The following is a guest post by Wayne at Young Family Finance. He writes to educate young families on the financial challenges of life, like paying your bills on time or choosing between daycare or stay at home parenting.

If you are thinking about getting married soon, chances are that you are trying to save money on your wedding. Weddings can be an expensive event to host, especially if you are getting married at a young age. If the bride’s parents are not paying for the wedding (and even if they are), you probably want to try and save every penny that you can. But where should you compromise and where to splurge? You may want to save money, but I doubt very few people are comfortable with sacrificing quality.

My Wedding Experience

My wife and I got married 2 and a half years ago. We didn’t go all out, but looking back now, we did overspend in a couple of areas. We were intentional about saving money on some of the more expensive areas of a wedding while not sacrificing the quality. For example, instead of buying a wedding cake, we purchased cheesecake from Costco. My wife and I love cheesecake and we were able to get more dessert for our money by going this route.

We also utilized some of the resources in the family. My wife’s aunt and uncle had a very nice house and landscaped backyard. Instead of paying thousands of dollars for a venue, they agreed to let us get married in their backyard. We didn’t have to sacrifice quality because their house had actually been featured in Better Homes and Gardens. While we were pretty intentional about not spending too much money on our wedding, we did make one mistake that we would change if we could do it all over again.

The Easiest Way to Save Money that I Missed Out On

The easiest way that you can save money on your wedding is by strategically scheduling the time of the wedding. I know you are probably asking yourself, “why would the time of the wedding could make such a big difference?” While it may not seem like the time of day that the wedding is scheduled at makes a difference, I can assure you it does for this simple reason: food. If you schedule your wedding for a late afternoon to be followed by a reception, as I did, the expectation is that you will have a meal for your guests.

Having a meal for your guests can place a huge financial stress on you or the bride’s parents. This is never a good way to start out a marriage. Instead, think of scheduling your wedding at a time that would allow people to have lunch and then come to your wedding. Scheduling your wedding at 2pm, for example, would allow you to have a dessert reception following the ceremony.

Simply by being strategic with the time of day that you plan your wedding, you can save thousands of dollars. If you don’t want to switch to an unconventional time, you do have other options. For example, you could have a potluck of sorts. Yet, for me I would rather keep it classy. To me, potluck doesn’t scream classy, but the exact opposite. Ultimately, it’s all about your preferences and what you want to happen on that very special day, but don’t overlook this small change that could save you thousands of dollars (like I did).

[Note from Eric: Whenever I think of weddings, I think of this video. I just had to share.]

What are other ways you can save on a wedding?

Image by tinou bao

Easiest Way to Save Money on Your Wedding is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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This is a guest post from Jeff at Sustainable Life Blog as part of the Yakezie blog swap. Jeff writes about finances, sustainability and DIY. This week, we are discussing How to raise a millionaire – developing your child’s entrepreneurial aptitude. You can see my post on the same topic at Jeff’s site.

Basics First

Foster Creativity

The self-made millionaire is all over everyone’s favorite american success stories. Someone worked hard as a youngster at something obscure, got a gem idea and then turned it into a multi-million or multi-billion dollar business. Think Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, or Bill Gates. All of them had the creative spirit that helped foster entrepreneurship, and hit the ground running when they had a great idea. Another way you can foster creativity is expose your child to more problems. If you see a problem, point it out the child and see what they think about it – millionaires don’t just happen, they get that way because they find a problem (or figure out what we want before we know we want it) and come up with a creative solution for it. It doesn’t have to be the latest computer or tech app either, if you’ve got a way to deliver clean water more efficiently to rural communities across the globe, you can make millions. The people you’re helping may not be able to pay for it, but people who are interested in helping the people with the problem will be.

Encourage Friend Making (Networking)

There are plenty of good ideas that end up fizzling out or never even taking off because the person who thought of the idea was unable to effectively market it. As unfortunate as this is, it still happens, and there’s plenty of ways around it. If your child is good with people, odds are he or she will be able to recognize when they are not the best at something, and reach out to a friend that they think will do a better job. Guidance from the friend can help turn a dud into the next Snuggie. This doesn’t only work for marketing, either – they could be stuck with an unworkable prototype and have a friend with a way to fix it, or they’re stuck with a poor model that a friend can help refine and make easier to use for the end-user. No matter what the situation is, having outside input and being able to consider it thoughtfully, will help your child get far.

Readers: Do you have children? Do you want them to become businessmen, or do you think they’ll do better working for something else? Would you like to see them learn anything about business or have them strike out on their own?

Image by vastateparksstaff

Yakezie Blog Swap – Raising Millionaire Children is a post from: Narrow Bridge

Related posts:

1. Yakezie Blog Swap #3 Roundup
2. Yakezie Blog Swap #10 Roundup
3. Yakezie Blog Swap: Getting Value From Spending

This post is cross posted on the Betterment blog as part of the Betterment New Year’s Carnival. 

Every year around the holidays, people start talking about New Year’s resolutions. The most common among people I know is to get in shape or fix their finances. The problem is, New Year’s resolutions often do not work, especially when compared to taking immediate action on your goals.

New Year’s Resolutions: Waste of Time?

Thinking back to everyone who had a resolution last year, I can’t think of one that followed through until today. Sure, someone paid for a gym membership that was used six or eight times in January. I do know someone who created a budget, but stopped tracking in February.

Why does everyone fail?

It is simple to explain. If you are not willing to do something right now, why would you be willing to do it in two weeks? If you have been bad about going to the gym for the last five years, why is January 1^st special?

It is not. Setting New Year’s resolutions for the future is not the most effective and efficient way to accomplish what you really want.

Small Lifestyle Changes Work

If you want to get in shape, you have to be motivated by one of two things. Either you have to want it enough to change, or you have to value your current situation little enough to make the effort. That is no secret, it is simply psychology.

If your situation is not enough to motivate you to make a big budget change today, you are not going to change it on January 1^st. You need to focus on small adjustments rather than dramatic changes. If you go to restaurants four days every week, do not say that you are going to stop going to restaurants to save money. Say that you are going to go twice per week to save some money.

If you want to lose weight, don’t think you can start a dramatic new diet on January 1^st. You are going to follow it for a day, or a week, or a month, or a few months. Then, one day, you will cheat. You will give in and have that chocolate milk shake and stop going to the gym all at once.

Instead, say that you are going to stop eating candy and ice cream six days a week. If you make those small changes, you are more likely to succeed in the long run. After six months, try to make additional changes so the transition is less dramatic.

Make a “Right Now” Resolution

Whether you are trying to lose weight, fix your budget, or learn a new skill, do not make a New Year’s resolution that is destined to fail. Make a right now resolution. If you care enough to do it in two weeks, you should care enough to do it today.

Your Resolution Successes and Failures

How have you done on resolutions in the past? Whether they were for a new year or just because you wanted to make a change, please share your stories in the comments.

Get a $25 Account Bonus when you sign up for Betterment. Start now!

Image by mikebaird.

Why New Year’s Resolutions are a Waste of Time is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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This is a post from my friend Jeff at Sustainable Life Blog as part of the Yakezie blog swap. Jeff writes about finances, sustainability, health and self reliance on his blog 3 times per week. You can see my post on the same topic at Jeff’s blog.

Lots of spending is value driven. For the most part, if you didnt value that 4th beer on a friday night or that cup of joe before work on Tuesday, you wouldn’t spend money buying it. Of course, some of this could be chalked up to habit (or lack of sound decision making poweress in the former case), but usually our spending reflects our values. Before I got my finances in order, I refused to believe this, mainly because I knew where most of my spending went, and it wasnt in line with what I thought my values were. I quickly realigned my spending, and things are going great.

I break my spending down into a few categories, but I get the most value from just a few of them, and for vastly different reasons. One of the things that I spend quite a bit of money on is traveling – usually to visit friends, but occasionally just for vacation. One of the other important things that I spend money on that I get a great amount of value from is debt repayment (lame, I know) but it will provide me with freedom in the future. I’ll talk about each of these in greater detail below

For the travel, a lot of my recent travel has been to and from friends weddings and bachelor parties. Even though I was in and out of cars and airports all summer, it was important to me to stand with my friends and be a part of their wedding. Of course, I had a great time with my friends on their big day, created a bunch of memories and ruined a bunch of professionally taken wedding photos (just kidding….). While occasionally the amount that I spent on flights, etc to get where I needed to go dressed in what I needed to wear was high, it didnt matter. Seeing my friends enjoy themselves and be there for them was totally worth every penny.

Thought I’m not (typically) a responsible person or financial blogger, I did say that I get a high amount of value from repaying debt, which is a really lame answer. Debt sucks, and I don’t like it, and every time I pay it down, I’m that much closer to being free of monthly obligations, and can use that money to further my goals for the future, instead of paying off things that I did in the past. I don’t actually value paying down the debt per say, but I do value what it represents: freedom from financial ties and obligations, so that I can use my money how I want, where I want and when I want, for whatever I want. The freedom that I’ll have when I get to a point where I’ve got no debt is what I value the most.

Readers: What about you? What do you spend your money on that gives you a lot of value? Does your spending reflect your values as accurately as you’d like?

Image by jerandsar.

Yakezie Blog Swap: Getting Value From Spending is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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I recently had a conversation with a friend (a girl) about money and dating. We are both single and have both been on dates with a handful of people recently. It got me thinking about gender roles and dating and money.

First Date

My opinion: Guy pays for everything

Her opinion: Guy pays for everything

I would say that this is going to be a fairly standard answer across the board unless you are an uber feminist or broke guy. I fully believe that the guy needs to step up and pay for every cost in the first date.

Ladies, if he does not offer to pay for everything, he is either a deadbeat or not that into you. Either way, he is not worth date number two if he can’t man up and pay the bill.

Second Date

My opinion: Guy usually pays for everything, might allow girl to pay for desert

Her opinion: Guy pays for everything

We are getting into gray area on the second date. A girl should not come across as a user, so she should not suggest an expensive date and expect it all to be paid. I never do expensive second dates, so I am always happy to pick up the tab.

If we go for ice cream (or something similar) after dinner, I always offer to pay. If she insists, I will let her take the tab as long as I paid for dinner first.

Third Date

My opinion: Guy usually pays, splitting parts or her paying for small part acceptable

Her opinion: Girl can pay, but probably should not be asked to

I will never ask a girl to pay on a date. That is something I picked up from my Grandpa, a real southern gentleman. If she insists at this point, however, I am not going to put up a big fight. At the third date you are reaching “relationship” level and the guy can’t be expected to pay for everything forever.

Beyond The Third Date

My opinion: Guy pays more than half of the time, but alternating paying for meals and activities is fine

Her opinion: Split costs to keep things fair

Once you are “dating” someone or in an official relationship, it is normal for a couple to split the costs. In my last relationship, I usually paid for dinner or anything expensive (I had a better job) and she paid for cheaper dinners or lunches.

The key is finding a balance where you are both comfortable. If the guy is always paying, the girl could feel cheap or the guy could feel resentful. If the girl pays more, a guy could feel like less of a man for it. It is important to have a money talk early on to see how you both stand on paying for dates and activities together. Bad money communication could lead to a quick breakup and end a relationship that had great potential.

Your Thoughts?

How do you deal with paying while dating? If you are married, what worked for you early on? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Image by taqumi.

Money and Dating is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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This is a guest post from Money Beagle as part of the Yakezie blog swap. This week, we are all answering the question: “What are things you never go cheap on and why?” You can see my post on the same topic at his blog.

Hi, Narrow Bridge readers.  I’m Money Beagle, a personal finance blog with a ‘bark’ that focuses on my everyday experiences and thoughts on topics like shopping, coupons, debt, retirement, and the economy.   Eric and I are ‘swapping’ blogs today. When shopping, there are things where it’s OK to buy the cheapest alternative out there and not get burned, then there are things where you don’t want to buy the cheapest version.

This is a list of seven items that I don’t buy on the cheap.  And why.

Note: I do always look for value in the items below.  I’ll shop around.  I’ll check for discounts or rebates.  So, make sure you always do that!

1. Car Tires – We have purchased most of our tires at Discount Tire, as they’ve established a good, trustworthy relationship with us over the years.  I will usually find out what tires are rated to last a certain mileage, and will base my decision off that.  The cheapest sets will have a guarantee with low mileage, typically around 15-20K, but some of the ‘better’ tires will be guaranteed for 40K or more.  If I’m planning on keeping the car for a long time, it makes better sense to pay 50% more for tires that will last 100% longer (and if they wear out faster, Discount will pro-rate the difference into a new set).
2. Outdoor Equipment – When we moved into our house in 2007, we needed just about everything for keeping the lawn trim and neat.  Consumer Reports and online reviews steered me toward products that cost a little more, but were designed to last.  I got a lawn mower, edger, trimmer, leaf blower, hedge trimmer, and other assorted items.  I did have to replace one (the string trimmer), but considering that was the lowest price item out of all of them, so far I’m glad I spent a little extra.
3. Computers - I bought my last desktop computer in 2004 or 2005.  It’s been that long that I can’t even remember.  At that time, the ‘cheap’ computers were from companies like eMachines or Acer.  I have always bought Dell or HP products, and I’ve never once had a computer that completely stopped working.  I’ve always made the decision to retire them gracefully, and I believe that’s largely because I paid a little more up front (for the record, the desktop computer mentioned above is still chugging along!)
4. Peanut Butter – It’s name brand or nothing for me.  Every time I’ve tried a store brand peanut butter, it fails completely.  Jif or Skippy are the only ways to go, and I’m willing to pay a little extra for them!
5. Diapers and Baby Wipes – We get Pampers diapers and Huggies wipes.  There are generic brands and lower-priced name brands available, but we’ve never had luck otherwise.  Generic or lower-rated brand name diapers have either given our kids rashes or been prone to leaking.  Store brand wipes either tended to smear things around too much or were over/under moistened.
6. Breakfast Cereal - Most generic breakfast cereal we’ve tried has not tasted the same as the name brand stuff.  The one time I did find a store version that I liked, it turned out that it had over 25% more sugar (no wonder it tasted good!) so we’ve decided to stick with brand names, and look for coupons and sales to stock up with.
7. Our house – We bought our house back in 2007.  When we looked, we found a couple of homes that met our needs and were a lower cost per square foot.  But, there were problems with each of them.  Some neighborhoods had concerns we didn’t like.  Some had decor or other problems which could have resulted in higher costs.  We decided to pay a bit more per square foot to get a house that was move-in-ready and met just about every single one of our needs.

Don’t Buy Cheap – Yakezie Blog Swap is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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If you read the news today or listen to talk radio, you will most likely hear some mention of unemployment and how bad the economy is. I disagree, the economy is in great shape. You just need to look after yourself to ensure your personal economy stays on top.

Education

Education is the core to most people’s financial success. If you look at top CEOs today, almost every single one has a college degree. Many of them have master’s degrees. Most of them went to business school or have an MBA. This is not a coincidence.

If you want to keep your economy stable, you need an education and a degree that will lead to the future you want. I am thrilled that so many people want to be social workers, but a $60,000 master’s in social work from a private university will likely make you $25,000 per year. Is that warm fuzzy feeling worth it?

The same university offers an MBA for the same cost. That degree will leave you making double what a social work degree will make you.

History degrees, art degrees, English degrees, and other liberal arts do not have a bright future today. Unless you want to be a teacher or go to grad school, these degrees will help you land a job with good benefits at Starbucks. Make sure you know what you are getting into when you pick a major.

If you don’t believe me, this graph from the Department of Labor breaks down the numbers.

Savings – Emergency Fund

Even the strongest economies often hit hard times. The United States has had a Great Depression and a handful of recessions to keep us on aware of what can happen if you do not have strong momentum.

But, just like a strong economy, you can hit hard times. I know a whole lot of people from my former employer that were laid off after it was purchased by another company. People with law degrees, accounting and finance degrees, and MBAs were laid off just like everyone else.

While these people have better odds of finding a good job than someone with a high school diploma, they still have to pay the bills and support their families in until that happens.

If you are young and single, you need an emergency fund that can cover at minimum three months expenses to have as a backup for a rainy day. If you have a family to support, you should build an even bigger cushion to ensure you can make it through tough times.

Retirement and Investments

New businesses open everyday, and old businesses close everyday. Whether they were forced out by competitors or decided to close up shop to pursue other adventures, if they were run the right way, they have a good nest egg behind the operation.

You need a strong nest egg too. When you are ready to close up shop and take up a full time golf and sailing career, you need to have the cash in the bank to get you where you want to go.

I invest over 10% of each paycheck automatically into a combination of savings, investments, 401(k), and Roth IRA accounts. If you do that for the duration of your career, you should be in good shape when retirement comes around.

Insurance – Health, Life, and Everything Else

If the economy gets hit with a terrible event, the government and taxpayers have to foot the bill to keep things going. Unfortunately for you, the government and your neighbors will not hand you money to keep going when times get tough.

Make sure you have health, life, auto, homeowner, and any other insurance you need to protect yourself and your family from unforeseen catastrophe. As I recently learned, a $600 illness can cost thousands if you are not adequately covered.

Budget

If you are wondering how you are going to pay to keep your economy going strong, look no further than the trusted budget. If you keep your spending under control and focus on the end goal, you can find a balance between income and expenses that should keep your economy chugging along no matter what life brings you.

If you have never used a budget, take a look at Mint.com or Adaptu as great personal finance tracking tools that will automatically keep you on the right path.

Multiple Income Streams

Okay, okay. I know everyone’s situation is different. Maybe you don’t make enough money to support your lifestyle. While I strongly believe everyone has the ability to live below their means, many people live beyond what they can afford anyway.

You can be like me and try to turn hobbies into income and make multiple income streams. I know many stay at home moms that have built successful blogging businesses. I know full time workers that have a photography gig or weekend business. I even run a flash mob business when I am not working.

You can easily come up with a way to make more money. If you are struggling, I recommend Ramit Sethi’s Earn 1k course as a good place to start.

Don’t Forget to Have Fun

I know all of this might sound stressful and difficult, but if you make a list and knock things out one at a time, you will be all fixed up in no time.

Image by epicharmus.

Fixing Your Own Economy is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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Over the last couple of years, I have been very entrepreneurial. I have started three small businesses and the IRS requires that I track the income and expenses for tax reasons. While this may sound daunting, it is actually not difficult if you know where to start.

Pro Option – QuickBooks

If you want to jump in headfirst with the Cadillac of financial software, you need look no further than Quickbooks. Quickbooks is an intensive suite of financial tools that allows you to track income and expenses by account, assets, liabilities, and even payroll from one dashboard.

The biggest benefit of QuickBooks is the extensive capabilities. You can create an income statement, balance sheet, and budget reports from a powerful dashboard. You can easily download statements from most financial institutions to conduct account reconciliations. (Note for bloggers and online businesses, PayPal is not an option for automatic statement downloads) You can do everything you might need to do in one place.

The biggest downsides are the cost and complexity. If you are just starting out, you might not want to spend hundreds of dollars to get the relevant version for your needs. You also likely do not need the flexibility of the program. It is complicated to learn when you are starting out, and something simpler might be quicker if you do not have many transactions or accounts to track.

Web Savvy Option – InDinero

I gave InDinero a test drive when I started my flash mob business. It is free if you have a low volume of transactions per month and has increasing fees depending on your activity and to keep a long history.

InDinero is the Mint.com for business. It automatically links into your bank and credit accounts and updates transactions daily. It will create simple financial reports and can track your budget. It does what most online personal finance software does; however, it has a business focus.

I love how easy, simple, and clean the InDinero interface is, but it is not powerful enough for a large company. Small online businesses with a low transaction volume could benefit from the time saving and simple interface from InDinero. Another great feature is the accountant access so your bookkeeper or professional accountant can access your books too.

Old School Option – Microsoft Excel

If your business is simple and has low reporting requirements, Excel may be adequate for your needs. The biggest advantage of Excel is the flexibility (you do everything yourself) and the low cost, as most business owners already have Office installed. If you are familiar with Office, you can do great things quickly.

The downside is that everything is completely manual. You track everything on your own and create your own reports. I would avoid this option unless you plan on keeping a low volume, low income business for the long run.

Where Should You Start?

If you have big aspirations, I would start where you think your needs will be in the long run. Converting between accounting software and methodology takes a lot of work and can be expensive. If you think you are going to be big, start with the most flexible and powerful option you think you will need.

I have QuickBooks installed on my laptop already, so each time I start a new entrepreneurial adventure, I just boot up and start a new QuickBooks business file. The worst that can happen is I wasted a little time if the business does not do well. On the bright side, when the business starts to take shape and grows, I am already set to scale.

Your Thoughts

Do you have any thoughts or questions about small business accounting? If you have started a business in the past or run one today, how do you track everything? Please share in the comments.

Image by futureshape.

Small Business Accounting Options is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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This past weekend, I moved into my new condo. It takes a lot of work to move, and you have to decide if it is better to pay a professional moving company or make the move on your own.

Moving Company

Moving companies’ rates depend on a lot of different factors. How big is your home? How much stuff do you have? Is it already packed up or do the movers have to do it? How far are you moving? How many people are going to be needed to move your stuff? How big will the truck be?

There are a lot of factors. For a cross town move, a one bedroom apartment would cost about $200-$300 in my city.

The biggest benefit of the movers is that you don’t have to do the work yourself. You just pay and someone else does the heavy lifting. It is worth it to some people, but others would rather suck it up and take care of it themselves.

Friends

I decided to skip the moving company and recruited four friends to help with my move. Here was my cost breakdown:

Rental Truck: $65

Moving Boxes/Tape: $15

Pizza: $25

Beer: $20

Total: $125

Moving myself did save me some money, but it was a lot of work. Retrospectively, I would hire someone to do it for me. However, I did enjoy spending the time with my buddies, I did enjoy driving the big truck, and I did enjoy the accomplished feeling at the end of the day.

Your Opinion/Experience?

If you were going to move across town today, would you do it yourself or hire movers to take care of it for you? In the past, how have you taken care of moving? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments.

Recent Carnivals/Roundups

Thanks to My Personal Finance Journey and Free From Broke for including me in recent carnivals and roundups.

Photo by james.thompson.

Moving: Friends or Professionals is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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If you are like me, you know a lot of people getting married. It seems that about every month or two, a friend calls me to tell me the good news. Of course, my first reaction whenever a buddy gets engaged is to sing the song ‘Another One Bites the Dust.’

After I am done mourning their loss, I get to work on the parts that impact me. I figure out if I can go, I check out my vacation time at work, I research flights and hotels, I make sure my wardrobe works for the wedding, which is easy because I own a tux and four suits, and make sure everything is lined up for the trip.

What always turns out to be an after thought, though, is the gift. Going to a wedding is not cheap. Flight, hotel, and rental car can easily approach $500 depending on the destination. Once you factor in meals, bar visits with friends, airport parking, and other incidental costs, $500 becomes conservative. If you are in your 20s or 30s, you might have several of these per year. Ouch!

But being there for a friend is a wonderful thing to do. Being a part of a wedding (I have been an usher a lot of times amongst other jobs) is fun and an honor. Getting there a day or two early to get your good friend incredibly drunk and pay for a few lap dances is even better.

But then, on top of all of that, you have to buy them a present. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind buying a wedding present or gift card for a friend. But knowing how much to spend and what to get can be tough. I recently read that the average wedding gift costs $70.

Many experts have rules on how you should decide what to spend on a wedding gift, but I think you have to figure out your own way to decide what you can afford and what is appropriate. Here are the guidelines I use:

• For a good friend from high school or college, I usually spend about $50-$60.
• For a lifelong friend or someone I consider to be a very close friend, I usually spend about $75.
• For a “dead hooker in a trunk friend” (see below for explanation), I spend about $100.
• If I am bringing a girlfriend/date to the wedding, I add on about $25.
• This has increased over time as my income has increased. When I was right out of school, I usually spend about $50 no matter was as that is what I could afford.

What are your guidelines? How do you decide what to spend? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

*A dead hooker in a trunk friend is someone you could call if you somehow end up in a situation where you have a dead hooker in your trunk. This friend would help you out of the situation rather than just calling the cops. I have never had the situation arise, but I know exactly who I could call.

Image from Shelley Panzarella.

Wedding Present Economics is a post from: Narrow Bridge

Related posts:

1. The Economics of Moving
2. A Present That I Used to Save Me Money