Struggling to find wedding money every month
In the context of rising living costs, wedding gifts are also getting higher and higher, causing significant pressure on young people, especially those who have just started working.
Le Huong Thao (22 years old) has just graduated and has been working for 2-3 months, but almost every month she receives wedding invitations.
“In the whole month of November, I received 5 wedding invitations. Usually, the amount of money I give each time is from 500,000 VND to 1 million VND. If you are closer, you can give up to 2 million VND or give more wedding gifts,” Le Huong Thao shared.
To be able to balance her spending when entering adult life, every month this young girl has to create an excel sheet to track her personal expenses.
Like Huong Thao, Nguyen Thi Tu Anh (25 years old) has a headache every month because the wedding gift money exceeds half of her income.
“Every week I receive 2-3 invitations. I have to have a headache dividing each category: food, travel, work, rent, gas expenses,... more clearly instead of just calculating in general,” Tu Anh shared.
In addition to the wedding budget, young people also face pressure about appearance, wedding attire and travel expenses.
Nguyen Binh (22 years old) shared: "The wedding is an important occasion, the bride and groom prepare carefully so I also have to invest in appropriate clothes and makeup."
However, this also forced Binh to cut down on her living expenses. There were times when she did not have enough money, so she had to sadly decline to attend and only send congratulatory gifts later.
Need to find suitable ways to attend weddings
Faced with this situation, Mr. Nguyen Minh Phong - Economic Expert, former Head of Economic Research Department, Hanoi Institute for Socio-Economic Development Studies, said that the financial pressure of young people during the wedding season is one of the issues that needs attention.
Instead of being caught up in spending pressure, it's time for everyone to find a simple way to attend a wedding that suits their ability.
“Young people should be careful with their income and expenses. Minimize relationships or attend weddings that are really necessary and close. Even with weddings that are just formalities, we only need to give blessings or symbolic congratulations,” said economist Nguyen Minh Phong.
Mr. Nguyen Minh Phong also recommends that couples should learn how to organize a simple wedding ceremony like in Western countries - where weddings are often attended by only the closest people, are gentle and focus on spiritual meaning instead of material ostentation.
