So, some context; my fiance is an undergraduate at a private uni in London, and I'm currently studying for my a-levels at my home in Bristol, a city about 2 hours out of London. Next summer, I was going to move up to be with him and apply for uni while I'm there, with a mind to start my BA in Fall 2014. We were then going to wait until I finish uni in 2017 to get married, so he will have been working for a while and we'll have the money to do it properly.
The thing is, he recently found out he won't recieve any bursary money , because his family's income has increased dramatically, so he is straight-up broke.
While doing research online we realised that if a student is married, under student finance regulations you count as an independent household. This means that he would be eligible for a £10,000 a year maintenance grant on top of the scholarship he has for his fees, and if I went to the same uni as him it would be the same for me. Even if I went to a state uni, I would get a £5000 a year maintenance grant.
So, now we are thinking of getting married next summer, so we don't have to depend on working 20 hours a week forever/parents bailing us out.
Is this a terrible decision? Is it too soon? should we live together first? Are we thinking too short-term?