{"id":3722,"date":"2018-10-18T00:22:53","date_gmt":"2018-10-18T00:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/?p=3722"},"modified":"2018-10-19T11:30:27","modified_gmt":"2018-10-19T11:30:27","slug":"college-debt-and-your-wedding-in-hawaii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/college-debt-and-your-wedding-in-hawaii\/","title":{"rendered":"College Debt and Your Wedding In Hawaii"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am anti-debt, and I think you are too.\u00a0 I know what you’re probably thinking.\u00a0 Steven doesn’t know about debt.\u00a0 \u00a0Well….that’s wrong.\u00a0 Back in my mid-twenties, I had so much debt racked up from investments gone bad, horrible business partnerships, and flat out stupid decisions, I had to file for bankruptcy to start all over.\u00a0 \u00a0If this topic scares you, that’s a good thing.\u00a0 Debt is serious.\u00a0 It “should” terrify you because it can weigh you down, control your happiness, affect future plans, and possibly even ruin relationships.<\/p>\n

The reason why I’m bringing this topic to the forefront is because the vast majority of my younger clients are draped in college debt.<\/p>\n

If you don’t know anything about college debt, I’ll give you a brief overview.\u00a0 On average, statistically, students will graduate $37,000 in the hole.\u00a0 The real figure is much higher.\u00a0 Their interest rates are horribly high and compounded in most cases.\u00a0 It doesn’t stop there.\u00a0 Some student loans compound and accumulate interest while they were still in school.\u00a0 \u00a0That means a 20k loan may be 30k when they graduate!\u00a0 \u00a0After graduation, many are then pressured to defer their loans, by their lenders, because their job didn’t pay them enough.\u00a0 THAT’S A SCAM! Five years later, the amount they owed sometimes doubled or even tripled!\u00a0 \u00a0So, that 20k that they originally borrowed is now close to 100k.\u00a0 Can they start over like how I did?\u00a0 They can’t!\u00a0 Student loans are not forgivable through bankruptcy.\u00a0 \u00a0Even scarier, these student\u00a0loans can follow their next of kin – yes, after the borrower has passed.<\/p>\n

That’s some heavy weight on our next generation.<\/p>\n

So what does a couple who’s draped in student loans do when it comes to marriage?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. DON’T GO MORE INTO DEBT GETTING MARRIED<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>\n
      \n
    1. PERSONAL LOANS DISGUISED AS WEDDING LOANS<\/strong> – These are handed out by banks and advertised heavily.\u00a0 Pass on the offer, even if you are pre-approved<\/li>\n
    2. DO NOT REFINANCE YOUR HOME<\/strong> – Yes, the interest rates would be much lower, but debt is debt.\u00a0 \u00a0Don’t do it!<\/li>\n
    3. DO NOT USE YOUR CREDIT CARDS LIKE LOANS<\/strong> – It’s always best to pay off your credit cards in full or as soon as possible.\u00a0 The interest on there is outrageous and it compounds.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
    4. THINK SMALL<\/strong><\/span>\n
        \n
      1. AVERAGE COST OF A BIG WEDDING<\/strong> is around $40,000.\u00a0 Hey, that’s almost the same as a college loan!\u00a0 Except for one big difference.\u00a0 With a gala wedding, you would be spending 40k in a day, not over 4 or 5 years.\u00a0 Also, with gala\u00a0weddings, most of that bill comes down to the reception.\u00a0 Yes, couples pay for everyone to eat.<\/li>\n
      2. ELOPING OR A SMALL WEDDING<\/strong> can cost as little as $175.00 if you’re only booking the minister.\u00a0 \u00a0The Patriot Package<\/a> from my company is only $612.50, around the same cost as monthly college debt payment for some.\u00a0 \u00a0That’s a big difference than 40k!<\/li>\n
      3. YOU DON’T NEED TO COME TO HAWAII TO TIE THE KNOT<\/strong> – Whoa, are you surprised I said that?\u00a0 \u00a0Yup.\u00a0 Now know you know I’m being real.\u00a0 If you can’t afford the room, flight, and hotel, don’t come here.\u00a0 \u00a0Elope at home, do something small, focus on paying off that college debt because that will give you life long happiness.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Debt sucks but it doesn’t have to shackle you forever.\u00a0 Don’t make your wedding become a ball and chain on your financial freedom.\u00a0 \u00a0If you save, live on the cheap, combine incomes, even live at home for a bit, that college debt can be wiped out real fast (we’re talking a couple of years versus twenty!)<\/p>\n

        Moral of the story?<\/p>\n

        If you can’t afford to come to Hawaii to get married – don’t do it.\u00a0 \u00a0Don’t call me.\u00a0 Don’t email me.\u00a0 \u00a0 Do something in your town, get married in a courthouse or get creative.\u00a0 The idea is to get cheap.\u00a0 You don’t need to spend money to be united with the one you love.\u00a0 I think Adam and Eve did it for free.<\/p>\n

        Now, if you can afford it – then and only then, may you contact me.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        I am anti-debt, and I think you are too.\u00a0 I know what you’re probably thinking.\u00a0 Steven doesn’t know about debt.\u00a0 \u00a0Well….that’s wrong.\u00a0 Back in my mid-twenties, I had so much debt racked up from investments gone bad, horrible business partnerships, and flat out stupid decisions, I had to file for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3724,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3722"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}