Posted on 11/17/2022 11:01:55 AM PST by MrRelevant
"If you’ve been a guest at one or a few weddings this year, you know it can cost a pretty penny to celebrate the happy couple. It’s no secret that hosting your own wedding requires its own financial planning, but just attending a nuptial ceremony — not to mention pre-ceremony festivities — is cutting into personal budgets."
In fact, 46% of millennials and 48% of Gen Z say spending on friends’ and family members’ weddings, baby showers or other celebrations is getting in the way of their personal goals, according to a recent survey from Prudential."
The kicker:
"Millennials lose sleep over money troubles, but aren’t turning to budgeting
However, money issues aren’t just a problem during wedding season. Half of millennials report losing sleep over financial stress, but 70% say they do not use a formal budget to manage their money."
They are living in their parents’ home until they can inherit it and their 401ks.
2024 Democrats can sign an executive order saying they will grant them $20K for events each year. Then after the election the courts can say it’s illegal.
Well Duhh. The price of an average bridzilla wedding would make one hell of a down payment on a house.
Late Gen X just hit 50 and did 5 weddings this year, 5 out of town weekends, 10 flights. Totally skipped all other planned travel for 2022 for really should go events announced as early as 2020. Yes it was 3+ years of weddings all in 2022.
Not going to a friends destination wedding is not either a hardship on the couple getting married or yourself. When that choice is made the bride and groom are putting out there that you could just send a monetary gift and get out of the lifelong set of trading gifts when the shared experience that use to be a religiose ceremony is what everyone is after. There is no wedding that cannot be missed. Parents, Children, Grand Children. If they gave you a gift at your wedding, send something they registered for, or offer to contibute cash early for expenses.
I also see the younger folks in my family with close friend groups expanding towards 2 dozen, while when I was 30 I might have had 6 non work friends who I had an address for.
I always thought that wedding gifts are best in cash and should cover the cost of attendance + something for the couple. Otherwise beg off of the event.
“Hookin’ up” and shackin’ up is more their speed. That’s why they want to be reimbursed for the student loans they haven’t even paid off. Same as the deadbeats that get tax refunds for not paying any federal taxes or illegal aliens who haven’t worked a day in their life in America getting Social Security and Medicare. I knew as America went down the road to recreational drugs, this was going to happen.
It’s a legitimate gripe. With millenials and Gen z we saw the rise of Bridezilla right? Many engaged couples these days are being super selfish and having no consideration for the financial burden heaped upon their friends and family members. Then you pile on birthdays and Christmas gifts and the myriad of other stupid events that need money throughout the year.
Whats their solution? Fewer friends I say.
70 percent not having a budget is troubling.
Everyone should have a budget, so they know where their money is coming from, and where their money is going.
Having a budget does not mean that you are restricted from spending money. The budget can certainly allow for recreational spending, and spending on travel or wedding gifts for others. The whole point is that you not spend in excess of your money or income. People who are careless and spend in excess of their income often end up in credit card debt. And that’s a whole other bad set of circumstances to live with.
We offered our daughter cash money equal to the amount the wedding reception would cost us (rather than do the reception itself). She turned us down....wanted to have that party!
Not mine.
I did exactly that for my niece's wedding. The drive was 260 miles one-way in nasty Winter weather. The wedding gift exceeded my cost of attendance. The cash was valuable to them as they set up household in Anchorage, AK and needed a snow blower.
My sister later confided that there was some dissent within the family of the groom, so avoiding that "show" was a wise decision. The participants were all vaxxed as well. I avoided a bugfest.
but they keep telling us nobody is getting married anymore...
This business of weddings costing so much is ridiculous.
Throwing receptions for 10’s of thousands of dollars is ridiculous.
When my brother was getting married, he called around to restaurants asking about prices and got ridiculously high estimates. He let a couple months go by and asked for the cost for the same meal for a family reunion, and it cost half what he was quoted for the wedding.
It’s a scam in many places.
It's a wedding, not a prime time awards show.
Church - I do's - kiss the bride - food - thank you one and all.
One does not need a fancy wedding. I never saw the need for people to blow thousands and thousands on a wedding. My last friend to get married was well off and his fiance’s family was well off. I would guess they spent upwards of $100,000 for their wedding. All to fluff some egos. Insane!
As for social events... I went to a family funeral just last week. It cost over $1000 just in diesel to drive there and back.
This.
People need to pay attention. There is a quiet but growing movement to deny homeownership to all except the already wealthy.
Owning your own home used to be the key to building wealth and it was available to almost everyone. Increasingly, we are becoming a nation of renters where property is owned by investment brokerages and there will be almost no ability to build generational wealth.
Which, I suppose is fitting, since people aren't having children to bequeath this wealth to.
I saw a study showing inverse correlation between cost of wedding and longevity of marriage. Makes sense. The kind of woman who can’t be satisfied with less than a huge wedding will probably not be satisfied with a mere mortal as a husband.
You can get married cheap. Reserve the back room of a restaurant, invite just immediate family and close friends, have the ceremony there, then eat.
We did the same with ours. Told her to spend on wedding, honeymoon, house down payment.
As soon as it was HER money that she would be spending, she magically became very frugal.
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