. Relative to population, the money for gays is huge. In fact it was around 14 percent all Disposable income in the United States in 2016. Globally, our purchasing power increases to $3.7 trillion.
Gay money is important
Why should we talk about gay money? Because size matters.
Since gay money makes up nearly 14 percent of disposable income in the U.S., that means the queer community has a big influence on how America spends. This means that as a community, we must use our money to influence the national dialogue and create positive change for the queer community.
Our purchasing power is the reason we are seeing an increase in marketing to the queer community. It was in 2015 when many companies welcomed the queer community with open arms. Companies like MassMutual, Campbell’s Soup, Kohl’s, Ikea and Chevrolet went digital and visual to mass markets and said, “We’ve opened our doors to gay money.”
However, as we learned in 2016, we still have concerns about equity at both the state and federal levels. For example, there are still 30 states where a queer person can be fired based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. That’s why it’s important that we remain vigilant and recognize the power of our gay money.
However, gay money is strength
However, our strength lies in how we spend our gay money, and our spending is incredibly different from the spending of our straight counterparts.
Gay and lesbian couples earn more than heterosexual couples. The average lesbian couple earns $7,200 more and the average gay couple earns $8,000 more than our straight peers, according to Experian. The inequality in spending is even greater.
According to the Williams Institute, nearly 80% of queer couples are not raising children. According to a 2013 USDA study, raising a child from birth to age 18 currently costs about $245,000, not including college costs. As queer couples, we forego a major expense that many of our heterosexual partners don’t make.
There is a great opportunity for the queer community to make our gay money more impactful. When used strategically, our dollars can create positive change for years to come.
Are you putting your gay money to good use?
How you spend your money is up to you. However, I want to share with you a few facts and ways to make your gay money more impactful for you and the queer community.
In the 2012 Prudential LGBT Financial Experience Survey, queer households had, on average, just $6,000 more in savings than heterosexual households, that is, heterosexual households with those $245,000 children.
Do you see the opportunity? A significant portion of what could be saved is spent.
Where do we spend our money? According to the 2016 Prudential LGBT Financial Experience Survey, we spend our gay money to feel good.
John and I spent years this way. This is how we acquired $51,000 in credit card debt. Over time, we have learned that in adulthood we make up for the low self-esteem of our childhood. While this brought temporary joy, it brought long-term unhappiness and did not benefit us or our queer community.
The Gay Money Challenge
Despite our strength, we still face challenges. Like for example:
The opportunity with our gay money
What can you do to better serve yourself and the queer community? We have five suggestions for how you can use your gay money:
- Save more of your income – Save enough in your employer-sponsored retirement plan to keep up with your employer, otherwise you’ll be leaving money on the table.
- Earn more money – Increase your income streams by starting your own gay blog.
- Avoid debt – Stay or become and stay debt-free. Get on the list to pay off your credit card debt quickly.
- Spend within the family – If even 10% of our $917 billion were spent in the queer community, we would create and retain vast amounts of wealth to become even stronger and more influential.
- Vote with your money – If you can’t spend money in the queer community, spend money at companies that support the queer community.
I believe in a strong queer community. We must build our community on a financially strong foundation. A financially strong foundation means we avoid the financial distractions of student loans, mortgages, and consumer debt and save and spend our gay money wisely.