Wedding Budget – Searching for the Final Review

Where’s the final review of the wedding budget? 

Getting Sierra to share a final review of the wedding budget is proving to be a challenge.

Sierra and Steve have now been married for about 2 1/2 months. I’ve asked her several times to write about her wedding budget, post-nuptials though I’m pretty sure she ignored my first email request. I knew she was especially busy at work and  didn’t expect an immediate response. A few weeks later, she admitted that she’d ignored my email because she’d gone over budget. So she was avoiding the money conversation.

I expected Sierra might be experiencing shame about going over budget. Or, she might be avoiding revising her current budget to adjust for overspending on the wedding. If I know my daughter, the wedding budget is in the rear view mirror and she’s busy planning their next travel adventure.

Avoiding Money Issues 

Why do we avoid money issues?  According to research, people who avoid dealing with money may believe that money is bad. Or, that they don’t deserve money. Money can increase negative feelings like fear, anxiety, or disgust.  Negative feelings often lead to under spending and avoiding risk.

Age matters. People under 30 are more likely to believe that money is bad or evil. Income also matters. People with higher incomes were less likely to avoid managing their finances than people with lower incomes. That’s not surprising. Millennials are strongly encouraged to start saving as early in their 20s as possible. Money avoidant beliefs and behaviors are especially risky.