Join our participants as they reduce debt and increase savings with the help of Summit financial coaches.
Megan and Scott's Journey:
Lightbulb: Automatic Transfers!
This week we want to get back to blogging about wedding planning. See our initial blog on Budgeting for our big day from a few weeks ago with tips on how to save a few bucks!
We have started to meet with and secure more vendors recently for our special day. We’re about to sign the dotted line for our caterer, videographer, and wedding coordinator. What has really helped us out is knowing we have funds available to us because we are saving monthly. As of this spring, we determined what we would need to save as a couple to meet our total allotted wedding budget. With the help of our wonderful coach Jamie, we have set up automatic transfers on the days that we get paid so that money floats from our personal accounts into one shared wedding account. This holds both of us accountable on saving the amount needed monthly to fulfill our budget needs. The biggest problem that we faced before we set up these bi-weekly transfers was that we both weren’t saving equally or the amount needed for that month, which in turn meant someone had to play catch up.
Our stress levels are far lower now when planning around our wedding budget because we can see that the finances are readily available to secure the vendors we want for our big day. Succeeding with automatic transfers and saving properly stems into helping us battle our next challenge: being wedding-debt-free the day after we tie the knot!
After providing the initial deposit to secure a vendor, most balances are due within a month of the wedding day. We are planning to provide additional payments along the way to decrease having to pay a handful of large remaining balances in a short time period. Most of our vendors are working alongside us (and are happy to take our money!) and allowing us to make them 2-3 payments instead of 1 large lump sum. This way we are actually able to pay off the remaining balances well before the day they are due!
What’s next? Keep the search on for transportation, lodging, and décor! We’re heading to a bridal expo in the Milwaukee area next Sunday with free admission as we registered early online and got tickets in the mail (that’s probably a tip we should add to our other wedding blog!).
Peace, love, and wedding checklists,
Scott + Megan