
Listen Money Matters - Free your inner financial badass. All the stuff you should know about personal finance.
Honest and uncensored - this is not your father’s boring finance show. This show brings much needed ACTIONABLE advice to a people who hate being lectured about personal finance from the out-of-touch one percent. Andrew and Matt are relatable, funny, and brash. Their down-to-earth discussions about money are entertaining whether you’re a financial whiz or just starting out. To be a part of the show and get your financial questions answered, send an email to listenmoneymatters@gmail.com.
Latest episodes

Jul 4, 2016 • 39min
Better Habits for Financial Independence
Happy 4th of July! While you are watching fireworks, remember how much hard work and dedication it took the founders of the United States to declare independence. It takes the same effort and dedication when it comes to financial independence. These are the best habits for independence. Finding financial independence takes a lot of hard work too. Today the guys talk about building habits for independence and what mindset you need to become more freedom financially. What Retirement Should Be Andrew was recently having a conversation with his father about retirement. He said even when he has enough money to retire, the thought of having a finite amount of money and slowly burning it down its a pretty scary. The Concept of retirement is changing. Thomas read a book called The Happiness Equation, which talks about where the idea of retirement came from. In the 1880’s the German started making it mandatory for people over 65 to retirement to free up jobs for younger people. Back then the average lifespan was 67, so they only needed to have enough money to survive a few more years. Fast forward to today. The retirement age is still 65, but people are living well into their 90’s. They need a lot more money to live out the rest of their lives comfortably. Because retirement is a time of leisure, and travel, you will need to save more than just the cost of living. After reading this book, Thomas believes the idea of retirement is broken. Retirement for Thomas is having enough money so he can work on not for profit projects and still be able to support himself. Independence is not retiring; it’s the ability for you to put your time where you want to put your time. Getting Out of the Rat Race Many of us feel trapped in the cycle of going to work every day so we can pay the bills every month. This never-ending cycle is called the rat race. It is a period where you are required to put in a certain amount of time to get a certain sum of money. Always trying to get those TPS Reports to your boss. The ability to step off of the wheel and claim your time back is true independence. Although it isn’t going to happen overnight and it indeed takes some work but it cane is done. If you have your mind set on financial independence, creating habits for success will help you get there faster. Do three things every day Take an hour in the morning plus an hour when you get home and dedicate them to accomplishing daily tasks that will help you reach your goals. A bunch of those small steps will lead to bigger things. Keep your expenses low Recently, Andrew and I played Cashflow with some friends. It’s a board game where the goal is to get out of the rat race. You have a job, investments, balance sheets – it’s pretty intense but super fun. Get out of the rat race by increasing your passive income to twice that of their expenses. Keeping your costs low is just as important as making more money. Budgeting aside, once every few months go over your reoccurring costs and make sure all those things you’re paying for are still important in your life and making you happy. Beware of lifestyle creep. Don’t let your expenses increase your income. Invest In Your Labor-Asset By 2020, 40% of the US workforce will not be full-time workers. Being your own boss will be the new norm. Labor is your biggest asset. It is crucial to building the value of your work by actively trying to learn new things. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 27, 2016 • 44min
10 Lessons in 100 Episodes
Season two of Listen Money Matters has officially reached 100 episodes. Thomas and Andrew have learned so much from each other and from the excellent guests we’ve had on the show. Today the guys discuss the top 10 things they have learned in 100 episodes this season.
Andrew’s Lessons
Having routine changes everything. Andrew learned the power of habit and made better use of his time. Having a routine has done wonders for his productivity and has actively and consciously built himself a daily routine so he can achieve more throughout that day. #gettingshitdone.
Allison’s real estate investment strategy rocks. This episode caused a significant mindset shift for Andrew on how he approached wealth building. Allison inspired and opened his eyes to how easy it is to get into real estate investing. She was an excellent example of a typical family creating passive income through hard work and time.
Real estate investing isn’t that hard. On a similar vain, this episode further educated Andrew on how the whole process works. He learned how hands off real estate investing could be making it a great passive income stream.
Take the emotion out of money. Joan Sotkin was one of our favorite guests on the show, and her interview came just in time. Andrew was so caught up with work and was being driven by anxiety. He as approaching a burnout again and Joan was able to help him find balance. She taught him to stop worrying so much about money and focus more on healthy relationships and being in good physical health.
Turn your family into a business. Great episode! Natali Morris was very inspiring and had some great advice on how to grow your family’s wealth. Since that episode, Andrew has taken the business more seriously and reduced our families costs by utilizing business write-offs. She also introduced us to the self-directed IRAs.
Thomas’ Lessons
The importance of Delegating Work. This was not part of an episode, but since working with Andrew, Thomas has learned to offload some work and hire some help. He was overloading himself but still resistant to the idea of having a team, but after a few of Andrews lectures, Thomas was convinced. He now has a small team, and his business is growing as a result.
Investing in yourself is important. Before he started the LMM podcast, Thomas was a set it and forget it mutual funds kind of guy. This season has opened his eyes to different types of investments. One of our latest episodes was with Doug McCormick, author of Family Inc. He talked a lot about labor as one of your most valuable assets. Thomas learned it is super important to invest in yourself and your business. In the end, it could be a much better return on investment.
The borrowing against your 401k battle. So, we got our asses handed to us on this one. After the borrowing against your 401k episode aired, Thomas began doing some hardcore research on the subject and learned a ton, but the real lesson for him here was understanding his responsibility as a podcaster. Everyone listening to the show has a different financial situation, so when discussing personal finance topics like this, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 20, 2016 • 48min
Manage Your Family Like a Business
Growing your wealth is not just about keeping up with your budget and investing some money in the stock market. To achieve financial independence, you need to have a solid plan, and that starts with better decision making. Today on the show the guys talk to Douglas McCormick- Army veteran, entrepreneur, and author of Family Inc. He teaches us about managing your family finances like a business and how to use business principles to maximize your wealth. Many Americans of all ages struggle with finances. Douglas wrote Family Inc to provide everyone a straightforward and holistic way to manage their money and build wealth for their future. He wants to empower people to strive for financial independence and give them the education to make the right decisions. Appoint a CFO: Like any business, someone needs to be in charge of what is going on financially. Although the whole family will make decisions together, there should be one person who will be in charge of making sure all the money is managed correctly. This person is going to be the family’s Chief Financial Officer, and every family should have one. They will handle cash flow, risk management, small business investments, education investments, tax planning and most importantly be a teacher. The CFO will use the tools of the business world to customize a family financial plan and actively manage it. The CFO will use income reports and balance sheets instead of a traditional budget. Budgeting is a useful tool but can sometimes be short sited and distract us from what is paramount. Marking off every penny you spend month after month is pretty tedious and can easily get neglected after a few months. Douglas believes with budgeting; less is more. You want to focus more high-level expenses like rent and electric and less on tracking packs of gum and coffee shops. If you are ready to ditch budgeting for balance sheets, you can create your own on his site. Value of Labor In Family Inc., Douglas talks about the value of labor and how it is factored into the families net worth. Although we never really think about our labor as a financial asset, the family’s labor (selling skills for money) is a huge asset and it needs to be managed like one. You carry this labor asset with you throughout your life, and you’ll need to maximize it from your first job into retirement. With this value of labor mindset, you can make better choices when it comes to education and career. Higher education is certainly important, but you don’t want to pay for “excess” schooling. Let’s say you want to get your MBA. As chief financial officer, you will need to figure if the skills you’ll acquire can push your career to the next level while still being beneficial to your overall financial goals. Don’t just jump in head first without a clear goal. The value of labor also factors in when deciding on a job offer. We typically focus on the compensation, but you should also consider what about this job can drive more long-term value like developing new skills that can help you earn more in the future. Entrepreneurship “The surest way to financial freedom is entrepreneurship.” Douglas believes that it is unlikely you will create real wealth through traditional employment because of the competition in both the labor and capital markets. Starting your own business does come with some financial risk because there are no guaranteed minimum earnings, but there is no ceiling as well. The nature of employment has changed in the last decade and every year more and more people are moving out of the rat race and taking the leap into entrepreneurship. Besides the tax benefits and being your boss, when you own a small business, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 13, 2016 • 1h 4min
Selling Wholesale On Amazon With Edward Lichstein
Ever wonder how to people make money selling wholesale on Amazon? Andrew trawled Quora and found someone to teach us how to do it. Eddie Lichstein has been in the e-commerce business for 13 years selling wholesale on Amazon. He has always been a car nut and runs a site, TH Motorsports, which is the Amazon of car parts. He also runs Rejoiner, a site to help e-commerce business owners improve sales. Eddie has been very generous answering questions on Quora and he came here today to answer our questions. America Was Built On Small Business Small business makes up 99.7% of US employer firms. America has always been a country that fosters small business. And right now, certain sectors like e-commerce, are like the Wild West. In 20 or 30 years, people will look back with amazement at how easy it is to make money right now. So why aren’t more of us starting small businesses? Because we get caught up in the details; how do I incorporate? I’ll need an accountant, a lawyer. I’m just a regular person, I can’t deal with all that. Stop thinking that way. You can jump into e-commerce like we’re going to describe with no capital. All you need is a credit card (that you pay off in full every month!) and enough time (but it doesn’t take too much) to do some research and leg work. If You Have An Awesome Dildo, It Will Sell Eddie said that I had couldn’t resist using it as a headline. It’s not quite that simple. You have to love dildos, but really, who doesn’t? The barrier to selling through e-commerce is very low but you will be more successful if you sell something you love because the things you love, you know a lot about. Look around you right now. There are probably half a dozen small things in site that are not terribly expensive that you know a lot about. Choose three or four things and we’ll move on to the next part of the plan. Jungle Scout Jungle Scout is a site that allows you to do research into what sells on Amazon which is what every e-commerce seller wants to know. We used carrot/potato peelers in our example. You research the peelers and you want something that sells somewhere in the middle. If you choose top sellers, you won’t be able to compete with the sellers already peddling those. If you choose those at the bottom, there aren’t enough people buying them. Eddie figures that you will spend about 48 in total researching the product you want to sell. Ali Baba Ali Baba is China’s version of Amazon. But you can get a lot of items there very cheaply because it costs less to manufacture in China than in other places. So you buy 100 peelers. Remember, you are still not really spending money. You’re financing this on net 30 terms because you’re charging it and at least for your first foray into this, you should choose an item that is inexpensive so that if it doesn’t work out, you’re not out much money. You also aren’t taking much risk because you know what will sell after your research on Jungle Scout. Become A Detective You know how to make this whole thing cheaper and more profitable? Cutting out the middleman, Ali Baba in this example. Ali Baba isn’t making those peelers. They’re are getting them from a supplier. You want to see if you can track down the supplier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 6, 2016 • 1h 2min
Diversify with Online Real Estate Investing
When it comes to real estate, breakaway success is found at scale, and Fundrise’s goal is to scratch that itch. Does the Fundrise platform stand up to the hype? That’s what I was determined to find out. I’ve always been a do-it-yourself investor – especially when it comes to real estate. My wife and I own three rental properties, and the condo that we live in is the result of a successful fix and flip over two years. It goes without saying that real estate is both an essential part of our wealth building strategy and something that we’re particularly interested in. It’s a strategy that is, above all, focused on long-term growth. Over the past one and a half years we’ve interviewed Ben Miller the CEO, twice. First, when Fundrise just started and was only available to accredited investors and a second time after they opened up their platform to normal people – we invested soon after. They’ve since scaled massively, paid me a ton of dividends and relaunched their entire platform as “Fundrise 2.0“. So, I thought it was long overdue that I broke down what they are, why you should care and what they do well (passive income). Let’s get nerdy! What is Fundrise and why should you care? Fundrise is a crowdfunded platform that allows average investors access to real estate returns they could not access on their own or through a traditional REIT. Their bread and butter are real estate deals that are overlooked by large institutional investors and out of reach for most individuals. Investing with Fundrise is available to non-accredited investors. Simply put, that means that anyone can invest with them, you no longer need to be insanely wealthy. And what is a REIT? A REIT, or Real Estate Investment Trust, is a company that owns or finances income-producing real estate. Most REITs are similar to Fidelity’s FRESX in that they manage many billions of dollars in assets and thus have to invest a significant amount of money. So, to be able to invest in new deals and manage the fund’s existing investments they typically need to make larger bets. They simply don’t have time to chase smaller properties. Often large REIT investments aren’t even directly in real estate assets but companies like Public Storage. Because what’s even easier than going out and finding real estate deals worthy of investing in? Investing in companies that do that already. Such is the case with FRESX whose largest holding is just the Public Storage company. Sounds like a shitty deal as there is Such is the case with FRESX whose largest holding is the Public Storage company. Seems like a shitty deal as there is little value added here considering a REIT is so much more expensive than just buying some of Public Storage yourself – for less. The problem is that this is pretty common and there just aren’t many REITs that are strong picks if you’re looking to buy into the rental market. Individuals, on the other hand, are mostly investing in smaller properties ($100k – $200k in value) that are in higher demand making it harder to generate a reasonable profit. It’s also more difficult, and expensive, to manage 100 properties as opposed to 10. That’s why the vast majority don’t go down this road. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 30, 2016 • 52min
Take The Emotion Out Of Buying Stocks
Emotions have no place in investing. You rely on cold, hard data to make investing decisions. Today we’ll talk about ways to take the emotion out of buying stocks with the founder of Simply Wall Street. We interview Al Bentley, wind-surfer, CEO and co-founder of Simply Wall Street, an Australian startup that helps people make better investing decisions by turning complex data into easily understood infographics. Buy and Hold Wins Again Confirming yet again the advice that LMM has been giving you from the start, Simply Wall Street does not advocate picking individual stocks but rather the buy and hold strategy. But because there are people who buy individual stocks, Simply Wall Street wants to give them the best information available in a way that is easy to understand so that they can take the emotion out of buying stocks and make right decisions. The site does get incredibly detailed on individual stocks even looking at things like CEO compensation, but when you visit, you’ll notice that one piece of information they don’t include shares price. It is part of the analysis, but they don’t want people to rely too much on that one bit of data. People get too hung up on price when deciding what stocks to buy. DIY Fund Simply Wall Street wants to allow people to pick individual stocks not so they can sell them off quickly, but so they can essentially build their own fund. Individual stocks shouldn’t make up your entire portfolio but using the information that SWS provides makes it easy to have direct shares as a part of your portfolio. Investing for the In-Betweeners There is certainly no shortage of information available to help you pick stocks, but a lot of it is not easily understood by normal people. And what can be easily understood, previous share price, for example, is not a good indicator. You can’t always predict the future by looking at the past. It’s important to look at certain ratios like P/E and P/S, but you need context to understand what those numbers are indicating. Some investors rely on things like Google Finance for information, but that was built by finance people for finance people. SWS wanted to create something for the rest of us, the layperson that doesn’t have all the technical knowledge that some finance people assume everyone has. The founders are not finance guys, so they don’t have those ingrained biases. They were investors though so understood the problems of investors. There are a lot of resources for brand new investors, things like Betterment and Robin Hood, and things for high-end investors but investors that fall between those two categories are under-served. Special Snow Flakes SWS uses a system that is meant to analyze stocks that will be held long term. If you really want to nerd out, they open sourced their analysis model on Git Hub so you can have a look for yourself. There are five main components; Value: Value is based on future cash flow and its price relative to the stock market. Future: The expected performance in the next 1-3 years, based on estimates from up to 50 analysts. Past: The earnings performance over the previous five years. Health: A company’s financial health and their level of debt. This marker is critical to long-term investing. Income: The current dividend yield, its volatility, and sustainability. There is another factor that SWS looks at that many investors and advisors overlooks; management. How long has the board been serving, is the CEO grossly overcompensated, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 23, 2016 • 50min
5 Questions: Profit Sharing, Tradelines, 403B’s
We get a lot of listener questions, and sometimes we get the same question several times. When that happens, we know a five questions episode is in order! Today we bring you give questions on profit sharing, tradelines, 403Bs, 401ks, and paying off debt. Question One: Can you guys explain the difference between a regular 401k vs. profit sharing 401k? What’s the difference between the two and can you withdraw from both early? Profit Sharing is solely employer-funded. You’re not putting money from your paycheck into it like you would a 401k. It is your employer making contributions towards your retirement. Contributions are usually based on the percentage of salary – higher salary = higher profit sharing. As for withdrawal, the plan administrator has a lot of decision making power in determining pre-withdrawal requirements. For a 401k, the employee is the primary contributor to account. Some employers will match contributions, but not a requirement. Even if they match in given year, an employer can suspend matching in future years. Your contributions are wholly vested right away, but employer contributions can have vesting requirements such as having to work a minimum amount of years. There are certain circumstances where there are penalty-free withdrawals like for hardship, but most early withdrawals will cost you. Question Two: Are trade lines even a legit way to build credit? Or is it just a scheme? Im a late bloomer with my credit and I’m looking for a way to build it up. And where should I put money? I am saving for a vacation. In a capital one 360 savings account, mix in with my betterment build wealth account, Acorns, or some other strategy? Tradeline is an industry term for an account or line of credit. If you Google tradelines all the top result are marketplaces for trade lines or credit accounts. So why would you buy a line of credit? Let’s say Andrew has a Capital One credit line that he has been paying on time for five years which puts the account in good standing. Thomas, on the other hand, has only one line of credit for a year with some late payments and now he wants to build his credit. In this case, Thomas can go to one of these tradeline marketplaces where Andrew is selling his good tradeline. This allows Thomas to purchase his credit line to help build his credit. Andrew would add Thomas as an authorized user. Then, Thomas would remove Andrew as an authorized user and viola, Thomas now has a five-year credit line in good standing and credit score increases. Yes, this is some shady shit, and we do not recommend this. There are many other ways to increase your credit. Try applying for a secure credit card or use a third-party rent reporting service, so your on-time rent payments count towards your credit. As for the second question, if you are planning on traveling soon, there isn’t a need to put your vacation savings into an investing account. Any short-term savings are better off in a checking or savings account. Question Three: So I stopped my contribution to my 403b today (teacher) because the returns on it sucked a bag of dicks. I was getting guaranteed 3% and paying fees, which I’m confident I can improve upon by managing my investments myself. The money I’ve contributed thus far is less than $3,000, and I’ve been putting into it for a while. I’d like to roll it over into something else, but the company I have the 403b with, Great American) hits me with MASSIVE fees if I move the money before the contract with them is up, and I can’t move that money to anything other than another 403b according to the IRS. All that to say, I am willing to just cut my ties with that money for now, still have it in my tiny portfolio but just stop funding it. Now, I can spare about $150 to throw towards investments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 16, 2016 • 51min
Make Money On Amazon Using Retail Arbitrage
There are many ways to make money on Amazon, and retail arbitrage is one of them. I know, it sounds pretty badass. We’ll teach you how it’s done. We have Jessica and Cliff from The Selling Family on the show to talk about their experience using FBA to create a successful lifestyle business. They started in 2010 and now make 300K in sales a year bringing in 100K in profits. What is FBA? FBA or Fulfillment by Amazon allows anyone to sell goods on the Amazon platform and store inventory in their fulfillment centers. Simply put, you buy items you want to sell, and Amazon will list them, store them and ship them to your customers. They also handle most customer service inquires, refunds and returns. Interestingly, more than 40% of Amazon’s total sales come from third-party sellers. Amazon is the go-to place to buy anything from vitamins to dog tu-tus. It’s trusted name with a highly trafficked marketplace (understatement) which makes it a perfect place for your products to gain visibility to millions of buyers. FBA gives everyone the tools they need to start a small online business. They now have warehouses all over the U.S. making same day and next day shipping available to many people across the country. Based on what you are selling, Amazon will have you ship your items to whichever fulfillment center would sell the most of your product. If you use FBA, your products are eligible for free shipping which will increase your chances of getting into the “Buy Box.” What Can You Sell? There’s a surprisingly short list of items you can’t sell on Amazon. Unless you are trying to push imitation weapons, baby crib bumpers or foie gras, you can sell just about anything you want. However, you need to be smart when choosing your items. If Amazon itself is listing the same item that you are listing, they obviously are going to take the sale. Jessica and Cliff sell mostly health and beauty products as well as some grocery. They look for items that Amazon no longer carries or that have run out of stock. You have to do your research and test the waters before finding what works best for you. Also keep in mind that to list certain types of items, you may need a Professional Seller account. A Pro Sellers account will run you $39 a month but is entirely worth it if you are selling forty plus items a month. Finding Your Items The Amazon Sellers App offers mobile tools that help sellers search and scan barcodes of items, check prices, sales ranking, and reviews, list items, as well as communicate with customers. You might find the best deal ever on passion fruit candles, but it won’t necessarily bring in the profits your are looking for. Amazon does a 30% cut so you’ll need to find products with high-profit margins. Jessica and Cliff set a minimum of five dollars profit on any one item they sell. It’s important to make sure there is a healthy gap between my purchase price and profit after Amazon’s cut. Make sure the item has good reviews. The profit margin might be 300%, but if it has terrible reviews, you will have less chance of selling it. The size and weight of the items is also something to consider. You do have to pay for shipping to the Amazon warehouse. Although it is heavily discounted, the price still depends on weight. Know the best time to shop. Learn when the stores around you have sales or push things to clearance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 9, 2016 • 54min
What the F**k is Tax-Loss Harvesting?
Tax-loss harvesting is a term you’ve probably heard but don’t know what it means. It may seem obscure, but it’s a good weapon to have in your investing arsenal. So just what the f**k is tax-loss harvesting? Dan Egan, the Director of Behavioral Finance at Betterment is joining us to talk about Tax Loss Harvesting. We discuss what it is, how it works and what sort of benefits it provides you as a long-term investor. Tax-loss harvesting is the selling of securities at a loss to offset a capital gains tax liability. What is Tax-Loss Harvesting? Losing money on an investment stinks but there is a way to soften the blow a little; tax-loss harvesting. TLH means you sell an investment that has lost money. By harvesting investment losses, you can offset taxes on short-term gains and income. You replace the investment that was sold with a similar one to keep your asset allocation the same. Okay, that’s a little confusing for us lay people. Keep reading. Here’s an example of how it works. You bought $100 worth of Apple stock. After six months, it’s only worth $70, so you sell it at a loss of $30 and buy a similar stock, like Microsoft. At tax time, you let the IRS know that you had that $30 loss, and they will reduce your taxable income by that $30. TLH used to be something only very high worth investors could take advantage of because it’s such a labor-intensive process. It takes a lot of tax planning. If you use a personal financial advisor or tax advisor they should offer this benefit to you. Now computer algorithms can do it in seconds. If you invest through Betterment, this is done for you behind the scenes automatically and for free. Benefits of Tax-loss Harvesting TLH is a form of tax deferment. You will have to pay taxes on that $30 you lost in Apple eventually because you embedded a future gain when you bought a similar stock, Microsoft. But you won’t sell that for a year or more so you’ll be charged the long-term gains rate, which is lower than the short-term rate. For tax purposes, inflation works in your favor here because that $30 is worth more now than it will be in the future when you pay your tax bill. Because of inflation, paying taxes later is better than paying them sooner because it erodes the actual value of the taxes you will eventually pay. You know how people tell you that getting money back on your taxes (thrilling as it is) is a bad thing because of that money, your money, has been loaned to the government tax-free? Well, you can use TLH to turn the tables. TLH is like getting a loan from the IRS on which you’re earning money on over time. Realized losses on investments can offset gains and reduce ordinary taxable income by as much as $3,000 per year. Taxes Everywhere! You pay income tax of course, and there are various types of taxes you pay on your investments too. Capital Gains A capital gain is a difference between the price you paid for an asset and the higher price you sold it for. The IRS wants a cut off that profit, and they take it in the form of a capital gains tax. There are realized and unrealized capital gains. Gains are not realized until the asset is sold. The government wants their cut, but they also want you to be a long-term investor. If you hold an investment for less than one year, it’s considered a short-term investment, and you will pay a higher tax rate, the same rate that your income is taxed at. Selling investments in the short term are considered a job in a way, and you’ve taxed accordingly. If you wait more than a year to sell, you will be taxed at a much lower rate, no more than 15%. That’s a substantial difference so be sure you take that into account capital loss when you’re deciding whether or not to sell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 2, 2016 • 45min
The Broke-Ass Bride Guide to Beautiful Party Without Blowing Your Wedding Budget
While weddings are a wonderful way to celebrate the love between two people, it can come with a hefty price tag. But it doesn’t have to. You can have the wedding you want without going broke. I did. Here’s how beautiful party without blowing your wedding budget. It is important to bear in mind during the whole process that a wedding and marriage are two separate things. What is crucial on your wedding day is you, the one you love, a marriage officiant and your wedding license – everything else is extra. Your wedding will last a few hours, but your marriage is for a lifetime. With that said, who doesn’t want to have a party and share that special day with all the people they care about? There is a lot of planning and money that comes along with it, and it can quickly become out of control. Who is Paying? Your wedding is probably the priciest party you’ll ever throw in your life. As of 2015, the average wedding in the U.S. ran about $32,000. Of course, it depends on where you live and what kind of wedding you want to have. Last year in NYC, the average wedding cost $86,000. Yup, that’s a down payment for a home. Who is dishing out that kind of money? In the past, it was traditional for the bride’s parents to pay for the wedding, but lately, more couples are paying for their wedding giving them control over how and where the money is spent. Couples paying for everything themselves have maximum flexibility. Just like you have dreamed of what your big day will look like, so do your parents. If they are paying, they can have a say in planning as well. If mom wants to invite 45 of her closest friends, then she can. Many couples make concessions to make their family happy but it’s so important to remember, this day is about the two of you, not the whole family. Paying your way is much easier because you can make all the decisions. If the family is paying, make sure there is clear communication and expectations are set. What To Spend On Day Of Coordinator You want to enjoy the day as much as possible and having a day of coordinator will help you do that. I had one, and it was the best thing I ever did. Everything happened seamlessly while I danced, drank and had a great time. A coordinator is a cheaper alternative to a wedding planner. Although they are not with you for months planning the whole event, the day of they act as a liaison between the DJ, caterer, florist, and coordinate the logistics of your wedding day to make sure that everything goes as planned, so you don’t have to. They can also act as a “Brides Guard” to help fend off anyone trying to steal your attention when you need a minute to yourself. You don’t necessarily have to hire someone to do this; it could just be a friend who likes to take control. Photographer After all the food is eaten, drinks drank and favors given out, the only thing you two walk away with are photos of the day (and a whole lot of envelopes filled with money). Those the memories you’ll have forever so don’t skip on a photographer. You can find one for a great price, just make sure to look at their portfolio. Check that they have experience taking photos of people moving. If you only see still life pictures in their portfolio, they probably won’t be the best fit for your wedding. We ended up getting a friend of the family who was a wedding photographer on the side and spent next to nothing. We have wonderful memories and even saw things we missed! Also, check out an app called Wed Pics where guests can join your party and take their pictures and videos that are shared with you and all of your guests. Food & Booze (but mostly booze) Don’t skimp on the bar! People are coming to a party and expect to have a drink…. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices