Jul 30, 2025
When Jim’s grandmother passed away, he didn’t just inherit her favorite teacups or photo albums — he inherited $100,000, and with it, a dream she always had for him: building a future, buying a home and starting a family.
Not long ago, Jim proposed to his girlfriend of three years. They’d been planning a small, intimate wedding with a budget of around $20,000 — part of which would come from their parents. They hadn’t saved much of their own money and didn’t want to go into debt for just one day.
Advertisement
But since Jim received news of his inheritance, his fiancée has seemingly switched gears. Now she wants a glitzy destination wedding, a designer dress and a much longer guest list. Jim wants to stick to their original plan, but now she’s calling him “stingy” for refusing to spend “our inheritance” on her “dream” wedding.
Thanks for subscribing!
Read the best of Moneywise in 5 minutes or less.
By signing up, you accept Moneywise Terms of Use, Subscription Agreement, and Privacy Policy.
Now Jim’s questioning how well he really knows his fiancée and whether they share the same life goals — or if he really is stingy for saying no.
Understanding the cost of big weddings
Maybe you can’t put a price on love, but you can definitely put a price on a wedding — and that price is getting even more expensive. According to Zola’s First Look Report on wedding trends for 2025, the average cost for a wedding is projected to hit a high of $36,000, up from $33,000 in 2024.
Of course, the price tag depends on location. New York City was the most expensive place in the U.S. to get hitched, averaging $65,000. Destination weddings aren’t cheap either, averaging $41,312.
Zola also followed up with couples who got married in 2024. About 20% said they went over budget by $10,000.
If Jim and his fiancée stuck with their original plan, they could use that $100,000 to get on solid financial footing as they start their life together. That could mean an emergency fund, paying off high-interest debt or boosting retirement contributions.
If they want to buy a home, the money could cover a 20% down payment on a $500,000 property. If they plan to have kids, it could help start a college fund. Or they could invest it for long-term goals — for example, if Jim invested the money with 6% annual returns, it could grow to more than $300,000 in 20 years.
In the meantime, Jim could park the money in a federally insured high-yield savings account while he decides. He should also check whether any inheritance tax applies. As of 2025, only five states have inheritance tax, which is paid by the beneficiary. Those include Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Iowa.
Advertisement
Must Read
- The ultra-rich use these 5 real estate strategies to build wealth while they sleep — you can start with just $100
- Here’s the average income of Americans by age in 2026. Are you keeping up or falling behind?
- Insurance companies profit most from drivers who auto-renew without shopping around. Comparing 100+ quotes takes 2 minutes and costs nothing
Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywise’s best stories and exclusive interviews first — clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.
Financial planning needs joint communication
The bigger concern here is that Jim and his fiancée may not be on the same page about their financial goals.
While she could just be having a bridezilla moment, this shift might also reflect deeper differences in financial values — ones that could cause bigger problems if they’re not addressed.
Financial transparency means talking openly about shared goals — short-term (like a wedding), mid-term goals (like buying a home) and long-term goals (like saving for kids’ education or retirement).
Once they’re married, their tax and legal status will change. They’ll be sharing a household budget and likely filing taxes together, so it’s important to discuss what their financial future looks like before walking down an aisle.
Advertisement
Nearly one in four couples say money is their biggest relationship challenge, according to Fidelity’s 2024 Couples & Money study. But those who make financial decisions together are more likely to say they communicate well or very well with their partner.
If Jim and his fiancée can’t find common ground on managing the inheritance, it may be time to consider premarital financial counseling or working with a financial advisor.
There may be room for compromise. They already had a $20,000 wedding budget. Many financial experts agree it’s okay to spend a small portion — say, 5% to 10% — of a large windfall on something memorable. In Jim’s case, that could mean putting 10% toward the wedding, bringing the total to to $30,000.
That extra cash could cover a larger venue, a designer dress or a bigger guest list — but there would still need to be compromises. Maybe a destination wedding is still on the table, but somewhere more affordable in the Caribbean instead of Tuscany or Fiji.
Disagreements about how to spend an inheritance aren’t uncommon. It’s not necessarily a dealbreaker, but if Jim’s fiancée is focused solely on what she wants from his inheritance, it could be a yellow flag worth paying attention to.
You May Also Like
- JP Morgan sees gold hitting $6,000/oz before 2027 — and a Gold IRA lets you hold the physical metal while deferring the tax bill. Get your free guide from Priority Gold
- Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake — here’s what it is and the simple steps to fix it ASAP
- Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how
- Millionaires under 43 are reshaping investing — just 25% of their portfolios are in stocks. Here’s where their money is going
Vawn Himmelsbach is a veteran journalist who covers tech, business, finance and travel. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, National Post, CBC News, Yahoo Finance, MSN, CAA Magazine, Travelweek, Explore Magazine and Consumer Reports.
