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To hear Summer Brown and Briana Biddle talk about it, their upcoming wedding and civil commitment will be a fairy tale, complete with happily ever after.
But fairy tales can turn dark pretty quickly, and a look at the couple's finances shows that the poisoned apple in this story could be money.
Let's start with the wedding: Brown has a $986 wedding dress and a $2,600 engagement ring, both bought on credit. Then there are older debts: a $20,000 time share on which Biddle is not making payments and $17,000 in student loans for Brown, among others.
To the rescue rides financial planner Alfred McIntosh, who has agreed to look at the couple's finances as part of The Times' Money Makeover series.
Before the wedding, couple need to cut debts and stop overspending -- LA Times
Brown has saved $2,200 in a retirement account, and they have $57 in their joint savings account. But their balance sheet is dominated by debt.I agree 100%, it is a problem that the pair must address and address now. However, does that mean that you have to be totally debt free before entering into the bonds of marriage?
Biddle carries about $11,250 in debt on two credit cards, at interest rates of 25% and 30%, and $553 in a line of credit associated with her checking account. Brown carries about $1,450 on one card at a 7.23% interest rate.
They're racking up 45.2% interest on the credit line they took out to buy the engagement ring because they stopped making payments and the rate jumped. And they owe $3,000 on two more credit cards that they hold together.
Brown also has $17,000 in student loans at 2.48% and a $21,000 car loan at 4.99%.
It was during the discussion of debt that the meeting with the financial planner became tense. With a hollow look on her face, Biddle confessed that she hadn't been completely straightforward about her debts and spending.
Brown became upset.
"I'm bitter now," Brown said, "because I've done everything I was supposed to do financially and she didn't."
McIntosh slipped into his therapist role.
"Since you don't like letting her down," he told Biddle, "and you want to do better at this, you have one choice: to get better at this."
All that debt -- and its continued accumulation -- is the most pressing problem and the first thing the pair need to address, McIntosh said. "Stop using those cards," he told them.
McIntosh told them to pay for their wedding with money earned outside of their regular salaries. Brown believes she can bring in about $1,000 a month by throwing parties to sell products out of her home. Biddle predicts she can bring in $1,300 extra a month by doing freelance interpreting for the deaf.
"You should get married only at the time that you can pay for your wedding without taking out any more debt," he said. "This is making a dream come true."
Debt can be addressed prior to getting married or after you get married, but either way it must be addressed. But remember that the less debt you have going into marriage, the greater your chances for success and happiness in marriage (Schramm & Lee, 2003). So consider paying off your debt before tying the knot. Here’s how one person did it.
State and federal unemployment systems are facing rock-bottom funding, forcing states to distribute benefit checks with money they do not have. According to the New York Times, sixteen states are relying on borrowed money to fund their unemployment programs. That number is expected to double by the end of the year.
The unemployment system also is failing to comply with federal standards. Thirty-eight states have failed to make jobless benefits decisions by the federal deadline.
- New York Daily News
Congrats!So I guess, I should tell the story of our "Royal Courtship."
Where did you meet her?
What does she do?
How long were you dating?
How about a picture?
Inquiring minds want to know!
