Congratulations on your recent engagement. Now it's time for all the fun wedding planning! It can be stressful planning a wedding with all the extra costs you now have to consider to make your special day come together. We suggest starting your planning process with a detailed plan on how you are going to pay for your wedding. Here are five tips on saving for your special day.
Start by creating a detailed budget that includes all the expenses you'll incur for your wedding. Hop on to wedding websites like Zola where you can find better overall cost estimates to help better guide your budgeting. Once you have an estimate of how much your wedding will cost, you can work out how much you need to save each month.
Decide on a savings goal for your wedding, and ensure it’s realistic! Consider how long you have until your wedding day and divide your savings goal by the number of months. This will show you how much you need to save each month to reach your goal.
Look closely at your current expenses and see where you can cut back. This might mean cooking at home more often instead of eating out, canceling subscription services you don't use, or cutting out expensive vacations and planning staycations.
Consider taking on a side job or freelance work to earn extra income that you can put toward your wedding savings. This could be anything from finding a side hustle, selling items on Etsy, or Uber driving.
Make saving for your wedding a priority. Set up automatic transfers to a separate savings account and avoid dipping into that account for anything other than wedding expenses. Consider a high-yield savings account so that you can grow your savings faster than traditional savings accounts. Keep your eye on the prize and remind yourself why you’re saving – for your wedding.
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So there you have it; planning your special day can be stress-free and affordable when you do some heavy lifting, in the beginning, to budget, cut costs, and save where you need. Once you have your savings in order, booking your venue, vendors, and everything else will be a breeze.