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Attend a Wedding or Buy a House?

Attend a Wedding or Buy a House

Our twenties is a time when attending weddings takes up many weekends. Unfortunately, attending those weddings could be costing you your future home purchase.

According to Zillow, destination bachelor and bachelorette parties are becoming increasingly common. Although they may seem like an experience you can’t miss, the cost for attending can quickly add up. A destination bachelor party on average costs $1,532 and the average destination bachelorette party costs $1,106. Attending nine of these trips costs $13,788 which is 35% of the down payment on a median priced home.

If you find it difficult to save then take a serious look at what you have been spending, or plan to spend, this summer on weddings. Even as a wedding guest, the cost to attend a wedding can average around $1,000. If you attend 10 weddings that’s $10,000 that could have been put towards one of your other savings goals.

If saying no to wedding invites is something you can’t do, focus on setting a budget for the trip. Look at your monthly expenses and figure out what is a reasonable amount of money you can set aside for an upcoming wedding. Include not only your monthly expenses but also include your monthly savings. Once you have money set aside for your basic living and saving goals, then figure out how much money you can realistically spend to attend your friend’s wedding. Create a budget for that upcoming wedding and stick to it. Spending over that amount will affect your ability to reach the other savings goals that are important to you. With a detailed understanding of your expenses and the goals most important to you, it becomes a lot easier to decide if attending that wedding is still important.

As difficult as it may be to saying no to your friend’s special day, be honest with yourself about how much you can realistically afford to spend. Compare that trade-off to your other savings goals to determine your priorities.

If one of your goals is purchasing a house, Zillow provides an affordability calculator showing you how much you can afford to spend on a home based on your income, debts and savings. Zillow’s mortgage calculator can also provide down payment estimates based on home price and interest rates.

Sources: Zillow

 

 

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