Category Archives: Dating/Relationships

On a Budget? 5 Ways to Be the Best Man Without Going Broke

Image Pixabay https://pixabay.com/en/wedding-marriage-buttonhole-formal-1031493/

Weddings can come with a hefty price tag for the bride and groom. But if you’re one of the many attendants that have been asked to help out on the big day, you can expect to shell out a decent amount of coin. While you want to give the prospective couple your all in making it a memorable occasion, you still need to remain within your budget. The following are important tips on how to be the best man for your friend’s wedding without going broke.

Save in Advance

Attending college is a great way to further your education. But with the many expenses such as housing, food and supplies, your finances can take a hit. If your college buddy asks you to stand up in his wedding, you may need to supplement your income to help pay for the costs associated with the event. If your friend’s wedding is 12 months down the road, you can put away money each month. Write down a detailed list of what you’ll be expected to pay such as the wedding attire, bachelor party, gift and more. Divide that amount of money by the number of months until the actual wedding, and that is what you need to save per month. You also want to pad the bachelor fund with additional money in case there are unexpected expenses such as lodging and travel.

Implement a Budget

With emotions at heightened levels, even budget-conscious individuals can get caught up in the wedding frenzy of their best friend. The groom may gift the attendants with affordable gift ideas for groomsmen to show their appreciation and love for standing up in their wedding. But you don’t have to break your budget to purchase them a gift that is well beyond your means. Go over your finances to determine the expenses associated with the wedding and how much you can afford to spend. When you get the impulse to overspend and do monetary damage to your finances, refer back to the budget.

Charge Only What You Can Afford

Using a credit card is a great way to earn cash back incentives and bonus points that you can spend on airline mileage. But if you’re planning to put wedding expenses on your credit card, you want to only charge items that you can afford. Once your credit card statement comes in, pay the amount that you owe immediately. You can also set up a special bank account for the wedding and pay down the debt as you charge the items.

Travel Economically

If the wedding you were asked to be best man is a destination event, you want to try to save money traveling. You can begin by using mileage that you’ve earned on credit card charges to pay for your lodging or flight. If you don’t have miles to spare, search the Internet for the best prices. For those flying in the U.S., you may be able to garner the best deal on flights 47 days before your trip. For International weddings, you want to secure a plane ticket much further in advance. You may also wish to sign up for discounts and specials with the airline company. If you’re looking for inexpensive accommodations, Airbnb may have rental homes or condo’s that are much cheaper than a hotel. If the bride and groom have carved out a set of rooms at a particular hotel for guests, you may also want to share lodging with another groomsmen to cut back on expenses.

Tone Down the Bachelor Party

The best man and other attendants standing up are typically in charge of the bachelor party festivities. This can be especially great if you’re looking to keep the costs for the party within budget. While you don’t want to scrimp on your buddy’s last hurrah, you don’t have to go overboard with something outlandish. Plus, destination bachelor parties can create drama for both the prospective bride and groom. Look for events that are fun and celebrate the groom such as a day of golf and dinner afterwards or a sports game to cheer your favorite team on to victory.

Being asked to stand up in a friend’s wedding is an honor that you don’t want to say no to. But you don’t want the costs associated with the event to lead to your financial demise. When you plan ahead and prepare for the expenses of being best man using the above tips, you won’t find any budgetary surprises.

A Great Place to Order Gifts Online That You Can Feel Good About

Christmas is right around the corner, Valentine’s Day soon after, and maybe you need to get a gift to get for a boyfriend, etc. While going to a store to pick up a present for someone might sound fun, it usually isn’t convenient, and often ends up costing more than you can find online. Let’s be real, we order almost everything we need to on the Internet these days anyways, so why shouldn’t gifts be the same?

While there are massive companies like Groupon, Amazon, etc., there are still some quality e-commerce stores out there, and ones that are truly conscious about making a difference, not just worrying about bottom lines. One such company is Uncommon Goods.

They not only have great options for selecting gifts for Valentines day, or nice jewelry, they are also making a difference and hold monthly meetings with their employees about how to be more green or work tUncommon Goods websiteogether on group philanthropic. projects. Check them out today!

 

Dating tips for the modern college man

Following dating tips intelligently can land you in that relationship sooner than you think ... photo by CC user Kelley Boone on Flickr

The dating scene has transformed into an entirely different landscape to what it once was years ago especially for the modern man out there. The diversity in the methods of which to get out there and date are a very different giving people a whole host of new and exciting options.

Let’s look at traditional dating tips first. While it can certainly be seen as the more intimidating of options, a man can meet a woman (or man for that matter) in public. Whether it’s in the campus coffee shop, down town or simply whilst taking your morning jog you never know what might be around the corner.

Then of course you have the late night scene. Night clubs, bars, pubs, parties – all of these often brimming with single people looking to meet the one or simply have a bit of fun. This often tends to be the more popular means of meeting someone in public, the alcohol no doubt having a profound effect on one’s confidence.

Something that has exploded over the past decade when it comes to the dating scene is the use of the internet. It’s easy to take for granted but the internet actually offers perhaps the best range of methods in meeting new people for both casual and long-term encounters.

Dating websites, once considered a seedy and taboo subject are now seen as perfectly common place even being responsible for a large percentage of hook-ups both long term and casual. The fantastic thing about dating websites is that we aren’t just restricted to the one option. While you may see mainstream dating websites advertised on the TV, there are also plenty of far more specific options out there to match any specific tastes. If you just want to hook-up for a casual fling, meet a married person through a married affairs site or even have a thing for someone in a uniform, there are a number of sites out there that tailor to your need.

Then of course you have forums and chat venues where you can simply enter into conversation with people all over the world. As you might expect these sorts of tools are more catered to no strings dating, anonymity often being an exciting prospect to many.

Dating has even moved beyond the realms of the internet and into the palm of our hands thanks to handy applications for our smart phones. Some mobile applications make meeting others for sexual encounters as easy as the swipe of your screen while others cater to casual, friendship and long term needs. This is perhaps the most efficient means of gaining dates – the only thing you need to do is look down at your phone to contact others.

The brilliant thing about living in our modern days is the sheer wealth of options he has when it comes to dating. Be it casual or something more committed and long term, guys are sure to find what they are looking for much easier.