My savings account and I learned the hard way that going to a wedding can be extremely expensive. After you’ve squared away travel, accommodations, and a dress to wear to the event of the season, you need to shell out even more cash for the wedding gift. So how do you know how much you should give? Here are 4 quick tips to use when determining how money you should give the bride and the groom on their wedding day.

 

1. Do Some Research

Do a quick google search to see what the updated average range is to give as a wedding gift. Many websites will tell you all different numbers, so it’s important to read into what factors they are considering when generating that number. Are they taking into consideration location and your salary?

 

2. Give What You Feel Comfortable With

After reading more articles than your brain can properly process, it’s okay to just give a gift in the amount that you, and your bank account, feel most comfortable with. If it’s lower than the standard amount the World Wide Web is telling you, that’s okay. In the end, your presence at the wedding should mean more than the amount of zeros your wedding gift has.

 

3. Rely on a Cost Tool

There are a couple of websites out there that let you plug in information (like the location of the wedding, your salary, etc.) and shoot out an estimated number to you as to what you should give as a wedding gift. Note: I’ve tried this before and it’s also been about $75 more than I could afford to give – so don’t feel like you have to give what the tool tells you that you should!

 

4. You’ve Got Time

Traditional wedding etiquette will tell you that you have up to a year to give a gift. So if you can’t afford to give one now, or want to save up a little bit more before writing the check, you have 365 days to do so.