Overwhelmed And Scared

[DisneyFairy19]

Ok
I am freaking out.. I am getting married in two years.. I still have awhile but I am panicking b/c next year I start playing my student loans..which is ALOT since I attended an ART college and paying for a wedding, and next year my DF and I want to buy a house and of course we have to furnish the house.... Oh God I am panicking at the amount of money I am going to spend.. Any brides or past brides going through the same thing as I am????

 

[FlyingBelle]

B - r - e - a - t - h - e.....

No use freaking out now, you've got plenty of time to do that.

We're celebrating our 2nd anniversary next week, and my grad school student loans just came due 2 months ago. It's not easy, but it can be done.

When thinking of the costs of your wedding... think about what's really important - do you need expensive things to make your wedding day special? I made a lot of the stuff for my wedding and saved a ton of money. If you're not creative - how about enlisting the help from creative friends? If they're truely creative they'll be chomping at the bit to help.

Just get a good budget, stick to it, and enjoy.

 

[lurkyloo]

Hi! I'm not a bride yet, but I might have some helpful info about those student loans. If they are federal loans, you have a lot of repayment options, including getting a deferment that allows you to wait until your income gets higher before you begin repaying them. Another option is a graduated repayment plan that lets you make smaller payments at the beginning and larger ones in later years. I've done both those things and, frankly, student loan debt is the best kind of debt because the terms are so forgiving!

To paraphrase my mom, "Don't panic. Take it one day at a time." You have a lot of time to work all of these things out, and so much to look forward to!

 

[DisneyFairy19]

Thanks guys... You made my BREATHE better..LOL

 

[kicks1282]

DF and I are going through EXACTLY the same thing - sort of. We both just graduated from private college last year ($30k+ tuition per year) and are getting married in just under 6 months. We are currently in the process of buying a house. Both of us have agreed to do the reduced payment plan on our student loans (which frees up about $250 a month) and we both work a few hours each weekend at a fun job to get some extra money together in addition to taking overtime when we can at our regular jobs.

I can't have said it any better than those above me - Breathe and take it one day at a time! It will get better and in the end, it will all be SO worth it!

 

[jmmastra]

Hi going through a similar situation. I do not have the student loans but DF does plus we bought a house this past December and I am currently out of work!!! My wedding is just under 7 mo away and I freaked out two days ago when I attempted to do my budget. While figuring out the numbers I also realized that we need oil, our furnace needs to be cleaned, and chirstmas is right around the corner. Oh did I mention we are in the middle of remodeling the house??? So yes I feel your pain. BUT.....when DF and I decided to buy the house we agreed to push the wedding to May of 07(original date was Nov. 7, 2006) so we could benefit from our tax return. We get more back because of the house. So we will use the tax return for the wedding and finance the rest. That helped me relax... a little.

You will have two tax returns!

As far as your loans are concerned, you do not have to start paying them back until 6 months after you graduate. Also you can defer them....forever (which is not a good thing), you can consolidate them for a lower monthly payment. Plus you will have a degree and be able to get a higher paying job to help pay for all this.

Decide on what is most important for you wedding, develop a budget and stick to it. Don't start freaking out yet...you will figure it out. Hope this helps

 

[KT27]

Join the club...My Dh is ARMY and deployed 3 mos after we got married in May for a year! I had a house in NY, moved to TX, we built a house here, were late in selling the other house in NY, I am not working but going to school to be come a massage therapist. Plus the cost of moving 2x, new furnishings, wedding stuff, 2 house payments & now school.....It does all work out...plus you have time to save!

~Katie

 

[JJClemson]

Trust me, I feel your pain! As other posters have said, student loans are very forgiving and give you lots of options. People keep telling me that when I freak out too, but all I see is negative dollar signs! I am done w/ grad school in Dec, but I am not allowed to start a "real" job until July (the month after our wedding) b/c my program requires a 6 mos. practicum before we can work. DF still has 2 more years (at least ) of med school. Believe me, I am freaking out! We have tons of loans, we're planning a wedding, and I have to find a real job to support him for a couple years. Very overwhelming!

I try to remember that A LOT of people start out this way, and it's ok. I am also very happy to have found my wonderful DF b/c so many of my friends have not found "Mr Right" and they waste so much time and energy stressing about that. Just try to calm down, be thankful for what you have, and budget We're always here for you!

 

[happylalagirl]

Hey there Disney Fairy... I know exactly what you're going through. I just graduated (went back to school full time) with my undergrad degree and now, just before the wedding, my student loans are beginning to come in...don't they know I'm getting married??? We have been living together for a year now, in his parents house in NJ. THey bought a house in FL and are in the process of now selling the NJ house, where we currently live. We can't afford to buy it with the prices so high around here... we don't think it's going to sell fast. The market stinks right now and only 2 couples have looked at - quickly. WE have a 10 year old daughter is starting to get nervous that we won't have a place to live when the house is sold... I am planning on going to grad school to become a school counselor and we want to start a family on top of paying for the wedding ourselves. Every penny we have went to the wedding. The only advice I have for you is put a set amount of money away each week. Even if it's only $20 some weeks, you'll at least have a big chunk of change by the time you have to pay for the wedding. I was always taught to put away 10 - 20% of my paycheck in a savings account. Oh yea... definitely get an ING account. That's where our wedding money is. It has an AMAZING interest rate and it goes up just about every other month. RIght now it's 4.4% interest. And it's not something you can access with an ATM card, so you won't be tempted to dip into it. Things might be a little tight and you may have to really watch where you are spending your money, but you have plenty of time. I have over $40,000 in student loans and I"m going to be racking up at least another $25,000. I feel your pain, but where there's a will, there's a way. It will all work out and it will be fine.!! Good luck.