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Financing your wedding?

Have you seen these new ads on the knot about financing your wedding?  Here's a screenshot of the website:



UGGGHHHHH!

Start your marriage with a promise of debt.... gross.


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Re: Financing your wedding?

  • MobKazMobKaz member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    Is it followed up by ads that show exactly on what you can waste this loan money?
  • This just has disaster written all over it.  It could financially ruin a couple who gets stuck with a high interest rate, but fully believe that they need to have the most specialist wedding ever, because that is what the wedding industry tells them.

    My parents graciously paid for our reception.  H & I would have had the exact same wedding without their help, it just would have been a year later than planned.

  • ei34ei34 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    I refused to go into debt for even a Bachelor's degree (I saved the expensive university for grad school).  Loans for a wedding??  Crazy :#  In my area/culture couples typically receive in gifts what they spend on the wedding, but gifts aren't required nor should they be expected, and it's not the guests' responsibility to pay for your wedding, so I wouldn't even encourage a cousin to go this route.  Just have the wedding you can afford.
  • I actually know a couple who financed their wedding.  They had just graduated from college, and both were unemployed at the time of their wedding.  It has taken them years to dig themselves out of that mess, and they still have student loans (that they fell behind on in order to repay the wedding loan) and now a mortgage (and they had to roll their closing costs into their mortgage loan because they had no money because of the wedding).  Student loans notwithstanding, but I would much rather have the money for a down payment on a house I'll start my family in than repay a loan that finances a single day in my life.  I cannot even begin to imagine the level of stress this couple feels and started their marriage with.

    We had exactly the size wedding we budgeted for, and we actually came in under budget because only half our guest list showed up.  While the last few months of bills have been larger than normal and overall sucky, we have no debt because of the wedding, and it's only taken one billing cycle to get back to normal.


    "And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won’t just be able to take one, they’ll have to take two, one of you and one of me..."
    --Philip Pullman

  • I think you could finance your wedding in a smart way, and you'd actually be very well off. Ex - keeping your 20k (or whatever) in a high interest savings/investment account, and financing your wedding at a lower rate - you're making money. However, I doubt that's how most of the people who sign up for that would look at it.
    Credit card society has changed the way people think about money, and what is 'theirs'.
    image
  • I can understand charging a small amount on a credit card in an emergency (still not ideal, but things happen).  But purposefully *planning* to go into debt for a WEDDING?  

    They probably ask for donations towards their wedding and have a honey fund too.

    Blech.



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  • Tyvm said:
    Student loans notwithstanding, but I would much rather have the money for a down payment on a house I'll start my family in than repay a loan that finances a single day in my life. 
    @AtomicBlonde FI's mom just said something like this to us...except, pretty much any wedding that serves dinner and alcohol to more than 40 people will generally cost the down payment of a house. So, I just don't get this attitude. If anyone actually believed this, everyone would be having either small weddings, or cake and punch weddings...and that's not what's happening.
    I was speaking in reference to loans. A mortgage is a loan, and you generally need a minimum of 3.5% of the purchase price for a down payment. Decent interest rates are hard to get if you don't have good credit or you have too many outstanding loans. If I'm going to take out a loan to pay for something expensive, it's either going to be a vehicle to get me from point A to point B that I have a need for, or a house that I'm going to grow into. It won't be for a wedding. If you are repaying a loan that you took out to pay for your wedding, you aren't going to have the cash you need for the down payment on your house. That was my point. 


    "And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won’t just be able to take one, they’ll have to take two, one of you and one of me..."
    --Philip Pullman

  • TyvmTyvm member
    First Answer 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    @AtomicBlonde Ah, I gotcha. Yes. That's fine. 
    Now, to get FMIL on the same page! Yes, most weddings cost a house down payment, but you shouldn't take out a loan for it   ;)


    k thnx bye

  • banana468 said:
    Tyvm said:
    Student loans notwithstanding, but I would much rather have the money for a down payment on a house I'll start my family in than repay a loan that finances a single day in my life. 
    @AtomicBlonde FI's mom just said something like this to us...except, pretty much any wedding that serves dinner and alcohol to more than 40 people will generally cost the down payment of a house. So, I just don't get this attitude. If anyone actually believed this, everyone would be having either small weddings, or cake and punch weddings...and that's not what's happening.

    -Private college: because I can't send my kid to the state school
    @banana468 This is rather short-sighted. Even students going to state school end up with tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars in debt. Going to state schools isn't going to solve anyone's problems. Basically, if your child goes to any university these days, you're going to be seeing these "irresponsible" levels of debt.

    I do agree with you on the generally negative impact of our changing attitudes about debt. But when it comes to higher education...there really isn't much of an option, except for not getting a degree. We need to go back to having abundant life-sustaining career trajectories for people without 4 year degrees. Bank tellers used to be able to buy a house...now bank tellers need a 4 year college degree just to get the job, and still can't afford a house.
    OK @Tyvm, how is it short sighted to say that one "Needs" the expensive private school when the state school will do?

    I'm not completely anti student loans but I think one needs to be intelligent with how we take loans and or spend money on kids.

    1) I had friends in HS say that they refused to attend the local state university (UConn) because they just wanted something that was out of state.   The OOS option was more money but they didn't care.   So mom and dad opted to pick up the tab for expensive schools because 'the kid wants to'.   

    2) Some students opted for the more private school and financed it themselves because they refused to attend the in-state because it wasn't "cool".

    3) Friend went OOS and knew he would be starting his own business.   He could have learned what he did from the in-state school but now is saddled with more debt because he opted for the OOS private college.

    4) My own BIL opted to go OOS and chose a major that was easily accessible in-state.

    College itself isn't all bad.   But deciding to go to the more expensive school without a major plan to pay off the loans (exactly what are you going to do after attending that private college when you graduate with the art history degree and $200,000 in debt??) is not a financially sound decision.   

    It's the culture of "spend more money on it and it's better" that is the issue I have.   

    Except for a lot of jobs, where you go to school DOES matter. A person will get picked for certain jobs over another if one went to an Ivy vs a State school. The networking and connections you make at some of these private institutions can make a world of difference when you're job hunting. 

    While it's less of a big deal now bc graduate school is so important for many high level jobs, the shift turns to grad school- what grad school did you go to matters. But to get into grad school- what undergrad school you go to matters, too. 

    I'd rather have education loans and know I have a better chance of getting a higher paying job than be debt free with a mediocre paying job, bc I chose not to go to a private college.  Education loans pay off (as long as you get a decent paying job). Wedding loans do not pay off. 
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  • banana468 said:
    Tyvm said:
    Student loans notwithstanding, but I would much rather have the money for a down payment on a house I'll start my family in than repay a loan that finances a single day in my life. 
    @AtomicBlonde FI's mom just said something like this to us...except, pretty much any wedding that serves dinner and alcohol to more than 40 people will generally cost the down payment of a house. So, I just don't get this attitude. If anyone actually believed this, everyone would be having either small weddings, or cake and punch weddings...and that's not what's happening.

    -Private college: because I can't send my kid to the state school
    @banana468 This is rather short-sighted. Even students going to state school end up with tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars in debt. Going to state schools isn't going to solve anyone's problems. Basically, if your child goes to any university these days, you're going to be seeing these "irresponsible" levels of debt.

    I do agree with you on the generally negative impact of our changing attitudes about debt. But when it comes to higher education...there really isn't much of an option, except for not getting a degree. We need to go back to having abundant life-sustaining career trajectories for people without 4 year degrees. Bank tellers used to be able to buy a house...now bank tellers need a 4 year college degree just to get the job, and still can't afford a house.
    OK @Tyvm, how is it short sighted to say that one "Needs" the expensive private school when the state school will do?

    I'm not completely anti student loans but I think one needs to be intelligent with how we take loans and or spend money on kids.

    1) I had friends in HS say that they refused to attend the local state university (UConn) because they just wanted something that was out of state.   The OOS option was more money but they didn't care.   So mom and dad opted to pick up the tab for expensive schools because 'the kid wants to'.   

    2) Some students opted for the more private school and financed it themselves because they refused to attend the in-state because it wasn't "cool".

    3) Friend went OOS and knew he would be starting his own business.   He could have learned what he did from the in-state school but now is saddled with more debt because he opted for the OOS private college.

    4) My own BIL opted to go OOS and chose a major that was easily accessible in-state.

    College itself isn't all bad.   But deciding to go to the more expensive school without a major plan to pay off the loans (exactly what are you going to do after attending that private college when you graduate with the art history degree and $200,000 in debt??) is not a financially sound decision.   

    It's the culture of "spend more money on it and it's better" that is the issue I have.   

    Except for a lot of jobs, where you go to school DOES matter. A person will get picked for certain jobs over another if one went to an Ivy vs a State school. The networking and connections you make at some of these private institutions can make a world of difference when you're job hunting. 

    While it's less of a big deal now bc graduate school is so important for many high level jobs, the shift turns to grad school- what grad school did you go to matters. But to get into grad school- what undergrad school you go to matters, too. 

    I'd rather have education loans and know I have a better chance of getting a higher paying job than be debt free with a mediocre paying job, bc I chose not to go to a private college.  Education loans pay off (as long as you get a decent paying job). Wedding loans do not pay off. 
    That can make a difference but it's not the rule.

    My point is that when you pick certain schools you need to look into why you want to attend there for more than just "I like it there."   You need to do your research into it.

    FWIW, DH and I went to the state school.   I'm lucky that my parents paid for me to go and DH took out as many loans as he could in his name.   He paid off his loans within 8 years of graduating.   His brother went to a private college and got an education degree, didn't like it, worked retail for a while and THEN got his JD.

    Our state school has a better rep as an undergrad than BIL's private college and it was less money to boot. 


  • TyvmTyvm member
    First Answer 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    College itself isn't all bad.   But deciding to go to the more expensive school without a major plan to pay off the loans (exactly what are you going to do after attending that private college when you graduate with the art history degree and $200,000 in debt??) is not a financially sound decision.   
    @banana468 I think we also need to keep in mind that these are 18 year olds making many of these decisions. Their brains haven't fully developed to 100% understand the consequences of these actions. Also highly susceptible to peer pressure and what everyone else is doing. To an optimistic/naive 18 year old, $100k in debt might not really seem all that different than $200k. Being raised with good financial intelligence/skills is a privilege, not a given. So...it's a giant disaster of a mess, socially, culturally, individually. To an optimistic/naive 18 year old, $100k in debt might not really seem all that different than $200k.

    Also, my state school cost hundreds of thousands dollars more than the private school I ended up attending. People do pick non-state schools for financial reasons...but also for those that @redwoodoriginal mentioned. Not just employers care, and for differences in education quality, but alumni networks should figure into it, and the student body, as well (i.e., you'll have better odds of finding colleagues to begin a start-up with at top tier schools, rather than podunk state U. It's not always the case, but often).

    So, education, alumni, and student body quality are important factors that I'm not sure how many 18 year olds are consciously considering. Or if they're even capable of weighing all the variables at that stage of brain development.


    k thnx bye

  • Tyvm said:
    College itself isn't all bad.   But deciding to go to the more expensive school without a major plan to pay off the loans (exactly what are you going to do after attending that private college when you graduate with the art history degree and $200,000 in debt??) is not a financially sound decision.   
    @banana468 I think we also need to keep in mind that these are 18 year olds making many of these decisions. Their brains haven't fully developed to 100% understand the consequences of these actions. Also highly susceptible to peer pressure and what everyone else is doing. To an optimistic/naive 18 year old, $100k in debt might not really seem all that different than $200k. Being raised with good financial intelligence/skills is a privilege, not a given. So...it's a giant disaster of a mess, socially, culturally, individually. To an optimistic/naive 18 year old, $100k in debt might not really seem all that different than $200k.

    Also, my state school cost hundreds of thousands dollars more than the private school I ended up attending. People do pick non-state schools for financial reasons...but also for those that @redwoodoriginal mentioned. Not just employers care, and for differences in education quality, but alumni networks should figure into it, and the student body, as well (i.e., you'll have better odds of finding colleagues to begin a start-up with at top tier schools, rather than podunk state U. It's not always the case, but often).

    So, education, alumni, and student body quality are important factors that I'm not sure how many 18 year olds are consciously considering. Or if they're even capable of weighing all the variables at that stage of brain development.
    OK.   Then let's call it:

    -Don't pick the more expensive school because it sounds better when you haven't done your research.

    I also think we should be wary of having 18 yo's agree to these loans in general but that's a topic for a different day.

    My overall point is that I'm not a fan of the mentality of 'throw money at this because if you spend more it's better' before you research what your'e going to get out of that "investment".

    That's all the point I'm trying to make.   It may mean private is better than state/public but the overall bottom line is that we are in a culture of spending more and saving less and that's not going to help in the long run. 
  • banana468 said:
    banana468 said:
    Tyvm said:
    Student loans notwithstanding, but I would much rather have the money for a down payment on a house I'll start my family in than repay a loan that finances a single day in my life. 
    @AtomicBlonde FI's mom just said something like this to us...except, pretty much any wedding that serves dinner and alcohol to more than 40 people will generally cost the down payment of a house. So, I just don't get this attitude. If anyone actually believed this, everyone would be having either small weddings, or cake and punch weddings...and that's not what's happening.

    -Private college: because I can't send my kid to the state school
    @banana468 This is rather short-sighted. Even students going to state school end up with tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars in debt. Going to state schools isn't going to solve anyone's problems. Basically, if your child goes to any university these days, you're going to be seeing these "irresponsible" levels of debt.

    I do agree with you on the generally negative impact of our changing attitudes about debt. But when it comes to higher education...there really isn't much of an option, except for not getting a degree. We need to go back to having abundant life-sustaining career trajectories for people without 4 year degrees. Bank tellers used to be able to buy a house...now bank tellers need a 4 year college degree just to get the job, and still can't afford a house.
    OK @Tyvm, how is it short sighted to say that one "Needs" the expensive private school when the state school will do?

    I'm not completely anti student loans but I think one needs to be intelligent with how we take loans and or spend money on kids.

    1) I had friends in HS say that they refused to attend the local state university (UConn) because they just wanted something that was out of state.   The OOS option was more money but they didn't care.   So mom and dad opted to pick up the tab for expensive schools because 'the kid wants to'.   

    2) Some students opted for the more private school and financed it themselves because they refused to attend the in-state because it wasn't "cool".

    3) Friend went OOS and knew he would be starting his own business.   He could have learned what he did from the in-state school but now is saddled with more debt because he opted for the OOS private college.

    4) My own BIL opted to go OOS and chose a major that was easily accessible in-state.

    College itself isn't all bad.   But deciding to go to the more expensive school without a major plan to pay off the loans (exactly what are you going to do after attending that private college when you graduate with the art history degree and $200,000 in debt??) is not a financially sound decision.   

    It's the culture of "spend more money on it and it's better" that is the issue I have.   

    Except for a lot of jobs, where you go to school DOES matter. A person will get picked for certain jobs over another if one went to an Ivy vs a State school. The networking and connections you make at some of these private institutions can make a world of difference when you're job hunting. 

    While it's less of a big deal now bc graduate school is so important for many high level jobs, the shift turns to grad school- what grad school did you go to matters. But to get into grad school- what undergrad school you go to matters, too. 

    I'd rather have education loans and know I have a better chance of getting a higher paying job than be debt free with a mediocre paying job, bc I chose not to go to a private college.  Education loans pay off (as long as you get a decent paying job). Wedding loans do not pay off. 
    That can make a difference but it's not the rule.

    My point is that when you pick certain schools you need to look into why you want to attend there for more than just "I like it there."   You need to do your research into it.

    FWIW, DH and I went to the state school.   I'm lucky that my parents paid for me to go and DH took out as many loans as he could in his name.   He paid off his loans within 8 years of graduating.   His brother went to a private college and got an education degree, didn't like it, worked retail for a while and THEN got his JD.

    Our state school has a better rep as an undergrad than BIL's private college and it was less money to boot. 


    redwoodoriginal that certain schools (Ivy League) can open doors even with just an undergraduate degree. But frankly I think anything less than Ivy has virtually no meaning in general unless you happened to go to the same school as your interviewer. I also agree that the name on your grad degrees does tend to matter more. I am in the legal field and it does matter where you go to law school in terms of your job opportunities. It matters most for your first job, but it matters at least some even years later. 

    I think it's tragic how expensive a basic college education has become because as others have said a four year degree qualifies you for an entry level job in most fields. I graduated from college in 2004 and tuition at the college I went to has since doubled. Even in-state public universities are getting significantly more expensive - my H graduated from the local university in 2005 and tuition there has quadrupled since then. I just don't see how anyone can keep up. 
    image
  • SP29SP29 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited June 2016
    Ugh. I also do not get the mentality of "well just get a loan".

    Ok- everyone needs a house to live in. The majority of people need a car to get to work due to our currently lifestyle habits of urban sprawl. Very few jobs exist without some degree of education. But nobody NEEDS to spend 50K on a wedding (or even the average of $25k).
  • We are in the process of saving for a deposit on a house so no way in hell will we be taking out a loan for the wedding. The 20k wedding I WANT to have is heavily outweighed by the 80k house deposit we are aiming for. I would rather go into debt for a place I can call home than go into debt for a single day event. 

    I can't imagine how I would even be able to justify taking out a loan for a wedding.. 

    Side note - minimum house deposits in th the United States are only 3.5%? Damn, ours are 20%. A bit jealous right now. 
  • I went to the local college for my nursing degree and graduated debt free because I knew that I didn't want to be dealing with debt while moving forward with my life. Unfortunately, I still know friends that haven't paid back their student loans and have even changed careers. Student loans are not great and when they make sense, it is because the earning potential of the job is greater than the debt.

    I have a friend who got a general studies degree completely on student loans and now works at a clothing store for minimum wage because she couldn't figure out what she wanted to do next. I don't think her loans were justifiable.

  • We are in the process of saving for a deposit on a house so no way in hell will we be taking out a loan for the wedding. The 20k wedding I WANT to have is heavily outweighed by the 80k house deposit we are aiming for. I would rather go into debt for a place I can call home than go into debt for a single day event. 

    I can't imagine how I would even be able to justify taking out a loan for a wedding.. 

    Side note - minimum house deposits in th the United States are only 3.5%? Damn, ours are 20%. A bit jealous right now. 
    It depends on the type of loan you want (FHA vs. conventional vs. whatever else is out there), and if you are willing to pay a little extra for mortgage insurance (PMI) every month. You don't have to pay the PMI if your down payment is 20%+, and if you pay less than that, you only pay PMI until your loan drops to a certain point, usually under 80% of what's outstanding. Not sure if that's true for all loans.


    "And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won’t just be able to take one, they’ll have to take two, one of you and one of me..."
    --Philip Pullman

  • ernursej said:

    I went to the local college for my nursing degree and graduated debt free because I knew that I didn't want to be dealing with debt while moving forward with my life. Unfortunately, I still know friends that haven't paid back their student loans and have even changed careers. Student loans are not great and when they make sense, it is because the earning potential of the job is greater than the debt.

    I have a friend who got a general studies degree completely on student loans and now works at a clothing store for minimum wage because she couldn't figure out what she wanted to do next. I don't think her loans were justifiable.

    That's a lot of my point.    

    If yiu don't want to talk schooling you can talk cars.  DH and I live in an area where it's expected that you drive.   But as of now we don't have a car payment.   We bought our cars gently used, and created a budget that we wouldn't exceed.

    But plenty of people think that they need a car and they'll finance their way to the more expensive option.

    The wedding is worse because it's just a day.   But we love to dig ourselves further into debt to look good for the Joneses.



  • We are in the process of saving for a deposit on a house so no way in hell will we be taking out a loan for the wedding. The 20k wedding I WANT to have is heavily outweighed by the 80k house deposit we are aiming for. I would rather go into debt for a place I can call home than go into debt for a single day event. 

    I can't imagine how I would even be able to justify taking out a loan for a wedding.. 

    Side note - minimum house deposits in th the United States are only 3.5%? Damn, ours are 20%. A bit jealous right now. 
    It depends on the type of loan you want (FHA vs. conventional vs. whatever else is out there), and if you are willing to pay a little extra for mortgage insurance (PMI) every month. You don't have to pay the PMI if your down payment is 20%+, and if you pay less than that, you only pay PMI until your loan drops to a certain point, usually under 80% of what's outstanding. Not sure if that's true for all loans.

    SIAB 

    PMI looks like it is USA specific but there is a similar fee here in NZ - LEF (low equity fee) which can be charged to you for deposits of less than 20%. Most cases in NZ the bank won't give you a mortgage if you have less than 20% (first home buyers can sometimes get away with 10%) so LEF probably isn't as common as PMI. 
  • CMGragainCMGragain member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited June 2016
    banana468 said:
    ernursej said:

    I went to the local college for my nursing degree and graduated debt free because I knew that I didn't want to be dealing with debt while moving forward with my life. Unfortunately, I still know friends that haven't paid back their student loans and have even changed careers. Student loans are not great and when they make sense, it is because the earning potential of the job is greater than the debt.

    I have a friend who got a general studies degree completely on student loans and now works at a clothing store for minimum wage because she couldn't figure out what she wanted to do next. I don't think her loans were justifiable.

    That's a lot of my point.    

    If yiu don't want to talk schooling you can talk cars.  DH and I live in an area where it's expected that you drive.   But as of now we don't have a car payment.   We bought our cars gently used, and created a budget that we wouldn't exceed.

    But plenty of people think that they need a car and they'll finance their way to the more expensive option.

    The wedding is worse because it's just a day.   But we love to dig ourselves further into debt to look good for the Joneses.



    We drove old cars for the first 30 years of our marriage.  They were sometimes embarrassing, but they were safe and functional.  The money we saved went to pay for our kids college educations (State Universities).
    We also encouraged them to save for a home.  Both are now home owners, and daughter and her husband pooled their resources and bought a nicer home where they live now.  She lived at home for her first year of teaching, and then was able to buy a townhouse to start out with.
    In the 1990s and early 2000s, I saw many people buying houses that they couldn't afford, too.  They gambled that real estate would continue to rise in value, and in 2007, everybody lost.  The lady who bought our house had an insane interest rate, but she was so sure she was going to make money on the house.
    I watched several old movies today about weddings.  Very simple, no bridesmaids, less than 50 guests, no big dinners or dancing.  Very lovely and meaningful.  I think a lot of people have lost sight of what a wedding really is in favor of the glitz and attention.  I feel sorry for these people.
    httpiimgurcomTCCjW0wjpg
  • ScottishSarahScottishSarah member
    First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its First Comment
    edited June 2016
    FI and I have put some wedding expenses on our credit card.  However, we are comfortable with this as its only about 7% of the total spend.  It was just stuff we wanted to add on and are happy to extend the wedding 'payments' from our accounts for a couple extra months to have things we really wanted.

    On the other hand we have a friend who is divorced now who is still paying off his wedding loan.  He put a £35K loan solely in his name so "his princess could have her dream wedding" we feel kinda sorry for him.
  • Yeah, I refuse to spend more than we can afford for our wedding. We will not go into debt. We are spending quite a bit but we can afford it. Luckily, we don't have car payment or a mortgage and will not for a bit so we are able to save a lot of money due to those factors. 
  • FI and I have put some wedding expenses on our credit card.  However, we are comfortable with this as its only about 7% of the total spend.  It was just stuff we wanted to add on and are happy to extend the wedding 'payments' from our accounts for a couple extra months to have things we really wanted.

    On the other hand we have a friend who is divorced now who is still paying off his wedding loan.  He put a £35K loan solely in his name so "his princess could have her dream wedding" we feel kinda sorry for him.
    One budgeting idea:  Calculate the extra interest you'll pay and include that as part of the cost of the item.  That way you're keeping in mind the full cost, and just the upfront amount you're putting on the card.  Ooo, or maybe look into getting a new card that has an intro of 0% interest for a year.  

    I do feel bad for your friend though:( 
  • I paid for almost everything for our wedding with my credit card which I promptly paid off each month. We did it solely for the extra airline miles, but we could have just written checks had we wanted to.
    I wish I'd done that, but honestly, I just don't trust myself with credit cards!  I've been in credit card debt before (thank goodness I'm not anymore), and I just stay away from them completely now.  I would like to use them to gain miles/points, but I just worry I'll get a little spend happy, or I'll miss a due date (I'm terrible with due dates!).  The late fee alone takes a huge chunk out of any points you earned.  It's just better for H and I to pay for everything out of the checking, or don't buy it at all.

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  • Re college:

    I went to an in state, public university and still graduated with $20,000 in student loans and FI did as well with $13,000. However, those amounts are manageable compared to had I gone to a private school in state or even a public school out of state, my loans would have probably tripled. 

    I think a lot of high schools get this idea in kids' heads that certain school will help you get ahead and you will do better. They discourage community colleges or the idea that maybe some kids need a year off. I think people should try to consider the idea of going to a community college for a year or two and then transfer to a university once they figure things out.

    Yeah, yeah, you can say that a more prestigious school gives you better opportunities for employment, but IDC where you went to college, if you can't interview properly or don't have any job experience, then you won't get hired. 

    It is all about perspective and circumstances and making smart decisions and knowing what is best for each student. 

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