{"id":144298,"date":"2019-08-01T02:00:44","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T09:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/?p=144298"},"modified":"2019-08-06T12:17:44","modified_gmt":"2019-08-06T19:17:44","slug":"how-to-budget-wedding-guest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/how-to-budget-wedding-guest\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Budget for Every Wedding You\u2019re Attending This Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s no secret that weddings can be pretty hard on the wallet. According to The Knot<\/a><\/em>, the average American attends two weddings per year, and just being a guest can set you back nearly $300<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cost of attending a wedding as a guest can totally vary based on lots of factors,\u201d says Lauren Kay, executive editor of The Knot<\/em>. \u201cDo you have to travel to attend? Will you be splitting a room or getting your own accommodations? Do you have something to wear?”<\/p>\n

Knowing how to budget your finances can help you be prepared and enjoy being a wedding guest without going broke. Not sure how to save? Check out the five foolproof budgeting tips below.<\/p>\n

Make a list of essentials<\/strong>
\n\u201cWedding guests should plan for the biggies first,\u201d Kay says. “This includes travel and accommodations, attire and accessories for the wedding, and a wedding gift.\u201d You should also consider any additional events you may be invited to, such as happy hours, brunch, and anything else leading up to the big day. Non-wedding related activities can easily add up to $100 or more.<\/p>\n

Start saving ASAP<\/strong>
\nChances are, you\u2019ll know way ahead of time when a wedding is going to be. So if you really want to attend, start saving. Brittney Castro, a financial expert for Investopedia<\/a>, suggests starting a separate high-yield savings account for weddings and travel. It\u2019s a good idea if you know you\u2019re going to be spending a lot over the next year.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t splurge<\/strong>
\nThink about what you value more \u2013 a comfortable place to stay or a new outfit? \u201cIf you\u2019re facing a pricey wedding with sky-high hotel or travel costs, now\u2019s the time to wear an outfit you already own,\u201d Castro says. This is especially helpful if you have multiple weddings coming up.<\/p>\n

Utilize travel deals and credit card points<\/strong>
\nMake sure to utilize your resources. \u201cIf you can score a free flight or discounts on a gift, you\u2019ll feel better about attending and you won\u2019t rack up debt,\u201d Castro says.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be afraid to say “no”<\/strong>
\nIf you can\u2019t afford to stay at the same hotel as everyone else, that\u2019s OK. If you can\u2019t afford any gifts on their registry, give them a gift card instead with an amount that\u2019s comfortable for you. \u201cBe smart and take care of yourself,\u201d Castro says. \u201cUltimately, it\u2019s about celebrating the love of the couple, not a contest to show who will spend the most money on them.\u201d<\/p>\n

xx, The FabFitFun Team<\/p>\n

Planning your own wedding this summer? Experts share the do’s and don’ts of planning a summer wedding<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":"It\u2019s no secret that weddings can be pretty hard on the wallet. According to The ...","author":5464378,"featured_media":144299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[260],"tags":[],"thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/01155937\/wedding.jpg","thumbnail_url_middle_card":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/01155937\/wedding-386x200.jpg","formated_date":"August 1, 2019","category_name":"Life","category_icon":"https:\/\/d3vodd1ws13xud.cloudfront.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/10113832\/entertainment.svg","author_name":"","trending":false,"sponsored":false,"random_color":"#acdd4f","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144298"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5464378"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}