I dont know where to save.... help!
I get paid $2600 a month
Expenses:
I pay $760 to my parents to help pay for the mortage and groceries
I pay $311 towards my student loan, this a 10 year repayment plan, 9 more years to go. Ouch, I want to pay this off in the next five years
$299 per month for the car payment, 3 year financing
$201 for car insurance (young driver)
$200 for gas, I drive almost an hour and half for work everyday
$62 for cellphone for me and my dad, a combo plan
$160-200 spending money (trying to cut that down)
$40 gym membership (i'm actually using it, I go to the gym 3 times a week before work, trying to anyways)
That brings the total expenses to $2073
I put $300 into a TD waterhouse account(saving for wedding, we are planning on getting married in less than 2 years)
I put $350 into my ING account (me and my boyfriend are trying to save for a down payment, we want to put at least 13% downpayment)
I dont know where I can cut down to accelerate my debt repayment plan, any suggestions to decrease my discretionary spending such as gifts, clothes, food
Budget
June 23rd, 2006 at 02:57 am
June 23rd, 2006 at 05:55 am 1151042145
I'm not sure what kind of wedding you are planning, but an afternoon ceremony is generally cheaper than a night wedding. If you have the wedding at 2, you can skip serving a meal at the reception and just have coffee, tea, punch, cake, and maybe some nuts and mints. Also, having it on a weekday is usually cheaper than having it on a weekend. Even if it is at night on that weekday, its still usually cheaper than a Saturday one at 2 p.m.
Flowers are very easy to do. When I was preparing for my wedding, I rented videos from the library on how to arrange wedding flowers and make bows, it taught centerpieces, swags, boutiniers, corsages and bouquets. Buy silk flowers, a few vases, florest tape and ribbon. Buy it early on so you can experiement and get the hang of it. I did all my own flowers and made pew bows with stuff I bought at Michael's Crafts and JoAnn's Fabrics. Use the same floral arrangements for the reception as the wedding. We had my teenaged neice and nephew carry the arrangements downstairs to the reception. You can rent vase pedastals and candlelabras from a rental shop. Or see if your family has something. We used a five candle silver candlelabra at our wedding reception and my SIL's wedding that had been a gift from all of us to MIL and FIL for their 25th Anniversary. It meant a lot.
Buy one or two rolls of tulle in wedding colors (not in the bridal section unless you have to, in the fabric section, same stuff at a lesser price), cut them into 6 inch squares, put in jelly beans or candy kisses, tie with contrasting colored ribbon and you have wedding favors. If anyone in your family has baskets lying around, you put the favors in those. Wrap tulle around the basket handles.
Order your cake from a grocery store instead of a bakery. Order an anniversary cake instead of a wedding cake. Again, it is the same thing but at a different price.
Order invitation examples from the stationary companies listed in the back of bridle magazines. I found an invitation I liked from several different companies and with different prices. Order your engraved napkins at the same time you order the invitations.
Do not go overboard on your wedding dress. You can get a gorgeous gown under $1000. You are only going to wear it once. What good is a designer label if you never wear it again? Even check with family members about borrowing their dresses. Does your mother have one lying around, or an aunt or sister. Check with the dry cleaners for dresses that were never picked up to see if there is one you like in your size. You may be lucky and they may let you buy it for the price of the cleaning. Or if you are the right size you might be able to wear a sample dress off the rack. Even if you purchase your own dress, does anyone have a veil you can borrow? Wearing your mother's veil would make it more special. Or you can make a veil. They are very easy and you might even be able to find it on one of the floral wedding videos from the library.
Do not buy overpriced shoes. No one will see them most of the time. Simple white ballet slippers can be embellished with pearls and sequins using a glue gun. They will be a lot more comfortable than heels. You can get ballet shoes from Payless Shoe Source for $15 or so. They come in white, black, and pink. They will order them at no charge if they are out of white in your size. Always bring an extra pair of nylons, you will run the first pair.
Pictures are the only place I would not cut back much on. These are your memories and you want them to be good. Do not go with friends who take photos as a hobby. You want a professional. If your friend is a professional see if they will cut you a discount as a wedding present. However, if you get your photos taken before and during the wedding, and do a staged cake cutting beforehand, it is much cheaper than having the photographer stay through the reception. Have Uncle Bob (everyone has an uncle Bob) tape the reception.
Use your friends and family if you can. My mother and father bought my wedding dress as a wedding present to me. MIL and FIL paid for the church and wedding planner that came with it as their present. My sister bought my wedding jewelry as her present to me. My SIL made me a very beautiful garter that was blue ribbon, embellished with antique lace. It was my blue and something old. My favorite cousin made a gorgeous wedding album. The glasses we used for toasting and the cake cutting set we used for serving were gifts from a great aunt of DH's at my bridal shower. We used sparkling cider instead of alcohol. One of my uncle's has an orchard farm and so the cider came from his apples and that was his gift to me.
Once you figure out just how much you need to save for your wedding, than you can decide if that is a place you want to cut.
June 23rd, 2006 at 12:13 pm 1151064801
June 23rd, 2006 at 12:14 pm 1151064896
June 23rd, 2006 at 01:22 pm 1151068976