According to TheKnot.com, the average wedding cost was over $26,000 in 2010. Now that you’ve recovered from the sticker shock, it’s time to get serious about your wedding finances. Most of you will be taking out loans and/or using credit cards to help pay for your big day and I wish I could take you each by the hand, pull you close, and scream in your ear: DON’T DO IT! From my own very painful experience with wedding debt, I know first-hand how quickly the best intentions and well-thought-out plans for wedding debt can fall apart. Read my story here.
Some sobering facts
- The average wedding costs $26,000. The median household income is around $50,000.
- If you put only $10,000 of your wedding expenses on a card with 18% interest and paid only the minimum balance ($250.00) each month, it would take you 342 months (or over 28 YEARS) to be rid of your debt. In that time, you will also pay $14,423.30 in interest. (Check out the credit calculator at BankRate.Com) That’s a heck of a price tag for A SINGLE DAY.
- As of April 2011, the average interest rate on a credit card is 14.65% nationally.
- Planning on using a pay raise to help pay for your wedding? The Society For Human Resource Management is reporting US companies are projecting a very modest salary increase of only 3 percent.
- Sorry, but you’re not going to win the lottery.
Now that I’ve scared the beejeebus out of you, I want to guide you to a fab new service to help you save up for your wedding day. You are going to use cash and not get into debt, right? Right?
SmartyPig is essentially an online piggy bank. You create an account, set your financial goals, and then start funding your event. You can set auto deposits from your bank account or add one-time payments (such as a gift from family or a profit-sharing check from work). You earn interest and have access to your cash at all times. Though it’s not a bank, your savings account is FDIC insured securely held at BBVA Compass. Saving for your big day couldn’t be easier.
