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Wedding Day Finance - Cash Or Credit?
For most couples, the time between getting engaged and their actual wedding day is spent dealing with a myriad of details to ensure the happy day goes according to plan. Most weddings need lots of planning and personal attention to detail for things like booking the church or alternative wedding location, recruiting members of the wedding party, choosing bridal gowns, flowers, organizing the reception – the list goes on and on.
In all this excitement and activity, one thing that may be overlooked is discussing who will be paying for everything and how it will be financed. Weddings are not cheap and if not planned properly could leave a newly-married couple with an unexpected financial burden. The typical wedding costs between $20,000 and $25,000.
“Most couples 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 cards to place phone orders.
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 cards to finance their future expenses. 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. Both the bride and groom should obtain a copy of their credit report and then spend scheduled time reviewing them with your spouse-to-be.
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. For more information on checking your credit report, visit www.Experian.com.
Courtesy of ARA Content
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