Budgeting For Weddings: Four Cost-Saving Wedding Ideas

 

Weddings are expensive, take months of planning and yet the day itself goes by so fast. If you’re planning a wedding and have a small budget, there are some ways to make the most of your special day and make it as memorable as possible.

Getting the perfect ring

Getting the perfect wedding ring will ensure that it is comfortable to wear for many years, looks amazing, and is a proud reminder of the love and commitment you share with your partner.

Chisholm Hunter wedding rings offer all of this and more. Your wedding ring is one thing you shouldn’t cut corners on, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find one which fits your budget. With a selection of gold, white gold, and platinum, available for the bride and groom to choose from, you can both get the ring you prefer and at a price that doesn’t have to break the bank, with the option to pay in installments.

Choosing an intimate meal over a big party

Choosing a meal at a restaurant with just your closest friends and family means you don’t have to worry about the cost of venue hire, and catering for dozens or even hundreds of guests. If you’re worried about the alcohol bill, you could order a limited number of drinks or bottles of wine for the table, then ask guests to pay for any extra drinks they want to purchase themselves. Although, quite often, you will find some guests drink little or no alcohol, so this can make up for the few people who drink a little more.

Remember, it’s your wedding day, so don’t feel pressured by distant friends or family to invite them, if that doesn’t fit with your budget!

Make use of your home

If you have a large home and/or garden, you might be able to make use of that to lower your wedding costs. You could get married in your garden and hire a marquee. Or you might cater to guests in your home after the ceremony. This leaves you to pay for catering but saves on venue hire.

If you have children, you can let them help with wedding decorations and light household chores, to ensure your home is ready for the big day.

Consider a second-hand dress

It might feel odd to wear a wedding dress somebody has already been married in, but this can save a lot of money. A wedding dress can be the most expensive dress you ever buy, but if things go to plan, you can only expect to wear it once. So, if you can use a dress from another family member and get it adapted to fit and suit you, it could work out much cheaper. Alternatively, you can buy a second-hand wedding dress, and because most are only worn once, it’s likely to be in almost new condition. A simple dry clean can ease any doubts you have.

If your budget feels stretched as you plan your wedding, try scaling back your plans. Make a list of what is important and what doesn’t matter as much. The main thing is to get married surrounded by the people you value the most in a place you feel comfortable.

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Adulting 101: Finding Enough Money In Your Household Budget For Beauty Products #Collaboration

Even if you do not use high-end beauty products and makeup, the costs can still add up. The average UK woman spends nearly £500 a year on beauty products. That is a fair amount of money to find every year. Add in what we spend on our hair and beauty salon treatments and you can see why you need to be good at budgeting to be able to afford to look your best. 

So, today, for a change, I have decided to write about keeping your finances in order. If you do not and you end up in debt, sticking to your preferred beauty routine will be a lot harder. 

Keep track of your savings and investments 

If you are older, you will likely already have a savings account that can be dipped into in an emergency and, probably some form of investments, for example, an ISA or two. If that is the case, you could use this investment app to keep track of them and encourage yourself to invest more. 

You need your money to work hard for you, which means getting as good a return on your savings as you can. With interest rates at an all-time low, you will likely end up deciding to invest some of your cash in shares of property. Provided you get proper independent advice before doing so, you can grow your cash reserves at a faster rate than if you just stuck to traditional saving methods. 

Shop around for the best deals 

Regardless of what you are buying, looking around to see if you can buy it for less is an excellent idea. Using comparison sites will enable you to save money on most of your essential services and utilities. 

Before renewing your insurance, get some quotes to see if you can secure yourself a better deal. Often, you will easily be able to do so. 

Ask for a discount 

Whether you are making major or minor purchases shop around. It is also a good idea to ask for a discount. It is surprising how often stallholders, garages and shop owners will say yes if you just ask. If you are not used to doing this, take a look at this article. It outlines techniques you can use. Reading it will help you to work out if you would be comfortable doing this. If you are not, don’t worry just stick to the more traditional ways of saving money on your purchases. 

Look for coupon codes and sales 

It is surprising how easy it is to find discount codes and coupons you can use for everything from food and clothes to tools and home furnishings. If you like shopping with a particular retailer, sign up for their newsletter. When you do this you will usually receive early notification of sales and special offers. 

As you can see, there are plenty of ways to save money on day to day items. Putting just a few of the above ideas into action should mean that you can easily get together the cash you need to be able to afford the beauty products you really like.

[*This is a colloborative post - Photo by Element 5 Digital via Unsplash]

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Adulting 101: How To Quickly Get Your Finances Back On Track #AD

Most of us try to manage our money. But, sometimes life just gets in the way and things go wrong. When that happens it is all too easy to go down the wrong path and end up deep in debt. 

If it has been a while since you last looked at your finances, I suggest you set aside an hour or two to do so, as soon as possible. That will enable you to identify any issues and remedy them before they turn into bigger problems. Here is how I suggest you approach the task. 

Identify and quantify what you are spending 

First, use this budget calculator to quickly identify where your money is going. It is best to open your banking app when you do this so you can identify your costs accurately. The more accurate the data you put into the calculator is the easier it will be to see the true state of your finances. 

Work out if you have a problem 

That particular budget calculator asks you to enter your income in at the beginning. This is great because it enables you to instantly and accurately identify how much spare cash you have to play with. 

Sometimes the results will be good and you will have more disposable income available than you thought. Other times, things might not look so good. A lot of people that go through this exercise discover that they are spending more than they earning. Without really realising they are doing so they are gradually relying more and more on credit to get them through life. When that starts to happen, serious debt is just around the corner. But, there is no need to panic. As you will see, there is plenty that you can do to quickly remedy the problem. 

Work to reduce your outgoings 

The easiest step is to review your outgoings and identify areas you can save money. It could be as simple as skipping one or two nights out, cancelling your gym membership and maybe buying slightly fewer clothes. Pretty much everyone will be able to find ways to live on less. This article contains 50 effective yet simple ways to do just that. 

Changes, like cancelling your gym membership or switching to a cheaper mobile phone contract, will benefit your bank balance immediately. So, don’t hang around, take this step as soon as you can. 

Try to earn more money 

It is also worth considering taking on more work to fill the gap. You could work more hours at your current job, take a 2nd job or join the gig economy. There are lots of opportunities out there. Unfortunately, most of them are not that well paid, but, whatever you earn will make a difference. Plus, if you are busy working you can’t be out spending. So, that helps too. 

Install and use a budgeting app 

Lastly, install a good budgeting app on your phone and get into the habit of using it. That way the minute you start to go off track you will be told so that you can take remedial action.

[*This is a sponsored post - Photo by Emma Matthews via Unsplash]

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