Party Planning: Staying on Budget

Now that you've established your budget, you'll spend the next few months keeping track and allocating your funds. Follow these four points to make sure your spending is where it should be.

Step 1: Develop a System
Put your accounting skills to the test by deciding on a budgeting system to track all the money coming in and out. The easiest thing to do? Put all your info in a spreadsheet. It will help you keep track of your needs (and their costs), and will also enable you to record every payment you make and what you still owe.

Step 2: Explore Hidden Costs and Extras
Knowing all the costs up front will guarantee that your budget can actually cover it all. Here are some of the things you need to be on the lookout for.

Avoid overtime. If the party's hopping, those extra 45 minutes may whiz by, but you'll probably pay dearly in overtime costs for everyone from the photographer and the caterer to the venue manager. If you suspect the celebration may go long, work overtime costs into your budget -- if you don't use it, it'll be a nice surprise chunk of cash.
Factor in tips. Even conservative tipping can add hundreds to your total cost. Make sure to account for these costs in your initial budget.
Remember trials aren't always free. A florist's demo may be gratis the first time, but if you make repeated changes, you risk being billed.
Don't forget the small stuff. Things like stamps for the RSVP cards and ribbons for party favors seem so small that you can shrug them off, but like any costs, they add up. Going "just over budget" in a couple different categories with a vague plan of making it up somewhere else can push you past your limit.

Step 3: Plan to Go Over
If you account for budget overages, then you never actually blow your budget. Try to earmark 5% of your budget for unforeseen costs. Even still, these are examples of some areas where you might go over:

Weather-related expenses: Umbrellas for a rainy day, space heaters for an unseasonably cool day, additional shade for a particularly hot or humid one.
Small accidents: Like the Bat Mitzvah girl's dress needs last-minute spot removal or menus get damp and need to get reprinted.

Step 4: Be Smart
Take advantage of budgeting and money management tricks along the way.

Create another account: If you're dealing with a big budget event, put all your party money in one separate account, so you can easily track additions and withdrawals without getting it confused with the rest of your day-to-day funds.
Get rewarded: Pay for as many of your expenses as possible on a credit card that gives you benefits like mileage, rewards, or cash back. Make sure everyone making purchases toward the party is on the same card system, allowing you to benefit from the rewards and also from the easy tracking of your purchases.

 

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