Your wedding day is one of the most important and memorable days that you will experience. It is a day full of deep-felt love and joys shared with those who mean the most to you. There are plenty of ways to save money, but the reality is weddings can cost thousands of dollars and affect couples financially. A wedding loan can help get your budget over the finish line, but you’ll have to start somewhere. That’s why we break down how to save money fast for a wedding so you can enjoy your big day without the financial stress.
7 Incredible Tips To Save Money Fast For Your Wedding
In Australia, the average cost to get married is $36,000. This is a significant amount of money for most Australians, so creating a wedding budget and finding any way to save money is crucial.
Saving money for your big day is not a complicated task but it does require consistency and discipline. Here are 7 of our tips to help you save money fast for your wedding:
1. Save more by earning more
Depending on your circumstances, the best way to save money may be to earn more. This can range from getting a second job and dedicating an extra 10-15 hours that goes straight towards your wedding savings.
If you were able to earn an extra $300 per week at a second job, within a year you would have $15,600 (nearly half of your wedding expenses).
2. Sell unused or unwanted items
Search your house for any items that are unused, unwanted and just collecting dust to sell for money. Feel like an entrepreneur and use Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, and eBay to sell these items and collect the money to put towards your wedding.
3. Monetise your skills
Think about the skills you possess and how you can monetise these skills as a contractor or freelancer. Search on sites such as Upwork, Freelancer or Fiverr for in-demand jobs that you can do for money because of your experience and skills. This can be an effective way to earn and save more money by putting in a couple of extra hours per day.
If you need help purchasing equipment like a laptop or phone, a personal loan can help you get money fast and fast-track your freelancing journey.
4. Find a housemate and rent out a room
One of the biggest expenses that prevents people from saving money is their rent or mortgage repayments. To help you reduce your costs, you can rent out a room in your home and collect rent per week. This can not only significantly reduce your rent or mortgage repayments but may also reduce your electricity, gas and water bills.
5. Reduce your routine spending
To save money fast, you will need to cut routine or habitual spending like daily coffees, getting takeaway, or eating at restaurants. While these expenses can make life more fun, they also make your savings goals more difficult to reach. Reducing or completely stopping these purchases can be an effective way to save more money, and it is not forever.
6. Ask for money as an engagement present
Whether you plan on throwing an engagement party or not, your family and friends may want to spoil you with an engagement present. This is a perfect opportunity to ask for money to put towards the wedding and reduce the amount of money that you have to spend out of pocket.
7. Paid online activities
Engaging with paid online activities like surveys, tests, or assisting with research is an easy way to make some extra money for your wedding. While these activities are not consistent or significant money, they can give you another way to make some money without a significant time commitment.
Another free way to have a chance at reducing your wedding expenses is to keep an eye out for wedding businesses that do free giveaways for liking and sharing their posts. The winners of these competitions can receive items like gift cards or even free bridesmaid dresses, saving you money if you win.
How To Create A Wedding Savings Target
How to work out your minimum wedding savings target:
- Shop around and get quotes
- Find out the estimated total amount your wedding will cost.
- Divide this number by the amount of time until your wedding day. This is your minimum savings target.
An example:
If you have got quotes and your total wedding expenses are $40,000 and you have exactly 2 years until your wedding, then your working out will look like this:
- Weekly minimum savings: 40,000/104 (2 years) = $385 per week
- Monthly minimum savings: 40,000/24 (2 years) = $1667 per month
Expenses That You Can Reduce On Your Wedding Day
The best way to reduce your wedding expenses is to list all of your expenses down, shop around to get the best deals, and then consider what you could cut back on.
Here are some common wedding expenses and how you could cut back on them:
- Ceremony Venue: Look for a beautiful local park and get council approval or permits to get married in the park.
- Reception Venue: Look for local pubs with function rooms, these will usually offer cheaper pricing or better food and beverage options.
- DJ/Music Hire: Hire good speakers and organise a joint wedding Spotify or Apple Music playlist. You can share this with the guests before the wedding to get everyone involved.
- Wedding Ring: While it may be tempting to spoil your significant other with sparkling diamonds, consider if there are cheaper options. If you must get a big diamond ring, then wait and shop for your rings during Black Friday, Boxing Day, or end-of-financial year sales.
- Celebrant: Ask around and see if your friends and family might be qualified to be your celebrant.
- Vehicles To Your Venues: Rather than hiring glorious vehicles with personal drivers, see if you can hire a vintage or fancy car for your wedding and ask one of the people in your bridal party to drive.
- Bridal Party: The smaller your bridal party, the fewer your expenses will be. If you want to have a large bridal party, ask them to cover their hire fees or makeup and hair costs.
Make Your Wedding Day Stress Free With Red Tree Finance
Your wedding day is such a crucial event in your life, don’t spend it worrying about finances. Take the financial pressure off and apply for a wedding loan today. For any additional information or if you have any questions, feel free to reach out and contact the expert team at Red Tree Finance.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 30-5 minute rule for weddings?
The 30-5 rule is a handy time management tip to help you plan out your wedding day. When you plan your wedding day, typical tasks that would only usually take 5 minutes should be planned for 30 minutes. This can happen because there are so many photos being taken, and all of your guests need to be managed.
How long does it take to save money for a wedding?
There is no set timeframe to save for a wedding, but the sooner you start estimating your costs, the better. If you have 2 years until your wedding and it costs you an estimated $40,000, you can start budgeting $385 per week and $1667 per month towards your wedding savings.
Is $10,000 too much for a wedding?
In Australia, the average wedding cost was $36,000. If you only have a $10,000 wedding budget, then you may be better off saving more money and delaying the wedding, or you should plan for a DIY backyard wedding to reduce costs.
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The information provided in this blog is of a general nature and is provided without considering your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is intended for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as financial, investment, or other professional advice.
Before making any financial decisions or taking action based on the information presented, you are strongly encouraged to assess its appropriateness in light of your individual circumstances. Red Tree Finance does not intend to provide personalised financial advice, and you should seek independent financial, legal, tax, and other relevant advice tailored to your unique situation.