Learn how to plan a wedding on a budget the easy way. (Photo: SimonShaw/Flickr/CC-BY)

Preparing for the “Big Day” doesn’t have to be a painful, expensive ordeal. If you are open to creative ideas and concerned about saving money rather than spending it, you can easily plan a wedding on a small budget and have fun doing it. The following ideas will show you how to plan a wedding on a budget and still have a beautiful wedding and lifelong memories.

Plan a wedding on a budget and choose the right dress

If you need to plan a wedding on a small budget, consider one of the main highlights of a wedding: the wedding dress. You can save big money by shopping around and comparing prices. If you can’t find anything in your local walk-in stores, try looking online. There are many online stores that offer great deals on wedding gowns. There are even auction sites backed by former brides looking to make some extra cash or vendors looking to sell unused items that have been damaged or discontinued. So before you settle on a wedding dress, consider your options.

Cutting the guest list helps you plan a wedding on a budget

Do you really want people you don’t know showing up on your wedding day? If your answer is no, here’s an idea on what to do. First, put a list together of people you want to invite to your wedding, and don’t be afraid of skipping those you haven’t seen in years or ones you can’t stand to be with. If you plan on inviting 50 people, plan for 100 and let each person know they are allowed only one guest. Each time a name is added onto the list, you are adding more tension to your budget. So don’t worry about hurting anyone’s feeling — it’s your wedding, after all.

Off-season months are great for a small budget

Another great way to plan a wedding on a small budget is to plan a wedding during an off-season month, which will vary depending on your regional climate. For warm-weather states, off-season savings starts during summer and vice-versa for places with colder climates. Many wedding vendors are out hunting for business around this time of the year, and they will do almost anything to get it.

Creating a holiday money-saving shopping list is easy. (Photo: Iain Farrell/Flickr/CC BY-ND)

‘Tis the season to shop. Everyone can agree that the holidays are definitely the best time to go out and save a bunch of money on items you’ve always wanted. However, it is also a time of hardship, as most people are either unemployed or wait until the last minute to put together a holiday money game plan. Nevertheless, there are many things you can do to save this season; all you really need is to stay focused, particularly on ways to save money.

Create a holiday money budget sheet

First things first, figure out how much holiday money you have by analyzing how much you can afford to spend. This means you will need to figure in your monthly expenses: rent, food, gas, utilities, etc. Once you come up with a reasonable dollar amount, make sure to stick to it. You may also want to budget in at least $50 over that limit for unexpected expenses.

Make a list and stick to it

Write down all the names of the people you plan to buy gifts for. Then, write out the things you plan on getting for each person on that list, and don’t go overboard or choose items you feel will never be used. What’s the point of spending money on something that will only collect dust?

Remember, you can skip buying individual gifts and get one item for an entire family or group.

Bargain shop with your holiday money

Once you have your list in place and know exactly what you want to buy, it’s time to go hunting. Go online and look for holiday saving deals; there are many holiday money saving opportunities available right at your fingertips. Comparison shopping is the most important thing you can do. You don’t want to settle on the first sweet offer only to beat yourself up later because you could have saved more money somewhere else. So take your time to shop, but start early in the season. The holiday money-saving opportunities won’t last long, so get your list started and begin budgeting now.

Sometimes you really do need an installment loan to make ends meet. But an easy cash loan isn’t the only way to round up extra cash. Here are some money-saving ideas that might help you save cash now and make it easier to manage your expenses.

Keep moving and don’t touch

According to an article published by Joann Peck and Suzanne B. Shu on the Chicago Journals website, touching an object or even staring at it for too long increases the psychological sense of ownership. This isn’t news for retailers, who have long known the benefits of window dressings that stop passersby in their tracks and table displays that encourage shoppers to handle the goods. Staring and touching make it harder to resist buying. So tread lightly.

Be a happy shopper

Don’t go shopping when you’re in a lousy mood. According to a study published by Jennifer Lerner on the Harvard Kennedy School website, people who feel depressed when they shop are willing to spend 30% more than consumers who shop in a better frame of mind.

Don’t get started

According to marketing research published on the Stanford GSB News, for most people, buying the first item — however unremarkable it may be — opens the purchasing floodgates. The researchers called this the “shopping momentum effect” concluded that the phenomenon has important implications for how stores are laid out as well as for understanding individual shopping behavior.

A big cart can lead to big spending

Don’t make it easy

The easier it is to shop, the easier it is to overspend. Unless you intend to stock up on supplies, use a shopping basket instead of a cart. In fact, if you’re wandering around without a clear shopping agenda, don’t use a basket at all. If you aren’t willing to carry it, you probably don’t need it.

Write it down

According to MIT behavioral economist Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational, making your spending limits concrete by writing them down or even telling them to someone else can help you maintain self-control when shopping. When you walk into a grocery store with a list in hand, you’re far less likely to make impulse purchases. If you stray from the list and make one impulse buy, the “shopping momentum effect” can take over.

Indulge yourself a little

Research published by Columbia University marketing professor Ran Kivetz on the American Marketing Association website suggests that occasional self-indulgence is a good thing. If you’re too hard on yourself and don’t splurge occasionally, you’ll end up feeling deprived. Deprivation fosters regret which in turn tempts you to splurge on something big in an effort to feel better.

Don’t overtax your willpower

According to Roy F. Baumeister, Kathleen D. Vohs, researchers and authors of Handbook of Self-Regulation: Research, Theory, and Applications, you have only so much willpower to work with. If, for example, you’re trying to lose weight and also trying to cut back on spending, give yourself a little slack on the spending front. Losing weight will save you so much money in the long run that you can probably afford those deeply discounted shoes now.

Pay in cash

According to a study published on the NYU Stern website by joint researchers at New York University and the University of Maryland, consumers spend less when paying in cash and spend more when using credit cards, gift cards, or gift certificates. Additionally, consumers are more frugal when they estimate expenses in detail. The authors concluded that “treating [non-cash] tender as play money leads to overspending.”

Use coupons

Coupons can yield big savings if you’re not too proud to use them. But don’t quit your day job to become a full-time coupon clipper, and use coupons only for items you would normally buy.

Save on homeowner insurance

Check with your homeowner insurance carrier about ways to reduce your premiums. Loyalty discounts for long-term customers, increased deductibles, combined policies (home and auto for example), and installation of dead bolts and security systems can help lower your premium payments.

Small houses make wonderful homes

Move to a smaller home

If you’re struggling with a huge mortgage, now is a great time to consider downsizing. Home prices in many markets appear to be bottoming out and mortgage rates are low right now. Or if the interest rate on your current loan is higher than prevailing interest rates and you plan to stay in your home for a few years, consider refinancing now.

More money-saving ideas

Find more ways to save cash until payday by reading Cut Your Spending | Part I and Cut Your Spending | Part II.

Wouldn’t it be great if you never had to borrow money again? Applying for small cash loans is one way to make ends meet when you need cash until payday. But here are some money-saving ideas that might make it easier to get by.

Lighten up on the road

If you don’t own a Prius and don’t want to trade in your clunker, you can still cut down on the money you spend for gas each month by adjusting your driving habits. Aggressive highway driving — speeding, accelerating rapidly, and braking — lowers your gas mileage dramatically. Fuel efficiency decreases significantly at speeds in excess of 60 miles per hour.

Keeping your tires properly inflated can improve your mileage. Check your vehicle-owner’s manual to determine proper tire pressure, buy a reliable dial-type air-pressure gauge, and check your tires once a week. Too much weight in the trunk can also reduce fuel efficiency. Don’t carry around unnecessary items, especially in small cars.

Sign up for a flex account

If your employer offers a flexible spending account, you can cut the cost of your child-care expenses by signing up. The flex accounts offered by most large companies allow you to use pretax dollars to pay care-giving bills (including day camp) for children and elders who are your legal dependents. You can also use them to pay out-of-pocket health-care costs with pretax dollars. Why not save money by paying less for necessary expenses covered by a flex account?

Say good-bye to excessive phone bills

Why pay for a landline if you're not using it?

Teens love to text. If your teens have cell phones, switch to a family plan with unlimited texting. College students text less than high school kids, so consider upgrading to an iPhone or other smartphone with unlimited data if your college student agrees to a limited text and calling plan.

Lots of people today are dropping landlines altogether and using cell phones only. With the right calling plan, you might save money by following that trend. If your parents are paying for cell phones that they use for nothing but emergencies, you or they might save money by combining your phones in a family plan.

Work out for less

Walking and bike-riding are free. Yoga work-out videos are more convenient and much less expensive than classes. Dance for exercise anywhere you don’t have to pay a cover charge. You can do it for hours, and when you’re ready to sit, consider your workout over. Head home instead of sitting down to eat or drink.

Save on prescription medications

Some health plans have money-saving mail order programs for prescriptions, and sometimes you can save even more by buying generic versions of name-brand pharmaceuticals at chain stores like Target and Wal-Mart. If you’re taking a prescription medication on a long-term basis, ask your doctor if he or she can prescribe it at twice the potency you need so you can cut the pills in half. Usually, your copayment for the prescription will be the same at either potency.

Refill printer ink cartridges

It’s less expensive and less wasteful to refill both black and color ink cartridges at your local drug store or shopping mall instead of buying new cartridges when your computer printer runs low.

Share babysitter costs

The more you save, the more you can do for your best friend

Organize a babysitting co-op with neighborhood parents and take turns watching the kids for free. Your kids will be happier with their friends and there’ll be fewer rounds of Battleship and Apples to Apples for you! Or go in on a sitter with another family, paying, say, $10 an hour apiece instead of the usual $14 (more kids means a higher hourly rate for the sitter).

Save on pet expenses

Instead of hiring a pet sitter or boarding your pets when you go away, trade sitting duties with other pet-owner friends. Instead of taking Rufus to the groomer, take him to the pet grooming school where prices are about half what you pay the groomer. Pet insurance isn’t cost effective. If you have it, consider letting it go.  Coverage is marginal and the premiums you pay probably amount to quite a bit more than anything you stand to save on vet bills.

More money-saving ideas

For more money-saving ideas, read Cut Your Spending | Part I and Cut Your Spending | Part III

Money is tight, but there are lots of simple things you can do to free up some extra cash. In fact, making just a few minor changes to your spending routines could mean you’ll never have to get a payday cash advance again.

Make off-season purchases

You can save lots of money if you plan ahead for seasonal purchases. Buy air conditioners in January, winter coats in May, and swimsuits in July and August.

Eat what’s in season

Produce costs more when it’s out of season in your locale and shipped a long distance. For a list of what’s in season, go to fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org and click on the Planning and Shopping tab. Organic produce costs more than the conventional kind. Cut your toxin intake by choosing organic on the most chemically-laden produce (apples, lettuce) and conventional on the cleanest (kiwi, tomatoes). To figure out which produce to buy organic, and which conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables are okay if organic isn’t available, go to foodnews.org.

Shop once a week

When you stop by the store to pick up just one or two items, you usually end up making a few unplanned purchases as well. The more trips you make to the store, the more frequently you will make impulse purchases. Try making a shopping list and making just one planned trip to the store each week.

Stretch time between hair appointments

Add a couple weeks to the time between hair-coloring appointments by using over-the-counter products from the drugstore to touch up the roots.

Cut down on dry cleaning

Many clothes with labels that recommend dry cleaning can be washed by hand in cold water or on a gentle machine cycle with cold water. For example, linens can be washed in the machine and most sweaters can be washed by hand (including cashmere and camel hair). Most silks are hand washable too.  Even so, some deeply saturated and bold colors should be dry-cleaned.

Stop the water-bottle madness

Stop drinking bottled water and instead buy a filter for your kitchen faucet. For the most part, the water you’re paying for in those little bottles is nothing but filtered tap water.

Support your local shoe repair shop

Shoe repair shops are recession-proof

Rather than spend your extra cash to buy a new pair of good shoes each season, repair the shoes your already own. Your local shoe-repair shop will charge just a few dollars to fix worn-out heels on women’s shoes, and men can extend the life of dress shoes by replacing the heels and soles.

Spend less money commuting

If your employer has a transportation reimbursement account, you may be able to get a tax break by paying your monthly parking fees or public transit with pretax dollars, so sign up. Or cut your commute costs in half by carpooling to work with a colleague. If you don’t know anyone to carpool with, check out some carpool-matching sites like carpoolworld.com or erideshare.com.

Get fit on your way to work

You might be pleasantly surprised at how convenient it can be to take a public bus to work. And why not cycle to work when the weather permits, instead of spending time and money at the health club?

More money-saving ideas

Find more ways to save cash until payday by reading Cut Your Spending | Part II and Cut Your Spending | Part III