It’s Micheal again from Stewy’s Greetings. I hope that you’ve been finding much value in the Free Jamaican Wedding Checklist that I had sent you earlier.
I also sent you an easy to use Wedding Budget Planner that you can print and start putting your wedding budget together. If not you can grab it HERE.
Actually, I want to share a thing or two about organizing yourself financially as you plan your wedding.
We’ve seen budget related issues push alot of couples into having devastating arguments and disagreements leading up to what should be one of the happiest days of their lives and I really don’t want that to happen to you…
….because y’all are good people lol.
So let’s get straight into these 4 things to consider doing as you make your wedding budget.
1. Get your finances in check!
By this I mean both of you should really have a clear understanding of all your expenses and your income. You should know this not only as a couple but as individuals.
Knowing what some of your important upfront obligations are like food, rent, utilities etc as well as what your income is will help you to know how much you can alot towards your wedding.
In other words as we say here in Jamaica “Nuh Hang you Basket Weh You Cyaa Reach It”.
2. Get a ball park total figure on how much you want to spend on the wedding
Now that you know your income in relation to your expenses, it’s time to decide on the grand total that you want to spend on your wedding.
So, both of you should sit down and have a conversation about everything that you will be spending on from photography, venue, food, jewelry, honeymoon, dress, stationery, decoration…you name it. For each category of things, alot a figure that both of you agree on.
Ofcourse, mi an yuh know seh some farrin money ago run fi help out. So you can factor those in as well. Try to get a good idea of who will be helping you and the amounts they will be contributing toward the wedding.
3. Cut back on your daily spending
Now that you have a total figure in mind for your Big Day…it’s time to start taking some actions toward making the day a reality.
One thing financial experts recommend is knowing what monthly personal costs are fixed vs what costs are variable.
Without getting too “Bookwormy” your fixed costs are those that do not change each month such as your rent and your variable costs are those that may change such as your electricity bill.
So in order to save and have even more money for your wedding in cases of emergencies or unforeseen events, it’s good to cut back on your monthly expenses by reducing your variable costs so that you can save some extra cash that you may need.
This may mean practicing some energy conservations or spending less nights boogying down at the hypest party.
4. Lastly, Break it all down in a way that you can manage.
So, saving towards your wedding will require some established routine and discipline. You or your partner may not be good at saving on a monthly basis but instead on a weekly basis or vice versa …yall must find what works for you.
Given an established total wedding budget, you must now determine how many quarters, months, fortnights or even weeks you have until your wedding day.
Afterwhich, you must determine how much you need to set aside each week, fortnight night,or month (however you decide) in order to have the total you’ll need. The goal is to make it manageable
Bear in mind that there will be alot of important spending before the wedding day, so have these timelines in mind as you save.
I hope this helped to get your wedding finances into perspective. I would love to see your reply with thoughts on what you found valuable or even a reply to simply say Hi Stewy lol.
Until next time Take care!