looking for a loan but is it best?

RichGold

goonarmy wrote: »

Clearly not if i can afford repayments on a regular basis yet cannot afford the lump sum then its living within my means.

I'm not trying to be confrontational, but you obviously dont understand what you've just written. "Living within your own means" means spending your own money, borrowing money means spending someone elses.

Therefore whether you can afford the repayments or not, if you borrow you are not living within your means.

Saving up and then spending is living within your own means.

I'm in no way questioning if the repayments are affordable for you, that's a completely different thing.

Tixy

How much do you owe in total on your credit cards?
Do you have an overdraft? are you in it every month?
Are you a homeowner?
How much do you have in savings?
What are the APRs on the cards and how much available credit is on them?

fozmcfc

As ever, most people should try your own bank first, they will know best how you manage your money, if they say no, you will most likely struggle to get a loan.

Think very carefully though, a loss of job/income could mean years of misery which could well put a strain on your marriage.

Is your wife to be, quite happy for you to owe about £10k (with interest) or would she rather have a wedding that means you start married life without such a chain around your neck.

mynameisclare

goonarmy wrote: »

ever met a woman?

Well yes I happen to be one, and I wouldn't consider paying £15K for my wedding if I had the money in the bank. Borrowing that much for it on a credit card/loan is crazy when it's so unnecessary to pay so much.

Dellers

You do not want to pay for a wedding on a loan. We saved up for ours and it was the best thing we done. For my bridal car we used a friends flashy car, I done my own cake at a cost of £60 same two tiered cake would have cost £500 from a baker. Flowers were artificial you could not honestly tell the difference. You can cut many corners if you look and tell the bride to ask the dress shop for a discount or free veil or she walks away to another shop !! I done that and got the free veil worth £250 ! :j:j:j

SnowBelle_2

mynameisclare wrote: »

Well yes I happen to be one, and I wouldn't consider paying £15K for my wedding if I had the money in the bank. Borrowing that much for it on a credit card/loan is crazy when it's so unnecessary to pay so much.

agree 100%......My wedding in 2007 was £3500 all paid for.
Surely if you love and care for someone it's not all about money,I had a small wedding and as long as I am with my husband I wouldn't care If it cost £50.
as someone once told me mention wedding and then add 50% to all your costs.
Whilst you are doing the right thing in banging in the o/t don't break yourself.

paddyrg

Goonarmy, congratulations on meeting a woman you want to spend the rest of your life with, and who wants to spend the rest of her life with you too!

The reason people here are being cautious in recommending borrowing for a wedding is that being newlyweds is often a time of great pressure and readjustment anyway, without the pressure of finding an extra £400/month to repay loans. It is a time when you're likely to be thinking of getting a home, having kids, etc all of which will be further demands on your finances, and if you're already highly endebted, you will find all credit cut off from you, and sudden shock bills will push you towards the less good lenders and higher debt spirals. Nobody wants that for you, but sadly on these boards (have a good read around, try the DFW board for some great examples) you read a lot of people who overstretched and lived to regret it.

In a similar vein, is there any way you can defer the wedding for a year or two, both take a second/third job, and plan to do it for a heap less than £15k? If you're meant to be together forever, you get to save up and all that stuff at a measured pace, then have a big celebration anyway. And if your mrs-to-be won't love you without you spending all your married life stressing about debts for one day, then maybe it is not quite as rosy anyway?

OK, lecture over, it's your own bank you want to ask first - they have a long financial history with you, and will know your income and outgoings. As a rule of thumb, the maximum available credit you can get at any time will be about half your salary, so if you had no overdraft or cards, it would top out at about £14k anyway, and your overdraft and cards will knock that down (based not on how much you spend on them, but how much facility is there, ie how much you *could* borrow on them if you needed to), so maybe get rid of those if you want to get even a chance that that £14k loan :-)

Congrats, and all the best

Apples2

If you can't afford to GET married... You can't afford to BE married.

CH27

Do not get into debt to ay for a wedding. That starts your married life on the wrong note.
Save up & have a smaller wedding.

meer53

IMO £15,000 is silly money for a wedding. Don't use a credit card for a wedding, i know so many people who have done this and now wish they hadn't. Save up and do it as cheaply as possible, it's not about how much you spend. If your girlfriend needs to spend £15k, maybe you should have a chat with her ! As other posters have mentioned, if you're looking for a loan the banks will look at your disposable income, and whatever other credit you have, even if you're not using it at the moment.