Taking a loan for your wedding? Think twice!
Everybody wants to take loans these days, maybe because of their ready availability from financial institutions. Some take a loan for housing, investment, car, studies or wedding and so on. I will be writing mainly about the wedding loan.
Well, there’s this couple who contracted a MRU 200,000 loan for their wedding. They both started to work and wanted to get married soon. They were somewhat short of money to perform the wedding. What to do? They were whispered the idea of taking a loan to accomplish their dream wedding ceremony. The guy and the girl gave it a thought and convinced themselves to go ahead with the plan. In any case, what could be the problem with that?
So, there they go. The money was in their bank account after having contracted a 7-year unsecured personal loan, at a high interest rate. They got married within the following weeks. They paid for: reception, rent of venue, food, beverage, entertainment, rental items, decorations, wedding cake, bride's wedding dress, wedding gifts, cameraman, photographer. Fortunately, they did not spend all the money and had some money left to pay for their honeymoon suite at a five star hotel. After all, they wanted it to be perfect!
More or less everybody was happy (for some guests, the ceremony was not to their standard!). Now, the couple starts living in the real world. In that world, they live at their parent’s place, squatting a small room. They cannot contribute financially to help their parent run the kitchen either (remember they contracted a loan and they’ve got their own expenditure). So, they continue living in such conditions, for at least, the next 7 years.
Photo courtesy of 501cweb
The thing is, is it worth taking a loan for a wedding? Personally, I don’t think so. On balance, a wedding remains a 1-day (in some cases, a 3-days) ceremony in your life. Why take a loan to throw out big parties/dinner/lunch where in you invite people you barely meet every ten years? When you take a loan, the first thing to consider: what is the return on investment (ROI) after using the borrowed money? Yes, even when taking a loan, ROI counts. In the case of a wedding, the ROI is zero. All the money vanishes in one day to “please” your family and to follow traditions of throwing big ceremonial dinner/lunch!
If the couple had opted to take a loan for a house construction, then there would have been a return on this investment and they would’ve got a shelter. Remember, real estate appreciates unlike a car (and the like), which depreciates over time. When taking a loan, invest the money where you should really, don’t just blow it off in futile things. It’ll be all wasted!
Instead, take a loan which will ensure the stability and independence of your own future and that of your to-be-born kids. Indeed, failure may lie in pleasing everyone!
