Poll: How did/is everyone saving money for the big day?

Original post by prncssrachel

Apr 22, 2003 09:39 PM

I am totally freaking out about where to start with the whole saving process. We have two years, but need to save quite a bit of money. My parents are paying for a majority of the wedding, which I am soooooooo thankful for, but we are up there in the amount of what we have left to pay for. FH is still in school and I am working full time and I just don't know how in the world we are supposed to save ANYTHING when we just make ends meet as it is. I was just wondering what everyone else did or is doing to save money. I need help!

Thrilled Posted: Apr 23, 2003 12:11 PM

Re: Poll: How did/is everyone saving money for the big day?

We sat down with our salaries/budgets and figured out that absolute maximum we could save each paycheck. We get paid on staggered weeks so every week some $$ is going in to the wedding fund. We put the acct at an obscure little bank in Queens with no ATM cards or access other than physically going in to the back to deposit/withdraw money. LOL. FH knows me too well.

We have managed to save a ton even tho at the end of the day we are still 2K short. We'll dig it up from somwhere I guess!

KarenK122 Posted: Apr 23, 2003 12:17 PM

Re: Poll: How did/is everyone saving money for the big day?

We are able to bank almost my entire salary so I think 'fingers crossed' that we will be at our exact amount we need or a little over by the time June rolls around. Our engagement will only be 9 months so we were very carefull about the budgeting.

Scoop Posted: Apr 23, 2003 12:31 PM

Re: Poll: How did/is everyone saving money for the big day?

We opened up a separate wedding account as well. Each paycheck we both put XX amount of money in it. Next step: we stopped going out to dinner & drinks, shopping, etc. (The trick is to withdraw only the amount you think you will need for food and commute, and only withdraw once a week.) The rest put it into the account.

Good luck!

mims107 Posted: Apr 23, 2003 12:44 PM

Re: Poll: How did/is everyone saving money for the big day?

We also opened a separate wedding account. Basically he is covering all the major bills and I am saving for the wedding. My car insurance and payments and basic spending money are coming out of my pay, but most of my pay is going right into wedding. We have a minimum that we must put away a month, but when I can I put away more.

If (I stress if) we keep it up like this we will have the reception paid off a year before the wedding!!! then I will have a year to pay off flowers, etc. and mom is paying for music, so we should be ok!

I did NOT think we were going to be able to do it at first, but now that we are on a strict budget it seems a lot easier!

I am glad to get on a budget, because if we can do it for hte wedding we will be able to continue a budget and save so that we can do home improvements, college funds, and all that for the future!

Annemarie13 Posted: Apr 23, 2003 12:52 PM

Re: Poll: How did/is everyone saving money for the big day?

We decided on a budget first because our priority is to own a house so we are not having a huge wedding.(140 people) PLus we are paying for EVERYTHING ourselves.AFter setting our budget, we opened up a joint account and put a set amount of dollars in per week for the next year. Every month or two, I check our account and make sure the budget is still correct and we are not over.

And I had to change my lifestyle a bit. I cant just go shopping whenver I want now.

prncssrachel Posted: Apr 23, 2003 01:21 PM

Re: Poll: How did/is everyone saving money for the big day?

My biggest problem is that FH is only able to work part time because of school, so he only makes measly money, and my paychecks only leave us with very very minimal amounts of money left over. I feel like we have no right to be considering a wedding if we have no money. Like I said before, I think we are going to move in with his parents for a few months when we move back to LI. As much as I will miss our privacy, it will only be temporary and we can save everything we need in a little over 6 months. It's kind of like a crash diet of saving, but I just can't see it happening other than doing that. FH won't be done with school for another year, so his financial situation will not be looking up anytime soon. I am just so stressed out! The good thing is that we actually saved the money for our wedding rings in about 4 weeks, so we went and purchased them before we could even think about it going to other things. I don't know, hopefully it will all work out.

itsbouttime Posted: Apr 23, 2003 01:43 PM

Re: Poll: How did/is everyone saving money for the big day?

I work 2 jobs and FH works every minute of OT that is offered to him. And we also just watch what it is that we spend money on. Cut out alot of the nonsense that is not necessary in our lives. (We are paying for almost the entire wedding ourselves so we have been very strict with our spending!)

kelly6273 Posted: Apr 23, 2003 01:46 PM

Re: Poll: How did/is everyone saving money for the big day?

We also open a 'Wedding Account' about six months before we got engaged. We put x amount in every week.

DrmnBlnd Posted: Apr 23, 2003 02:03 PM

Re: Poll: How did/is everyone saving money for the big day?

We also opened a seperate savings account. Every paycheck, I put money in, plus tax refunds and gifts. We also stopped going out so much, and stopped any frivilous spending that was not necessary.

HearzBellz Posted: Apr 23, 2003 03:01 PM

Re: Poll: How did/is everyone saving money for the big day?

We opened a joint interest bearing savings account with ING...we put 15% of our weekly regular paycheck PLUS all our overtime pay PLUS whatever we used to spend in leisure (drinking $$) and we quit smoking, so that extra money also goes in.

We also are putting all of the money that people are giving for our engagement presents.

Now if I could only figure out how we can get the house...

bird Posted: Apr 23, 2003 03:28 PM

Re: Poll: How did/is everyone saving money for the big day?

We did not open a separate savings account because it is way too hard to save realistically and I applaud those that can. What we do is he totally pays for the wedding - We live off of my paycheck and then put his whole check toward the wedding every month since he gets paid once a month. And yes we are also living together and have loans, bills, etc. It's a real scarifice but worth it. We haven't bough a new pair of jeans or gone on a vacation for a whoile year!!!!

Now our wedding is less than a year away so that's why we're saving so much per month because we refuse to charge anything or take out a loan. Since your wedding is a while away you guys could use his whole paycheck every week just for the wedding. You could even book your reception hall or photographers (the two most expensive things) now and make monthly payments...that way you'll definitely have your date reserved and won't have to worry about not saving - you'll be forced to pay every month....

prncssrachel Posted: Apr 23, 2003 03:59 PM

Re: Poll: How did/is everyone saving money for the big day?

Good advice. I am good when I know I have a definite payment. I'm never late on payments, but saving is soooooo hard. I mean, we've cut our grocery list down to like 40 bucks a week and we don't EVER go out, yet still I don't know where the money goes. But I will be forced to pay that way. Good thinking! Keep the advice coming girls! Thanks!

Jenn524 Posted: Apr 23, 2003 05:15 PM

Re: Poll: How did/is everyone saving money for the big day?

We live together already so it may have been a little easier for us. We have a joint savings account and every paycheck for the last year or so I've had money deposited directly into our savings account from my paycheck. I don't miss the money at all and it's helped us save an incredible amount of money. I don't know what your money situation is but my suggestion would be to look over your finances and figure out how much money you can live without each month. Have your company directly deposit that amount each paycheck and you'll see how much you can save.

endlessluv429 Posted: Apr 23, 2003 05:28 PM

Re: Poll: How did/is everyone saving money for the big day?

the first business day after we got engaged we opened a joint savings for the wedding only. we didn't have an E-party, but we got a lot of $$ gifts from my family. Even though my parents are giving us a lot of money I am worried more so about AFTER the wedding (rent and LIFE) lol then the actual wedding. We totally stopped spending money and buying anything for ourselves, besides the necessities and a little luxury item every once in a blue.

This sounds really stupid but we save ALL of our change and let me tell you we have saved hundreds of dollars that way. even if it pays for some of the honeymoon or something else--it's worth it. We also got Disney Visa Cards so we can earn reward points towards our honeymoon (of course that will only work if you are going to Disney on your honeymoon!) I have my mom and grandma saving all their change for us as well!! lol as if they aren't already paying for most of the wedding! lol

whenever we have extra after bills we put it in the bank. We try to save as much as possible from our checks everytime we get paid. And I am buying little things along the way, favors, a lot of stuff for our apartment (my mom is picking up stuff too to help out) this way I can register for really nice stuff! LOL IMO, it really helps to buy stuff as you go along--lessens the blow! just put your mind to it and you will be fine!