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

What will you do with your tax refund?

I have just finished filing our taxes and we should receive them in a few days!!  As I consider how we should spend our tax refund I thought to myself, should we spend it on something fun?  Or should we spend it on something like bills, car repairs, or paying down credit card debt?  I checked a couple of sites to see what others were doing with their refunds.  Some spent all their money on themselves, some put it all in the bank or other investment vehicle, but I like the idea of doing a little of both.  I think it's an issue of leverage, what will give you more "bang for your buck"?  For example, if we spend some money on our cars they may last longer, prolonging the time when we have to purchase another car.  I think it's important to go on a vacation with your family and spend quality time with them allowing you to create lasting memories a happy home.

If you find yourself in a position where you're not sure how to spend your refund take a look at this neat site I found as I was researching this entry.  The site is http://www.saveorspend.com/ and it will give you some ideas of how others will spend or have spent their tax refund.

Another article I read titled 5 smart ways to Spend your tax refund talked about 5 goods and services on which you can spend your money.  Some of these items are not only great to have now but keeps your money in your pocket longer.

Take a look at these links and let me know if they helped and if you had some good ways to spend your tax refund.  Next week we'll be discussing "How to most economically prepare for your summer vacation".

Thank you,

Greg and Jody Roche
Be Frugal Live Wealthy

How to create a peaceful financial environment with your spouse

Marriage is a great institution that can bring a lot of joy into our lives.  But even in the best marriages you have conflicts and hurdles that are hard to mitigate.  What is the one thing that married couples argue about most?  Money!!!  Is it the same in your home, or have you found a way to manage your home finances without arguing?  If you have, you're ahead of most of the couples in America.  As promised last time I'm going to discuss some topics and ideas with you today that will help you and your spouse communicate better financially.  Eventually if you're going to be successful financially it will be necessary to discuss finances with your spouse, you'll have to overcome your obstacles.  Here are some suggestions, let me know how they work in your lives.

1)  It all begins with me - Sometimes we have our own issues and challenges about money, perhaps caused by the way we were raised or maybe we've adopted a line of thinking that doesn't lend itself to discussing money with our spouses.  We may have to do some soul searching and determine why we can't discuss money matters with our spouse.

2)  Determine your comfortable dollar amount - I was asked by a friend the other day if we had a "comfortable" dollar amount.  You know, the amount of money you and your spouse can spend without the other's permission.  If you can determine this you may save yourself and your spouse a lot of headache.  I think a lot of the conflicts in marriage is when money is spent without the spouse's knowledge.

3)  Make a plan to discuss your finances - Ask your spouse if they will sit down with you and discuss your financial life.  This should be a time when both are relaxed.  Some like to do it when they're dropped the kids off for ball practice or after the kids have gone to bed.  This shouldn't be when your spouse is at work or in the "heat of the battle". 

4)  If you're the money handler make changes that the "non-money handler" suggests- This is one I learned from Dave Ramsey.  In most marriages one of the spouses does the finances.  This includes paying the bills, allotting allowances, and basically keeping the family on a budget.  Now that you're able to sit down and discuss how you should manage your finances encourage the "non-money handler" handle to make decisions and the money handler should make the requested change, even though you don't feel it's the right move.  This will help the non-money handler to buy into the budget and feel comfortable about making suggestions.  In our home, I do the finances and one of the reasons my wife doesn't like to spend time on finances is because she makes good suggestions and I don't execute the changes.

I have to tell you a neat experience Jody and I had today.  The kids were gone and we were able to sit down for about 45 minutes and go through our bank accounts and spend some time on our spending plan. She was able to ask questions and make suggestions and we were able to work together, and it was a positive experience for both of us.  I came away ver hopeful for future discussions.  It wasn't always like this, I had to make some changes and work more cooperatively, and apply some of her changes

Last of all, I want to share a short video that will help you in your quest to be more united as a couple, avoid conflict, and have more peace and harmony in your home.

Let me know if you have more suggestions that have worked for you and your spouse.

Thank you,

Greg and Jody Roche
Be Frugal Live Wealthy!!!

Tax Time - File your taxes early!!!

Well, it's our favorite time of year again, you guessed it-Tax Time!!  If you haven't already received your W-2 form you should be receiving it in the next couple of days.  Receiving your W-2 is a sign that you can get those taxes done.  For those getting money back it may be something you want to do sooner than later; but for those of you who have to pay April 15 can't be far enough away, so we procrastinate until the very last minute.
I did some research and found a great article to help you save time and money on your taxes.  Included in this article is several ways to make sure your deductions are air-tight and other money management tips.

Click on this link and see how you can save time and money on your taxes and maybe it will act as a catalyst to  help you get going on them.

Take a look at the article and let us know if you have any tips to getting those finances done quickly and efficiently.

Next week we'll talk about how to keep from arguing about money and be on the same page with your spouse.

Have a great week,

Greg and Jody Roche
Be Frugal Live Wealthy

Happy New Year from Be Frugal Live Wealthy!!

Happy New Year from Be Frugal Live Wealthy!!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and enjoyed spending time with friends and family.  I spent time with my family just relaxing and enjoying each other's company.

Now that the VISA bills from Christmas are starting to come in and you may have to pay for Christmas the way most americans do--after the fact, I want to discuss with you a couple of items you may want to do to prepare for the coming year and even prepare for Christmas 2011 so you don't have to go into debt to finance it.

First, if you haven't done so take inventory of those gifts you bought for Christmas 2010 and write down the values so you'll know how much you spent on Christmas.  You may be surprised how much you spent, especially if you didn't plan for it.  If you have some gifts that could be returned because you realize you don't need them or they don't fit right return them and either get cash back, money added back on your account or a gift card.  This will help reduce the financial and physical clutter.

Second, use the values you determined in step one and divide by 12.  This will give you a monthly amount you need to save in order to prepare for Christmas 2011.  Make it automatic by contacting your bank and asking them to take it out of your account on payday so you don't see it.  If you don't see it you won't be tempted to spend it; out of sight out of mind.

Third, Take some time to rebalance your portfolio.  Take a look at this video and look for ways to rebalance your portfolio and get your retirement plan back on track.

Let me know if you have other tips to help our readers prepare for 2011 so they won't go further into debt and push away financial freedom further.