Saving money!!!!?

Question

We have a joint account, and will be getting married in a bout 6 mos. He has awful credit, and I have none. We would love to buy a townhome after we marry- but how do we clean up his credit, build mine and save for the wedding and house in 6 mos??

Answer 1

That's a LOT of questions all rolled into one. Some suggestions:

1) He needs to be current on all debt. Make sure every payment is made on time.

2) You need to establish some credit. Get a credit card, charge something small on it, pay it off. DON'T GET YOURSELF IN DEBT!

3) Saving is the easy one. Put aside some money out of your paychecks BEFORE you start spending money. Open a savings account somewhere (ING DIrect is good) and then start transferring money into the account each time you get a check.

4) You two should start looking at budgeting. It will help you immensely with your money management.

Answer 2

6 months is not even close to enough time to clean up credit. EVERYTHING he is delinquent on will likely need to be PIF or current to get a mortgage.
He should not get his own credit card to build credit right now, he needs to focus on paying off what he has. But you should. Most anyone can get a store credit card. Thats a good place to start. then Shop around to find a good offer for a major credit card (Visa or MasterCard) and apply for it. Buy small things with it and pay it off each month.
Have a small wedding. Shop around for good prices. That way you can focus on what really matters:having a good time with people you care about, paying off debt, and saving for a home.

It is not reasonable to have enough for a reasonable down payment for a house for a couple in which one person has bad credit. The down payment required will be much larger than if you both have good credit. The house can probably wait a little while until you have saved enough for a good down payment.

Since you have a joint checking account, I am assuming you live together. That tells me you probably have most of the things couples register for, for wedding gifts. this presents a unique opportunity for you. Tell people who may be asked (yours and his parents, and the bridesmaids and groomsmen) that you just dont need anything, and would love help getting money together for buying a home. But dont send any requests like that enclosed in your invitation. Its tacky.

I hope this helps. Good luck in your life together

Answer 3

I think that you are putting too much on yourself all at once.
Just planning a wedding is a major stress.
Do you have to have the townhouse right after you're married?
Can you wait a year?
Go to myfico.com and suzeorman.com to get specifics to your situation. Order the kit. I have it and it has helped my husband and I sooooo much!
Good luck and congratulations on the engagement!