My daughter was shocked that the tux her boyfriend had to rent to be in a wedding was $200. ("$200! And he doesn’t even get to keep it!") That of course was before they had to pay for the hotel, the gas to get there, the gift…
Then daughter was asked to be in a wedding this fall and I told her to be careful about being in weddings because they cost so much. (her sister has already been in 2) No no, she said, Bride will be reasonable. HA HA HA. The bachelorette party is in St. Thomas, 3 months before the wedding. I don’t want to know how much the dress costs. (Bride’s dress is from Kleinfeld’s) Or the shoes. Or the hair and makeup.
Weddings are absurd. I have heard business school grads tell me about all of the fancy weddings in various places they have gone to. India, Turkey, Argentina, etc. ShawSon recently went to one in Nayarit, but has turned down several much farther away.
One thing I just thought of… before even going to college, review student loans and what the payback would be for them.
Agree with some of the items mentioned by others as well…
Always pay your credit card off in full… unless it’s a huge purchase with free financing that you are taking advantage of.
If you need a car… Buy a reliable car if it’s in your budget… I know people who are constantly throwing thousands into their old cars for repairs…
Up your investing at raise time… You won’t notice the difference.
Blossom… whomever else who was talking about asset rich 20 somethings… I bought my house for my 26th birthday. There are some of us out there!
I had already SOLD my first house by my 26th birthday (and interest rates were 12%) . But Fender- you know we are not typical.
@blossom Wow, same here, except my rate was 11.5% VA loan…
Wow. I’m impressed. Began my first job as a business school professor at age 26. Bought my first house at 31. Waited until I was married, but probably couldn’t easily have afforded it before then.
My first house was in a small city where rents were much higher than mortgage payments for comparable property (one of those anomalies that economists love to study). We aren’t talking SF or Boston! And the days of 10% downpayments which added another $10 a month for PMI!
Keep your housing costs manageable. If you spend 50% of your take home pay on your rent/mortgage, it doesn’t leave much room for anything else. If you have to live in a HCOL area, find some way to reduce your housing costs: whether that’s having roommates, sharing a 1br with a SO, having a longer commute, or living in a less desirable/less hip part of town. Depending on your career field, give some of the LCOL and MCOL places a chance. If your rent is only $600/month, you don’t have to pinch pennies on the rest of your budget.
When I was growing up, eating out was a special occasion. We hardly went out to dinner. Even my one friend who was wealthy, her family hardly ever ate out. Now people eat out at least a few times a week. As for delivery…I remember getting pizza delivered for my birthday and that was it. Now people get delivery almost every night, thanks to the internet.
Don’t even get me started on weddings! My niece went to a bachelorette party in NYC…everyone is from California and the wedding is in California. Why spend all that money to go to NYC? And now weddings last the whole weekend. My D went to a wedding in Lake Tahoe and it was a whole planned out weekend. The bride gave everyone a weekend schedule. It sounded like summer camp. Geez!
In regards to learning how to cook:
My son says he hates cooking, but then again he equates cooking with roasting a whole chicken or making beef bourguignon or coq au vin. You don’t need to make a gourmet meal. A turkey sandwich or spaghetti and marinara sauce is easy and quick. Heck even buying a frozen pizza or a microwaveable meal is cheaper then eating out every night! Just have a bowl of cereal if you don’t want to cook!
Natty, your son can buy a $10 pizza stone and learn to make a pizza himself which rivals delivery and frozen… and will cost about $4 for the entire pie, even with mushrooms on top.
I taught my kids to cook what they liked to eat. The fancy stuff they learned down the road!
Wow, these are great tips. Especially @rickle1 . Thanks all! Going to share these with my kids.
I’m wondering where all the money for the money for these fancy bachelorette parties comes from? Are the parents helping to pay for it? My D makes decent money and even she has to turn down some she can’t afford.
Most landlords will require proof of income. In some settings, ex. government employment, everyone knows what everyone else makes down to the penny.
Get renters insurance! My daughter just had to file a claim and her roommates were clueless about it. She gave them a quick lesson.
I agree save alot of $$ so when you die you can take it with you!! 
Aside from a 401k live life and enjoy.
Different folks for different folks though.
@roethlisburger - thanks for clarifying that. That’s the message I was trying to express. And while in some settings as you mentioned, the salary might be known, savings account balances could (should?) be kept private.