A wedding is a wonderful event in your life and for many people represents one of the happiest days they experience. However, preparing for a wedding can also be quite a difficult financial burden to shoulder. The accumulated cost of a dress, decorations, meals, flowers, photography, venue hire, honeymoon, jewelry and other accessories to decorate your wedding can become overwhelming if you don’t save for them. There are a few simple steps you can take to maximize your savings before the big day.

1) Set a money saving goal:

You need to decide 3 things:

• What you are saving for - What is your wedding budget?
• Why you want to the item - For the tougher decisions decide the reasons why you both want it and discuss it through as to whether you are going to budget for it or not.
• How much saving you’ll need to do - Depending on your budget for your wedding you can calculate from now till the day how much you need to save. Break it down monthly inline with your pay packages.

There are some good tools you can use to help you specify your goals such as the ANZ Saving Goal Calculator to determine how much money you need to save to reach your goal, or use the ANZ Savings Over Time Calculator to estimate how much your money can grow if you deposit funds on a regular basis. Once you have set your goal, you should work out a budget. This allows you to estimate how much ’surplus’ income you will have each month to put towards your savings.

The one rule to guarantee you will grow your savings:

“Make sure your expenses are less than your income.”

2) Starting to save

A good way to start saving is to make a lump sum deposit into a separate savings account and make regular deposits each pay day. If you get a good rate on your saving account you can let the law of compound interest do the work for you. (More on this below)

Start a high interest savings account
Compare the rates and select the highest interest account to maximise your savings throughout the period.

3) Maximise your investments

Strategy 1: Start a regular investment plan
It sounds obvious, but one of the easiest ways to boost your investment balance is to keep adding to it on a regular basis. This doesn’t mean you need a lot of cash. The key to successful saving isn’t having lots of money, it’s consistency and discipline. For a s little as $100 a month, you can start a regular investment plan into a managed fund or super.
Adopting a consistent savings plan is a good way to build wealth. Simply prepare a budget to work out how much you can save each month, then put your plan into action. See Getting started for more details and a handy budget planner.

Strategy 2: Start now and let compounding interest do the work
Don’t put off saving until you think the time is right - it may never happen! You don’t need much to get started and it’s far better to start now, even with a small amount. By starting to save early you can harness the power of compounding interest, which simply means earning interest on your interest. The longer you’re invested, the bigger the effect. Combined with the power of making regular investments (strategy 1), it’s a great way to boost your savings.
Here’s an example of what could be achieved by starting now rather than later:

• Karen invested an initial $1,000 and made regular savings of $200 a month, earning 6% p.a. At the end of six years, she had $18,714.
• Bob let three years pass before he started, also adding $200 a month to his initial $1,000. At the end of the six year period, he had saved $9,299. Of course, by not starting until three years later he had deposited $7,200 less than Karen, but even allowing for that, waiting three years cost Bob $2,215 in lost interest.

Strategy 3: For medium and long term goals, use growth investments
It is a common mistake to assume that the best way to protect assets is to invest conservatively. Ideally, an investment portfolio should provide the right balance of investments for growth, as well as income.
As the table shows, inflation can dramatically erode the value of your savings over time. Even a low 3% p.a. inflation rate will cut the value of a dollar in half over 25 years. This is why it’s important to consider investing your medium to long term savings so as to provide growth in the value of your capital (this is especially important for your retirement savings).

What to expect from growth investments
Growth investments have historically provided better returns than cash or fixed interest over the longer term. However, it is true that they can fluctuate in value quite significantly from time to time. This is why the recommended timeframe for growth investments is longer than for more conservative investments.
So there you have it, 3 good strategies for maximising your savings. What are you waiting for, get a high interest saving account today!

Top 5 High Interest Savings Accounts Comparison

Account Providers	RaboPlus	BankWest Telenet Saver	HSBC Serious Saver	NAB iSaver	St George Dragon
Comments	The same high rate applies to businesses, trusts and DIY super funds	Winner of the 2007 Money Magazine Gold award for Best Term Deposit ‘Short Term’ and ‘Long Term’ for a bank.	Awarded the Bronze Winner for Money Magazine’s 2008 Best of the Best Award - Best Online Savings Account.	No matter what the balance is you earn this high rate, and there’s no “limited time only” conditions	Use it as your DIY Super account
Interest Rate	7.30% p.a.	8.10% p.a.	7.50% p.a.	5.75% p.a.	5.75% p.a.
Notice Period	12 months	12 Months	12 months	12 months	12 months
Interest Paid Period	Monthly	Monthly	Monthly	Monthly	Monthly
Fees	No Fees	No Fees	No Fees	No Fees	No Fees
Access to Account	No need to switch banks - keep your current bank account for your day to day banking	Access your account 24/7 via Online Banking	24/7 online access	Instant access to your funds 24/7	Unlimited fee-free phone and Internet banking - 24 hours, 7 days a week
Minimum Balance	No minimum balance	No minimum deposit	None	$1	No minimum balance
Convenience	No need to switch banks - keep your current bank account for your day to day banking	Access your account 24/7 via Online Banking	Link Serious Saver to a nominated account for easy access to your savings	Instant funds transfer when linked to a NAB everyday banking account	Instant funds transfer when linked to an eligible St.George account
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