4 ways to become debt-free before getting married

Getting married is a chance to start a new life together. The opportunity for a fresh start might be why some couples wait to get married until they're debt-free.

Whether their debt is in the form of credit card debt, student loans or car loans, couples worry that debt will impact their marriage and their relationship and decide to do everything they can to either reduce their debt or get rid of it entirely before tying the knot.

If you're hoping to have a No Debt Union, consider taking the following steps compiled by ozigizaga.blogspot to pay off or reduce debt before getting married.

1. Talk About Debt: Whether or not you want to pay off or reduce your debt before you get married, it's important to talk openly about debt. Make sure your partner knows everything they need to know about your financial situation. We don't just marry individuals but we marry their financial situations and habits as well. While some couples find ways to overcome different financial values and philosophies, for many it's important to find a compromise. Money is such an integral part of our lives that if you can't talk to your partner about finances in a constructive way, it can lead to problems later on.
2. Create a Plan: You need to determine how long it will take for you to pay off your debt. Many couples decide to cut back on their expenses as much as possible in order to accelerate their debt repayments, but if you're already fairly frugal this might be difficult or impossible. If that's the case, you might consider taking on a second job or starting a side hustle to make more money to put towards your debt. Paying off debt might mean cutting out trips, going out with friends less or sacrificing other small luxuries. But that doesn't mean you can't have fun while you're paying off your debt. If you have too much debt to possibly pay off before you get married, work on reducing it instead and come up with a plan to accelerate your debt repayment after you get married. While many couples who opt for No Debt Unions want to get rid of that before they get married, others are willing to work on debt reduction together after marriage.
3. Stick to Your Plan: Once you have a plan, the next thing you need to do is stick to it. This can be harder than it sounds as there are often temptations for you to spend money. Don't tempt each other to splurge but instead find fun ways to allow the debt repayment process to bring you closer together.
4. Celebrate: Set milestones in your debt reduction that you can celebrate along the way. For example, you might want to celebrate every time you meet your monthly goal or you might choose to celebrate only when you reach certain significant milestones like paying off one quarter, one half, or three quarters of your total amount. Just make sure that your celebration doesn't cost a lot of money and take you off track.

While it might be difficult to pay off your debt, for those who want to enter into their marriages without any financial baggage it is worthwhile. The last thing you want is to have debt become the source of fights and tension in your marriage.