Is A Wedding Loan For You?
A wedding loan is simply a personal loan that you use to cover wedding expenses. It will be an unsecured loan and that means, even with excellent credit, you will be paying hefty interest charges. Like any other loan, it is a serious matter and you should think long and hard about it before you sign a loan contract.
Before you proceed, here are some questions that you should ask yourself and your partner.
How Long Will You Be Making Payments?
Before you blindly sign for a loan, look at how many years it will take to pay it off. Then, think long and hard about the consequences of this loan term.
Once you are married and the wedding memories start to fade, you will want to turn to some long term goals such as home ownership and eventual retirement. You do not want to have a wedding loan dragging you down for years to come.
If it will take you more than a few years to pay back your loan, consider downsizing your wedding plans or looking for alternative ways to fund your big day.
Who Will Pay For The Loan?
Many couples these days do not combine their finances when they get married. Instead, they simply pay their separate bills and split the joint ones. This begs the question, who will pay for the wedding loan?
With weddings costing over 30,000 dollars these days, a wedding loan payment could easily reach 600 dollars a month or more. Don’t make assumptions about who will be paying this every month. Make sure that both of you know who is paying it or whether it will be split down the middle.
How Will This Affect Your Finances?
A wedding loan is likely to be a large one. With wedding costing tens of thousands of dollars, it can add greatly to you total debt. Consider the implications that this will have on your future financial goals.
Do you plan on starting a family right away or putting down roots? A large personal loan can be an anchor on your finances and it might make it more difficult moving forward. Starting a marriage out in debt may not be the best option.
Do You Need A Loan?
A loan is easy, but is there another way that you can get the money for your wedding. You might have more options than you think. Here are some possibilities.
Scale Down The Wedding
It is easy to let wedding plans get out of hand. Think about what you are planning and if there is a way to scale back the festivities. Could you move to a simpler venue, pay less for entertainment or cut back on the food and drink? Think about whether that perfect wedding you have in mind is really within your means.
Shorten The Wedding List
How many people do you really need at the wedding? If your guest list goes beyond immediate family and close friends, you should consider striking a few of the guests from the list.
Push Back The Date
Simply moving the date back a few months or even a whole year can give you the time to save the money that you need to pay for your wedding. Push back the date, open a dedicated wedding savings account and cut out any unnecessary expenses from your budget. With a little discipline, you might be amazed at how quickly you can save the money you so desperately need.
Use A Credit Card
Credit cards are not always the best idea, but if you have excellent credit, a card with a promotional interest rate can save you hundreds of dollars. If you are planning a relatively small wedding or just need a little money to put you over the top, this might be a good option for you. Just be sure to get your debt payed down before the interest kicks in.
Proceeding With A Wedding Loan
If after asking yourself these questions, you still feel like a loan is the best option, move forward in a smart way.
Minimize What You Borrow
The less you borrow, the less that you will have to pay back, so spend wisely. Do not take the fact that you have a loan as an excuse to spend carelessly.
Negotiate
Just because you have money to spend does not mean that you should not negotiate with vendors. Unless they are the hottest caterer in town or the most acclaimed venue, there is probably room to negotiate in their price.
Keep It Reasonable
If you make five figures a year, you should not be spending money like you are a millionaire. Keep your wedding within your means so that you have hopes of paying it off before you retire.
Get The Best Rate
Make your loan interest more reasonable by doing whatever you can to keep your interest rate down.
Improve Your Credit
Your credit score is something that generally takes years to improve, but there are some things that you can do in the short term that can have a good impact.
Paying down debt can have a big impact because your credit utilization makes up almost a third of your credit score. Ideally, you want to be using less than 30 percent of your available credit. If you are just over that level, paying down just a few hundred dollars could boost your score a significant amount.
Shop Your Loan
Rates can vary greatly from lender to lender, so shop that loan around. Luckily, there are a number of online lenders and loan websites that can help you get these quotes quickly and easily. For a large loan, like a wedding loan, shop your rate with at least 3 lenders.
