A company that was launched just last week offers couples up to $35,000 in loans to cover the expenses of their wedding or honeymoon — a possible indication that extravagant spending on weddings is becoming the norm.
Promise Financial allows couples planning to get married to borrow from $3,000 to a whopping $35,000. The company hands over the loans to a bank, which releases the loans to the customers.
Borrowers are charged an origination fee of 1 percent to 5 percent plus interest ranging from 5.22 percent to 25.56 percent.
Promise offers its loans as a solution for couples planning their "perfect wedding" without resorting to the use of "high-interest credit cards."
However, a couple who applies for a loan with Promise or with any other lending company will naturally wind up in debt, right on the first day of their married life.
A recent study revealed that among married women, those whose weddings cost $20,000 or more were 3.5 times more likely to face divorce than those whose weddings cost only between $5,000 and $10,000. The authors of the study suggested that splurging on weddings could "lead to marital stress caused by debt."
But despite the difficulty in paying back loans, many couples resort to applying for such loans to finance their wedding expenses. Promise teases couples by saying that they could save more if they borrow from the company since they will only pay the principal amount plus a fixed 6 percent interest rate for 36 months with no hidden fees involved instead of using their credit cards which have much higher interest rates. Promise co-founder Brad Vanderstarren noted that a lot of people are currently using "high-cost credit cards or other suboptimal means to pay for their weddings."
But financial advisers insist that it's better to have a cheaper wedding than one where the newly-wed couple will find themselves saddled with debt right on the first day of their married life.
If a couple plans to have a big wedding, they can start saving at least a year before their planned wedding and then use their savings to splurge on their big day if they want to, the advisers say.
