If you follow me on Twitter, you probably know that I am starting Pharmacy School in June in Phoenix, Arizona (actually Glendale, a suburb of the Phoenix). The process of moving out has led me to purchasing a foreclosed house 3 miles from my school. I am currently in escrow and the house will be mine on May 25th.

The process of searching for homes, interacting with real estate agents on both sides, and the entire process has allowed me to gain valuable experience that I can share with you.

1. Don’t Limit Your Options, Stay Flexible about What you want.

When I started house hunting, I had limited myself to a small radius around the university. When I told real estate agents to find me a house, I told them I wanted a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house over 1,500 square feet and a lot over 7,000. The semi-experienced real estate agent found a few houses that fit my requirements, but none in my price range or condition.

It was not until I accidentally saw a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom house during one of my house visits that I considered the possibility of getting a larger 2 bedroom house. The next day, my agent found another 5 or 6 houses that fit my description. The last one we saw was the house I purchased- a gorgeous 2 bed 2 bathroom larger than most 3 bedrooms and in better condition than anything I had seen before.

I probably wouldn’t have found a house if I had kept my conditions limited. My agent, who probably isn’t that great, never gave me the idea to decrease my requirements and consider other options.

2. The Banks might be huge corporations, but they will negotiate with you.

The house I purchased was a foreclosure- which a lot of homes nowadays are. There are tens of thousands of foreclosures per bank and its a buyers market- if you have the cash. If you’re buying one of these bank owned properties, you will be dealing directly with the bank’s agents. They might try to coerce you into buying the house for the listed house and above, saying things like, “We are getting lots of offers on this house” or “The bank never budges on its price.”

Always remember that these agents make commission from selling you the house and the more you pay, the more cash they get. Banks are always negotiable. If the house your buying is listed at $200,000, make an offer for $175,000. If they think your offer is reasonable, they will counteroffer, something like $192,000. You can either accept (save $8k) or try to budge the price further.

An honest agent will tell you how much is a reasonable price, so your initial offer doesn’t get refused.

3. Do your OWN research, check Redfin, Trulia, Movoto, Zillow.

The last thing you want to do is overpay, buy the wrong house, or buy a house in a deteriorating neighborhood.

The Internet is full of tons of resources that can help you make your own decisions. Check price trends in the neighborhood your buying your house, similar sales, price per square foot, online appraisals, and anything else you can find.

Don’t let real estate agents trick you into overpaying or quickly closing a deal. Make an informed decision by comparing your findings with their words.

4. Ask for a Preliminary Title Report

All real estate agencies have access to preliminary title reports for any house on the market. These title reports have lien information regarding your house. If you aren’t given one, make sure you find another house or another agent.

If your property has a lien against it, you might be caught with your pockets empty. A lot of houses have mechanic liens- which means the previous owner didn’t pay the mechanic for work done on the house. Mechanic liens are a type of senior liens that don’t get removed with the change of ownership (bank loans do).

Guess who has to pay in this case? You. If you want a clean title.

5. Hire your own inspector, don’t rely on an inspector referred by your real estate agent.

This might not be that obvious, considering that your real estate agent might know the best inspectors, but finding an inspector on your own is not that hard.

An inspector referred by your agent might have some kind of partnership going on with the agency. This means they could overlook some house flaws in order to sell the house to you. The agent will pay off the inspector or give them more commission/leads with the condition that they try to make the property seem better than it is.

You might be buying a great house- but be certain that’s what it is before you spend all your money.

These are a few of the things I learned in my recent home buying experience. Have you recently bought a house? Do you have any experience you want to share?

Join the discussion! Comment below.

—————————————————————————-

Most Rich People Share a Few Common Traits

There are several qualities that are shared by almost everyone who has “succeeded” in their career or hobby. Most of these skills can be acquired by everyone and must be closely followed. If you have ever wondered about the answer to the following questions, this article is for you:

What makes rich people “rich”?

What separated winners from losers?

1. Passion

You gotta love what you do! If you don’t enjoy and derive passion from what you do, the chances are you are not going to do a good job at it. So when you pick a profession or a job, think of what you love to do and not how much money you’re gonna make by doing it. Think of how fun it is to get paid for something you already love doing.

2. Creativity
Use your passion and think of new and unique ideas.

Before you even start thinking of any ideas, put yourself in the shoes of the consumer. No matter what it is that you are trying to create, always remember to ask yourself the question “What is it that I wish I could buy, read, watch, etc. ?”

3. Follow your instincts
Your instincts almost never lie to you. They are given to people, in order to guide them in decision making. So if your instinct tells you that buying a piece of real estate is a good idea, the chances are that it is. So believe in your basic instincts.

Sometimes, people have great ideas but are scared of the risk. Successful people always take good risks, while others always think about what they could have done. Never put yourself in that situation.

4. Risk Factor
Everyone has a gut feeling or an instinct that tells them what to do, but whether they listen to their instincts and go along with it, is called “risk taking.”

Risk taking is a critical factor in succeeding. There are many people who have great ideas but very few of them act upon those ideas. And almost no one has ever reached the top without taking some sort of a risk. Think of Warren Buffet or Bill Gates. They put their passions above the normal lifestyle, above education, and became the richest in the world.

5. Create your own luck
Some people are just born luckier than others. It is not fair, but that’s the way of life. However, a lot of the unlucky people who were born into poverty and encountered many obstacles, still managed to succeed and make it big in this unfair world. The reason why these people succeeded is because they didn’t let their luck decide their destiny. They worked extra hard and went after their dreams.

6. Persistence
Don’t let anything or anyone get in the way of your goals. 99.9% of all rich people have failed at one point of their career. You must always remember that failing is part of the learning process. When your fail, use that to your advantage and learn from it, to make sure you never repeat that mistake again.

And Finally….

7) BELIEVE in Yourself

The most important step to success is learning how to love and believe in “you”. If you have ever paid attention during any game, people who let the opponent know about their confidence regarding that game, it always betters their chances of winning. There are many psychological reasons to why this happens, but the fact is that it does happen and it also happens in real life.

So no matter what your goals are, you have to believe that you are going to get on top of your game. You need to get rid of all of your insecurities, you have to stop caring about what other people think and most importantly let people know how much you value yourself.

Currently, our ranking is 795,000 for the past 3 months but a stronger 404,000 for the past 1 month. Of course, this is still way below the goal, but we have a few months to reach and hopefully surpass it.

Regardless of who you are and what you do, a reachable goal is always something to have. It keeps you motivated and provides lots of gratification once reached. The Yakezie was an excellent idea to bring unique posts and content to the PF blog pool.

What This Means for Our Readers

There are many great finance blogs that you might not have heard of. We will be promoting great articles from other Yakezie members in order to introduce everyone to the great PF community. You will be surprised how many great writers are not fully appreciated!

One of the direct changes you will see is a weekly roundup of my favorite articles from Yakezie writers, either about general personal finance or a chosen topic.

Go Yakezie!

]]> http://smarterspend.com/2010/04/joining-the-yakezie-challenge/feed/ 1 http://smarterspend.com/2010/03/how-to-finance-your-graduate-school-education-without-loans/ http://smarterspend.com/2010/03/how-to-finance-your-graduate-school-education-without-loans/#comments Sat, 27 Mar 2010 09:09:10 +0000 Kevin http://smarterspend.com/?p=687 Know your options before you take out a loan.

Everyone knows that Bachelor degrees don’t carry the same weight they did 10 years ago and entry level professionals in today’s economy are urged more and more to have some kind of graduate degree to be seen as competitive job applicants.

Although many students consider getting their Graduate degrees to increase qualifications, most of them don’t know how to finance their education and leave it to the last second to do some quick research and get a loan. It’s not uncommon for a lot of prospective grad students to spends months searching for the right school and major but completely overlook the financial aspect. Student don’t realize that getting a Graduate degree can be a very costly endeavor and could leave you strangled with debt for a decade or more after graduation – even with the best paying jobs.

In order to be regret free after graduation and have more money to invest, grad students must consider all available options for financing their debt. In this article, I will talk about some of the ways you can pay for your graduate degree.

1) Assistantships

Colleges across the nation have used assistantships as a great way to find less expensive workers and give significant financial assistance to graduate students. This form of financial aid is usually enough to significantly reduce your loans, but varies from university to university.

There are three types of assistantships and many of you are probably familiar with all three of them. The first one, research assistantships, are more common in the sciences where the college pays the graduate student a stipend for helping in a specific research project or a certain professor. The second type is a teaching assistantship and usually involves the grad student teaching an undergraduate class or a discussion section. The third type of assistantship is the graduate assistantship, which usually consists of grading papers or preparing lectures.

2) Employment Assistant Programs

Employment tuition aid packages are often overlooked by many grad students in their search for money. On average, employers contribute just over $4,000 to tuition, most of which is tax free.

This benefit sometimes comes with some fine print, so students have to be aware what they must do to keep earning the free tuition money. Some employers require their student-employees to maintain a certain GPA, usually around 3.0, and some require that the student work a certain amount of years with the employer after graduation. One of my friends got their entire Master’s program paid off with a certain firm after agreeing to work with them for three years.

3) Grants

Grants are usually gifts from federal programs or private sources that the student does not need to repay. There are several types of grants available – including need based and merit based. Government grants are given on a first come first serve basis and usually have some sort of GPA requirement. Sometimes these grants are given for doing research in a specific area and can also be given by the university. Grant amounts vary widely from state to state and from person to person.

Private grants are known as scholarships, which most of you are aware of. However, scholarships in the graduate level are more scarce than for undergrads, so make sure you do your research early and apply to several sources. Even if its a few thousand dollars a year, these scholarships can be very important in lowering your overall debt. Scholarships are given for a variety of reasons – but the underlying feature in most of them is their merit base. There are, however, scholarships for ethnicities, religious backgrounds, fraternities, and more. Check out some scholarship books at the library for a vast number of these money trees. Don’t forget to apply to many and apply early.

A good credit score is considered something over 720 and an excellent score is around 780 – 800 and above. However, a credit score under 600 is considered poor.

There are several ways to raise your credit score and all the real ways take some time. If you find advertisements with enticing quick credit score fixes, you can be certain it’s a scam. Following a few or more of these tips can give a significant boost to your score allowing you to finally finance your dream car or buy a house.

1) Manage your Balances.

As simple as this tip sounds, managing your balance can be the fastest way to raise your credit score. Try to keep your balance under 50% of your total credit and ideally close to 25% and you will get a significant boost. Your credit score is lowered when your balance is high because you become a high risk borrower.

2) Can’t Find a Credit Card? Apply for a Secured Card.

If your credit score is too low to get approved for a standard credit card, you can open a secured credit cards. With a secured credit card, you pay an initial deposit that is going to be your credit limit. This is like a small collateral that minimizes risk and ensures the credit companies that you will pay back the credit. The great thing about secured credit cards is that they also report to credit agencies, allowing for a boost after only 3 to 6 months.

3) Reduce Mistakes on Your Credit Report

Almost ten million Americans a year report problems on there credit report- coming from identity theft, reporting errors, and false claims. Under federal law, if the reporting agency does not provide proof of your status to any of the three major credit report agencies, they have to remove it from your score. This is the fastest way to raise your credit report – with an average turn around of 1 month. Once the mistake is removed, your score automatically shoots up.

4) Pay Your Bills on Time.

Delinquencies will really lower your credit score. Make sure you pay your bills on time. Not only will late payments lower your score, but on-time payments will increase them. In fact, every on time payment adds a little to your score.

5) Reduce the number of hard credit card inquiries.

There are two types of credit card inquiries- hard and soft. Hard credit card inquiries are those done by credit card companies and other companies that are going to give you credit. They are initiated by you, the borrower. Each hard credit inquiry stays on the credit report 12 – 24 months. Fortunately, if you are applying for a car loan or a mortgage and have several inquiries in a small time period, only one of these inquiries will count.

6) Diversify your credit.

You don’t want all your outstanding balance to be student loans or a single mortgage. Although I don’t recommend adding to your debt to increase your score – keep this in mind in the future. Having a healthy mix of credit card, car, and house loans is a great way to increase your score.

7) Don’t open new accounts. Loyalty pays off.

Don’t switch credit cards and add accounts too often. The average length of your accounts is very important in determining your credit score. Its better to have 2 credit cards for ten years, then ten for 2 years.

8 ) Don’t bother with store credit cards.

Not only will opening a store credit card decrease your average length of credit, the actual store credit card has a negative impact on your credit score as well. This is because most of these store credit cards are given to everyone- so you aren’t seen as being qualified for having one.

9) Before applying for a new loan, study your credit score.

Being denied new credit or a loan can have adverse results on your overall score. Its wise to study your credit before you apply for a new loan – remove mistakes and try to build up your score a little. It’s also wise to apply for something you are sure to be approved for rather than risking a rejection.

10) Take your time.

Nothing really happens overnight. Take your time, study your credit score and highlight the negatives, then work to fix them. If you feel like one of your accounts is going under, call the creditor and talk to them – they are usually responsive in changing your plan so you can fix your debt.

Have any of you followed these tips to turn around your credit history? Are there any other methods you can try? Let me know, your knowledge is useful!

Ever since high school, I have been making great money without having a regular job. I have been resourceful, doing research on what kinds of jobs and services are in demand, and doing freestyle work.

I currently web design part -time and do some tutoring for most of my money.

Here are some easy ways for YOU to make extra cash.

1. Sell things on eBay – You can find lots of valuable things at local garage sales and swap meets. Focus on a particular thing so that you become an expert and know the prices. For example, I used to buy and sell mobile phones for about 7 months and made about 800 a month. I even had a website to sell by myself without paying extra to Ebay/Paypal but sold the domain on Sedo for $1100.
2. Paid Reviews – Paid reviews are becoming a big hit. You can easily make $50 a day by writing product reviews. Depending on your writing cells and readership, some companies are willing to pay hundreds for good reviews. PayPerPost is a great online service which acts as a middleman between writer and buyer.
3. Tutor- I tutor math and science because my degree is in Biochemistry, but you can make a bunch of money offering tutoring services around your community. Spread the word, make a website, and enjoy earning money while helping someone in need.
   I made this website: http://lasciencetutors.com for my tutoring.
4. Begin a Blog- Sure, for the first year or so, you will probably make a measly few bucks a day. But if you are a determined writer and can do some social networking espionage, you can build up a nice reader base and sell advertising spots to markets in your niche.
5. Write a Book – I recommend this step if you have a particular skill or interest along with some monetary cushion as publishing a book can take almost a year and a half. However, if you’re lucky and your book starts selling, you will quickly find yourself with enough money for a nice house down payment.
6. Sell Stock Photos- Are you a great photographer? You can make great stock photos and sell them to larger websites for extra money. Have some samples of your work ready.
7. Sell an eBook – You can make money faster making an eBook and selling it on a related blog or website (could be your blog or website). eBooks with tutorials and tips are good seller. You can also keep most of the profit and track your sales much easier than an actual book. Tons of websites are available to help you publish your eBook.
8. Become a Social Network Guru – Large companies are willing to dish out hundreds to savvy social networkers with lots of readers. For example, I have heard of offers in the ten thousands for the top Diggers to submit a link. Could that be you? Your credibility and status could take time to build up, but the market is there for sure.
9. Design Twitter backgrounds- Twitter is the next big social networking website. Celebrities, businesses, and bloggers are flocking to Twitter – most of them without any tech skills. You can design them a nice Twitter background and make some quick money. It took me like ten hours to design my Twitter page and I still think a redo is around the corner.
10. Social and Micro Lending- Got a few grand to invest? You can lend it out on social lending sites like Prosper.com or LendingClub. With default rates at a low 2.5%, you can spread your notes around and make substantial amounts on interest alone. Why not help people out and make some extra cash doing so?
11. Start an Online Store- You can sell everything and anything. I have male friends selling cosmetics and lady friends selling car equipment. Use Cafepress or start your own shopping site. Design unique products and make a ton of money.
12. Get a Job with The US Census- Thousands of jobs will be added this year to finish the 2010 Census. These great government jobs can bring in thousands a month if you have time. Census offices in my area are going to grow from ten to hundreds of workers by the time applications begin rolling in.
13. Sell Custom Designed Water Bottles at Events- Find local events in the newspaper or online and order custom designed water bottles. You can buy them very cheap and sell them for an extra dollar or two a bottle. Imagine how much money you could make at a big event?
14. Teach English classes at Adult Centers or Colleges- Does your city have a large immigrant population? There are almost always employers looking to pay a native speaker good money to teach a class. Here in Los Angeles, these classes pay $45-55 an hour for 8 hours a week – almost $1,200 a month.
15. Sell Homegrown Fruits and Vegetables- You don’t have to be a agribusiness to make money selling crops. Grow a few exotic fruit trees or vegetable patches and sell the harvest to locals. I guarantee you, not only will your food be better than what they are eating, but also less expensive. You can even use this to supplement your own purchases and save a bunch of money.

These are the legal and scam free ways to make money that I have thought of. Have you made money doing something else recently? Please share your tips and experiences with the rest of our readers.

I have searched the Internet and local magazines for the ten best fast food promotions (and coupons) that will surely save you money.  If you know some more, please let me know and I will incorporate them into a future article.

1) Wienerschnitzel – Special Offer Coupon: Free Medium Drink

URL: http://wienerschnitzel.com/email/coupon.html

Click Here for Printable Coupon

2 ) Carl’s Jr. – Special Offer Coupon: Grilled Cheese Bacon

URL: http://www.carlsjr.com/promotions/coupon/one-dollar-off-gcbb-combo/

3 ) KFC. – Special Offer Coupons: Several Coupons

URL: http://kfccoupons.cre8.com

Enter your zip code and enjoy 6 free coupons.

Planet Hollywood USA

URL: http://www.planethollywood.com/partners/entertainment_coupon2.htm

5 ) El Pollo Loco. – Special Offer Coupons: FREE Steak & 3-Cheese Quesadilla with Any 9 or 14 Piece Feast

FREE-Quesadilla-Feast-Promo

URL: http://www.elpolloloco.com/whatsnew/promotions.html
6 ) Donut Connection – Various Printable Coupons (Small Free Coffee with any purchase, Buy one coffee get another free, etc)

URL: http://www.donutconnection.com/NewFiles/coup.html

7 ) Godfather’s Pizza – Various Printable Coupons – Buy One Medium Pizza Get another free and MORE

Godfather Free Medium Pizza with Purchase of Large

URL: http://www.godfathers.com/coupons/

Boston Market – Catering Special- $10 off a $60 or more purchase

Boston Market Catering Special

URL: http://www.bostonmarket.com/specials?page=coupons

9) Jack in the Box- Printable Coupon – $1 off Grilled Sandwiches

Jack in the Box $1 off Coupon

URL: http://www.jackinthebox.com/coupon/grilled-sandwiches_20100201.php

10) Panda Express – Printable Coupon – Free Firecracker Chicken with Purchase

Free Firecracker Chicken

Applying for the correct loan depending on your particular situation seems to be essential. If you apply for the correct loan, but request a short term loan with high monthly payments you obviously cannot afford, chances are nobody will be willing to fund you. It is as simple as that. But besides these evident considerations, there is a loan eligibility criteria which is universal and might help you obtain a better understanding of the process and hopefully assist you in achieving loan approval.

Employment Status

Before I start describing what I mean by employment status, I want to break down three factors that are looked at when a creditor checks your employment- job security, length of time on the job, and who your employer is.
This is something lenders will take into account when assessing your application for any loan. Unfortunately, sometimes you do not have the chance to choose over many job opportunities and might end up with one which does not certainly scream “risk free applicant”, but this is beyond your control. If your job is unstable (provided that you have changed jobs many times in the last few years, it will be considered unstable by financial institutions), if you are self-employed or if you are unemployed, you might be considered somewhat of a risk factor, only because loan repayment capabilities in your particular situation might fluctuate, and lenders are looking for financial stability. What I recommend is to meet the lender personally and let him or her know in detail about your employment circumstances. They will feel more at ease.

Current Salary

It is only natural that this variable be taken into consideration for the approval of your loan. It is the most tangible evidence the lender has regarding your repayment abilities. You will also be required to show proof of income if you are employed, and tax returns if you are self-employed (so as to check your monthly income). Nowadays, incomes over $70,000 combined with good credit almost guarantees the loan.

Possession Of Assets

This is essential if you are applying for a secured loan. If you have a property to pledge as security or even a car, your chances of approval will be better. You might feel that it is not worth it to risk the security of your asset, but provided that you need a large loan or that you are sure you will be able to repay it timely, then a secured loan is definitely the way to go.

Age Limits

The applicant must be older than 18 years of age when applying for a loan. And you must not be older than 65 years of age at the completion of the loan. The reasoning behind this particular criterion is pretty obvious. Banks want their money and they know its hard to collect when age is an issue.

Let us dissect the benefits and possible uses for each of the loans in order to help you narrow down your choices.

There are three types of student loans you can apply for: Federal, private, and personal student loans.

Federal loans are the best option if you can be accepted. There is definitely no debate. Since it is a government loan, it usually has lower interest rates and sometimes can be subsidized so the child does not have accruing interest while they are in school (Subsidized Stafford Loan). These loans also include a 6 month grace period, allowing for the student to find work and settle in before repayment.
One can save lots of money by applying for this loan.

Federal programs are the single largest source of college loans. The two main programs are the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP).

You can apply for a FFELP loan through many private banks, credit unions, or education finance companies. Although your school might recommend specific institutions, you’re free to get your student loan from any participating financial institution.

This loan has very attractive terms:

* You’ll get lower interest rates compared to other loans.
* Your interest payments may be paid by the federal government while you’re in school.
* You may not need to make loan payments while you’re in school.
* You get longer repayment terms.
* You may benefit from flexible credit requirements.

Some schools participate in the Federal Direct Loan Program, where you get loans with the same terms as FFELP loans, but you borrow from the U.S. Department of Education.

Widely used federal education loans

* Federal Stafford loans
* Federal Perkins loans
* Federal PLUS loans

Private loans are offered by private lenders and companies, and obviously they are in this business to make a hefty profit. The interest rates are a bit higher than federal loans.

However, if the government loan is not enough for you or if you can’t get your loan approved in the federal option, it is still a good idea to use private lenders to get the money you want to continue your education.

Personal student loans are another financial option you have available if you still have an outstanding balance on your cost of college bottom line. Consider personal loans as a last resort, a subset of private student loans. This family of financial products is due some respect: approach them when you are completely apprised of their requirements and contingencies.

Personal loans specifically designed for you, the college student, are not as abundant as private student loans. Typical loan criteria:

* You must be enrolled at least halftime in a degree program.
* You must have a good credit history to be a sole borrower or you can borrow with a co-signor.
* Repayment terms could be limited.
* Maximum loan limits vary, but could be as much as the cost of your total tuition.

If you want to read more, here are some useful links:

http://www.finaid.org/loans/

http://www.collegescholarships.org/loans/personal-loans-for-college-students.htm

http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DirectLoan/index.html

If we take into account the financial aspect, then weddings can differ greatly regardless of whether the sun shines. Wedding plans will nearly always consist of traditional items like the wedding gown, wedding cake; wedding flowers, flower girls etc. Wedding necessities as such leave no room for originality because most future brides will have a list like this too.

Summer brides will forever blossom as long their wedding plans cater for sweat stains appearing under the arms or the fringe sticking to the forehead. Not all summer brides are fortunate enough to have the sun beaming down on the day, hence the importance of planning for this. Weddings incur major expense because every woman wants it to be special but special comes at a price. Special weddings come with a difference; if you decide to ignore tradition then your summer wedding will be remembered not only by everyone attending.

Let us look at some options to help reduce cost

1 The bridal cosmetic content will have to be prioritized in the wedding plans. Sun protection is important. Photo shoots in the midday sun is a major health risk if the skin is not protected. Running mascara and melting lip gloss will not have the bride looking her best. Check for beauty products that can withstand climate changes. Some women tend to overlook the seriousness (not intentionally) of the suns harmful UV rays due to being busy with other matters.

2 Its quick its cheap its easy to send wedding invites via email, invitations can be prettied up with font change, colors and clip art. You have more chance of receiving a reply using this method. Fancy invitations can cost as much as a thousand dollars.

3 A sit down meal is more expensive than a running buffet. Your guest likes to have the option to eat when he/she feels like in contrast to that of being prompted to eat at a specific time. Open garden parties at this time of year are very popular. Save money on the DJ by asking around, most people know a friend or two that can DJ at a low price. Don’t spend more than 300 dollars on music.

4 Does the wedding gown have to include layer after layer of satin? You can save money with less material. Encrustation of pearls/ sequins can up the price. Buy your own pearl necklace/ earrings, this will save a considerable amount of cash and you can always wear them for other occasions. However if the dress of your dreams consist of gems then you can remove them at a later date and make use of them in many ways.

5 Save more money by wearing a plain off the shoulder figure hugging dress, ankle or knee length. A lace, fur (imitation) shoulder wrap/ shawl will set the dress off as well as give you protection from the sun or the rain if the weather goes against you. If you carry a little weight then have the dress not so tight.

6 Wedding flowers do not come cheap so why not grow from seed your own summer flowers for button holes and wedding bouquet. This is unique and will give you something to talk about or pass onto your kids when they marry. If your choice of wedding gown is short then a small hand held posy is ideal, if longer then carry long stemmed fresh blooms, after use place in a vase on the reception table. Have your flowers dried out and treated, add to wedding memorabilia scrapbook. Consider carrying a clutch bag. Bags and shoes can be decorated with finery to match whatever accessories you have hanging around your neck or on your head. Pearls can be worn long short to suit the style of dress.

7. Ask around for a good banquet hall at a reasonable price. If there isn’t anything available, some public areas can be used at a very fair price for such events. Check your local Yellow pages and community newspaper.

The money saved by you and your spouse during your wedding can be invested for new furniture, a down payment on a house, or a safety cushion. You can also use it for a better honeymoon. A few thousand dollars is a great thing to have, especially with so much uncertainty with jobs.