”TIL DEBT DO US PART”: Are You Financially Ready To Get Married?

Money cannot buy forever, but it can buy all you’re the essentials to a solemn wedding of two people madly in love with each other. However, with the rising costs of wedding essentials, nowadays it seems like you now need money to buy a love that will last a lifetime. Since it has become expensive to get hitched nowadays, you need to ask you and your significant other this question: how financially ready are you to get married in this day and age?

Read: (INFOGRAPHIC: The Cost Of Wedding In The Philippines)

The price of getting married in the country

It is no secret that it takes some serious dough to tie a knot and only those who are actually going through the planning stage. If you want a sneak preview of the things you need to shoulder when you decided to have a wedding in the future. Keep in mind that these prices are based on the current market prices.

For budget hunters, there are pre-arranged wedding packages offered by professional wedding organizers, and most of them start at Php 50,000.00 and the package is good for 100 guests. While this may seem modest enough, starter wedding packages are actually affordable since they are inclusive of everything, including bridal car and basic makeup package for the couple and entourage. However, more expensive packages can go up to Php 500,000 and even up to a million, depending on what’s included in your package. Just keep in mind that the more you pay, the more luxurious your amenities will be.

Unfortunately, that’s just for the reception part. You still have to pay for necessary expenses like church rental, wedding rings, photo and video coverage, attire, and honeymoon. A rough estimate will of all these cost you between Php 250,000.00 and Php 1,000,000.00 depending on your preference, of course.

Lastly, don’t forget about the expenses for the essentials like fixing your marriage certificate, certificate of no marriage, birth certificate, and marriage certificate. While these may be small expenses as compared to others involved in the ceremony, a wedding will not happen if these certificates are not with you, so you better give a certain priority to them.

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How to know if you’re financially ready?

Let’s face it: getting married is not cheap. After all, you need to have enough cash to cover all expenses necessary to have a great wedding. While you both may be ready to finally tie the knot, does your wallet agree with your decision now? How will you know if you are financially ready to walk down the aisle?

You both have savings for the wedding expenses. When it comes to weddings, it takes two to tango, and we live in a time and place where weddings are now shouldered by both parties. To make sure that you two are both financially ready for the wedding that will change your lives forever, you need to have enough money to cover all expenses related to your wedding–without the need to make a loan. Entering marriage also entails a couple to be ready financially, not just emotionally and romantically.

You both have manageable debts. Before the two of you became one, you may have outstanding debts: they may be credit card bills, personal loan, or home mortgage. However, before you even start preparing for a wedding, you need to make sure that your debts are manageable, or even better, settled in full once and for all. Remember, when you start living together as a married couple, your debts will become a problem for the two of you.

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You have already talked about your arrangements. Are you a saver? Is your future partner a spender? Where do you want to live? How will you two iron out your finances? If you want to have a smooth sail when it comes to your finances as a couple, you need to have the “talk.” Having a meaningful conversation about your financial state as a couple in the future can help you make realistic money decisions that you have to face hand-in-hand.

Being financially ready for marriage is more than just having the capacity to pay for the wedding event; after all, it’s just the first step to a lifelong commitment to someone you want to spend your life with. To become really prepared for the financial challenges that will be hurdled to you, you need to make sure that everything is settled before you even say “I do.”