Saving Money: A Weekend Wedding Survey

This weekend at my best friend's wedding, I caught up with old friends - single, young professionals in their 20s and 30s, from all over the country: Florida, California, Alabama, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia. The journalist in me was taking copious mental notes, all for the benefit of this blog.

Here are some of the random - but insightful - musings from this weekend.

• A 30-year-old lawyer, just bought his first television ever. "What are your favorite shows?" I asked him. "I don't have any channels," he said. "I just use it to watch Netflix because I wanted a screen that was bigger than my laptop." Skipping basic cable, he saves at least $50 a month.
• Another lawyer friend is now a freelance attorney. Rather than working for one firm, he contracts work with various clients. He works mainly from home ... where he lives with mom and dad.
• One bridesmaid recently started again working for the same marketing firm that laid her off two years ago. Shortly after re-starting the job, the company had yet another round of job cuts. She survived, but said her co-workers kept visiting her cubicle, curious to know if she'd been eliminated again. "You know, you could have made the news if you had been laid off twice from the same company," one party guest told her.
• A 28-year-old software consulting executive from D.C. said she turned down a wedding proposal earlier this spring because she "wasn't ready." She wanted to first buy a home and get a promotion at work. Nothing like being financially independent before tying the knot.
• At the wedding, the bride and groom, both in their 30s, skipped the traditional (and pricey) wedding cake for an ice cream sundae bar. They figured the cost of a big fancy cake equaled that of a honeymoon. (I checked: The Knot estimates wedding cakes can cost up to $12 a slice.)

More on MoneyWatch

• Budget Worksheet: How to Spend Your Money
• Young Adults; 5 Ways to Stay Upbeat and Grounded
• Young Adults Giving Up Cars
• Save Money ... By Giving Up Drinking?
• Money Well Spent: Vacations

Photo courtesy Simone Shaw's photostream on Flickr