While it's clear how the British upper-crust is going to spend April 29th; the rest of us live in the real world. While it might be intriguing to watch the pomp and circumstance unfold, such extravagance is just not realistic for the average family. Luckily, the royal wedding is a public holiday giving you time to assess your own financial situation.
Budgeting Made Simple
For many, money worries can get you down. Instead of focusing on what the royal couple have that you don't, let all the glitz and glamour go. Turn off the television and the radio, and instead, flip on the computer and get to work on your personal finances.
Most people initially think that making a budget is difficult. However, once you are familiar with the process, it is relatively simple, especially if you use an online budget planner like Money Dashboard. Take some time to add in all your accounts, take a look at your monthly spending, and set yourself up a budget and very quickly you'll see what's coming in, what's going out and where you are spending too much. Once it's all set up, you can try and stick to your budget in future.
After the process is complete, pack a nice picnic lunch and enjoy the weather away from the crowds.
Wedding Planning for the Real World
If you're planning a wedding you can take some clues from the Royal couple but instead of wasting time wishing you could afford to spend the estimated 10 to 40 million pounds, here's some tips to keep your costs low:
Priorities
What's important to you? Deciding what are the important details for your wedding will help you allocate your budget. If it's not important, maybe you shouldn't be spending so much on it.
Budgeting
The average wedding cost in 2011 is around £18,500. How much can you afford or want to spend? There's no point in having a grand expensive wedding if your first three years of marriage are spent paying it off. You could consider getting a loan to cover the costs, but remember that the more you borrow, the more you have to pay back with interest.
Friends
You can get your closest friends or family involved, they might be happy to help. Do you know someone who is a great baker? Get them to make the cake. Have a friend that's into graphic design? Maybe they could design and print your invitations.
The Dress
By considering an off-the-rail or second hand dress, you might be able to afford something with more wow than you'd get spending the same money on a custom dress.
There are lots of sites which offer loads of money saving tips, here are just some of our favourite:
- http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/cheaper-weddings
- http://www.frugalbride.com/frugalhintstips.html
- http://www.thechiefbridesmaid.co.uk/
- http://www.imarry.org/wedding-money-saving/
- http://www.ukweddingbelles.com/weddingmagazine/budgeting/173-wedding-tips
- http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/content/weddings/default.html?intcmp=shop_ouhub_tabs_OxfamWeddings_280211&pscid=ps_ggl_08-UW-Wedding
