The cost of attending a Wedding

I have never been to a wedding, so I am handing this post over to Mummy to talk about 😉 Mummy says…

I bet you you think I am going to talk about the cost of a wedding if you are the bride and groom don’t you?

Wrong! Weddings are proving costly for the guests too, and it seems, causing some problems. I wonder if you have been to any weddings this summer? If so, do you know the cost of attending a wedding? Do you have a savings pot for wedding guest money? I haven’t been to a wedding for years – the last one was my sisters almost nine years ago! Good job really, as I don’t think I could afford to go!

 

I find these statistics interesting – and something I have never thought about. Being on my own at the moment, I have no one that I need to discuss my finances with, or agree or ask! I do know though, how tricky it is to juggle a relationship and finances – and have had my fair share of arguments about it in the past. Planning a wedding – or going to one as a guest, setting up home, and life generally can be expensive and it is not always easy to talk about it with your partner.

I think it is great then that Experian have brought out a Money and Relationships Guide to give a little help in this area. I am sure there are so many couples who could benefit from reading this.

Here are some top tips from the guide:

Do
1. Set the ground rules. Do you want a joint account for regular expenses and separate bank accounts for personal spending? Or do you want everything to go together?
2. Work out who does what. The more frugal partner could look after the budget, while the more extravagant works out the ‘treats’, like meals out or trips away.
3. Agree on short and long-term goals and how you’re going to achieve them, and review regularly together.
4. Be honest about your past. If you have a less-than-perfect history of repaying money you owe, this could affect both of you in the long-term if your credit reports become linked.
5. Take time together to understand if you need to improve one or both of your credit reports. Do this well in advance of applying for credit together.
Don’t
1. Spend all your time together talking about money.
2. Keep secrets. Research from Experian shows that 29% of people in the UK discovered that their partner was keeping credit card debt from them.
3. Dig yourself into a hole. If you find yourself in debt, don’t borrow more in the hope of putting things right. Ask for help and be open about it with your partner.
4. Talk about money issues when you are angry. Arguing about money is never going to be productive.
5. Expect your partner to completely change. It’s unlikely an extravagant spender will do a complete about-turn and suddenly become frugal.

Have you anything to add?