{"id":49,"date":"2016-06-20T12:57:22","date_gmt":"2016-06-20T02:57:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.ing.com.au\/?p=49"},"modified":"2016-08-30T10:26:57","modified_gmt":"2016-08-30T00:26:57","slug":"wedding-bells-sound-financial-alarm-bells-for-guests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsroom.ing.com.au\/wedding-bells-sound-financial-alarm-bells-for-guests\/","title":{"rendered":"Wedding bells sound financial alarm bells for guests"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Being a guest comes at a cost; average Aussie shells out $694 to attend a wedding<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>More than a quarter (26%) of Australians have not attended a wedding because it was too expensive<\/li>\n<li>The minimum amount deemed acceptable to spend on a wedding gift is $127<\/li>\n<li>More than half (56%) of Aussies say the cost of being a wedding guest has gone up in the last 5-10 years.<\/li>\n<li>Among those who say that they are paying more nowadays the average increase is nearly 50%<\/li>\n<li>23% of Australians are conscious of the cost of attending a destination wedding, but are resigned to attending because they would feel guilty if they turned down the invitation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Research from ING DIRECT has revealed attending weddings is burning a hole in our pocket. Findings from the new study show the average Australians pays $694 to attend a wedding and is willing to pay up to $1,300 before they consider skipping the nuptials altogether.<\/p>\n<p>Over half (56%) say they believe the cost of being a wedding guest has gone up recent years, and more than a quarter (26%) admit to having not attended a wedding to save themselves feeling the pinch.<\/p>\n<p>The rise in popularity of destination weddings was cited as a major contributor to these lofty costs. On average, Australians fork out nearly $300 on wedding-related travel and accommodation. Despite the draw cards of weddings held on tropical islands or other exotic locations, almost half (46%) of people think it is somewhat selfish of brides and grooms to expect a guest to spend a significant amount of money to attend.<\/p>\n<p>The research found when it comes to weddings gifts, those in Western Australia are the most generous ($184 per gift on average), however, one in three (32%) Western Australians say they&#8217;ve skipped a wedding because the cost was too expensive \u2013 the highest percentage of all the states.<\/p>\n<p>As well as taking a financial toll, psychologist Amanda Gordon explained the monetary burden can also have an adverse psychological affect.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We all love a wedding and want the best for the bride and groom. However, our love for our friends and family can make us behave in a manner that is to our own detriment. We celebrate so well, and so expensively, that we risk reducing our own happiness in the future.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Australians&#8217; generosity with gifts and the added pressure of high travel costs is causing stress which can manifest itself in other areas of our lives. Weddings should be a joyous occasion, so practicing &#8216;money mindfulness&#8217; &#8211; being aware and in control of where your money is going &#8211; is the best way to ensure you enjoy yourself without the worry,&#8221; said Gordon.<\/p>\n<p>John Arnott from ING DIRECT said the cost of attending a wedding isn&#8217;t the same for everyone.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Gender, generation and geography all play a part. Regardless of these factors, the best way to avoid breaking the bank when attending your next celebration it to be very aware of your financials and cut unnecessary costs,&#8221; said Arnott.<\/p>\n<p>ING DIRECT&#8217;s top five tips for being a money-savvy wedding guest:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Budget ahead of time:<\/strong> If you know you have a lot of weddings coming up, don&#8217;t just plan your outfit, plan your finances. Figure out what you can afford and how much you need to save before wedding season to avoid debt dramas.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be selective: <\/strong>Think about how you manage multiple weddings &#8211; you don&#8217;t have to attend the engagement party, hens\/bucks and kitchen tea for every wedding you&#8217;re invited to. Pick and choose wedding events based on your budget. And don&#8217;t be afraid to respectfully decline an invitation if you simply can&#8217;t afford it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Embrace group discounts:<\/strong> Getting your hair done with friends, buying a wedding present with others or getting a jumbo taxi are all nifty ways to cut costs as a group.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hack the outfit<\/strong>: Instead of buying a new dress, you can rent designer outfits from companies like Glam Corner or Your Closet from as little as $50. If you&#8217;re set on buying something, pick an outfit that is versatile and can be accessorised to look different so you can wear it to multiple weddings.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pay back any credit expenses ASAP:<\/strong> If you need a short-term credit solution to cover your amazing limo arrival be sure to pay it back quickly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Average cost of presentation services or goods for a wedding guest (including those who did not spend anything):<\/em><\/p>\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"110\"><strong>Cost<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\"><strong>Men ($)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\"><strong>Women ($)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\"><strong>Average ($)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"110\"><strong>New outfit<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">119<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">139<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">129<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"110\"><strong>Shoes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">30<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">54<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">42<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"110\"><strong>Handbags<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">4<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">23<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"110\"><strong>Jewellery<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">16<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">23<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"110\"><strong>Hair\/makeup<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">14<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">44<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">29<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"110\"><strong>Manicure\/pedicure<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">4<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">17<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"110\"><strong>Spray tan<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">2<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">4<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"110\"><strong>Waxing<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">3<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">7<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\">5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"110\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">TOTAL<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">192<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">311<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"116\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">252<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Further stats: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Less than a quarter (23%) have budgeted for a wedding recently.<\/li>\n<li>More than one third (36%) say that they have usually charge wedding costs to their credit cards, leaving them open to additional fees and charges.<\/li>\n<li>A meagre 7% of people who<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Being a guest comes at a cost; average Aussie shells out $694 to attend a wedding More than a quarter (26%) of Australians have not attended a wedding because it was too expensive The minimum amount deemed acceptable to spend on a wedding gift is $127 More than half (56%) of Aussies say the cost [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ing.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ing.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ing.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ing.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ing.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ing.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ing.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49\/revisions\/59"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ing.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ing.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ing.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}