Totally Freaking out about $$$$!!!!

Me and FH are struggling really bad these past few months to stay afloat which means no extra savings for the wedding......We still have to come up with another 12K!!! Thats 1K dollars a month I dont know how this is gonna work!! We are struggling just to buy groceries right now!!! So I am freaking out and have this really gnarly knot in my stomach!!! Its all I can think about!!!! On top of it all we still have to finish Christmas shopping!! Arrrrgggg!!

i know the feeling...we need 2k a month for the wedding

we are not doing christmas presents...i am getting my mom and the rest of the family we are doing a 50 dollar grab bag

I told everyone that I cant afford it and everyone understood

it's a sacrifice but us brides can do it!!

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Posted by LoveyDovey

i know the feeling...we need 2k a month for the wedding

we are not doing christmas presents...i am getting my mom and the rest of the family we are doing a 50 dollar grab bag

I told everyone that I cant afford it and everyone understood

it's a sacrifice but us brides can do it!!

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my family is doing the same thing...I am only buying a gift for my 12 yr old sis, and 2 god daughter...

A lot of girls get part time jobs and your tax returns could be helpful. I feel ur pain though

You're not alone.

I worry about money every day and I have cut out everything that I once never thought twice about (manis, pedis, starbucks, car washes, etc.)

Awww I hear you girl - we are all struggling esp if you are doing this solo and no help is coming but what save FH and I is getting realistic....I was in LaLa land with our orginial budget and then when you look at your checkbook - Life got REAL fast. God forbidden anything happen - our wedding bill will be enough for the other to take over. and thats how we need to all think for rent, utilities or any other future expense that we plan to add on our plate. You just never know - cant bank on anything ( tax return, funds for family members)... You just never know. Im not saying become a CHEAPO but just think about tomorrow - because when it rains, it RAINS HARD!!!!!!!!!!!

HERE ARE SOME TIPS I found online, from other LIW brides and from me! I hope everything works out for you and dont want you to stress out

•Communicate:
Contact your creditors, as well as your landlord, and communicate with them and tell them exactly what is going on. You need to be very honest about every part of your financial picture. You can ask for a lower temporary rent payment, or even ask for a skipped payment schedule. The landlord and creditors will appreciate you being proactive, and in many cases they would rather keep you as a tenant than have to evict you, as it can cost them thousands of dollars to go through the eviction process, market the site, find a new tenant, run background checks on the new tenant, etc. It is many times in their best interest to work with you.

•Reduce expenses:
You need to immediately reduce your expenses. Cancel everything that you can - cell phones, cable TV, processed foods, etc. Each as cheaply as you can...mac and cheese, powered milk, etc. As every dollar in lower expenses can help with paying your bills and rent.

•Contact your utility company:
You need to ask them what kind of payment plans they have for people in need or experiencing financial hardship. You may have to show them a lot of documentation of your condition, but it will be worth it if you can save on or skip a couple electric bills. You need to free up money by saving on utility bills.

•dont overextend yourself with the wedding - get basic packages and if more $$ comes then upgrade (( thanks Ray))

•after the wedding, you still need to eat - so save $$$ for next couple of months for livings (( thanks Alicia)) Try and find a part time job if feasible.

•pay off your debts first ( if applicable)!! if you think wedding saving is hard now - it only gets harder when saving for house and when children get involved - so start paying off small debts and work your way up

trust, i know what its like to stress over $$$ its no fun but maybe you can reassess and make some changes before you affect your health.. I ended up in the hospital 2 months ago so I realized im not going to let this wedding planning kill my A$$ b/c @ the end of the day - one day isnt worth it!

you are not alone fh has been picking up overtime at his job and i work 2 full time jobs at this moment (i unfortunately turned my part time job to full time) and have been trying to pick up over time. Christmas is going to be rough this year.

Skip Christmas this year...that is what FH and I are doing. We just cannot afford it.

Our xmas is seriously limited. I usually totally spoil him but this year he is getting one thing. I usually spend about a 100 on each of my nieces and nephew (4 kids total) but this year I stayed under 40. It's hard because I love buying gifts but it is what it is.

FH and I did not do a good job budgeting in the beginning and we are paying the price now. I just hope that taxes help, that I find a new job and he can find a new job. Plus, we thought he would be in the NYPD academy but he just barely missed being called. (They got to his test but not list). So who knows when he will be called now.

I was planning to skip Christmas this year but i just bought my parents' gifts....so i feel like i need to get everyone gifts now.

UGH!!


As far as budgeting, we are bringing lunch to work, cooking more at home, limiting ourselves to one night out and staying local....it's worked well for us.

Its hard but do what you can... Can anyone help you guys out with the costs??