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Financing Your Wedding and Your Married Life
(ARA) - For most couples, the time between getting engaged and
celebrating the big day is a whirlwind filled with a myriad of
details that need lots of personal attention: booking the
wedding location, recruiting members of the wedding party,
organizing the reception - the list goes on and on.
In all the excitement and activity, one thing that may get
overlooked is discussing who is paying for everything and how it
will be financed. The typical wedding costs between $20,000 and
$25,000. "Most people won't be paying for their weddings
entirely with cash," says Maxine Sweet of Experian, a company
that provides consumers with products and resources to help them
understand, manage, and protect their personal credit profiles.
"Whether the bride and groom are paying for the wedding
themselves, or their families are picking up the tab, chances
are at least some of the wedding expenses will be put on a
credit card." There may be the need to spread the expense over
time, or it could simply be because of the convenience of using
credit for phone orders or remote contracts.
Figuring out how to pay for the wedding gives couples an
opportunity to discuss their feelings toward money in general
and more specifically, how they feel about using credit. These
are issues that may not have come up previously, since each
individual was handling their own money. A good way for couples
to start dialogue on these issues is by looking at their credit
reports.
Web sites like www.Experian.com give you quick and easy access
to your credit report and credit score to learn what positive
and negative factors are affecting your credit. Each of you
should obtain a copy of your credit report and then spend
scheduled time reviewing them with your spouse-to-be.
Check pertinent information such as your name, previous and
current addresses, Social Security number and account details.
If you find any inconsistencies in your report, you need to
report them and correct the information. Once you've covered
these basics, review your partner's credit report for clues on
how they deal with money and credit.
For example, if your significant other has a history of late
payments, that could indicate a problem managing money or that
they're overextended. Or it could simply highlight a
devil-may-care attitude toward paying interest and late fees.
Either way, it is important for both of you to agree on using
and handling credit, because your access to new credit and to
better interest rates very likely will be affected by your
spouse's credit behavior and vice versa.
You'll also discover whether your partner prefers to pay credit
card debt off in full each month or pay only the minimum fee.
You'll want to commit to staying well below the limits to
demonstrate strong credit management skills. If a large portion
of your income each month is already committed to paying off
other debt, future lenders may wonder if you will have trouble
paying back an additional loan. You want to protect the
privilege of using credit for all the benefits it brings,
including monthly statements that make it easier for the two of
you to monitor all your transactions every month and manage your
expenses.
Before you justify using your credit cards to finance the
perfect wedding, keep in mind that those pending balances could
be with you for a long time. While you may not want to settle
for a less expensive wedding gown, or a less exotic honeymoon
trip, just remember it will be even more expensive when you tack
on the interest charges that will add up before you pay it off.
Have a definite plan for how and when all of it will be paid.
"If at all possible, you don't want to begin your married life
burdened by debt and arguing about money," says Sweet.
Taking control of your spending now will also make it easier to
save for your future - new furniture, a special trip for your
10th anniversary or (gulp) college tuition for your kids. And
having your credit report up-to-date and in order means that
when you need to apply for a car loan or a mortgage, you'll know
that your credit history is in good shape.
For more information on checking your credit report, visit
www.Experian.com.
Courtesy of
ARA
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