The right time to spend on a credit card?

sking0919

New poster here - sorry if this isn't the correct board, but there are so many!

I'm getting married in September 2019 and saving was going great. I was managing to put away a decent chunk each month which saw us set to be in a position to pay off the wedding well in advance of the big day itself, going into married life without a wedding debt hangover.

Career-wise, I was called to the Bar in 2013 and had been trying for five long years to get pupillage. Well, this year, it happened! I was over the moon and couldn't believe it - I had been working towards this for so long, I just couldn't turn down the opportunity to finally get over that final hurdle to becoming a fully qualified barrister.

The obvious (or not so obvious) drawback to this is that pupillage really doesn't pay well. My salary has quartered and due to some 'training programme' loophole, I now earn just £1,000 per month. As such, our wedding savings have taken a nose dive and my partner is having to prop me up significantly. Most of what we had saved for wedding suppliers has either been spent on deposits or has now had to be allocated to bills/mortgage.

I am now considering taking a 0% spending card to tide us over for the next few months. Whilst the general rule, I understand, is that taking a credit card to cover an income dip is a bad idea, the general understanding is that once I am on my feet and taking my own cases (which will be by January 2019 at the latest) my income will increase significantly, so this £1,000 gig really is temporary, and I'd like to cover ourselves over the next few months (our wedding pot is due to run out soon and my fianc! doesn't earn enough to support us both). Is this a terrible idea?!

Willing2Learn

Hi sking0919 and welcome to the forum

If it were me, and I was certain that my income is going to "increase significantly" in just a few months, well yeah, I would be applying for a card that offered 0% on purchases. It makes perfect sense. (I'm assuming that all current debt is manageable).

And congratulations on your pupillage and up-coming wedding. It must be an exciting for you!

lika_86

I wouldn't. Do you really think you'll make enough in your second six to cover your bills/mortgage plus the money you've put on the card plus balances on the wedding stuff? You'll still be a baby barrister and sent running to endless crappy courts in the middle of nowhere for practically nothing in fees.

And what happens if you don't get tenancy?

Honestly, I'd look at postponing the wedding and really considering how long you can make this work if your income doesn't increase significantly. There are lots of law firms who would consider either in house counsel or those who are barristers rather than solicitors.

I don't want to crush your dream or anything, but you do need to be realistic.

datlex

The right time to spend on a credit card is when it is a payment method. The wrong time is to spend on it as a source of funds.

enthusiasticsaver

I think taking on debt to pay bills/mortgage is not a good idea and although you expect your income to increase drastically sometimes what we expect does not happen. I think I would want to be a bit surer of it before anticipating it. I would draw back on spending as much as possible and either cut back on wedding expenditure or postpone it. I have had a discussion with a friend today about how much weddings cost. She did hers for £400 with a charity shop dress, flowers done herself and a meal after a registry office in a nearby pub. My DD also did her wedding on a budget.