What struck me to think about wedding expenses?

Sitting on a beach alone, I let my thoughts to wander. It wandered for a while until it hit the marriage expenses chord. I have a girlfriend, the apple of my eye. I was pondering how to propose to her, what are all the ways and preparations. That is when the marriage expenses chord struck me.

I have a job and I earn enough to support me. I used to wonder why my friends do two jobs and look for passive income opportunities when they are employed. Do I have to do the same to support my family? Will I save enough for my marriage? Will it be sufficient to run the family?

I decided to do the math, the moment I reached my apartment and I came up with the following:

How much does a marriage cost?

The simplest formula I could think while answering this question is

Marriage expenses= part of the income saved x no. of years before marriage.

This is a formula which has 2 variables and both the variables depend on me. Let us say I earn $6000 a month and I feel I can save $5000 every month after all my expenses. I would like to marry my girl 5 years from now. When I do the math it is

Marriage savings = 5000$ x 60 month = $300000

This will be the money I can spend when I marry five years from now. Wait!! Is it that simple? Definitely, the answer to the above question is “No”. What are the other factors which can influence this math, there are many?

1. Emergency Expenses:

If your current savings plan does not account for emergencies then buckle up, you can be in for a surprise!! Emergencies are one of the biggest factors which can deter any financial savings plans.

Let us assume I set aside 9 months of my savings towards emergency funds, now the total savings is

Emergency funds alone accounts for $27000. This has to be subtracted from my planned marriage savings. Is that it?

2. Hospitalization and Accident insurance:

Everybody fears getting hospitalized, it is one expense which can deter any savings plan and can even lead to bankruptcy. Medical and hospitalization expenses are skyrocketing. A hospitalization and accident insurance coverage are very important for all; this will help in protecting the savings when a mishap happens. How much do I save for hospitalization and accident insurance?

A visit to the ER, CT scan, hospital admission, and IV antibiotics might cost me $30000. So I must choose an insurance plan which covers most of the medical expenses and I realized it will further bring down my marriage savings. I enquired with my friends for a plan which can cover my present and future expenses, the monthly deductibles ranged from $1000-$ 4000 a month. I settled for a $1000 monthly plan hoping that it covers most of it. So now the figure looks like

3. Housing loan:

We would need a small apartment for two of us to start our life. As per USBANK, I will have to make a down payment of $25000 and a monthly payment of $500. So for a year, this will be $6000 and I would have paid $30000 as monthly payments in 5 years. The total housing expenditure will be $55000 in 5 years. This will definitely affect the total sum saved towards my marriage.

4. Sum Total:

My total marriage savings in 5 years after all these deductions will be like

These are the major factors an individual has to consider while you make a savings plan. These are not the only factors that can influence the savings plan but these are the basic things. I asked myself how much do I save for my marriage?

The basic things stated above cannot be missed then how do I maximize the savings, I will have to search for ways to reduce my personal expenses to maximize my savings.

Summing up:

Wedding costs are inevitable but with proper planning, you can make it an easy venture. Start saving, take wise financial moves and make a budget: these 3 steps would help you with the initial plan to manage your wedding costs. This is how I planned well in advance for my wedding and the wedding cost never felt like a burden. Hope this article would help you understand how things work when it comes to marriage and its planning.

James Paul is a personal finance blogger who writes at Basic Finance Care covering everything about personal finance management and frugal living.