Facing Debt after your Wedding

Knowing all to well about the difficulties of dealing with debt, from Heather’s and my own experiences, I figured I would share some advice for those that are newly married or are planning a wedding soon.

Our debt load isn’t a tremendous amount, compared to some. We have about $15,000 in credit card debt and 2 years and 3 years left on our car payments. (I’m not including our home mortgage).

But if you think about the amount that goes to paying the bills every month it is downright sickening and depressing. Considering the monthly payments suck so much out of our wealth building. So I’ve been pretty proactive lately on looking at ways to get out of debt faster. And I’ve been doing a lot of personal finance reading this past month and have a few resources to share with y’all:

Get Rich Slowly: Great website resource for turning your salary into a fortune over the years. It’s the true antithesis of the Get Rich Quick Scheme that everyone and their Mother is touting these days on the internet and infomercials. Sound advice.

The Total Money Makeover: By Dave Ramsay. An intense and no holds bar look at your finances and how to get out of debt. This book will change the way you look at and value your money. A great introduction to the Debt Snowball Effect.

The Only Investment Guide You Will Ever Need: A book by Andrew Tobias that discusses the best ways to invest your money. And to start off he discusses ways to invest that you might not think about but actually make a lot of sense, such as purchasing as much non-perishable foods as you can.

The important steps are as J.D. at Get Rich Slowly puts it on the How To Eliminate Debt post:

1. Stop acquiring new debt.
2. Establish an emergency fund.
3. Implement a debt snowball.

It’s also paramount to remember, after paying for that amazing wedding, that you do have more than you think. And with level headedness, a little sacrifice and a good debt snowball plan you will get out of debt, free and clear in no time at all. And remember not to let the stress affect your new marriage.