How can I reduce costs as a wedding guest?

I’ve been invited to a bunch of weddings, and I have no idea how I’m going to afford travel and gifts for all of them. How can I cut costs as a wedding guest? your savings on their wedding. Just as importantly, you shouldn’t feel guilty about turning down an invitation occasionally.

Follow these tips to emerge from your next string of weddings without credit card debt haunting you:

Set your own budget

No rules state you need to shell out $100 on every wedding gift, no matter how close you are to the bride or groom. Only you can determine how much you’ll spend on each wedding, says Lizzie Post, etiquette expert. Set your own spending limit and prioritize the people most important to you. You’ll avoid arriving at the destination wedding for co-worker No. 3 with a maxedout credit card and a thick aura of resentment.

Choose a maximum wedding budget for the year or for the next several ceremonies you’ve been invited to. Include the total amount you plan to spend on travel, lodging, attire, gifts and additional events if you’re a member of the bridal party.

Can’t afford it? Say so

Say you decide $500 is a reasonable amount to allocate to wedding costs for the year. You’ll now be able to accept invitations only to those events that fit your budget. That could mean attending your close friend’s wedding in a different city but not your acquaintance’s local one.

When you break the news, no need to explain that your budget is the culprit. A simple “no” RSVP and “I’m really sorry, but I won’t be able to make it” is fine, Post says. If you’re closer with the couple, say, “Between budget and schedule, I just really can’t make it work.”

Keep gifts minimal

A “yes” RSVP means you’ll attend the event and bring a gift unless the invitation says otherwise, Post says. This tradition holds true even for destination weddings. If you have to fly to the event and pay for a hotel, you’re still on the hook for a present.

When you’re on a budget, consider contributing to a group gift, which might be an option through the couple’s registry, says Jennifer Spector, spokeswoman and director of brand strategy at Zola, a wedding registry website.