Savings Equation

Perhaps you have a few Gs in the bank just tucked away for your wedding, or you’re marrying rich (or you’re the rich one…you go girl) and money just isn’t an issues. Or maybe you need to do a little saving before the big day. Weddings can be pricy, and have been getting more and more expensive (my eyes almost popped out of my head when my mom told me her wedding only cost them about $2,000). Two grand will get you some invitations these days, or perhaps a cake, or a wedding dress, but chances are not all three!

So, if you’re a bride or a groom, or someone helping to contribute to a loved one’s wedding, here is a little equation to help you determine how much money you can save up. Let’s call it the “Savings Potential Equation”.

You existing savings:
(value of liquid savings) x (percent that you want to put towards your wedding)

Your savings potential:
(your combined monthly income) x (percentage you want to put towards your wedding) x (number of months in your engagement)

Also factor in money you might be getting from other places (aka parents). So the final equation would look something like this:

Existing savings + Savings potential + Parental contribution

Lets work through a sample (flashback to algebra class!).

Let’s say I have $20,000 saved in my bank account. I want to spend a quarter of that on my wedding. Let’s also say that I, along with my fiancé, make about $8,000 a month, of which twenty percent we would like to put towards our wedding (which is a year away). Finally, we will receive an additional $3,000 from each of our families. Now solve!

Existing Savings:
20,000 x .25 = $5,000