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The latest figures put the average honeymoon cost at around $4,800, Brides.com reports, adding that the average honeymoon lasts eight days.

There are plenty of ways to save on or save for a honeymoon, though.

Here’s what you need to know about the average honeymoon cost and paying for a trip you’ll never forget.

The Honeymoon Tab

The Knot, a wedding-planning platform, cited a pre-pandemic average honeymoon cost of $5,000, based on an internal study of more than 27,000 couples who married in 2019. That is atop the average cost of a wedding, which The Knot put at nearly $30,000.

The average cost of a honeymoon has increased in the past few years, reflecting couples’ desire for more experiential travel, The Knot says, with more than 60% of American couples traveling outside the continental U.S. for their honeymoon.

Of course, the honeymoon outlay could be much higher if a couple goes on a luxury getaway or takes an extended trip.


💡 Quick Tip: Need help covering the cost of a wedding, honeymoon, or new baby? A SoFi personal loan can help you fund major life events — without the high interest rates of credit cards.

Big-Ticket Honeymoon Items

The cost of a honeymoon can depend on location, amenities, and even the season couples decide to travel. Typically the cost will include:

• Plane, train, or automobile travel

• Accommodations

• Any excursions

• Food and beverages

• Taxes, tips, and fees

Essentially, it’s the same as any other big trip. The only extras may come because you want to make this trip the best it can be (and we don’t blame you).

Ways to Cut Honeymoon Expenses

There are still plenty of ways to save money on a honeymoon. As mentioned, location can play a major factor in the cost of the trip, but there is a secret a lot of travel insiders know and don’t share: Shoulder season.

Shoulder season is that awkward time between the high and low seasons of different destinations. It’s not necessarily that a place is less desirable to visit, but merely a less popular time to go.

The shoulder season in the Caribbean is the early fall (in the Northern Hemisphere, September to November), which is the midst of hurricane season, meaning fewer people tend to book during this time. Honeymooners could score great deals on flights and accommodations, and find more restaurant and excursion reservations available.

Hawaii, a perennial honeymoon destination favorite, has shoulder seasons of April through June, after all the school breaks end, and September to December, right before the holiday travel rush.

Check to see when your desired location’s shoulder season may fall, and if you wish, book in this window for the chance to save a little money.

Two other ideas:

Forage for great fares. Another way to cut back on typical honeymoon expenses is to hunt for the best flights possible if you’re traveling by air. This can be done by signing up for newsletter or alert services like Next Vacay, which sends daily emails with cheap flight deals, or similar services like Scott’s Cheap Flights and Skyscanner.

Use points or miles. One more way to lessen the financial strain of a honeymoon is to dig into credit card rewards such as points or miles. Check to see if your points can be used on flights, accommodations, or activities, and use them as you please. Don’t forget to check on any of those frequent flyer miles you’ve got hanging around either.


💡 Quick Tip: Choosing a personal loan with a fixed interest rate makes payments easy to track and gives you a target payoff date to work toward.

Paying for a Honeymoon

There are a number of ways couples can finance their honeymoon. Here are a few.

Join a honeymoon registry. The first, and perhaps most festive for a wedding, is to ask your friends and family to get involved with a honeymoon registry.

A honeymoon registry is a new twist on the wedding registry tradition. Rather than ask for gifts like china that comes out of the closet once every 10 years, couples can instead ask their guests to gift them money that they may use toward their honeymoon.

Some couples take the honeymoon registry a step further by registering at places like Honeyfund or Zola for specific honeymoon items rather than a blanket ask. This can include a specific hotel stay or merely an upgrade, scuba lessons or ski tickets, or dining at one special restaurant during the trip.

Carve out a honeymoon savings fund. Another way to finance your honeymoon is by starting your own honeymoon budget. Once you’ve decided as a couple where you’d like to travel on your first trip as the newly betrothed, you can estimate how much the trip will cost.

From there, you can start a fund where you put in a little each day, week, or a month from income or through any cutbacks you’re willing to make to your personal budgets to turn this dream trip into a reality.

Decide to camp out in Uncle Jeremy’s backyard. And grill hot dogs for days. It will be unforgettable. Just sayin’.

Take out a personal loan. A personal wedding or honeymoon loan can be used for just about anything you want. Yes, that means it can be used to cover any and all costs of a honeymoon.

The Takeaway

The average honeymoon costs around $4,800. But clearly, that number can vary greatly depending on when and where honeymooners travel, for how long, and the level of luxury. With more couples lusting for experiential travel, the average tab has grown.

Think twice before turning to high-interest credit cards. Consider a SoFi personal loan instead. SoFi offers competitive fixed rates and same-day funding. See your rate in minutes.

SoFi’s Personal Loan was named NerdWallet’s 2024 winner for Best Personal Loan overall.

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Photo credit: iStock/DragonImages

SoFi Loan Products
SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A., NMLS #696891 (Member FDIC). For additional product-specific legal and licensing information, see SoFi.com/legal. Equal Housing Lender.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

Non affiliation: SoFi isn’t affiliated with any of the companies highlighted in this article.

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A wedding day is a milestone for many people. It’s a day that’s dreamed about and planned for. It can also be expensive. If you’re wondering if you should finance your wedding, here is some guidance when it comes to making that decision.

The Average Cost of a Wedding

SoFi’s most recent survey found that the median cost of a wedding is $10,000. Of course, prices can be higher or lower than that median: A destination wedding or one held in a big city with 300-plus guests will likely be a much bigger expense than having 50 of your nearest and dearest gather in your grandmother’s beautiful backyard flower garden.

Now in 2023, the average cost of a wedding is rising once again, with the average cost sitting at $29,000. In larger cities, many spend $35,000 or more.

Here’s what you need to consider when it comes to financing your wedding.


💡 Quick Tip: Need help covering the cost of a wedding, honeymoon, or new baby? A SoFi personal loan can help you fund major life events — without the high interest rates of credit cards.

To Borrow or Not To Borrow

There are many variables that can affect the cost of a wedding, including the time of year you say I do, the day of the week, the number of guests, the reception venue, and a host of other things. Not to mention, there are sometimes unexpected wedding expenses that are sometimes forgotten in planning, like the cost of beauty and hair treatments and the marriage license, for example.

Temptation can also get the better of you. If you plan on using a wedding loan to pay for your wedding, it’s possible that you will qualify for an amount that’s more than you need. Will you have the discipline not to upgrade your plans and spend more than you can realistically afford? It can be easy to get caught up in the fantasy and have regrets later.

The Pros of Financing a Wedding

• You get your day with all the bells and whistles that you’ve dreamed of. You have the wiggle room to have more guests, a highly sought-after DJ or band, and food that will still be talked about on your anniversary. Mission accomplished in having a special day that will last a lifetime of memories.

• You might be able to borrow enough money to have a relaxing honeymoon, too, which might be nice after the stress of wedding planning.

• You won’t deplete your savings to pay for your wedding. Starting your life together without an emergency savings account can be stressful.

The Cons of Financing a Wedding

• When the wedding is long over, that monthly loan payment is still owed. Depending on the amount and term of the loan, that can be a big commitment.

• Interest rates for personal loans vary based on the borrower’s credit rating and other factors. If you don’t qualify for favorable interest rates, you could end up paying a decent amount in interest over the life of the loan.

• Taking out a loan also increases your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio. If you are planning on near-future large purchases that will require another loan, like a mortgage, having a high DTI ratio might make it more difficult to qualify for future loans, or might affect the rates you qualify for.

Making the Decision

Borrowing money to pay for wedding expenses is a major decision. Being informed of all the details will help you make the best decision for your financial situation.

A wedding loan is a personal loan and is most often unsecured, which means you don’t need to put up collateral to secure the loan. You will, however, need to meet other qualifying factors, such as a certain credit score or employment history, to name a few.

Ideally, you want the lowest interest rate you can get. Fixed-rate loans carry the same interest rate throughout the term of the loan, but a variable interest rate loan can fluctuate throughout the term based on changes in the underlying index rate.

There also may be fees to be aware of, such as origination fees, closing fees, prepayment penalties, and others. It’s helpful to know what all the fees are for and if they are negotiable.

Knowing your total costs and understanding the total interest you will pay over the life of the loan will help you with your decision about whether or not to borrow. Either a lower interest rate or a shorter term may save money in the long run. A personal loan calculator or amortization table can help with this analysis.


💡 Quick Tip: Choosing a personal loan with a fixed interest rate makes payments easy to track and gives you a target payoff date to work toward.

Other Options for Financing a Wedding

If you’re having second thoughts about borrowing to pay for your wedding, you might need to come up with alternatives. With wedding planning, there’s always a Plan B.

• Postpone the wedding. You might be able to avoid borrowing altogether by postponing the wedding to give yourself time to save the money to pay for it. Cutting unnecessary expenses might free up some money in your budget. Or earning extra money by taking on a side hustle might be a good way to add to your savings.

• Use a credit card. Using a credit card to pay for wedding expenses might be another option. While a personal loan might offer a lower rate than a credit card, you might find credit card offers with low introductory rates — perhaps even 0% — for a limited time. If you’re confident that you can pay the card off in full before the introductory rate ends, this could be an attractive option.

• Ask your parents to contribute. Asking parents for money might not be the most appealing option, but it might be a worthwhile consideration. Even though the average age of newlywed couples is rising, which might mean more couples are established financially before they marry, it’s still traditional for the parents of the couple to contribute to the cost of the wedding and it’s common for the couple to have help paying for the wedding.

The Takeaway

Your wedding is a special day, but it’s just one day — then comes the rest of your lives together. Using borrowed money to finance your wedding is a big decision and should not be taken lightly. Taking on debt will affect your budget immediately and your borrowing options in the future.

Think twice before turning to high-interest credit cards. Consider a SoFi personal loan instead. SoFi offers competitive fixed rates and same-day funding. See your rate in minutes.

SoFi’s Personal Loan was named NerdWallet’s 2024 winner for Best Personal Loan overall.

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Photo credit: iStock/PeopleImages

SoFi Loan Products
SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A., NMLS #696891 (Member FDIC). For additional product-specific legal and licensing information, see SoFi.com/legal. Equal Housing Lender.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

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If repayment of your student loans has started or interest is accruing, it might be high time to school yourself on managing your school debt. Refinancing is one option.

Sure, it’s not the most fun way to occupy a weekend, but taking a close look at your student loans and understanding the ways to repay them may save you money and angst.

When Might It Be a Good Idea to Refinance Student Loans?

There are many reasons it may be a good idea to refinance your student loans, including lowering your interest rate, lowering your payment, and combining multiple loans into one. You can refinance both federal and private student loans, but refinancing federal loans with a private lender will forfeit your eligibility for federal benefits and protections.

When It Would Save You Money

The main goal of refinancing with a private lender is to lower the interest rate on your student loans — federal and/or private — with one new loan with a new rate that pays off the existing loans.

When rates are low, refinancing student loans could make a lot of sense. How much could you save? This student loan refinancing calculator can be enlightening.

Refinancing could be a great choice for working graduates who have higher-interest Direct Unsubsidized Loans, graduate PLUS loans, and/or private loans.

Or, perhaps you need to lower your monthly payment to help save money right now. One way to do this is to refinance your student loans with a longer loan term. This will reduce your payment, but you may end up paying more in interest over the life of the loan due to the extended term. You could also lower your payment by qualifying for a lower interest rate, if you can, and keeping the term the same.

You Qualify for Refinancing

Your eligibility to refinance student loans depends on your financial history, employment, and monthly income vs. expenses. If you’ve spent time building your credit and have a stable job, you could qualify for the best student loan refinancing rates.

You can also consider applying for a student loan refinance with a cosigner. If your cosigner has a stronger credit profile than you or better debt-to-income ratio, you may be able to land a better rate on your refinance.

You can usually refinance student loans right after graduating, and as often as you want after that. Most lenders charge no fees to refinance.

You Want to Remove a Cosigner

Some lenders allow a cosigner to be released from any repayment obligation when student loans are refinanced.

Principal borrowers applying for cosigner release typically have to demonstrate that they are able to handle the loan on their own by meeting certain minimum requirements.

You Want to Switch to Fixed Interest

If you have student loans with variable rates, you may want to consider refinancing to lock in a fixed rate before rates rise.

Then again, if you’re willing to take on a risk to potentially save on interest — and will be able to pay off your student loans quickly — you might consider switching from a fixed rate to a variable rate. A variable-rate loan typically starts with a rate that’s 1-2% lower than a comparable fixed-rate loan.

But what if variable rates rise? Variable rates often will still save you money over the long term.

You Are Willing to Give Up Federal Benefits

If you have federal student loans, refinancing them into a private student loan will eliminate the ability to participate in income-driven repayment plans, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and federal deferment and forbearance.

If you are using these benefits or plan to, it’s not recommended to refinance your student loans. Instead, you could consider a federal student loan consolidation. This combines multiple loans into one, with the interest rate being the weighted average of the loans you are consolidating rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of a percent.

Want to see if refinancing could be right for you? We’ve created a quick quiz that might help.

IMPORTANT: The projections or other information generated by this quiz regarding the likelihood of various outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual results, and are not guarantees of offers.

The Takeaway

Looking to lower your monthly student loan payment? Refinancing may be one way to do it — by extending your loan term, getting a lower interest rate than what you currently have, or both. (Please note that refinancing federal loans makes them ineligible for federal forgiveness and protections. Also, lengthening your loan term may mean paying more in interest over the life of the loan.) SoFi student loan refinancing offers flexible terms that fit your budget.

With SoFi, refinancing is fast, easy, and all online. We offer competitive fixed and variable rates.

FAQ

When is it a good time to refinance student loans?

You can refinance your student loans at any time, but a good time to refinance is if you’re looking for a lower interest rate or lower monthly payment, and you’re not using or planning on using federal benefits. To qualify for the best rates, you’ll need a solid credit profile and a stable income. You can also consider refinancing your student loans with a cosigner.

Can refinancing student loans reduce the cost of your total debt?

Yes, refinancing your student loans can reduce the amount of interest you pay over the life of the loan. You can do this by lowering your interest rate (and keeping your loan term the same) and/or shortening your loan term.

What credit score do you need to refinance student loans?

The minimum credit score needed to refinance student loans varies from lender to lender, but FICO states that a “good” credit score is 670 or higher. To get the best student loan refinance rates, you’ll want to have a good credit score and low debt-to-income ratio. If you don’t meet those requirements, you may want to consider refinancing with a cosigner.

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SoFi Student Loan Refinance
Terms and conditions apply. SoFi Refinance Student Loans are private loans. When you refinance federal loans with a SoFi loan, YOU FOREFEIT YOUR EILIGIBILITY FOR ALL FEDERAL LOAN BENEFITS, including all flexible federal repayment and forgiveness options that are or may become available to federal student loan borrowers including, but not limited to: Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Income-Based Repayment, Income-Contingent Repayment, extended repayment plans, PAYE or SAVE. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Learn more at SoFi.com/eligibility. SoFi Refinance Student Loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. NMLS #696891 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org).

SoFi Loan Products
SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A., NMLS #696891 (Member FDIC). For additional product-specific legal and licensing information, see SoFi.com/legal. Equal Housing Lender.

Checking Your Rates: To check the rates and terms you may qualify for, SoFi conducts a soft credit pull that will not affect your credit score. However, if you choose a product and continue your application, we will request your full credit report from one or more consumer reporting agencies, which is considered a hard credit pull and may affect your credit.

Disclaimer: Many factors affect your credit scores and the interest rates you may receive. SoFi is not a Credit Repair Organization as defined under federal or state law, including the Credit Repair Organizations Act. SoFi does not provide “credit repair” services or advice or assistance regarding “rebuilding” or “improving” your credit record, credit history, or credit rating. For details, see the FTC’s website .

Non affiliation: SoFi isn’t affiliated with any of the companies highlighted in this article.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

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