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The average cost of a wedding is around $30,000. Learn why borrowing that sum could be a bad move. [[{“value”:”
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Weddings can be really expensive. In fact, the average wedding cost is about $30,000, which is a big chunk of change by just about anyone’s definition.
If you are tying the knot and don’t have $30,000 in your bank account just waiting to pay for your big day, you may be tempted to borrow for your wedding. A personal loan is one option to do that, as personal loans are flexible and many lenders are willing to offer loans valued at tens of thousands of dollars to qualified borrowers.
While you might be able to use a personal loan to pay for a wedding, there are three big reasons you could come to regret that choice.
1. You’ll start off your marriage with a new financial obligation
If you take out a personal loan to pay for your wedding, you’ll go into your marriage with a new shared obligation you have to deal with. While finding new ways to share your life is generally a good thing, bonding over a big new debt is not an ideal way to start off as newlyweds.
Research has shown that marital satisfaction decreases as debt levels increase. Further, couples with more debt fight about money more, spend less time together, and are more likely to end up divorced. Sadly, more than 70% of couples who end their marriage describe money conflicts as a contributing factor.
There’s no reason to purposefully create an additional potential source of stress before you even officially tie the knot. So, try to avoid taking on a big debt payment you’ll have to deal with just to have a lavish wedding.
2. Your wedding will cost you a lot more
Using a personal loan to pay for your wedding will make the high costs of this event even higher by tacking interest on.
The average personal loan interest rate is 12.35%. If you borrow $30,000 at 12.35% over five years, you will end up paying $10,359.09 in interest charges. So your $30,000 wedding — which was already expensive — actually becomes a $40,359.09 wedding!
Think about whether you’re really OK with paying so much — including thousands in interest — rather than scaling down to an affordable wedding you can afford to pay for with cash in your savings account.
3. Your monthly payments could make it harder to accomplish other financial goals
Finally, if you’ve committed to paying back a personal loan for years, that’s money you will not have available to do other things as a couple. That $30,000 loan at 12.35% would come with $672.65 in monthly payments if you took five years to pay it back. For the entire next five years, all that money will have to go toward paying for an event that’s long past, instead of toward saving for a shared early retirement or to buy a house.
You do not have to buy into the big wedding craze, especially if doing so would mean borrowing money to afford it. A simple, inexpensive wedding will get you just as married and make it more likely you’ll stay that way!
Our picks for the best personal loans
Our team of independent experts pored over the fine print to find the select personal loans that offer competitive rates and low fees. Get started by reviewing our picks for the best personal loans.
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