Nate and Danielle answer questions from listener Erin about her upcoming marriage and what it means for student loan debt, renting vs. buying, budgeting, and more
Show Notes
First question, if I have debt from school and he (my future husband) doesn’t should we combine accounts? We both believe in the “whats mine is yours” marriage.
We believe that you should combine all finances, including debts, when you get married. It really hammers home the idea that you are this together.
Secondly, is it wise to rent for first houses until we are more settled? We both don’t really like the idea of just throwing money at an apartment instead of investing in a home, but we don’t think it is a good idea to buy a house when I’m still in school.
Renting vs. Buying ask three questions:
- How long do you plan on being in a location?
- How familiar are you with the area?
- How much money do you have saved for down payment, repairs, and an emergency fund?
There is no perfect answer that we can give, but having answer to those three questions can help guide you in where you might want to go.
Thirdly, how long after marriage did you start setting up a budget that worked? Did you wait awhile to just see your typical spending habits or did you jump right in?
Start budgeting right away. It’s not going to be perfect but it can be fixed.
Finally, what has changed the most in your budget since the beginning of that process.
Saving for our future has been the thing that has changed the most. Actively planning for, budgeting, and discussing our future has done wonders to give clarity to our budget questions.