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It's no secret that many young adults struggle financially, especially when it comes to affording a home. Weddings could exacerbate the problem for some.
The typical monthly rent, which tracks rental prices for multi-family and single-family rentals, was $2,007 in August, up 2.4% from a year ago, according to Zillow.
A separate recent report from the housing association found that attending just one wedding and one bachelor or bachelorette weekend can cost $2,010.
“It's really eye-opening when you put it right next to the rental,” said Amanda Pendleton, Zillow's home trends expert.
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Some tenants go to extremes to attend such milestone events. Zillow found that about 45% of Gen Z and Millennial adults surveyed sacrificed to afford such celebrations.
These trade-offs include: About 11% of respondents said they live with roommates, while 9% said they would save less for a down payment. Still others, at 8% and 7% respectively, said they would either rent or buy a smaller home.
The website surveyed 1,200 U.S. adults ages 18 to 45 in mid-August. Generation Z includes 18 to 30 year olds and Millennials includes 31 to 45 year olds.
“It’s just a tangible way to show how these celebrations can impact housing stability,” Pendleton said.
Receiving multiple invitations in a short period of time can increase the effect.
Tenants rent for longer
The unaffordability of housing has left many Millennials and Gen Zs off the market, leaving them available as renters for much longer.
According to a late September report from the National Association of Realtors, the average sales price of an existing home was $422,600 in August. That's up 2% from last year, when the price was $414,200.
In 2024, the NAR found that the average age of first-time home buyers reached an all-time high of 38. In the 1980s, the typical first-time buyer was in their late 20s.
However, marriages take place before people own a home. In 2025, the average age of marriage in the United States will be 32, according to The Knot, a wedding website. This average has remained the same since 2023.
This way you can afford the wedding costs
While it's easy to get carried away with wedding celebrations, it's important not to put a strain on your finances, experts say.
You should also be careful when relying on forms of credit. According to LendingTree, in 2024, about 31% of wedding guests had taken on debt to attend a wedding, and 23% of those who did borrowed $2,500 or more.
Luckily, many engaged couples send out wedding save-the-dates six months to a year in advance, said Gloria Garcia Cisneros, a certified financial planner and wealth manager at LourdMurray in Los Angeles.
Given timely notice, you should find ways to shift the money you normally spend on discretionary spending into a separate savings account, said Cisneros, a member of CNBC's Financial Advisor Council. Cisneros said people should store the money in a separate account to avoid the temptation to use it prematurely.
To help your savings grow, a high-yield savings account generally offers a much higher annual percentage rate of return than traditional savings accounts.
While the Federal Reserve recently cut interest rates, the top 1% of accounts average 4.03%, according to DepositAccounts. The national average for savings accounts is 0.49%.
If you're invited to multiple weddings in a year and buying a house is a priority, you may need to consider other compromises, such as: B. Decide which weddings you want to attend and which you want to skip.
According to The Knot, the average cost per wedding guest in 2024 for travel, lodging, clothing and gifts was $610. That's an increase of $180 over the last five years.