what kind of advise would you give to your kids if...

[Dancing Fire]

they have $30k in the bank ?....spent the $30K on a wedding or put a downpayment on a house?

 

[lknvrb4]

I would hope they would be smart and put it as a down payment for a house.

 

[Steel]

Are they my only options?

If so; then I would encourage them to buy property.
But that is such loaded advice; it would depend on the property they wanted to buy. Considering I would advise property over a wedding- it being the 'less frivolous' choice, it hardly remains sensible if they buy a premium cost property to land them in negative equity in, umh, about 6 weeks time. If so I'd rather they blow it all; but not necessarily on a wedding...

If I am free to choose; I would tell them to sit on it. Or give it to me

Edit: My smiley went MIA; but I got'em back.

 

[Nashville]

I'd say sock it away or put it down for a house. 30k for a wedding? Not in this economy! House is forever, wedding is one day.

 

[mary poppins]

First, I would tell then they don't have $30K to spend on either a wedding or a down payment. They should keep in their savings account the equivalent of at least 6 months worth of living expenses. Therefore, they have $30K minus 6 months of living expenses.

Second, I would ask them what they want to do (probably an expensive wedding).

Finally, I would ask them if they were willing to compromise or choose less expensive options for the wedding so they could have both a nice wedding and money for a down payment. Try to come up with some appealing, less expensive options to discuss.

Regarding the housing route, though, they should thoroughly researched as to location, local economy and how long they intend to stay in the particular house.

 

[jaysonsmom]

Definitely downpayment on a house. I never understood the point of having a lavish wedding that isn't even a day, it's a few hours! I had a small wedding that cost about $10K, but if I had to do it over again, I'd elope, and put everything into a bigger house.

 

[E B]

Down payment on a house, absolutely.

 

[yssie]

Definitely downpayment on a house. I never understood the point of having a lavish wedding that isn't even a day, it's a few hours! I had a small wedding that cost about $10K, but if I had to do it over again, I'd elope, and put everything into a bigger house.

Haha just don't say that in Newlyweds

And yeah, house, most definitely.

 

[lyra]

I've already told them both not to waste money on a wedding. Definitely the house down payment. DD1 is already saving towards her down payment. She plans to buy her first place in 3-4 years whether she has a b/f or not.

 

[Blackpaw]

Depends, if they havent travelled, then id tell them to blow it on that a mortgage wont mean much on your death bed after all...

 

[MissMina]

My son plans to have a nice but no frills wedding when the time comes.
He has already been saving a good portion of his salary for years and has no debts.
By pure coincidence the pay off on our house is around 30K.
Condo here I come!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

If my kid had $30k in the bank I'd tell them to give me back my credit card and use the $30k as an emergency fund if they didn't already have one and a down payment if the house/timing was right.

 

[tyty333]

Use it on a house...(but make sure they have plenty in backup savings first). I think I'm going to tell my kids to elope or
have destination weddings where just the people you really care about show up. I'm not into spending big bucks
on my future son-in-laws aunt's by marriage stepson's child. I know it sounds mean but I just think the amount of money
that some folks are spending on weddings has really gotten out of hand. I'll probably get flamed for saying that but I
guess I'm just not caring right now .

 

[soocool]

My nephew and his wife bought a house just before they married almost a year ago and they couldn't be happier. They also had a beautiful and fun wedding. They negotiated a lot with their vendors when planning the wedding and reception and saved quite a bit there as well.

I would also advise my DD to spend the money on a house rather than on a lavish wedding.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Personally, I would say neither. Invest it wisely (I don't think buying a house is a good investment at all and is, at the most, a saving strategy).

However, I do think that it would be necessary to factor in how important a wedding is to the couple, their earning prospects, current debt load, life planning, etc. The good financial sense isn't always the best life choice. If it were so, I would never have bought a gemstone, I would have saved 60% of my salary and not have done a lot of the amazing things in my life.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Definitely downpayment on a house. I never understood the point of having a lavish wedding that isn't even a day, it's a few hours! I had a small wedding that cost about $10K, but if I had to do it over again, I'd elope, and put everything into a bigger house.

Haha just don't say that in Newlyweds

And yeah, house, most definitely.

that's where i was going to post this thread but then i'd feel out of place posting over there. betcha most of the girls will say...spent $30k on the wedding.

 

[elrohwen]

I would suggest they save some for emergencies, spend some on a wedding, and use the rest for a downpayment. Weddings cost money if you want to invite more than just a few people, but they don't need to spend $30k necessarily.

I would also look at their rate of saving. if they saved that $30k in one year, then maybe they can spend it all on a wedding and save up another $30k over the next year for the house. If they spent the last 5 years saving up that $30k, then perhaps it would be better spent on a house.

I also don't think buying a house is for everyone. They need to really think about whether or not they will be living in the same area in 5 years. They also need to look at the cost of houses - around here, $30k would only be about 10%, and in that case I would suggest they keep saving before putting anything down on a house. Buying a house isn't always the best option.

 

[iheartscience]

Wow, tough question, DF! I'm going to go with the wedding, of course.

 

[yssie]

Definitely downpayment on a house. I never understood the point of having a lavish wedding that isn't even a day, it's a few hours! I had a small wedding that cost about $10K, but if I had to do it over again, I'd elope, and put everything into a bigger house.

Haha just don't say that in Newlyweds

And yeah, house, most definitely.

that's where i was going to post this thread but then i'd feel out of place posting over there. betcha most of the girls will say...spent $30k on the wedding.

..yeah, I made that mistake once. Now I know to keep my nose clean

 

[Indylady]

House or locked away in savings. $30,000 is a lot, but in the face of an emergency, it may not be.

 

[Haven]

Is that the only money they have saved? If so, my answer would be: neither. Keep the 30K in the bank, THEN start investing, saving up for a wedding, and a house. I don't think buying a house is the best idea for everyone, anyway. My advice would probably vary depending on how long it took them to save up that 30K, as well.

All that being said, If they didn't ask me for advice in the first place, then I wouldn't say a thing.

 

[jaysonsmom]

Definitely downpayment on a house. I never understood the point of having a lavish wedding that isn't even a day, it's a few hours! I had a small wedding that cost about $10K, but if I had to do it over again, I'd elope, and put everything into a bigger house.

Haha just don't say that in Newlyweds

And yeah, house, most definitely.

that's where i was going to post this thread but then i'd feel out of place posting over there. betcha most of the girls will say...spent $30k on the wedding.

..yeah, I made that mistake once. Now I know to keep my nose clean

I guess I still have a lot to learn.....

 

[soocool]

Let's say the couple was renting and now that they are married are looking for a larger place. Does it make sense to rent or buy your own place if you have the funds?

I always looked at paying rent as a mortgage without ownership. And currently in this market why would someone give up a great affordable deal if there are deals available?

ETA: Personal experience: Going back 21 years, we spent our money buying a house and still had a great wedding. House was all paid for in just a few years because we put down a huge downpayment and when we sold made a huge profit and built a new home and paid it in full (no mortgage). Because we were not paying interest we were able to save and invest in properties, which we sold and made huge profit.

 

[Dreamer_D]

How about 50-50?

 

[sctsbride09]

If that was all the money they had, (if they asked me) I would suggest that they keep 20K in the bank, and use 10K split for the ering and an elopement/honeymoon. I personally dont think that having 30K means you have the money to buy a house if its EVERYTHING you have. But then again Im from Ca, where 30K wouldnt even be 10% down.

 

[Arkteia]

I do not think my son will ever ask me this question because he is somewhat frugal, but theoretically, I'd say it would be his choice. Just because by giving an advice I'd assume responsibility for all the consequences.

 

[Yimmers]

If that was all the money they had, (if they asked me) I would suggest that they keep 20K in the bank, and use 10K split for the ering and an elopement/honeymoon. I personally dont think that having 30K means you have the money to buy a house if its EVERYTHING you have. But then again Im from Ca, where 30K wouldnt even be 10% down.

Sadly, this is true. $30k can be only a 1/4 of your downpayment. Scary, isn't it?

Invest it - could mean property, stocks, funds or something else.

If money was not a concern - trip around the world. My friend and her husband flipped a house, and used the funds for a five month trip. Pretty jealous! Something like that is what most of us hope to do when we're retired and older!

 

[Kaleigh]

Invest it, and make that money grow.

 

[kama_s]

Uh. Neither. After the great housing crash, I would hope people are not going into purchasing a house with only 30k in their bank account! Even the entire 30k as a down payment is not enough, so definitely not in this situation when you need to keep some aside for emergencies.

I also would not suggest investing. You invest if you can spare enough to lose. Unless it's savings bonds with a fixed return. But even that locks away your money which you might for emergencies.

If my kid came to me with this question I would ask them to put it away in a high interest savings account and stay put until they are in a better financial situation.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Uh. Neither. After the great housing crash, I would hope people are not going into purchasing a house with only 30k in their bank account! Even the entire 30k as a down payment is not enough, so definitely not in this situation when you need to keep some aside for emergencies.

I also would not suggest investing. You invest if you can spare enough to lose. Unless it's savings bonds with a fixed return. But even that locks away your money which you might for emergencies.

If my kid came to me with this question I would ask them to put it away in a high interest savings account and stay put until they are in a better financial situation.

savings account??? are they still paying interest??