What do i do?

rdchick

A £100 wedding is an expensive wedding to someone in debt

I think you should firstly find out how much you're gonna be getting then decide... if you get £10K you could do 60/40 with your debts and wedding if you get £15K you might not have anything to worry about and if you get £5K then maybe pay off the high interest stuff and save the rest?

xxx

the_cat

bramble1 wrote: »

lots of debts that total to around £10k - i'm struggling to find the enthusiam to pay off the debts, because at the end of it, I'll still have bad credit, won't really be any better off financially etc. So don't really want to waste my money

Ehh??? If you pay off the debt you will have your entire wages to do with as you please. You will have the peace of mind that if wages drop (esp as OH is self employed) then you have fewer outgoings. Besides what is the point of paying off debt? - to improve your credit rating so you can run it all up again................. err not in my book. Having scraped my way out of debt, there is no way I would care what my credit rating was, because I would have no intention of using it to run the debt up again!

It sounds like you know you ought to pay off the debt and are trying to justify using it for the wedding instead tbh. Sorry

downsizer3

No doubt about it - pay off the debt. 'Saving' towards a marriage when you have debt isn't saving - its burying your head.

yellowcrocus

I am engaged and have a roughly similar amount of debt to you. I think this is a total no brainer! If someone was to give us 10k (I wish!) I wouldn't even consider spending it on a wedding.

Clear the debts and enjoy being debt free, which will improve every single day of your future, instead of just the one. Then save for wedding. Or get married on the cheap...see the 'Weddings' board on here for inspiration. We'll be saving for our wedding when the debts are cleared, and will enjoy it all the more for knowing we can afford it.

If you can't see how else you can afford the wedding then you have no other way of paying the debts, which is even more reason to clear them with your windfall. It sounds like you've been handed a lifeline, please please don't blow it all on one day of fun!

smileytiger

A wedding doesn't have to cost anything like 10k - mine was about £1500 an we got married in a castle..lol

starting married life with huge pile of debt isn't a good idea.

use the money to pay the debts off & use the money you would have used for debt payments to save for a wedding.

a credit rating is only any use to you if you want to run up more credit;)

good luck with whatever you choose .x

redpete

bramble1 wrote: »

...we simply won't afford to get married

Of course you can afford to get married but maybe you can't afford the wedding you would like.

cottonhead

A wedding doesnt have to be that expensive. If I were in your position I would pay off the debt and that in itself will be like a wedding present as it will feel like a weight is lifted and you can move forward into married life with less stress. You cant really save for a wedding whilst still in debt anyway and the quicker you pay the debt the less interest you owe.
I got married abroad so we had the wedding and honeymoon in one. It was lovely and everything was arranged and paid one price for the whole thing - cake, photographer, accomodation, registrar etc etc so it was really good value. We only had a few guests though ( andf they paid for themselves - having a holiday at the same time ) so if you have lots then it might not be an option. I know a couple who had the wedding and honeymoon abroad and then had a party for everyone on their return. There are lots of ways to make a wedding cheaper. Comgratulations by the way !

rising_from_the_ashes

Yup - I'd go with clear the debt.... it'll be gone (or substantilly reduced) and you'll not have to worry about it anymore and will be able to put the money that would've gone to repayments into savings.

keepcalmcarryon_2

Clear clear clear.

Oh my you'll look back on it, and be amazed at how much pressure that 10k was putting you both under!

We did a relatively cheap wedding, just close friends and family, and spent the bulk of the money on the location and food. I thought it was better to have a nicer wedding with less people, than a big hoo-harr on a tiny budget.

See this as a lifeline. Its money you would be without, so either way your wedding would have been postponed till you had saved enough! xx

curlytop12

the_cat wrote: »

Ehh??? If you pay off the debt you will have your entire wages to do with as you please. You will have the peace of mind that if wages drop (esp as OH is self employed) then you have fewer outgoings. Besides what is the point of paying off debt? - to improve your credit rating so you can run it all up again................. err not in my book. Having scraped my way out of debt, there is no way I would care what my credit rating was, because I would have no intention of using it to run the debt up again!

It sounds like you know you ought to pay off the debt and are trying to justify using it for the wedding instead tbh. Sorry

this ! you know its the right thing!