Wedding vs House Deposit Calculator

This calculator shows the opportunity cost of your wedding budget, what that same money could become if you put it toward a house deposit instead and let it grow over time. Weddings in New Zealand often run into the tens of thousands of dollars, and it is easy to spend that amount without weighing up the alternative use for the funds. You enter your wedding budget, an assumed annual rate of return, and the number of years you would let the money grow for. The calculator then returns the total it could grow to if invested instead, alongside a breakdown showing the amount available as a deposit today and the growth added over the period. For example, a $35,000 wedding budget invested at 6 percent a year for 10 years could grow to around $62,700, nearly double the original amount. This is not an argument against having a wedding; it is a tool to help you spend deliberately, with a clear picture of what the money could otherwise do for your first home. Adjust the return and timeframe to reflect your own investment approach or savings plan, and use the result alongside a wedding budget calculator and a home deposit timeline calculator to plan both goals side by side. Returns are never guaranteed, so treat the projected growth figure as an indicative estimate only, not financial advice.

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This shows the opportunity cost only. A wedding is a valid and meaningful choice; the point is to decide the spend deliberately, knowing what the money could otherwise do. Returns are not guaranteed. Estimate only, not financial advice.