Wedding season tying your budget in knots? 8 tips to stay on track

It’s flattering being invited to a wedding, let alone multiple weddings. But, just as it can be eye-wateringly expensive to throw a wedding – the average wedding cost £18,400 in 2022 – it’s not cheap to attend one either.

Wedding guests are expecting to spend £1,045 per wedding this year – an 18% increase on last year, when wedding goers spent an average of £883 per wedding, according to a recent survey.

Guests are forking out £217.90 on average for a gift for the newlyweds this year. An amount closely followed by accommodation costs at around £204, and £203 on childcare costs. On top of this is the cost of travel (£196), and outfits and accessories (£160).

Staying committed to your own money goals amidst the festivities can be challenging. 27-year-old Rob Hannay, from London, for example, has had to withdraw money from his house deposit Pot to attend seven weddings this year.

If, like Rob, you’re going to multiple weddings this year while also trying to stick to your own financial goals, here are eight strategies to help you stay on track.

It’s a good idea to have a Pot for each goal you’re saving for, whether that’s a house deposit, a holiday or whatever else. Don’t neglect your Pots during wedding season.

You can also set money aside specifically for attending weddings. By allocating a fixed amount of money from your main account to a dedicated wedding Pot, you can manage your expenses without dipping into your essential savings.

To create a Pot in Monzo:

Planning ahead is crucial when attending multiple expensive weddings while saving for your own goals. Schedule regular payments to your dedicated wedding Pot and other Pots for your personal goals.

By automating these payments, your savings will grow consistently, helping you save enough funds for the upcoming events, reducing the temptation to overspend at the last moment.

Set up Scheduled Payments by:

It’s never too late to start the 1p Saving Challenge. This involves saving a little money every day, starting with 1p on 1st January, 2p on 2nd January, 3p on the 3rd, etcetera.

You can join at any point in the year, but you'd start saving from that date onwards. So if you joined on 1st August, you’d start with £2.13. After a year, if you started on 1st January, you’ll have a total of £667.95 saved towards your goal – without doing anything, or perhaps even realising.

You’ll need an app called IFTTT (which stands for ‘If This, Then That’). IFTTT lets you link your Monzo account to other apps and set up rules to move your money around automatically.

We’ll move the money into the Pot you chose every day automatically.

Every little helps when it comes to saving money. Every time you make a purchase, Monzo can round up the amount to the nearest pound and transfer the spare change into your designated Pot. 

Say you bought a flat white for £3.60, we’ll round up this amount to £4 and put 40p away into your chosen Pot. People on average save over £100 every year with roundups.

To turn on round-ups, just create a new Pot and select Round up payments.

If you've already got a Pot you want to add round ups to, go to your Pot's settings and tap Round up payments from there.

These micro-savings may seem insignificant initially, but they can accumulate over time and help you save towards your goal even in expensive periods.

If you get your salary paid into your Monzo account, you can use Salary Sorter to automatically separate it between spending your money, savings and bills each month.

To do this, you’ll need Pots already set up. Simply tap the payment once it arrives in your account and select Salary Sorter.

There’s an option to remember these preferences when you’re paid from the same sender again. And you can always edit the amounts at a later date.

To avoid financial stress during wedding season, it's worth creating a budget and sticking to it. In Monzo, you can set spending limits for various wedding-related categories, such as gifts, travel and outfits.

By closely monitoring your expenses within these limits, you'll have a clear overview of your spending habits and be able to make informed financial decisions.

Use the Trends tab to see your current spending. Balance shows a total of the money coming in and out of your account. This can help you pace yourself throughout the month. It also tells you how much you’ve got left to spend after bills and upcoming payments, so you don’t find yourself short.

Spending breaks down your transactions by category or merchant. Tap each category or merchant to see the individual transactions.

Set new monthly spending targets based on your current income, outgoings, goals and priorities. Go to Trends, tap Target then Get started. Choose the accounts, spending categories and monthly start date you’d like to track, then set a monthly spending target. Track your spending using the interactive graph.

If you’ve found yourself dipping into your personal savings Pots to attend weddings, try removing the temptation factor altogether. Make it easier to stick to your savings goals by locking your Pots. 

To lock a Pot:

You’ll still be able to manually add money and schedule any payments in. But you won’t be able to withdraw any until the date you set.

If you’re in a particularly expensive period and feel disheartened that you’re not making enough progress towards your own goal(s), don’t give up completely if you can afford to. 

Reducing the amount you’re saving is okay, but aim to keep contributing towards your goal, however small the amount. This will make it easier for you to pick up where you left off once wedding season is over.

Attending multiple weddings need not derail your financial goals. By using Pots, scheduled payments, Salary Sorter, budgeting tools, locked Pots, round ups and the 1p Saving Challenge, you can celebrate your friends and loved ones and dance the night away without compromising your long-term plans. 

To apply for a Monzo bank account and access Pots you must be a UK resident. Ts&Cs apply.