Recently, another contributor to hurting millennials’ chances and opportunities for home buying has come to my attention: bachelor/ette parties.
According to statistics from the wedding website theknot.com, an individual spends an average of $1,532 on just one bachelor, between partying, travel and lodging. As for bachelorette parties, that number is $1,106.
We will put some much-deserved emphasis on travel and lodging. According to the same statistics, when talking about travel and lodging cost, the average cost goes down to $738 and $472, respectively.
Thus, the more local the party festivities, the cheaper it was for everyone. As one can clearly see, travel and lodging contributes to over half the cost in both cases.
Despite how much more money spent with travel and lodge, that may not be enough to stop some from spending that extra money. Actually, it may not stop many, which is why this article needs to be written in the first place.
A story on cnbc.com mentions that the average American goes to about three weddings per year. After crunching some numbers, attending just three bachelor/rette parties would set one back about $4,596/$3,318.
Just looking at those figures can legitimately make anyone pretty fearful of bachelor parties. Bank accounts will take a huge hit, not to mention college loan debt, children, or any other expenses.
Many other articles also discussed this topic using a number-crunching example of attending nine pre-wedding blowouts per year. Multiply $1,532/$1,106 by nine, and one finds themselves throwing back around $13,788/$9,954 per year.
It is clear as day that will affect one’s home-buying ability.
Staying on the topic of weddings and budgets, bachelor and bachelorette parties are not the only thing one can be dropping a ton of dough on.
Statistics report that the average amount of money spent by those who are in the wedding is around $1,154. Those who are just guests still spend an average of $888. Most of these expenses go toward attire, gifts and travel. So, what is the point this study is trying to make?
Basically, everyone has a choice to make between budgeting or going to bachelor/rette parties. Or, perhaps, millennials are the worst and do not have their financial priorities straight? Perhaps both.
Statistics on to moneyish.com say that 60 percent of millennials spend more than $4 on a cup of coffee (basically, “60 percent of millennials go to Starbucks”). 60 percent also spend money on clothes they do not need, which is a terrific way to waste money and build up credit card debt.
The same article also goes out of its way to mention that these numbers were far lower for generation Xers and baby boomers, coming in at 29 percent and 15 percent.
It is safe to say they deserve a massive round of applause for their hard work and effort.
Well, at least, it seems like they think so.
As for millennials, the overall take away from this study is to prioritize their finances and decide how important things, such as buying a house, are to them. Of course, there is nothing wrong with choosing to live with parents for who knows how long, emptying one’s bank account overpaying for coffee and going all out at bachelor/rette parties.
At the end of the day, this is very much like choosing between McDonald’s and Burger King; it comes down to personal preference.
