With a new and improved format making it easier for you to see progress, here is the latest Net Worth Transparency report for May 2011.
Overall, this month was a big downer net worth wise, but it was mainly due to two main categories Wedding expenses and our Income changed.
The Bad
So, first things first: Weddings are expensive. My fiance and I are working hard to be as frugal as possible, but to have the wedding we want (not need) it costs a pretty penny. Not complaining, its just a reality. Most of the the expenses for it hit this month and there will be more in the next two months leading up to it, but we used savings to pay for it. (Note: This is a combined look at our finances, so while I paid off my student loans last fall and had the “debt free” feeling, we have her loans to pay off now.)
Secondly, my fiance has had a career shift from her previous job and is now studying to become a wedding and portrait photographer. She will be shadowing a photographer or two in Seattle this summer and working to improve her comfort with the camera. That being said, we’ll have to adjust our budget by not having the additional income. Both this dip in income and the increasing costs of the wedding can be seen in the following Net Income chart.
The Good
Despite the hit to our net worth, we knew these expenses were coming and we used savings to pay for them. We are not funding our wedding through credit cards or debt. We are excited that it is coming up quickly and if nothing else, it should make budgeting way easier!
Overall, a hit to our net worth in the short term, but the investment in our special day and having the freedom for my fiance to follow her passion mean more than the numbers.
Check out previous net worth transparency reports or figure out how to determine your net worth in just 10 minutes.
(Also, if anyone is going to be at the World Domination Summit this weekend in Portland, let me know. I’d love to meet up with you.)
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t see a whole lot of personal net worth online, very interesting look - thanks for sharing! I’m still a few years away from getting married but would like to start saving and preparing myself for the financial hit. It would be great to hear an estimate of what you guys are planning on spending or what you think a typical 100-150 person wedding costs.
Hey Chris, glad to see you around! There are definitely big ranges for what a wedding can cost depending on how simple/fancy it is, where you are having it (rural/city), and how many people are coming.
There are a lot of costs that aren’t related to how many guests you have (clothes for examples), but food/alcohol is directly tied to food.
I would save more than you think.
Looking back, saving for the ring was the easy part!
Hey Caleb, I hear you about weddings being expensive…
I’m glad mine will be a weekend long event, and not just a few hours long. It will be worth every penny.
Weddings are definitely expensive!
BTW what program/service are you using for your reports graphics? Mint?
The graphics are directly from Mint.com. The spreadsheet is from Office for Mac 2011.
Thanks for sharing Caleb and congrats on the wedding man! Enjoy it!