Should I pay off dh credit cards?
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| Sun, 09-18-2005 - 11:09am |
Hi,
My husband owes over $10,000 on credit cards. At least half of that is my wedding and engagement ring. If I knew he couldn't afford it, I would have been satsified with something much smaller but he kept saying not to worry about it. I just recently realized how much he really owed. I make a lot more than he does but since we're planning on starting a family soon we decided he should keep his job which would enable him to take care of the child during the day and work in the evenings. He suggested that since I'm so worried aboout debt instead of putting money from my check in savings every month we could put it to his credit cards. It kind of bothers me to use my money to pay off his debt, especially since it will put us behind on saving for a house down payment. Am I being silly or am I justified in feeling that he should pay for them?

Well now that you are married, his debt is now your debt. You will pay it off faster if you work together.
Shannon
I agree with the others -- it's now your debt, as well. Especially since a large part of the money was spent on you! :) As Dave Ramsey said on Oprah this week, "The preacher declared you husband and wife, not a joint venture!" LOL
Seriously, if you continue to view money/debts as "his and hers", your finances will become a divisive issue. Money fights are the leading reason for divorce; it's best to get on the same page re: finances as soon as possible in your marriage.
Good luck and best wishes!!
What if you put 1/2 the money to savings and 1/2 to debt.
Remember that they will check both your and your husband's credit when you apply for a mortgage. Our mortgage is in my name because my husband (then fiance) didn't qualify due to his cc debt. After hearing that, I paid his cc debt off (about $3k from his college years) and put him on my card to improve his credit rating. Now I am glad that I did, because he just got hired as a financial advisor and they checked his credit (they said that often people with the means to do so will check out their FA's credit record, figuring that the guy handling their money should know how to handle his own).
I can see why you would figure that your husband should pay for his own debt, especially since it was mostly for a gift to you, but I also figure that if you had really objected and thought that debt was inexcusable, you would have insisted on downgrading your wedding set. Since you've both decided to keep the rings, you both should now do the smartest thing for your family's credit, which is to pay it off as soon as possible so that you can be in a good position to have the home and children you both want.
Almost every penny I earn goes to pay down debt that I learned about weeks after getting married.
All my best,
Danni