How can I save money on a wedding!!

"Mom, we're getting married!" one of your children comes home and says with great excitement!!  You knew this day would come but you weren't expecting it so soon.  You have a little bit saved up but what are you going to do about the rest?  You want to make it memorable but don't want to break the bank.  According to http://www.costofwedding.com/  on average, US couples spend $24,066 for their wedding. However, the majority of couples spend between $18,050 and $30,083. I checked other sites and they estimate about $20,000 on the low side and about $40,000 on the high side.  Also, on http://www.costofwedding.com/  I took a wedding survey.  Let me tell you what I found.  In my hometown, if I were to plan a wedding it would cost me between 28,000 and 47,000.
Do not fret!!  There are several ways to pay for yours or your children's nuptuals without breaking the bank.

Do you have to be extravagant to make your wedding day memorable or are there some things you can do to cut the costs of getting married?

We spent between 3000 and $5,000 on our wedding and here are some of the things we did it.

• Jody worked at a print shop and she made our wedding announcements.  Not everybody has the luxury of working in a print shop but you can buy announcements and make your own.    $25

• Jody's mom made the wedding cake and did a great job!                                                 $30 
• We reserved our church and decorated it with some decorations we purchased.               $50
• We had a friend who was studying photography who took our pictures                             $200
• We asked a friend of ours who worked in horticulture to arrange our flowers                    $200
  
• Knowing you looked for and found ways to scale back on the price of your wedding      Priceless

Some of these options may not be available for you but if you seek for other options instead of the easy idea of calling an expensive shop you'll be able to find ways to cut down on the price of your wedding but still have an elegant and beautiful day.

This is an important day, one which you should enjoy and be proud of, but don't get caught up in the line of thinking, "This is a once in a lifetime event and you need the best".  If you do you may be paying for a long time with a lot of interest.

You can either spend a lot on your wedding or scale back significantly and use some of the money and put  a down payment on a house.  This will pay you in the long run as you begin to build equity.  May you have a wonderful day filled with love, friends, and family.

Thank you,

Greg and Jody Roche
Be Frugal Live Wealthy

PS.  Next week we'll discuss Inexpensive Activities you can do for Spring Break

A note of caution when donating money to important causes

Japan has experienced one of the most challenging natural disasters in the last century.  Most of you have seen footage of the powerful 23-foot waves come in from the western shore of Japan mowing down whatever was in its wake including homes, large buildings, businesses etc.  Our heart goes out to the many thousands of people who have lost their lives and the families and friends that were left behind.

With the thousands of deaths and damages that accompanied the disaster many causes will pop up on the internet, grocery store counters, email requests, etc. with opportunities to donate to the cause of the people in Japan.  Just a note of caution, be careful to choose reputable causes to which to donate your hard-earned money.  Make sure and read their prospectus and financial statements, and do other research which may be required.

With many telemarketers calling requesting donations to one charity or another I have found that donating to my church gives me comfort.  I've seen the causes that they donate to and I trust the administrator of the money, and these are some good criteria to use when choosing a charity.

I found a great site that helps us determine to whom to donate our money.  Here are some of the tips which they give:

• Wait and See how the charities will donate
• Designate your investment-You can designate your donation to go to this particular crisis
• Be careful of email solicitations-Be Leery Of People That Contact You Online Claiming To Be A Victim
• Consider The Nature Of The Charity’s Work-Not every charity responds in the same way

May you find peace and comfort donating to good causes which will benefit the lives of many who are suffering through a disaster.

Thank you,

Greg and Jody Roche
Be Frugal Live Wealthy

How to save money on your vacation

As we've been planning our summer vacation this year, we're looking forward to visiting and reconnecting with family.  This year we are focusing on something we haven't done in the past-we're working on a cash only policy.  In years past we've put everything on a credit card and deal with the costs when we return home.  As we've learned from previous posts you spend 20-30% more money when you use a credit card.  So with this year we have to be more frugal in our choices.  Here are some things that we have found to help us out:

Start with a $ goal amount in mind-Are we going to spend $1000, $2,000, or $5,000, or $10,000 on this vacation?  This will help you keep your unnecessary costs down.  Be realistic when setting this goal because if you don't, it may cause stress, and you'll come home more stressed than when you left.

Plan ahead-Plan ahead including your routes, restaurant and motel or hotel stops.  Mapquest is a great way to help you determine your routes; are you looking for the quickest route or the scenic route?

Allow some time and money flexibility - Even though this is a personal finance blog aimed at helping you save money on all facets of your life you want to make sure you are not so planned that you are adding stress to your life and the lives of your family members.  Sometimes the best experiences are those that are done on the spur of the moment.

If you're taking a vacation to include flight, hotels and rental cars take a look at this video, it may give you some tips to help you save money.

Here are some more tips to help you plan a successful vacation:  http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/01/15/ten-money-saving-vacation-and-travel-tips/

http://consumerboomer.com/20-ways-to-save-money-on-your-vacation/

As we get on vacation we'll keep you posted on some of the things that we've done to help save money.  Share with us some of your tips for fun, economic vacationing and have a great Summer!!

Greg and Jody Roche
Be Frugal Live Wealthy