re-seeling items on Amazon.Ten years ago I got married and tried to have an inexpensive wedding. Somehow we spent well over $10,000 on everything. Thank goodness that was in the years before Pinterest, or I can’t even imagine how much my DIY budget would have spiraled out of control. Now, after 10 years of marriage, we really wanted to renew our commitment to each other and actually stick to a budget! We managed to keep it all under $1k and we paid in cash. So, naturally, I want to share with you exactly how we did it.
*This post contains affiliate links. I may make a commission on anything I recommend but all opinions are my own.
It’s so important when planning any kind of budget, to start out by setting goals for what you want to accomplish.
What our goals looked like:
- Vow renewal to one another
- Have all of our kids with us
- To be near where my dad’s ashes are scattered
- Keep it as inexpensively as possible
Our goals were pretty cut and dry. There was no need for a big, fancy party to renew our vows. It was meant to be about us and the life we’ve created which made it pretty simple to stick to a budget.
For the most part, we based out entire trip off of whatever money we were able to pull in that didn’t come from our actual budget money.
That means we were able to save money and pay for this trip completely through side hustles and selling stuff!
Blogging
Blogging has been an awesome source of income for our family. With only a couple hours a day, I’m easily able to bring in a few thousand dollars each month.
How to Make Your First $1,000 Blogging.
Selling items online
I am no stranger to decluttering. To help us make monumental debt-payoff and still fund our vow renewal on a budget, we started selling some unused items online.
Great places to re-sell:
The only major setback we faced when planning this vow renewal was that it required to travel in order to be near my father’s ashes. That meant we had to find somewhere to stay with us and our kids, plus additional food expenses.
Is your biggest expense one of your top goals?
It’s so easy for people to get carried away with things that actually distract from the big picture.
If you set goals to have family around you, have a gorgeous location and stick to a budget but your dress costs over $500 — you might not be spending your money in the right areas.
Make sure your biggest expense lines up with what your top goals for your vow renewal are.
Planning for your biggest, most important expense is a great starting off point to plan for how much money you’re going to need to save.
To make saving easy, you can set up an automated savings plan with a savings account that is not attached to your regular bank account.
We use the Capital One 360 Savings Account because it easily allows us to set up automatic savings from our regular checking account and we earn money in interest every month!
Setting up automatic savings
When you log in to your Capital One 360 account, there are 3 steps you need to follow to get automatic savings set up for your vow renewal.
- Click on your savings account
- Choose Automatic Savings Plan from the menu options
- Enter the amount, date and account you want money drawn from
Start your automatic savings plan
Other great money-making ideas:
- How to Get Paid to Cuddle Dogs
- Save for a Vacation with Uber
- How One Family Makes Over $100,000 Per Year on Amazon
- How I Made $500 in One Week Without Working
Look into free venues
Because we kept our vow renewal very simple and limited only to our family, there was no price to pay for the location and no hassle whatsoever.
We just showed up, picked a place, and started renewing our vows. This is a place we visit several times a year so I knew we would be able to manage a quick renewal without causing any trouble.
Thankfully, my aunt and Godmother had recently gotten ordained and she was more than willing to help us out with our vow renewal plans. I’m very thankful for this, otherwise, we would not have been able to save money in this area.
Learn more about how to get ordained online.
Total cost: $0
Find floral arrangements for less
My original plan was to purchase a simple bouquet to use as flowers. After not finding any at the local stores, we really were able to save money by stopping on our way to pick some of the beautiful wildflowers that lined the scenic route. This is the same road I drove as a kid with my dad and grandparents. I can’t imagine anything having been more perfect for a bouquet.
Daisies are my favorite flower and luckily the side of the road was filled with them.
Our daughter was very excited to be a flower girl and insisted on getting flowers to hold; so she was thrilled that she literally got to pick them herself.
Total cost: $0
Shop discounts (but still get what you want)
Kids outfits
I first set out trying to find some nice clothes for our younger kids.
Our daughter recently went through an “I hate dresses” phase, so she really didn’t have anything appropriate.
Luckily, Target and their clearance section had us covered and I was able to save money but I found outfits that were perfect and simple.
The dress
For my dress, I wanted something simple and affordable. I wasn’t even sure I would purchase a white dress. After all, how often would I get to re-wear a white dress? Certainly not to any future weddings I might be invited to!
As much as I loved the idea of getting a beautiful white dress, I couldn’t ignore that practical side of me that screamed, “That’s a waste of money!”
I will spare you all the dramatic shopping details, but I will say that I got very lucky that the best dress I tried on just so happened to end up being $7.51 at Kohls and that was before any discounts!
Total cost: $20
Saving on an Airbnb
As I said, since we had to bring the kids up for the first half of our trip, we opted for staying in an Airbnb. We got really lucky and found a house that was very clutter-free and well maintained.
How to save money on an Airbnb
- Use my discount! — Save $40 on your first Airbnb stay!
- Book during “off” days –like weekdays and non-holidays
- Book a house slightly off location
- Finding a house that was a little out of town saved us huge and was actually better for us and our kids.
- Never be afraid to ask for a last-minute deal.
- If you are booking a last-minute trip, it never hurts to message the Airbnb host directly to see if they are willing to give you a discount. Grab my FREE Maximize Your Negotiation Scripts to get the script for exactly what to say!
- Recommend Airbnb to friends
- Airbnb lets you give your friends a $40 credit when they sign up and book their first stay! Then you receive a $20 credit!
- Book multiple nights
- If you are planning to be in the area for several nights, take advantage of the discount most hosts will offer when you book multiple nights in a row.
Total cost: $400
Save on hotels
After we renewed our vows, we went out to dinner and then our oldest daughter drove the youngest kids to grandmas so mom and dad could enjoy some alone time.
While we loved our Airbnb we were excited to have booked a hotel right in the center of Duluth. This way we could walk to all the local hot spots. Doing this we could also avoid needing to drive more.
How to save on hotel:
- Stay slightly off-location – Just like an Airbnb, you can save significant amounts of money by finding a hotel that is located slightly away from everything. The one we found still allowed us to be within walking distance.
- Shop saving app discounts – There are so many savings apps that work with hotels to get you awesome discounts.
- Rakuten– $10 free when you sign up and rebates from places like Hotels.com, Expedia, Orbitz, Ebates Hotels, Holiday Inn and Travelocity.
- Ibotta – Get $10 free when you sign up and Ibotta works by giving you rebates on hotels and on Groupon. That means, if you sign onto Groupon through Ibotta, you not only save on the Groupon, but Ibotta will give you a rebate as well.
Total cost: $160
Bring your own food
At the hotel
From the start, we knew money spent on food could either make us or break us so we wanted to be smart about it.
In order to save money big time while we were at our Airbnb and hotel, we shopped ahead of time and brought groceries with us.
You can seriously save on the cost of groceries by shopping with a new site called Brandless.com. Everything on their site is only $3 and you’ll find a lot of organic products. If you spend $39 you’ll receive absolutely free shipping. That means 15 food items and totally free shipping! –I was so excited to learn about this new online outlet for food. Plus you can get $6 for free when you sign up!
Some of the quick grab foods we prepped and packed were:
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Pancakes
- Lettuce
- Lunchmeat
- Frozen pizza (for the Airbnb)
- Beer
- Wine
Yup! We even brought our own beer and wine. Saving money by not purchasing them at restaurants made a huge difference. It was also nice to just come back to our hotel room and relax with a drink at the end of the day.
Total cost: $39
Keep dinning costs low
It worked out really well that one of our older daughter was getting back from a mission trip on Saturday. We wound up having to do the vow renewal on Sunday and our favorite restaurant, Tavern on the Hill just-so-happens to have a “Kids Eat Free on Sundays” special!
Not only did we take advantage of our little garbage disposals eating for free, when we signed up to get their e-mails we received an additional $10 off of our bill.
Ways to save going out to eat:
- Take advantage of in-house discounts and happy hours
- Sign up to receive any rebates the restaurant might offer
- Restaurant.com gives you $25 gift cards for only $10 at local restaurants!
Total cost: $120
Some other great rebate posts
- Best Grocery Rebate Apps and Tips to Save Big
- How to Be a Cheap Date Without Staying Home
- How I Made Money at Target
Save on rings
The practical side of me set in again when it came to shopping for rings. What was the point in buying new rings when we already have rings? Minimalism has changed me in the sense that I have no desire to add to my current wedding band anymore. I don’t want an additional band or to up-size the diamond.
During my search for rings, I came across Qalo wedding bands. People use them to wear on vacation or if they live an active lifestyle. I loved them because they were practical, affordable and something I could easily still wear on my right hand after the vow renewal was over.
Qalo also offers to engrave on their rings! This was an additional way to add a little personal touch to our rings. We decided to get “10xstronger” engraved on them.
Total cost: $40
Vacation Saving Ideas
- 3 Ways Uber Can Help You Save for a Vacation
- How to Plan a Cheap Family Vacation
- Double Your Savings Apps to get the Most Money Back on Food, Clothes and Vacations
Find free entertainment
Our usual vacations generally consist of us sitting on a beach, sunbathing near the ocean and to be honest, I started to go a little stir crazy. Finding free things to do outdoors is the best way to do a vow renewal on a budget and/or save money on a weekend getaway.
Hiking
This time we wanted to get out, get moving and do a little exploring. For our first day, we spent the entire day at Gooseberry Falls State Park hiking across the rocks and exploring all the waterfalls. My dad used to take me here all the time as a kid and we have brought ours for the last few summers. It was so nice to be alone together, exploring nature without the demands of little bodies!
Dining
Hiking didn’t cost us a dime and afterward, we decided to stop at a famous dinner called Betty’s Pies for a warm coffee and a slice of Minnesota’s finest pie. The chilly weather was actually really refreshing and made the idea of a hot coffee and a home-cooked treat all the more appealing.
Shopping
Our last day in Duluth we decided to walk around all of the little shops that were near our hotel. This was exactly why we chose a hotel in the location that we did. We wanted to be close to all the shopping even though we didn’t intend on buying anything. We did end up buying our kids a few souvenirs just for some “cool parent” bonus points.
Brewery
Somethings Tom really wanted to do was drinks and appetizers at a local brewery, Bent Paddle Brewing Co. Lucky me, they just so happen to have some great gluten-free options available! SCORE! They also had the best sweet potato fries I have ever had. I personally love the brewery atmosphere and often don’t get to enjoy much anymore now that I’ve learned of my gluten intolerance.
Total costs: $60 (or so)
Vow renewal on a budget
I just wanted to share some of these ideas because I fully believe these fun moments in life shouldn’t be put on hold due to finances. There is always a way around minor money problems. Thankfully Tom and I have been working hard the last few years to knock out our final debts and get right with our finances. Here are some great ideas to help you do the same:
- Save Over $10,000 per Year Making These 7 Simple Changes
- Pay off $6,000 of Debt with the Snowball Method
- Sinking Funds. Tips for Beginner Budgets and Debt Payoff
- 12 Ways to Save Over $1,000 Fast
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