Weddingbee boards

I have posted on here twice now about possibly needing to push the wedding back b/c of finances. While those troubles aren't quite over (still a lot up in the air right now!), I read Suze Orman's book "The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke." It's a little old now (first came out in 2004) but it has totally changed my perspective on how we should deal with finances! There is a chapter about love and money too, and that was just as helpful.

My college library had it, and yours may too--check it out! I promise, you'll feel a lot better about finances when you read it. :)

And, I'm taking a personal finance class next semester! I want to be on top of the little money we've got if that's what will keep us on track :)

Well, she mentions how to use credit cards wisely when there's a gap in your starting salary and your living expenses; wants vs. needs obviously, how to make your FICO score better, and then discusses advice for couples like "should we combine our student loans?" "What about savings accounts, etc." She says really positive things like following the career path you want early on will pay off in the end, so go for it and pay off those credit cards later.

I read that just before I graduated college and LOVED it.

There is another fabulous book called "All Your Worth" by Amelia and Elizabeth Warren. It teaches you the "50/30/20" plan. I had to read it for a gen ed class in college and i LOVED it!

We also had to read "The Two Income Trap," which is for relationships where both persons are working. I can't use all the information in this book, yet, but it got my mind on the right track.

another piece of advice for those with student loans...just because you have a 6 month grace period doesn't mean you should use it!

Sure, buy furniture you need (not long term credit, furniture credit is the worst!), but otherwise don't go crazy.  You can get used to a certain lifestyle, going out to eat w/ coworkers, etc, then all of a sudden here is an extra $250 (for me) monthly bill in the mail.  When I first started working, I moved in with my cousin who lived 45 minutes away.  Once I started getting paid, I started putting $ towards my loan during the grace period, just to get in the habit before it was required!  I'm glad I did, bc I ended up getting a condo about the same time my grace period was up, and that was already hard enough to balance financially until I got a roomie.