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How do you start planning a budget as a broke college student? XP

I posted this in Budget as well but though I could get more insight from other students as well:

My fiance and I are getting married after our second year (2014) in college - Aug 2015.
I keep reading that budget it is a good place to start but I have no idea how to start planning a budget. We don't have much money to speak of currently and if we do it goes toward living expenses. I'm hoping to start saving little by little in the coming months neither of us make enough to spare right now. I know no one can tell me a definitive amount some spend a little and some spend hundreds of thousands of dollars. We want to have a ceremony and a reception (not in a court house or something). 

Does anyone have any tips for starting a budget? or have a suggestion a minimum amount?

Re: How do you start planning a budget as a broke college student? XP

  • I answered you on budgets. For us, it was really a back and forth of what we had and what we wanted. The Knot budget tool was completely useless for me, other than giving me ideas of what categories to make sure I get estimations for.
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_students_how-do-you-start-planning-a-budget-as-a-broke-college-student-xp?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:684Discussion:f8b427a2-7548-4051-a4e3-4e5cfccf07a5Post:9ee0d59c-0bd3-4065-bcf7-e3ee2cfb5fd2">Re: How do you start planning a budget as a broke college student? XP</a>:
    [QUOTE]Personally, I think that the Knot's budget planner is a great place to start.  Just play around with it and see what kind of figures it suggests.  I put in the maximum I was willing to spend, then went through each category to see how I would adjust it.  Prioritize what is and isn't important to you.  If it's not important, don't waste your money on it. Finally FI and I talked about what we could realistically afford/felt comfortable spending, and downsized it yet again.   As for a minimum budget, if you are flexible and have lots of time to plan (which you do), I think anything's possible.<strong> One piece of unsolicited advice?  Sometime in the next few semesters, I'd be sure to make an appointment with the financial aid office and see how getting married will affect what you pay for college.  </strong>Some <strong>universities have cheaper housing for married students, and your scholarship/grant eligibility might change too</strong>. Good luck planning!
    Posted by elBecko[/QUOTE]<div>
    </div><div>We're going to a two year college we started in 2012 so we will be done by April 2014. We won't be getting married until Aug 2015. So we won't be racking up other college loans just paying off the ones we already have. And if I were to go back after 2014 it would only for generals so I'm not really concerned about eligibility on things. But thank you !

    </div>
  • There are many great sites like mint.com that help you plan and track your budget.  Those a good places to start.  Really, weddings are about prioritizing, how many people you want to have, and your location.  What is important to you?  Do you want a big wedding with all the bang?  If yes, you are going to need quite a bit of money.  If you would rather have a smaller wedding, it may not cost as much.   Make a potential guest list and look at how much catering + a venue will cost you.  That is a good place to start with how much money you might need.  From there you can adjust your budget to accommodate what you want.  GL!

    "Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained"-C.S. Lewis

    Married! May 27th, 2012

  • Super lengthy reply.


    I am going to a 4 year university and will graduated on May 19th. We got engaged last year on May 12th. We will be getting married in the Fall of 2014. Here is how I started my budget.


    How much do I plan to make at my future career that I will start in the fall?
    Lets say you will make $2,500 a month
    Take this amount and subtract your living expenses every month.
    ALWAYS OVER PLAN!!! You would rather have too much money left at the end of the month than too little.
    Lets say you plan to pay $900 for rent, $200 for utilities, $300 for food, $200 for personal, and $350 in payments on loans/phones/credit cards that equals $1,950
    $2,500-$1,950=$550
    Divide that in half for "just in case" money (like medical expenses, car troubles, losing a job) so $275 is how much we can save from my money every month.


    How much will my fiance make?
    Do the same for this amount
    Lets say you guys will be living together and he will make $2,000 a month, and all of his money will go towards the wedding.
    Divide that in half as well, and you get $1,000
    $1,000+$275=$1,275

    So we will be saving a total of $1,275 every month.

    Lets say we will have 13 months between the time we begin saving and the time that we plan on  having the wedding. So our beginning wedding budget is $1,275 X 13=  So we will have $15,300 as our beginning budget.

    Talk it over with family and find out if they are contributing any.

    Let's say your side is giving you $1,500 for the wedding and his side is giving you $1,200
    Then we can add $2,700 to the budget.

    $2,700+$15,300=$18,000

    So your budget for the wedding and honeymoon is $18,000


    This is how I planned our budget.... Hope it helps.



    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • Since you have plenty of time, you can do what we did. We discussed what we could realistically save each week toward the wedding after our bills and some spending money. We then set up a savings account and automatically transferred that amount into the account each week. We figured out how many weeks we had until our date, and that was the amount of money we had for our budget. This is also why we have a 3.5 year engagement, it's expensive to get married here! LOL
  • edited April 2013
    Also think about what you want for a wedding- evening? Daytime? Lots of people? Small and intimate? 

    Based on your IDEAL wedding, look at venues in your area. See how much they cost (and remember that YOU are hosting. Don't count on anyone else paying, and lurk on the etiquette board for what are bad ideas (no cash bars, dollar dances, honeymoon registries... ugh). Based on what venues cost in your region for what you ideally want, you can then start to either plan a budget, or adjust your idea of a wedding. Remember that daytime weddings with cake and punch are much cheaper than hosting dinner and a full bar, etc. 

    ETA: For example- this made a HUGE difference in my wedding. I wanted to get married at a pretty library in the Twin Cities, but it cost thousands of dollars. Getting married 2 hours away in our rural home town cost 1/4 of the price. That's the difference in venues. Check out your options. I maybe sacrificed a couple pretty photo ops, but saved a ton of money. 
    Daisypath Anniversary tickers
  • Look at different budgets and see what you could get with that kind of amount of money. After that look into how long it would take to raise that amount of money. Is it enough for your timeframe of getting married? Just take a look at different options, you don't have to commit to one thing right now. You have plenty of time.


      Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • SP29SP29 member
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    Great idea by Rebekah.

    I would also call around to different venues and vendors in your area to get an idea of how much what you want will cost. Do you have any ideas? For example, if you want a sit down meal at a banquet type place, call and get some prices per plate. Then you can decide on how many you think you'd invite. Calculate that cost per guest number. Does this number fit within our budget? If not, you'll either have to cut your guest list, or change your venue idea. 

    Likewise for flowers, DJ, photography, video, ceremony, dress, etc. Maybe you had envisioned centerpieces flowing with flowers for the reception, and flowers everywhere in your ceremony. If you call some florists for bouquet costs you will find that flowers are expensive and may decide you will only go with the minimal amount (I am only getting flowers for the bouquets and boutonnieres, our centerpieces will involve candles). 

    Good luck! TheKnot's budget tool is very useful- it will tell you what percentage of your budget general gets spent on what and you can play around with the money in different areas if you save well on one item. 
  • Start saving. Really, that's the only way you can build up your budget if you are literally a brok college student. If your families decide to help with costs, think of that as a bonus, but do not ask for their financial help.

    Figure out how much you can save between now and your date, and then plan a wedding you can afford with that money. If that means you can only afford to have your closest family and a cake and punch reception in the afternoon, then so be it. If you want to do more than that, you might have to push back your date in order to save more. It's all about priorities.
  • I second the fact that Rebekah gave good advice - I reemphasize what she said about over planning.  I did that for my budget for school this year, and it was a darn good thing that I did because I just had a credit card emergency and can't rely on it now . . . and also keep in my mind that you can get your dream wedding for a much lower price than what the wedding industry quotes.  They want every bride to spend the $28 000 that an "average" wedding costs.  I'll stick with my much smaller budget, thank you very much wedding industry . . . There are lots of ways to cut out things that people tell you are essential but really aren't, and then get what you want because you saved!

  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_students_how-do-you-start-planning-a-budget-as-a-broke-college-student-xp?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:684Discussion:f8b427a2-7548-4051-a4e3-4e5cfccf07a5Post:47999faa-6d5b-457a-9f29-34ca8d4cabb5">How do you start planning a budget as a broke college student? XP</a>:
    [QUOTE]I posted this in Budget as well but though I could get more insight from other students as well: My fiance and I are getting married after our second year (2014) in college - Aug 2015. I keep reading that budget it is a good place to start but I have no idea how to start planning a budget. We don't have much money to speak of currently and if we do it goes toward living expenses. I'm hoping to start saving little by little in the coming months neither of us make enough to spare right now. I know no one can tell me a definitive amount some spend a little and some spend hundreds of thousands of dollars. We want to have a ceremony and a reception (not in a court house or something).  Does anyone have any tips for starting a budget? or have a suggestion a minimum amount?
    Posted by marquata1[/QUOTE]


    Im also a student planning a wedding for next summer after which yes sadly i will still be in school. I found that startign with your must haves list; things that are really important to you and do a little research as to how much rentals cost. Our wedding will take place in a church but our reception is taking place outdoor outside the city therefore theres a lot of rentals involved. After finding out the very large number it will cost have a discussion as to how much you guys really want to spend we decided on 10500 is our max anything extra will have to be cut. Untimatly the number is super stressful but if you think about how much you may make as gifts from the wedding and a social hopfully you can at least break even if not have a little extra to help out later on for say a honeymoon.
  • Just start putting away a set amount a month.
    Deduct whatever loans and other expenses you may have and Calculate expected income.

    If you want a ceremony AND recpetion for a low price I'd say check out local places such as park, beach, museum, library etc.
    Also plan out what is important and what is not rearrage budget based on this.
    You can always eliminte the tiny details - do you reall need that guest book or fancy runner? (remember what matters most - the both of you !!!)
    DIY is also a better alternative so if you know someone who is crafty/talented.

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