I just read a news at BBC.com (Click here) and was surprised how people (in China) spends for their engagement and wedding day. We all know wedding is one of the most important day of our lives. It is a life-changing event not only for the couple-to-be but also to their family and friends.
While reading the news, I almost envy the woman who got a diamond engagement ring from his fiance that costs $3,500 and then I realized that putting a huge investment on these material things really does not guarantee a life-long happiness . I remember my engagement ring was a simple white gold that looks like a wedding ring too. So it's the same ring we used when we got married. So we saved some money out of that. Good thing me and my husband is not very particular on such things. Also, I think it's not about the money value of the ring but the sentimental value of it.
People spends their fortune (5 years or less savings) on their wedding day and starts with $0 balance, in worse case a negative balance, on their bank account the next day after marriage. Couple should be practical on how much of their savings would be allocated in this event because the struggles does not start before marriage but AFTER marriage. A practical marriage needs a detailed planning and budgeting. Also, the budget should not stop after the wedding day but has to continue at least one more year after that so the couple could visualize if they can still accommodate the cost of their wedding. The first year of marriage is a critical year for the couple, so you need to avoid all the unnecessary pressures in your marriage life and sad to say, MONEY is one of that. If the couple spends all their money on their wedding, husbands will be ressured to earn money, their tendency is to work hard until finally, the quality time for their wife is being occupied by their work. On the other hand, the wife, if not working, will be longing for his husband's time and if she can't have it she usually spends these 'time' shopping, going out with friends, etc. If the wife is also working, then both of them struggles to earn money and will apparently will lost their time for each other. This is the start of marriage breakdown.
Financial pressure, although shallow, is a big contributor in marriage breakups. So for all the people who are planning to get married, plan you wedding according to your financial capacity. Though all of us wants to have the BEST WEDDING EVER, it does not mean we spend all our money on it. We can have the best wedding, but a valuable one, on a simple ceremony. It will be a big waste of money if you had a prestigious wedding but gets separated later on. It will turn out that wedding day is a nightmare.
So be wise and invest not on your wedding day but on post-wedding days (that is the day one of your marriage till death do you part).
While reading the news, I almost envy the woman who got a diamond engagement ring from his fiance that costs $3,500 and then I realized that putting a huge investment on these material things really does not guarantee a life-long happiness . I remember my engagement ring was a simple white gold that looks like a wedding ring too. So it's the same ring we used when we got married. So we saved some money out of that. Good thing me and my husband is not very particular on such things. Also, I think it's not about the money value of the ring but the sentimental value of it.
People spends their fortune (5 years or less savings) on their wedding day and starts with $0 balance, in worse case a negative balance, on their bank account the next day after marriage. Couple should be practical on how much of their savings would be allocated in this event because the struggles does not start before marriage but AFTER marriage. A practical marriage needs a detailed planning and budgeting. Also, the budget should not stop after the wedding day but has to continue at least one more year after that so the couple could visualize if they can still accommodate the cost of their wedding. The first year of marriage is a critical year for the couple, so you need to avoid all the unnecessary pressures in your marriage life and sad to say, MONEY is one of that. If the couple spends all their money on their wedding, husbands will be ressured to earn money, their tendency is to work hard until finally, the quality time for their wife is being occupied by their work. On the other hand, the wife, if not working, will be longing for his husband's time and if she can't have it she usually spends these 'time' shopping, going out with friends, etc. If the wife is also working, then both of them struggles to earn money and will apparently will lost their time for each other. This is the start of marriage breakdown.
Financial pressure, although shallow, is a big contributor in marriage breakups. So for all the people who are planning to get married, plan you wedding according to your financial capacity. Though all of us wants to have the BEST WEDDING EVER, it does not mean we spend all our money on it. We can have the best wedding, but a valuable one, on a simple ceremony. It will be a big waste of money if you had a prestigious wedding but gets separated later on. It will turn out that wedding day is a nightmare.
So be wise and invest not on your wedding day but on post-wedding days (that is the day one of your marriage till death do you part).
