How Much Do I Spend On My Wedding Gifts???

Considering it is wedding season I wanted to know how much most spend on a wedding gift.  What do you spend when you are NOT in the wedding?  Please read the article I found below and give me feedback on if you think it's correct...

The Wedding Gift Etiquette Guide

WEDDING GIFTS ARE big business — billions of dollars big. According to research firm The Wedding Report, this year alone guests will spend $6.9 billion on wedding gifts.

Each time an invitation arrives in the mail, wedding guests face a common and sometimes frustrating dilemma: What should I buy the bride and groom, and how much should I spend? Depending on the couple, where they live and their culture, giving cash is either considered apropos or gauche. And then there's always the quandary over the registry, especially when the only two options left are a $200 waffle maker and a $5 garlic press. After all, there's a fine line between breaking the bank to buy a generous gift and looking like a cheapskate.
The idea behind a wedding gift, according to etiquette doyenne Peggy Post, is indeed a noble one: "It is a tangible representation of love and support, a generous offering to help married couples get a head start in their lives together."
It sounds lovely, but for guests who don't know the bride and groom well enough to conjure up such a representation or are on a tight budget, here's a gift etiquette primer to get you through wedding season:
1. How much should I spend on a gift?
The amount you should spend on a gift is one of those gray areas that vary based on the wedding location, your age and your budget. A typical amount, says Betsy Goldberg, features editor at Modern Bride magazine, is $75. If you bring a date, expect to spend twice that amount. Don't be afraid to ask other attendees how much they plan to spend to get a better sense of what people within your social circle are giving, she says.
Though the gift amount is somewhat arbitrary, Summer Krecke, deputy editor of WeddingChannel.com, offers a few guidelines based on the guest's relationship to the bride or groom: If it's a co-worker's wedding, you should spend $75 to $100; a relative or friend, $100-$125; and if it's a close friend or close relative, anywhere from $100 to $150 or more is acceptable.

2. What if I can't afford the $120 five-speed blender because I have four other weddings this month?
Most brides and grooms don't want you to go broke as a result of their wedding. Therefore, guests should always consider their budget constraints. If you've been invited to five weddings that take place within three months of one another, you'll need to take into account expenses for all those events (not just the gifts, but any required travel and lodging, as well). At destination weddings, for example, most couples understand that the $500 you shelled out to attend their Bahamas beach wedding doesn't leave you much to spend on a big-ticket gift. "They appreciate that people go so far to be with them for their wedding," says Goldberg.

Also keep in mind that your gift obligations don't start and end with the wedding. Factor in surrounding celebrations, like the bridal shower, bachelor/bachelorette party and engagement party. Tally it up and you'll probably feel like you need a second job to afford your loved ones' nuptials, making it all the more important you don't break the bank on one gift.

3. Should the amount I give depend on the price per dinner plate or how posh the venue is?
Quite simply, no. "Never think about it in those terms," says Martha Woodham, author of "The Bride Did What?! Etiquette for the Wedding Impaired." Instead, think about it this way: You're not expected to pay for your meal at a friend's dinner party, so why should you be expected to pay for a night of dinner and dancing at a wedding? A gift is separate from the party itself and should not be considered "the admission price to the wedding," says Woodham.

4. If I can't make it to the wedding, do I still give a gift?
Yes. Ideally, says Woodham, guests give gifts to help the couple commemorate the occasion and start their new life together — and that should be the case whether a guest partakes in the wedding festivities or not. "If you care about the couple, you send a gift — not just because you were invited to the wedding," she says.
Read more: The Wedding Gift Etiquette Guide - Spending - Deals - SmartMoney.com http://www.smartmoney.com/spending/deals/the-wedding-gift-etiquette-guide-23264/#ixzz0wEdEdYUH

Texting Your Way to Love

Where did the romance go?  Remember when you would wait at home for hours for a "boy" to call???  Those days are over for the future generations.  Check out the you tube video below...one of my all time favorites!  SO TRUE!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX3ws6OnGuE

RSVPing - A Forgotten Art

Why does our generation find it acceptable not to RSVP?  Just wanted to pose the question...

Is Facebook Making Us More Depressed...?

Everyone is putting their best foot forward with their pages...best pictures, fabulous trips, happiest of moments...only the positive!  If we look at other people's pages ALL day we assume that they are "living the life".  This couldn't be further from the truth, but in reality I think sometimes it makes us question our own happiness and quality of life.  Don't get me wrong, there are so many positives including keeping up with peeps I knew in 4th grade that I've lost touch with.  I guess the key is to not get consumed with it...

Sometimes the Quarter Life Crisis

I'm starting this blog because I know how many of my friends and family members are struggling with what we like to call the "quarter life crisis"...there are books about it, but the only advice we can ever seem to get is that everyone goes through it at some point or another.  It's such a blessing to know that others can empathize, I just hope this blog might be a tool to let out some frustrations, and for individuals to help one another through their navigation on their own confusing paths. 

My late 20's were full of so much enjoyment, pain, joy, fear...I know life is full of all of these throughout your entire life, however I think it is during that post college period that you realize that all of those feelings are real and maybe your life is not going to turn out how you imagined. 

I don't want to this to be a blog on just the negative - that's why I called it the Roller coaster because it is also FULL of wonderful moments and blessings as well!  Let's be a generation that helps each other along on our Roller coasters.

My Dad's favorite quote is from the movie "Parenthood" with Steve Martin...please take a look and see how the sweet Grandmother perceives life as a Roller coaster at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fXlKfLNea8