November 2011
November 30, 2011
Saving for your Wedding or Buying Christmas Gifts?
Happily engaged and you’re beginning to feel the pinch. Will you be Creative Cathy for the holidays or turn into Glenda the Grinch for Christmas? You have to decide whether you will be buying Christmas gifts or saving that money for your wedding. There are engaged couples footing 75% up to 100% of their wedding bill. Yet, the holidays are a special time for you and like any other bride or groom, the sales flyers are tempting. What do you do? My husband and I were dating our first Christmas together and knew that we would be getting engaged soon. Being very realistic about our finances we decided not to “splurge”. Communication is the key. Creative Cathy now is not the time to get silent on your Mr. Wonderful. Share with him what you are thinking about Christmas and ask him what he thinks. Then reach a mutual decision on how you will handle it. Let me caution you: Don’t cave into the “peer pressure” or “holiday sales” once you and your fiancé have reached a plan on how to handle Christmas. Of course I am going to give you some ideas that may spark your creative juices. (1) You and your fiancé can make it fun and choose to only get gag gifts for each other or get a gift and it cannot cost more than $10. My husband and I chose the gift cannot costs more than $10 and it was soooo much fun. We were able to get some cool things for each other. One year I wrote a poem and added our pictures to it, found a frame in our home that was not being used and wrapped it up. (2) If you have family and friends that are asking what you want, ask for things for the wedding. This way someone else is buying it and you can cross it off your list. (3) If you are an excellent cook and like making baked goods, get the baking pan out and prepare some awesome miniature baked goods. My mom made “friendship tea” one year and put it in jars with a ribbon. EVERYONE loved it. (4) A big hit that my husband and I have found with friends and even our business vendors, tins of popcorn or cookies. They have them at Walgreen’s, Costco and even Wal-Mart. We would usually buy a couple of these ahead of time and give them to our business vendors as a way of saying thank you. (5) Another one of my favs is the sausage and cheese box. One year someone gave me a wreath for our front door. (6) When it comes to your fiancé, create a book of coupons filled with “Romantic exchanges”. For example – This coupon entitles you to one massage or this coupon entitles you to a candlelight dinner with me. (7) Talk with the family and everyone draw names. This way you are only responsible for one gift. Hopefully some of these have given you ways to enjoy your holidays and stay on track with your wedding goals when it comes to money. Be sure to download the first chapter of Bride and Groom Money Talk FAQ for free at http://www.bridegroommoneytalkfaq.com
