Welcome to the first edition of ICYMI: A weekly-ish roundup of finance-related news that matters for you and your money.

The Consumer Confidence Index® increased again

The Consumer Confidence Index® (also known as CCI) is a survey that indicates how optimistic or pessimistic consumers feel towards their expected financial situation. The CCI uses the 1985 report as a baseline for comparison, because consumer confidence (in the 1985 report was even at 100, with consumers not feeling strongly positive or negative. The score is relative, so anything above 100 means consumers feel more optimistic about the economy and anything below 100 means they feel less confident. The CCI increased in September for the second consecutive month and now stands at 108.0; up from 103.6 in August. 

Pro tip: There are a ton of factors at play in the economy, and the CCI is just one indicator. But don’t let macroeconomics overwhelm your micro money decisions. Control what you can in your finances and make the best plan for you.  

If you’re new to the bonds game, a Series I bond is, “A savings bond that earns interest based on combining a fixed rate and an inflation rate.” According to treasurydirect.gov, “the initial interest rate on new Series I savings bonds is 9.62 percent. You can buy I bonds at that rate through October 2022.” For comparison, from May 2021 through October 2021 the rate was 3.54 percent, and from November 2021 through April 2022 the rate was 7.12 percent. The interest rate changes for Series I bonds occur semiannually.

Pro tip: If this type of asset benefits your money goals, look into it or talk to a financial professional. This type of high interest rate is one of the upsides of the crazy inflation we’re experiencing these days. And be sure to check out treasurydirect.gov as that’s the only legitimate place to purchase these bonds digitally.

The average 30-year mortgage rate is sky-high

The current average 30-year mortgage rate is 6.72 percent. Ouch. There’s no indication of when this rate will start to drop, but the high interest rates are driving housing prices down in some markets. So, if you’re on the hunt for a house – keep scrolling. You might find a gem.

Pro tip: Buying a house is a big financial commitment. In the event that you need to stay put in your current home a bit longer while you wait for rates to cool off, check out our guide to creating a home renovation budget.

According to Investopedia, “a non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique cryptographic token that exists on a blockchain and cannot be replicated. NFTs can represent real-world items like artwork and real estate.” So, if you’re looking to add some NFTs to your financial portfolio, now you can buy the first digital art NFT designed by an orangutan. Yes, you read that right. You can buy a piece of digital artwork created by an animal.

Pro tip: A sweet spot for using money as a tool for happiness is finding things or experiences that bring you joy while also adding to your overall financial progress.  



Welcome to Edition 1 of ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) by Happy Money featuring: Series I Bonds Interest Rates, A Recap of Sky-high Mortgage Rates, and the World's First Orangutan NFTs

ICYMI #1 – Series I Bonds, Sky-high Mortgage Rates, and Orangutan NFTs

Is the kitchen or bathroom in your home starting to look and feel a little outdated? Maybe you’ve started working from a home and need to add a home office. Or perhaps you’ve recently welcomed a child or children, and want to child-proof the home. It might be time for a home renovation! 

But pause before you start tearing down walls, picking new paint colors, or scheduling contractors. While renovating your home can make it more appealing or functional, and improve your quality of life, it often doesn’t come cheaply, and expenses could easily get overwhelming and out of control if you are not careful.

In this guide, we'll walk you through the steps of creating a renovation budget that works for your dreams and, most importantly, your wallet. 

Step 1: Determine the Scope of Your Project

The first step in creating a home renovation budget is to determine the scope of your project.

For example, are you planning a major renovation like raising your roof ceiling or redoing your entire electrical and plumbing system, or are you just making a few cosmetic changes such as changing your wall colors or replacing your cabinet doors?

Ask yourself what your goals are, or what you hope to achieve from the project, and then make a list of all the tasks you hope to include in it. 

Once you’ve compiled your list of tasks, order them by priority. At the top of the list, for example, you can include tasks or items that you consider "needs." These could be tasks or items that your renovation would simply not be complete without, tasks that are related to the functionality and safety of your home, or that will improve your quality of life.

At the bottom of the list, you can include tasks or items that are more "wants" than necessities. These are things that it would be nice to include in your project but that you can also live without.

If you are renovating your kitchen, for example, installing new cabinets, countertops, and new flooring could be put at the top of your list, while buying new appliances may be lower in priority.

The purpose of ordering your items by priority or separating them into “needs” and “wants” is to help you figure out what's most important for the project and what can be put on the back burner or even left out entirely if the estimated costs of your project ends up exceeding your budget.

Step 2: Estimate the Costs of the Project

Now that you have established the scope of your project and figured out what your priorities are, the next step is to estimate how much the whole thing will cost you. You can do that in a number of ways. 

One of your options is to get quotes from nearby stores and from friends, family members, or neighbors who might have completed similar projects. For example, after compiling a list of all the materials you think you will require for the project, you can visit a couple of hardware stores in your area and get quotes for them.

The other option is to use a resource like Home Advisor. On this site, you can find cost estimates for almost all types of home renovations. Here are a few examples of home renovations and their estimated costs from Home Advisor. 

Painting Your House’s Interior: $950 - $2,912

Installing or Replacing Countertops: $1,852 - $4,320

You can use a spreadsheet to break down the estimated costs for each project task. 

The spreadsheet can have 4 columns, for example. The first column can be for the project tasks. For a bathroom model, project tasks can include installing new tiles, installing new countertops, changing the shower heads, and any other needed items.

The second column can be for estimated material costs, the third of labor costs, and the final one for the total costs for each task.

Make sure to also factor in other miscellaneous expenses in your cost estimates (e.g. rental expenses if you will have to move out of the house during the duration of the project).

Your spreadsheet can look something like this. 

Step 3: Determine How You Will Be Financing the Project

You shouldn’t start a renovation project without a clear understanding of how you will finance it. After all, you don't want to start a project only to have to halt it midway due to a funding shortfall or delay.

There are multiple ways to finance a home renovation. The most common options are listed below. Consider each carefully to see which is the best one for your situation.

This is by far the safest option and the cheapest way to finance your home renovation. The advantage of using cash is that you don’t have to worry about getting into debt or messing with your home equity. At the same time, depleting your entire cash reserve means that you might be financially vulnerable if you were to face an unforeseen emergency.

A HELOC is basically a revolving line of credit that is secured against your home’s equity. With a HELOC, you can withdraw money as you need it, up to an allowed maximum amount. You will only pay interest on the amount that you borrow.

Since it’s secured against your property (unlike an unsecured line of credit like a credit card), it usually comes with a lower rate of interest. Its interest may also be tax-deductible.

Also called a second mortgage, a home equity loan, like a HELOC, is extended against the equity in your home. But unlike a HELOC, where you can draw out money as you like, with a home equity loan, the money is paid out in a lump sum with set terms and a set monthly payment.

This is where you basically replace your current mortgage with a new one with a higher balance. You will receive the difference in cash, which you can then use to fund your home renovation.

For minor home improvement projects, you can also opt for the sheer convenience of plastic.

If you decide to use a credit card to fund your project, try to use a card with a lengthy 0% APR introductory period so that you have sufficient time to pay off your balance without incurring interest charges.

You can also apply for a personal loan from a bank, a credit union, or an online option like Happy Money to fund your project. 

Unlike a HELOC or a home equity loan, these loans are unsecured. The application process is likely to be faster, and you are likely to get your money sooner. Keep in mind, however, that your credit score will largely determine your qualification for a personal loan, as well as the interest rate you get.  

Step 4: Compare Estimated Costs With Your Budget

To start, determine how much you are willing to spend on the project. This will, of course, be determined by the amount of money you have saved or that you are sure of getting from your chosen financing option.

Once you have the number, compare it with the total cost estimates from Step 2. 

Does everything you want to do fit within your budget? If the answer is yes, you are ready to proceed to the next step. 

If the answer is no, you have some work to do. 

Go back to your spreadsheet and analyze each line item. Are there any lower priority items or tasks you can eliminate to reduce costs?

Sometimes, you might not even need to eliminate a task entirely. Maybe you can complete the task with less expensive material. If you are retiling your bathroom, for example, you can opt for granite tiling in place of marble tiling due to the lower average cost of the former.

Make whatever adjustments are needed to align the project’s costs with your budget.

One common mistake that many homeowners make when planning a home renovation is failing to budget for unexpected expenses.

Something may go wrong or cost more than was originally planned or estimated during the renovation. Make sure to budget an additional 10% to 20% to serve as a safety net for any project overruns and unanticipated costs.

Step 5: Ask for Bids (If Hiring an Outside Contractor) and Make Your Pick

With your renovation plan and budget in place, it’s now time to hire a contractor to start work on the project.

To find a potential contractor, you can ask trusted friends, family members, neighbors, and tradespeople for recommendations.

Alternatively, you can use sites like Home Advisor and the National Association of the Remodeling Industry to get the contacts of qualified pros near you.

Compile a list of 3–5 contractors and request that they send you a detailed bid for your project. Compare the bids you receive to your budget to see which ones match or come close to matching it.

When selecting a contractor, don’t base your decision on cost estimates alone, i.e., don’t simply select the one who sends in the cheapest bid.

A contractor may be cheap for a reason; they may be using inferior materials or equipment, which could translate to poor quality work.

So, before you settle on any one contractor, make sure to also check out their:

Recent work samples that are similar or closely related to your project

Basically, take time to really understand what each contractor has to offer and if they have what it takes to handle the project.

If your preferred contractor's project estimates are higher than your budget, use a bid from a competitor to try and negotiate a lower amount.

Of course, it’s also possible that none of the bids you receive will match your budget. That could mean that you have probably underestimated the costs of your project. 

In that case, you will need to revisit your tasks and costs spreadsheet again. Next to each cost column in the spreadsheet, add another column and label it “actual costs''. Use the figures quoted by contractors to fill out the additional columns.

This will now give you a true and accurate picture of how much your renovation will cost. With this information, you can make additional changes to your renovation plan (for example, by eliminating even more lower priority tasks) to align the overall costs with your budget.

Of course, if you are able to obtain a bid that matches your budget from a contractor who checks all of the boxes, you'll not need to do all this. You can go right ahead and hire them and commence your project.

Renovating your home is no easy task, as you have probably realized by now. It takes time, effort, and money to turn your vision into reality. So when everything is done, don’t forget to take a moment to celebrate your hard work—you've definitely earned it.

Get even more financial tips and insights by checking out our other articles, offering up tons of helpful financial tricks to keep you on the path of using money as a tool for happiness.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Create a Home Renovation Budget that Fits Your Dreams (and Your Wallet’s Realities)

Credit card debt is a huge problem in America. According to recent data, Americans owe a total of $841 billion* in credit card debt. Meanwhile, the average American household with credit card debt owes about $6,300*.

If your credit card debt is causing you sleepless nights and stopping you from living life fully, one excellent strategy you can use to get out of it is creating a budget. A budget can help you track your spending and identify areas where you can free up money each month to put towards debt payments. 

Follow these steps to build a budget to help you tackle your credit card debt and regain your peace of mind.

Step 1: Work Out Your Monthly Take-Home Pay

The first step in creating a budget is to figure out your monthly take-home pay. This is the amount of money you take home each month after taxes and other deductions, such as health insurance premiums and 401(k) contributions. 

Your take-home pay includes the net pay for your regular job (which you can find on your pay stub) as well as other monthly sources of income, such as:

Step 2: Track Your Spending and Work Out Your Monthly Expenses

Once you have an idea of how much money you have coming in each month, the next step is to figure out how much you have going out by tracking your spending for at least a month.

Your expenses will typically fall into two major categories: fixed expenses and variable expenses.

Fixed expenses are those that stay the same every month. They include:

Variable expenses, on the other hand, typically vary in amount from month to month. They include expenses like:

If some of your variable costs usually change a lot from month to month, use an average of a few months.

There are 2 main ways to track your expenses. 

Manually by keeping a notebook or by using a simple program, such as Google Sheets.

Using an online tool or budgeting app such as Mint.com or You Need A Budget.

Manual Budgeting (on Paper or Using a Spreadsheet)

You have to input data manually and possibly do some calculations. This can be time-consuming.

It’s typically not possible to sync with your bank.

Ready-made or quicker to set-up. Spending categories are for example already created. for you and all you need is to plug in your information.

Can be synced with your bank or other financial accounts.

Some come with preset reports to help you analyze your spending.

Customization limitations (e.g.you might be limited to a certain number of or certain types of spending categories ).

The third step in creating a budget is to plan your goals. One of the goals you need to set, for example, is a timeline for getting out of credit card debt. Having a time frame in sight when you know you will be debt-free can help you stay motivated in your journey to eliminate your debt.

Naturally, this timeline will differ from person to person and will mainly be determined by the amount of debt you have and your current income. The most important thing is to be realistic and give yourself enough time to repay your debt.

Once you’ve established a timeline, work out how much you need to repay each month to achieve your goal. 

There are online calculators that can help you with that. All you’ll need to do is enter how much you currently owe, your interest rate, and the desired number of months to pay the debt off. The calculator will then let you know the minimum payment you need to make each month to achieve your goal.

The next step is to see if you have enough to meet these minimum payments. That is, after subtracting your fixed and variable expenses from your take-home pay, do you have enough money left to reach your goal?

If the answer is no, take a look at your expenses again and start thinking of ways to save money.

For example, you might be able to save money on food by cooking more at home instead of going out to eat. Or, you could even decide to cancel your expensive gym membership and start working out at home or outside. 

You might also be able to save money on your utilities such as natural gas and even insurance by shopping around for better deals with different providers.

These are just a few examples ⁠—go through expenses one by one to see where it’s possible to make savings.  

Of course, don’t go overboard when it comes to trimming expenses. Don’t, for example, cut out every single fun activity from your budget. If you deprive yourself of all joy and pleasure, you'll be less likely to stick to your budget in the long run. Sooner or later, you're likely to give in and overspend. 

So instead, aim to strike a balance, that is, cut back on unnecessary expenses, but don't completely deprive yourself of the things you enjoy. You are more likely to stay on track with your financial goals this way.

So far, all the steps we have discussed relate to the things and the information you need to gather first before you can create a budget.

Now, you need to decide on the budgeting technique to use. There are several options to choose from.

Two of the most popular ones are zero-based budgeting and 50/30/20 budgeting. Here’s how each one works.

The zero-based budgeting technique involves allocating every single dollar that you earn to a particular expense. So, at the month’s end, you should have a zero amount of dollars because everything has been spent or saved. 

Since every dollar is assigned a specific purpose, this budgeting technique can help you pinpoint areas where you might be overspending and thus prevent you from doing so. 

If you are the type of person who usually spends more than they make, the zero-based budget could be ideal for you as it can help you prioritize where your money goes.

The 50/30/20 budgeting technique involves breaking your expenses into three major categories: needs, wants, and savings and debt repayment.

50% of your net income goes to necessities such as food, housing, utilities, insurance premiums, groceries, and bill payments.

30% of your net income goes to things that are nice to have, but not absolutely necessary, such as dining out, shopping, gym membership, and vacations.

Apart from the zero-based and the 50/30/30 budgeting techniques, there are several other budgeting approaches, such as the pay yourself first approach and the envelope system.

Research all the available options to see which one might work for you. Remember that no single technique is right for everyone: the best one for you is the one that you believe will help you stay organized and accountable.

Once you’ve settled on a budgeting technique, it’s now time to create your actual budget. 

Since your focus is on repaying credit card debt, the main goal of the budget will be to help you plan how much you should be spending going forward so as to have enough money left to pay off your debt within your desired timeframe.

If you are using the zero-based budgeting technique, start by noting down how much you wish to spend on the absolute necessities such as food and housing each month. After that, jot down how much you wish to spend on debt repayments. Then, add non-essential expenses one by one until you run out of cash. 

With this approach, non-essential spending such as eating out, clothes, shopping, and entertainment will have lower priority than payments to reduce your credit card debt (which after all is your primary goal).

If you decide to use the 50/30/20 approach, allocate 50% of your income to necessities. Then allocate 30% to non-essential expenses and 20% to savings and debt repayment.

Depending on your desired timeline for getting out of debt and therefore the minimum amount that you have established you need to pay each month, you may realize that 20% is not enough to cover it.

In that case, you may then decide to cut or scale back on some of your non-essential expenses, i.e., your “wants,” and put that money towards debt payment.

Once you’ve created your budget, strive to follow it through and live within the limits you have set. Check-in every month, to make sure you are still on track.

Of course, there are some months that may find that you have gone over budget. That’s ok. As long as you are sticking to your budget most of the time and can clearly see progress on your credit card debt payment, there is no need to panic. 

Keep in mind also that, as time goes on, your circumstances may change. Your income may fluctuate, or your spending habits may no longer line up with what you have planned in your budget. Don’t be afraid to make adjustments to your budget to accommodate such changes. 

Remember that the goal isn’t simply to keep a budget: it’s to use money as a tool for happiness. A budget is merely a tool to help you build yourself a successful financial life which should then lead to happiness. 

So, review and adjust this tool from time to time, or as often as you need to, to help you reach your goals.

How Else Can You Pay Off Your Debt Faster?

If you want to pay off your credit card debt even faster, there are ways to make that happen.

If you can spare a few hours every week, you can start a  side hustle that could give you some extra cash to accelerate your debt payment process. 

A side hustle is simply a job that you do on the side or part-time to supplement your regular income. There are numerous side hustle opportunities available these days.

Here are a few that could be worth exploring:

Driving for a ride-sharing service like Uber or Lyft

How To Build a Budget To Get Rid of Your Credit Card Debt and Regain Your Peace

We’ve all heard the saying that money doesn't buy love. And when you’re newly dating, discussions about finances may not be a big factor in your conversations. 

But as time goes by – and things get more serious – most couples come to realize just how much of an impact money has on the health of their relationship. For example, no matter how much you love one another, a lack of money can put a serious strain on a marriage or a committed relationship. Even if money availability is not an issue in the relationship, not being on the same page about how to use it can also lead to problems.

On the positive side, working together to effectively use and manage finances can greatly enhance and enrich your relationship. That’s why, in this article, we’re going to go deeper into why money matters to the health of your relationships – and what you can do to make money work for you rather than against you in your relationship.

The Connection Between Money Issues And Emotional Health In Relationships

This is part two in our series on money and relationships. Catch up on part one here.

According to Ed Coambs – Certified Financial Therapist and author of the book The Healthy Love and Money Way: How the Four Attachment Styles Impact Your Financial Well-Being – emotional health is the ability to experience the full palate of human emotions, including sadness, fear, anxiety, and others. That doesn’t mean becoming swept up in them, but recognizing that you’re experiencing emotions so that you can respond in adaptive ways.

So how are emotional health (in the context of a relationship) and money issues related? Coambs explains that money issues are essentially emotional issues. Indeed, though most of us would like to believe that the way we deal with or approach money in relationships is entirely logical, that’s not usually the case. Like many other issues in relationships, most money issues are usually rooted in emotions.

If you can’t deal with emotions in a healthy way – or don’t know how to do so – you won’t deal with money issues well either. For example, in unemotionally unhealthy relationships, the first thing that many couples do when they experience money issues or tension is to lash out or act in a controlling way. 

The situation is often entirely different for those in emotionally healthy relationships. Instead of acting out, attacking, or trying to control their partner when money issues arise, they take time to reflect on their emotions and then respond in a level-headed way.

For example, if you often find yourself trying to control your partner’s spending, there is usually a deeper emotional issue at play. That emotion could be insecurity about your own or your partner's finances, or it could stem from mistrust of your partner's ability to spend money wisely.

Instead of trying to control your partner, the emotionally healthy approach would be to look at why you’re insecure or mistrust your partner's ability to spend money and address that. 

How Money Can Create Unhealthy Dynamics In Relationships

Money issues can cause a lot of unhealthy dynamics in relationships. Here are a few ways that can happen.

When One Person Earns More Than The Other

When one partner earns more than the other, that person might feel a sense of entitlement in the relationship because of their higher-earning status. They may feel like they should have more say in the relationship because of this status. 

Alternatively, suppose their higher earning status means that they’re contributing more towards household bills and expenses, or that they’re solely responsible for footing the entire household’s bills. In that case, they may become resentful of their partner for not contributing equally. They may expect the lower-earning partner to compensate for their lower income in other ways, such as by taking on more household responsibilities.

The person earning less, meanwhile, may feel guilty or ashamed about not earning as much as their partner and thus not contributing an equal share. This can lead to them constantly being on the lookout for ways to demonstrate how "important" they are to the relationship.

Mismatched Ideas On How To Save, Invest, And Spend

In a relationship where one person is a saver and the other is a spender, the risk exists that an unhealthy dynamic will develop. The spender in the relationship might start to see the saver as cheap, while the saver might think the spender is frivolous. Both partners can become increasingly resentful of one another because of their vastly different money habits.

The best way to avoid this dynamic is to learn to respect each other’s styles and to compromise on a middle ground. The spender, for example, could set up an automatic bank transfer to a joint savings account each month and then be allowed some freedom to splurge on a few items here and there. This is ultimately just one example —the key is to have an open and healthy conversation with your partner to figure out what works best for the two of you.

A study by Ally Bank found that 84% of Americans agree that romantic relationships are stronger and more satisfying when financially stable.

When money is tight, it can put a strain on many areas of your relationship. If you’re stressed about money, you may be less patient with your partner or less interested in intimacy. Money troubles can lead to arguments about spending, saving, and financial goals. These disagreements can quickly escalate and lead to feelings of resentment, frustration, and even despair, ultimately creating a toxic dynamic in the relationship.

How To Turn Unhealthy Dynamics Into Unhealthy Ones

Money can clearly create unhealthy dynamics in a relationship when there is a disparity in  earning power, differing money values or mind-sets, or even when there isn’t enough money in the relationship. So how can couples turn things around or prevent money issues from poisoning a relationship? Coambs has a few suggestions.

Money conversations can be difficult and awkward, but they're essential for a healthy relationship. Couples who talk frequently about money are happier than those who only rarely talk about money or even never talk about it.

If you’re experiencing a negative emotion in your relationship because of finances – e.g., shame for not being able to contribute as much as your partner, or even anger because of a financial decision that your partner made – the best approach is to have actual conversations with your partner about your feelings. Only by talking can you address the issues and hopefully establish a solution or remedy.

In a recent survey of 1,500 people conducted by Happy Money, responses showed that money becomes less of a taboo topic when couples talk about it frequently. In a study that focused on the importance of communicating about finances with your significant other, only 27% of people who talk to their partners about finances at least monthly reported feeling stressed when doing compared to 54% of those who communicate less stressful.

According to Coambs, being able to put yourself in your partner's shoes is one of the biggest skills that couples need to develop in order to enjoy their financial life together. That also involves recognizing and appreciating personality differences that have an effect on how one views and uses money.

Combining finances, like opening a joint bank account and paying bills as a single household instead of splitting them between couples or taking turns, is another effective way to change unhealthy dynamics into healthy ones.

When you are in a relationship, try not to treat money as “my money” and “your money”. Instead, treat it as “our money”. Combining finances shows that both of you are fully invested in the relationship and with one another and it can strengthen your bond.

How To Set Up A Healthy Foundation For Dealing With Financial Issues Before Marriage

Before you tie the knot with your partner, there are several things you can do to set up a healthy foundation for dealing with financial issues down the road.

1. Understand your own money experiences before you get into marriage
Many of us have our own unique relationship with money that has been influenced by our upbringing and various life circumstances. Understanding your own money story can help set up a strong foundation for dealing with financial issues in your marriage.

Perhaps you grew up in a family where money was always tight, and you had to be careful with every cent. Or maybe you never had to worry about money growing up and could spend it freely. Talk about your upbringing and background with your partner and try to understand where they are coming from as well.

Knowing how previous events or experiences might have shaped your views about money can help you be more understanding and patient with one another if you have vastly different backgrounds. It can also help you identify any potential future points of conflict. If you're aware of potential sources or causes of money conflict ahead of time, you can be proactive about finding solutions that work for both of you before you officially tie the knot.

2. Face the fear
Many people experience the fear of losing financial control or autonomy when they get married. This is a completely natural feeling, but to set up a healthy foundation for dealing with financial issues in your marriage, it's a fear you need to overcome. If you can't face the fear of losing control, it will be difficult to manage your finances together.

After all, when you're married, it’s no longer about you alone. You will be sharing your life with someone else and will have to make decisions together.

Instead of seeing marriage as a loss of financial autonomy or independence, try to view it as a partnership in which both of you will be working together towards common goals.

3.  Disclose your full financial circumstances to one another
The best way to enter into a partnership is with full knowledge and awareness of each other’s financial circumstances. The last thing you want, for example, is to get married and then discover that your partner is carrying a $100,000 student debt they expect you to help pay off.

Share your financial assets and liabilities, and then make a decision on how you’re going to manage them once you’re officially married. This can help you avoid nasty surprises later on that can lead to issues.

4.  Get professional advice or counseling
Seeking the services of a professional financial therapist can also help set a healthy foundation for dealing with financial issues. 

Financial therapy, for example, can help both partners get to the root of their financial issues and recommend or prescribe ways of having a better relationship with money on both a personal and a relationship level. 

Being Financially Aligned For A Healthier Relationship

Money has the potential to be a big source of stress and conflict in a relationship.

If handled well, however, money can be a positive force that contributes to the overall health and well-being of your relationship. Apart from just helping you deal with the practical stuff like paying bills, it can also be used to create shared experiences that strengthen the bond between you and your partner.

Money And Emotions: Why Money Matters To The Health Of Your Relationships

If you're engaged and planning a wedding, selecting a venue or location for your big day is probably one of the most important decisions you'll have to make. For most people, a major decision is to have it be a local or destination wedding. Both types of weddings have their pros and cons, and both require different planning approaches. So, how do you decide which one is right for you?

Several factors will play into the decision, one of the main ones being the financial costs. To help you decide if a destination or a local wedding might be better for you, here’s a breakdown of the main financial considerations for each.

A destination wedding is simply a wedding that is held in a setting that’s away from your hometown. 

In most cases, the bride and groom will invite the wedding party and their family or friends to an exotic location, such as the beach or the mountains, for the ceremony. A destination wedding can thus serve as a mini-vacation for both the wedding couple and their guests. 

Of course, a destination wedding might also involve just the two of you and an officiant.

Destination weddings have grown in popularity over the years. The COVID-19 pandemic temporarily threw a wrench in many people’s destination wedding plans forcing them to postpone or cancel. 

But with things slowly returning to normal, weddings have picked up again. According to the Knots 2021 Real Wedding Study, for example, 19% of weddings in 2021* were destination weddings, which was a 10% improvement on the previous year’s figures. 

What Are The Main Financial Considerations For A Destination Wedding?

If you are thinking of having a destination wedding, some of the main costs that you will have to budget for include:

Travel and accommodation (these will likely take up the biggest chunk of your budget)

Passports and visas (if you don’t have them already and if they are required)

Travel insurance (you can’t travel to some countries without it)

The photographers (and their transport costs if you are bringing along your own)

Wedding dress for the bride and suit for the groom

Who Pays For What in a Destination Wedding?

When it comes to covering costs, customarily, guests are responsible for paying their own travel and accommodation expenses. Destination wedding etiquette dictates that the couple only cover their guests' travel and lodging expenses if they can afford it.

The couple is usually only responsible for paying for:

When selecting your wedding party, make sure to inform them beforehand of what they are expected to cover and the estimated costs of these to avoid unpleasant surprises later on.

Due to the rise of destination weddings, many established and high-end resorts and hotels now offer wedding packages.

You might, for example, be able to get an all-inclusive package that includes your ceremony and everything that goes with it, such as accommodation for you and your spouse-to-be, catering and bar service, music and entertainment, floral arrangements and decorations, and so on. The package could even include an on-site wedding planner to oversee and handle everything.

If there is something you want but that is not included in the wedding package, you can coordinate with the hotel or wedding planner to have it included (for an extra cost, of course). For instance, if the music or entertainment component of your package includes a DJ but you prefer a live band, you may be able to bargain for an upgrade.

While most packages are geared toward the bride and groom, you might also be able to negotiate special packages for your guests. 

Some hotels, for example, may be willing to offer room discounts or free local transportation (e.g. trips to and from the airport) to your guests if they book for a specific number of nights. Check with the hotel where you plan to get married to see what kind of packages you may be able to get for your guests. 

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