Americans are out of pocket, in debt because they have to go to weddings constantly

Issy Berkey, 27, a consultant in New York, has received 10 wedding invitations from friends since the beginning of the year. She had to refuse to attend the party in Italy because the airfare was out of her ability to pay.

However, the young girl will still go to 8 weddings and bachelorette parties in other locations such as Arizona, Chicago, Canada. It is estimated that the total cost for these events is about 20,000 USD (more than 460 million VND).

According to Wedding Report – a research firm specializing in the wedding industry in the US, about 2.5 million weddings will take place in the US this year, the most since 1984. Part of the reason is due to couples delaying the wedding. held a major event in the past few years due to the pandemic.

However, this is the time when inflation in the US is at its highest level in 40 years. This leads to the cost of attending the wedding such as airline tickets, hotel fees, clothes, gifts skyrocketing.

In a recent Credit Karma survey, 73% of guests said inflation is negatively affecting their ability to attend their wedding. Some even have to take out a loan, use their savings, or politely decline an invitation.

According to the latest consumer price index in the US, the average airfare in April increased 33% year-on-year and nearly 19% month-on-month.

“These are definitely not expenses in my financial goals. I have to cut other expenses for friends’ weddings.”Berkey said.

The Credit Karma survey also found that the average American will attend 2.5 weddings this year and spend about $1,000 each.

More than 50% said they are willing to spend more than usual for these weddings because they cannot attend any events at the time. COVID-19 outbreak.

“People have been waiting for these events for so long“, said Colleen McCreary, head of consumer finance advocacy at Credit Karma.

A third said FOMO (fear of missing out) is the reason why they try to attend weddings even though they are not financially well off.

FOMO is also the reason why Erin Scanlon, 24, from Austin, Texas struggles to pay for her best friend’s wedding in Carolina.

“I can’t really pay $800 for a flight in June and then buy a return ticket in July. But that doesn’t change the fact that you feel like you’ve missed an important event. important”, Scanlon shared.

Jeff Yu, from Seattle, also didn’t want to miss his friends’ big day. The 28-year-old received invitations to 4 weddings and 2 bachelorette parties. For each event, Jeff estimates it will have to spend $1,000-1,500.

“Those are all close friends that I haven’t seen in a long time. It’s hard to put a price on such occasions.”he shared.

But Nancy Nystrom, 29, who works in advertising in New York, decided to turn down three weddings because she couldn’t afford the costs involved. She also had no intention of attending a friend’s bachelorette party because she had to spend $800 on a yacht trip in Miami with $200 drinks.

Mariana Martinez, Wells Fargo’s family connection consultant, says it’s not easy to say no to attending a wedding. But people can talk frankly with the bride and groom about their financial difficulties.

She also advises young Americans to plan out expenses for flights, hotels and wedding gifts before deciding what to cut to offset.