Paying for a wedding
Discussion
Not sure the best course of action on this, so I turn to the financial wizkids of PH to advise.
I have a wedding to pay for, which is going to cost £15k all in all (before anyone starts, doing it cheaper is not an option
), but i'm not sure of the best way to pay for it.
In terms of cash available, I have a stocks and shares ISA i've been investing in as part of my pension for the past 5 years, which is currently at £14k (I also have a 6% work contributed pension on top so that isn't everything pension wise).
Wedding is in 18 months.
My options as I see it are:
1) Save as much as a I can in a savings account over the next 18 months, and get a loan for the rest just before the wedding.
2) Bump up the contributions to the ISA over the next 18 months, and cash in £15k just before the wedding. Then start again saving for my pension after that.
3) Save as much as a I can in a savings account over the next 18 months, use the ISA for the rest just before the wedding, then start again saving for my pension.
4) Get a loan now as the rates are low, pop it in the bank and use that to pay for the wedding. I'm assuming rates will go up in the next couple of years, but who knows!
The added complexity is that there will be bits we need to buy over the next 18 months, and deposits to pay for etc... so the actual wedding cost is going to be mostly at the end of the 18 months, but a fair amount will need to be paid for before that.
Not sure of the tax implication on cashing in the ISA? I'm in the 40% tax bracket, and my contributions are put in after income tax. I've put in about £12k over the past 5 years and it is currently worth £14k, will I have to pay tax on the £2k it has "earned"?
Also, regarding dipping in to what is essentially my pension fund, i'm 35 so still have 20-25 years of working left to go!
All the options seem much for muchness to me, but am I missing something?
I have a wedding to pay for, which is going to cost £15k all in all (before anyone starts, doing it cheaper is not an option
), but i'm not sure of the best way to pay for it. In terms of cash available, I have a stocks and shares ISA i've been investing in as part of my pension for the past 5 years, which is currently at £14k (I also have a 6% work contributed pension on top so that isn't everything pension wise).
Wedding is in 18 months.
My options as I see it are:
1) Save as much as a I can in a savings account over the next 18 months, and get a loan for the rest just before the wedding.
2) Bump up the contributions to the ISA over the next 18 months, and cash in £15k just before the wedding. Then start again saving for my pension after that.
3) Save as much as a I can in a savings account over the next 18 months, use the ISA for the rest just before the wedding, then start again saving for my pension.
4) Get a loan now as the rates are low, pop it in the bank and use that to pay for the wedding. I'm assuming rates will go up in the next couple of years, but who knows!
The added complexity is that there will be bits we need to buy over the next 18 months, and deposits to pay for etc... so the actual wedding cost is going to be mostly at the end of the 18 months, but a fair amount will need to be paid for before that.
Not sure of the tax implication on cashing in the ISA? I'm in the 40% tax bracket, and my contributions are put in after income tax. I've put in about £12k over the past 5 years and it is currently worth £14k, will I have to pay tax on the £2k it has "earned"?
Also, regarding dipping in to what is essentially my pension fund, i'm 35 so still have 20-25 years of working left to go!
All the options seem much for muchness to me, but am I missing something?
And actually, thinking about it, pulling some cash out of the ISA now probably isn't the worse idea in the world anyway. If the market tanks in the next 18 months then my £14k could well only be worth £7k or less come the wedding, and with the Euro as it currently is, I wouldn't rule that out as a possibility.
Pulling out some cash at least gives me options in the short term.
So it looks like i'll be taking option 5 I think
Pulling out some cash at least gives me options in the short term.
So it looks like i'll be taking option 5 I think
Edited by trooperiziz on Thursday 23 February 17:38
Loans aren't a good idea for a wedding. The payments can end up longer than the marriage...
There's a better option. Goto Vegas with a grand to try and win the wedding. If you don't succeed just get an Elvis impersonator to marry you instead.
What could go wrong? BTW take your fiance so you don't need to find a wife in Las Vegas.
There's a better option. Goto Vegas with a grand to try and win the wedding. If you don't succeed just get an Elvis impersonator to marry you instead.
What could go wrong? BTW take your fiance so you don't need to find a wife in Las Vegas.
We set our wedding budget based on how much we could save up until the day.
We are paying things as we go and if we happen to go a little bit over in the end it won't be a big deal as it will be a tiny amount to clear in comparison to getting a loan.
I would rather get a loan for a new car and go to Vegas for my wedding (and I am of the female species), than blow a fortune on 1 day which inevitably is a party for all your family and friends.
We also made sure after budgeting that we spent most on the honeymoon.
We aren't spending a huge amount overall, but the figures still scare me and sometimes I do think that we would have bee better off going to Vegas.
We are paying things as we go and if we happen to go a little bit over in the end it won't be a big deal as it will be a tiny amount to clear in comparison to getting a loan.
I would rather get a loan for a new car and go to Vegas for my wedding (and I am of the female species), than blow a fortune on 1 day which inevitably is a party for all your family and friends.
We also made sure after budgeting that we spent most on the honeymoon.
We aren't spending a huge amount overall, but the figures still scare me and sometimes I do think that we would have bee better off going to Vegas.
sideways sid said:
Negotiate costs!
Depends on the day. If it's a summer Saturday you'll probably be told to get stuffed.Sorry to mention it again, but it's staggering to see the discounts some of the grooms negotiate on Don't tell the Bride - but they're doing the wedding at very short notice so it's upside business for everyone involved as they wouldn't get another function in that timescale.
Deva Link said:
sideways sid said:
Negotiate costs!
Depends on the day. If it's a summer Saturday you'll probably be told to get stuffed.Sorry to mention it again, but it's staggering to see the discounts some of the grooms negotiate on Don't tell the Bride - but they're doing the wedding at very short notice so it's upside business for everyone involved as they wouldn't get another function in that timescale.
We have negotiated a fair bit, but we have a specific place we want to get married and have the reception at, and the price we have got down to seems to be the best we can get. We have 60 people coming to the day plus an extra 30 to the evening, feeding that many people costs a fair whack, regardless of it being a wedding or not.
trooperiziz said:
Indeed, i'm forced to watch that show occasionally. Don't forget the price reduction that can be had if you have a camera crew with you! Maybe I should go along to the venue with a mate and a camera and just tell them it's going to be on telly...
We have negotiated a fair bit, but we have a specific place we want to get married and have the reception at, and the price we have got down to seems to be the best we can get. We have 60 people coming to the day plus an extra 30 to the evening, feeding that many people costs a fair whack, regardless of it being a wedding or not.
My brother and his wife used their church (far cheaper than a "venue", but she'd been going there for many years), Sainsbury's provided the food (admittedly a buffet), wine and Champagne from France, hired a village hall (£140 IIRC) and the wedding car was my father's XJ. They also hired a coach to get the guests from the church to the village hall. All the wedding favours had been made by hand by family and friends in the weeks before. The quartet were all friends as was the singer (all very good). Sandrine had a proper dress but everybody else wore normal lounge suits.We have negotiated a fair bit, but we have a specific place we want to get married and have the reception at, and the price we have got down to seems to be the best we can get. We have 60 people coming to the day plus an extra 30 to the evening, feeding that many people costs a fair whack, regardless of it being a wedding or not.
I think the entire wedding came in well under £4K for over 100 guests and they reckoned they'd overdone it on the food. It all went really well, much better than some of the expensive arrangements I've been to.
Maybe it's down to the people involved?
CDP said:
trooperiziz said:
Indeed, i'm forced to watch that show occasionally. Don't forget the price reduction that can be had if you have a camera crew with you! Maybe I should go along to the venue with a mate and a camera and just tell them it's going to be on telly...
We have negotiated a fair bit, but we have a specific place we want to get married and have the reception at, and the price we have got down to seems to be the best we can get. We have 60 people coming to the day plus an extra 30 to the evening, feeding that many people costs a fair whack, regardless of it being a wedding or not.
My brother and his wife used their church (far cheaper than a "venue", but she'd been going there for many years), Sainsbury's provided the food (admittedly a buffet), wine and Champagne from France, hired a village hall (£140 IIRC) and the wedding car was my father's XJ. They also hired a coach to get the guests from the church to the village hall. All the wedding favours had been made by hand by family and friends in the weeks before. The quartet were all friends as was the singer (all very good). Sandrine had a proper dress but everybody else wore normal lounge suits.We have negotiated a fair bit, but we have a specific place we want to get married and have the reception at, and the price we have got down to seems to be the best we can get. We have 60 people coming to the day plus an extra 30 to the evening, feeding that many people costs a fair whack, regardless of it being a wedding or not.
I think the entire wedding came in well under £4K for over 100 guests and they reckoned they'd overdone it on the food. It all went really well, much better than some of the expensive arrangements I've been to.
Maybe it's down to the people involved?
We originally planned to go cheaper, there are some lovely places in the Scottish Highlands which will do you a whole package for £3k.
However we found a place that we love, which costs a lot more. Neither of us are in the slightest bit religious so a church was always off the table, a nice room is all we need. The party and the food on the other hand, is going to be epic
trooperiziz said:
Quite possibly and fair play to them
We originally planned to go cheaper, there are some lovely places in the Scottish Highlands which will do you a whole package for £3k.
However we found a place that we love, which costs a lot more. Neither of us are in the slightest bit religious so a church was always off the table, a nice room is all we need. The party and the food on the other hand, is going to be epic
Hope you have a good one whatever you do.We originally planned to go cheaper, there are some lovely places in the Scottish Highlands which will do you a whole package for £3k.
However we found a place that we love, which costs a lot more. Neither of us are in the slightest bit religious so a church was always off the table, a nice room is all we need. The party and the food on the other hand, is going to be epic
trooperiziz said:
Well yes, but £833 a month savings isn't going to happen, so i'll need a loan of some sort, or to tap into the ISA.
I think you can worry too much, Personally, I would hang on to the ISA, that is valuable savings that you have built up and it would be a shame to wipe it out to start again even if it is for the happiest day of your life Figure out what you can save per month and start doing that (don't miss a monthly savings payment). You might find it is not that far off the £833 you might need over the next 18 months if you are creative. Use this for the deposits.
If you are half way there, then whack the rest on an 18/20 month interest free credit card rather than a loan. Keep with the savings and pay it off at a total loan cost of less than ~3% APR.
Obviously only do this if you can actually pay the CC off though which you can have demonstrated to yourself by saving for the next 18 months...
If you haven't managed to save the right amount, then get the loan nearer the time.
Bob.
p.s. I know others might say Credit Cards = Bad, but only if your discipline is bad. Interest free with the small up front fee can be the cheapest way to borrow the money.
whilst not being helpful at all: we did our wedding for £3k, and it was awesome.
£15k is a ridiculous amount for one day, though I know many (including my friends) spend a lot lot more. Thing is though, they are never worth it. Generally it just means hiring somewhere out that's a bit further away, and a bit less fun.
Just think of what else you could spend £12k on.
Back to being a little more helpful.
Save up as much as you can now per month. And whatever you are able to save, will equate to how much you could get a 0% credit card for and pay off over a year. But do give yourself leeway.
£15k is a ridiculous amount for one day, though I know many (including my friends) spend a lot lot more. Thing is though, they are never worth it. Generally it just means hiring somewhere out that's a bit further away, and a bit less fun.
Just think of what else you could spend £12k on.
Back to being a little more helpful.
Save up as much as you can now per month. And whatever you are able to save, will equate to how much you could get a 0% credit card for and pay off over a year. But do give yourself leeway.
Gassing Station | Finance | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff