Invited to a Wedding? Start Saving Now!

Getting invited to a wedding can really break a budget, trust me, I know. My little brother got married a couple weeks ago and I’ve got several friends planning to wed in the next few months.

American Express just did a survey and found that the cost to just show up for a wedding this year will run a guest about $592, a crazy increase of 75% from 2012.

So what’s making it so expensive to be a wedding guest? Well, for starters, the cost of everything has gone up (while most of our salaries have stayed the same). If you think about it, you’ll have to shell out for clothes, hotel stay, transportation, dining out, the bachelor or bachelorette party, accessories, personal grooming and babysitting or pet sitting costs.

And we haven’t even gotten to the gift yet. For a friend, you can expect to spend around $100 and for a family member, that shoots up to $200.

Yikes!