By Erin El Issa, NerdWallet

Attending a wedding down the street can be costly — purchasing gifts and formalwear, hiring a babysitter and taking off work can all add up. But when the wedding is out of town and requires a flight or hotel stay, it can be downright expensive to celebrate someone else’s nuptials.

Nearly 1 in 10 Americans (9%) are going to a wedding this summer that requires at least one night away from home, according to a new NerdWallet survey, conducted online by The Harris Poll. These wedding guests estimate they’ll spend $1,989, on average, for the associated lodging and transportation costs.

Is traveling for someone else’s wedding worth the cost? That answer depends on your finances and personal priorities.

Deciding whether to travel for other people’s weddings

Most Americans say they’d travel out of town for a wedding (87%), but their top considerations for deciding whether or not to do so vary. Nearly half of Americans (46%) say a top consideration is travel costs, and 42% consider the location of the wedding.

Even if the funds are available and the locale is desirable, work and child care responsibilities could make leaving town for a wedding difficult, if not impossible. You might also just decide it’s not worth spending the time and money to celebrate this particular union in person. But if you want to RSVP “Yes”, here are a few ways to make it more cost-effective.

1. Skip the gift

Some invitations may explicitly say that gifts aren’t expected, some may not. But if you’re already spending money to travel to a wedding, you might choose to forgo the gift. Controversial? Maybe in that subreddit thread you were frantically scrolling. But some wedding and etiquette experts agree that “your presence is the present” at a destination wedding (which, arguably, is any wedding that isn’t local).

This will come down to your comfort with opting out of gift giving and your relationship to the couple. If you know them well enough — likely, if you’re traveling for their wedding — you probably know how they’d react if you just brought a card.

2. Pay for travel with rewards

For those who have points or miles saved up, an out-of-town wedding may be a good time to cash them in for free or reduced airline tickets or hotel rooms. While maybe less appealing than using rewards for a vacation of your choice, points and miles can lose value over time. Because of this, it’s recommended to use them when the opportunity arises.

3. Bunk with friends or family

Staying with loved ones could greatly reduce the financial outlay on wedding lodging costs. This could mean staying at their homes — say, if you’re traveling to your hometown for a wedding — or rooming with them at a hotel and sharing the costs. This may be a tougher proposition if you’re traveling with children, but consider if the savings would be worth the possible inconvenience.

Bonus: Start a wedding savings account

For some, attending weddings may be a rare experience. But for others, particularly younger Americans, this could be the season of life where receiving wedding invitations is commonplace, and the costs are adding up.

According to the survey, 18% of Gen Zers (ages 18-28) are traveling for a wedding this summer, compared to 9% of millennials (ages 29-44), 6% of Gen Xers (ages 45-60) and 5% of baby boomers (ages 61-79). This makes a lot of sense, as Gen Zers (and likely their peers) are at or near statistical marriage age — according to the U.S. Census data, the median age for first marriages is late twenties/early thirties, depending on gender.

For those who attend multiple weddings per year, a wedding guest sinking fund is probably a good idea. Consider opening a savings account or subsavings account specifically earmarked for attending other people’s weddings and put money in it regularly. This could help take the stress away when the next save-the-date hits your mailbox.

The complete survey methodology is available in the original article, published at NerdWallet.

Erin El Issa writes for NerdWallet. Email: erin@nerdwallet.com.

The article Wedding Guest Travel: Minimizing Costs to Make it Work originally appeared on NerdWallet.

By STAN CHOE and CORA LEWIS

NEW YORK (AP) — The huge swings rocking Wall Street and the global economy may feel far from normal. But, for investing at least, drops of this size have happened throughout history.

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Stomaching them is the price investors have had to pay in order to get the bigger returns that stocks can offer over other investments in the long term. Here’s a glimpse at what’s behind the market’s wild moves and what experts advise investors young and old to consider:

HOW BAD IS THE MARKET?

Wall Street’s main benchmark, the S&P 500, has lost more than 16% since setting an all-time high on Feb. 19, mostly because of worries about President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Any kind of uncertainty around the economy will give Wall Street pause, but the trade war is making it more difficult for companies, households and others to feel confident enough to invest, spend and make long-term plans.

The tariffs announced on “Liberation Day” sent stocks reeling to their worst day since since the COVID crash of 2020 because they were much harsher than investors had been expecting. They also raised the fear that Trump may push through with them to win long-term gains, such as more manufacturing jobs in the United States.

The hope among investors had been that Trump was using tariffs merely as a bargaining chip to win concessions from other countries. Some big names on Wall Street still think that’s the case, and a moderation of tariffs would help stocks recover, but it’s less of a certainty now.

STOCKS DO THIS OFTEN?

Regularly enough. The S&P 500 has seen declines of at least 10% every year or so. Often, experts view them as a culling of optimism that can otherwise run overboard, driving stock prices too high.

Before this recent downswing, many critics were saying the U.S. stock market was too expensive after prices rose faster than corporate profits. They also pointed to how only a handful of companies drove so much of the market’s returns. A group of just seven Big Tech companies accounted for more than half of the S&P 500’s total return last year, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.

SHOULD I SELL AND GET OUT?

Anytime an investor sees they’re losing money, it feels bad. This recent run feels particularly unnerving because of how incredibly calm the market had previously been. The S&P 500 is coming off a second straight year where it shot up by more than 20%, the first time that’s happened since baggy pants were last in style before the millennium.

Selling may offer some feeling of relief. But it also locks in losses and prevents the chance of making the money back over time. Historically, the S&P 500 has come back from every one of its downturns to eventually make investors whole again. That includes after the Great Depression, the dot-com bust and the 2020 COVID crash.

Some recoveries take longer than others, but experts often recommend not putting money into stocks that you can’t afford to lose for several years, up to 10. Emergency funds, for things like home repairs or medical bills, should not be invested in stocks.

A screen displays financial news as traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

“Data has shown, historically, that no one can time the market,” said Odysseas Papadimitriou, CEO of WalletHub. “No one can consistently figure out the best time to buy and sell.”

SHOULD I CHANGE ANYTHING WITH MY INVESTMENTS?

For years, the U.S. stock market was the best by far to invest in worldwide. Now, more investors are questioning wither U.S. exceptionalism is dead.

But it could all be a reminder that investors often do best when they have a mixed set of investments rather than going all-in on just a few. And investors may no longer be as diversified as they thought after years of sheer dominance by the Magnificent Seven over the U.S. stock market and by Wall Street over global markets.

“It is hard to roll with the punches when some days you feel like your portfolio is being pummeled,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. “But those moments should pass. A diversified strategy that is thoughtfully adapting to changing circumstances can’t prevent the punches, but it can help soften the blows.”

Phil Battin, CEO of Ambassador Wealth Management, advises investors to make sure they diversify their investments across regions and sectors to reduce risk. He says to lean towards “resilient sectors such as consumer staples, utilities and health care, which are less reliant on international trade.”

I JUST STARTED INVESTING IN STOCKS. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

The proliferation of online trading platforms and the ease of smartphones has helped create a new generation of investors who may not be used to such volatility.

But the good news is younger investors often have the gift of time. With decades to go until retirement, they can afford to ride the waves and let their stock portfolios hopefully recover before compounding and eventually growing even bigger.

Stephen Kates, financial analyst at Bankrate, says “now is not the time to make emotional decisions.” Young investors should “re-anchor to your (long-term) goals,” and consider using a financial advisor to help navigate uncertain times. “Investors with ample time to stay invested should remember how lucrative patience has been over the last 15 years,” Kates said.

WHAT IF I’M NEAR RETIREMENT?

Older investors have less time than younger ones to allow their investments to bounce back. But even in retirement, some people will need their investments to last 30 years or more, said Niladri “Neel” Mukherjee, chief investment officer of TIAA Wealth Management.

People who have already retired may want to cut back on spending and withdrawals after sharp market downturns, because bigger withdrawals will remove more potential compounding ability in the future. But even retirees, at least in the early part of retirement, should still be invested in stocks to prepare for the possibility of decades of spending ahead.

“You may want to slow that down and pick that back up once the market recovers,” Mukherjee said, “but it all comes down to having that conversation with your adviser and your portfolio manager.”

HOW LONG WILL THIS LAST?

No one knows, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

By DAVID FISCHER

A historic ocean liner will become the world’s largest artificial reef once it reaches its final resting place off Florida’s Gulf Coast. Competing diving businesses are vying for the massive ship to be scuttled closer to them, while one group is suing to stop the ship from being sunk at all.

The SS United States, a nearly 1,000-foot (305-meter) vessel that shattered the trans-Atlantic speed record on its maiden voyage in 1952, is going through a monthslong scouring at the Port of Mobile in Alabama.

Workers will empty and clean all 120 fuel tanks, as well as remove chemicals, wiring, plastic and glass.

“There’s a lot of nasties on vessels that were built back in the ’50s,” Okaloosa County coastal resource manager Alex Fogg said. “Basically, when it’s ready to be deployed, it will be a steel and aluminum structure.”

FILE – The SS United States travels along the Hudson River as it begins its first voyage to Europe from New York, July 3, 1952, with the view of the Midtown Manhattan skyline including the Empire State Building at center right. (AP Photo/Jack Harris, File)

The SS United States is set to join Okaloosa County’s more than 500 artificial reefs, which include a dozen smaller ship wrecks. Officials hope to draw tourists and generate millions of dollars annually for scuba shops, charter fishing boats and hotels, as well as provide habitat for critical fish species and other sea life.

“The goal here is to be the dive capital of the state of Florida,” Fogg said. “We’re even trying to surpass the Florida Keys.”

Fogg said they expect to have the SS United States sunk by the end of the year at one of three permitted locations, all just over 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers) from Destin, Florida. All three locations are the same depth, about 180 feet (55 meters) of water to the sand, but the vessel is so tall that the top decks will be about 60 feet (18 meters) from the surface.

“That’s very much within the beginner diver profile, and those deeper depths will be certainly attractive to those technical and advanced divers,” Fogg said.

Bay County officials have agreed to offer $3 million to Okaloosa County to sink the SS United States closer to Panama City Beach.

Visit Panama City Beach President and CEO Dan Rowe said his area has one of the largest dive boat fleets along the northern Gulf Coast. Bay County has a long history of developing technology used in underwater exploration and the U.S. Navy’s dive school is located at Naval Support Activity Panama City.

“Diving is part of our DNA,” Rowe said.

Escambia County officials are offering only $1 million to sink the ship closer to Pensacola, but Visit Pensacola President and CEO Darien Schaefer said the western location is just 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) away from to the USS Oriskany, another popular dive site sunk in 2006. He said divers would be able to visit both wrecks in a single day.

“We just think it would be a legendary dive site to have those two wrecks within close proximity,” Schaefer said.

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The SS United States arrived in Alabama at the beginning of March following a 12-day tow from Philadelphia’s Delaware River, where it has spent nearly three decades. Okaloosa County was able to take ownership of the vessel after a years-old rent dispute was resolved in October between the conservancy that oversees the ship and its landlord.

Various groups have attempted to restore the SS United States over the years, but all plans were eventually abandoned because of the steep cost. Recently, increased media attention has generated more calls to preserve the ship, and a group called the New York Coalition has even filed a lawsuit in Pensacola federal court asking a judge to halt sinking such a historically significant vessel.

But preventing the SS United States from becoming a reef would only send it to the scrapyard, Fogg said. Also, the county’s $10.1 million plan to purchase, move, clean and sink the ship includes $1 million toward a landside museum to promote the ship’s history.

“Once the vessel is deployed as an artificial reef, there are going to be more people visiting it in the first month of it underwater than have visited it in the last 30 years,” Fogg said.

The SS United States, more than 100 feet (30 meters) longer than the RMS Titanic, was once considered a beacon of American engineering, doubling as a military vessel that could carry thousands of troops. Its maiden voyage broke the trans-Atlantic speed record in both directions when it reached an average speed of 36 knots, or just over 41 mph (66 kph), The Associated Press reported from aboard the ship.

The ship crossed the Atlantic Ocean in three days, 10 hours and 40 minutes, besting the RMS Queen Mary’s time by 10 hours. To this day, the SS United States holds the trans-Atlantic speed record for an ocean liner.