Brides on a Budget - Part 1

Brides on a Budget

Part 1 of a 4-part series

Congratulations, you have been promoted to Fiancé!!!

As you start to plan your wedding you could be shocked at the average cost of a wedding today. This year’s average wedding cost just over $33,000. Knowing most brides and grooms are paying for their own weddings, we wanted to give you some tips to help you plan.

Set your budget before you start planning for the wedding. There is a Wedding Budget Worksheet in your copy of The Wedding Guide and on the website. How much saving do currently have to use towards your wedding? Planners suggest that you save 20% of your monthly income during your engagement to use towards the wedding. Where is the 20% going to come from, you ask? Here are some suggestions.

Have you ever calculated what you spend on your morning coffee from Starbucks? On average one probably spends about $5 a day at the coffee shop. Multiply that by 5 days then by 4 weeks and you’ve spent $100 just on coffee; that you could have made at home for less than $10. And, if both of you have this routine you could save about $190 a month by making coffee at home. Invest in a coffee pot if you don’t have one and spend $15 on a travel coffee mug.

Pack your lunch! If you’re eating out during the work week you’re conservatively spending $10 a day, 5 days a week, times 4 weeks, times 2 people. You just saved $400 a month by eating leftovers for lunch.

Forgo the weekly movie night and save $40 week/ $160 month. If you sign up for Netflix for $10 a month you could save $150 a month.

The average engagement time is about one year. If you made these minor adjustments, you could save almost $9,000 for the year towards the wedding!

As you are planning your wedding be sure to keep a close eye your spending. It’s very easy to be in the store and see something and think it’s only $20 and buy it with money that was not allocated for wedding expenses. These spontaneous purchases will throw your budget off.

Here are a few suggestions to help with managing your budget.

Open a separate bank account specifically for the wedding. Use it only for wedding purchases.

Consider applying for a rewards credit card. Such as one that offers airline miles or cash back to go toward the wedding expense. But don’t let it back fire! Only spend what you can afford to pay-off in full each month. Otherwise, you could create a credit card balance that will have to be paid after the wedding and the rewards could easily end up being less than the interest charges.

Watch next week for Part 2 on Brides on a Budget to see how to reduce cost and save money while planning your wedding.