Getting Married in less than 2 months, need advice..

[Buckeyes_Doc]

Re: Getting Married in less than 2 months, need advice..

There you go! She sounds like a keeper.

One good thing is her moms side of the family has a lot of money, so I'm banking on the wedding gifts lol.

[Scottdau]

Re: Getting Married in less than 2 months, need advice..

One good thing is her moms side of the family has a lot of money, so I'm banking on the wedding gifts lol.

You can't beat that. I am sure you will rack up on gifts. We did! Big time!

[sportsdude]

Re: Getting Married in less than 2 months, need advice..

if you're going to be in Ohio and you need to get some stuff at the Home Depot or Best Buy or a store like that, I suggest buying a gift card to those places at Giant Eagle (a grocery store chain here) and keep your receipt. I'm not sure how exactly this works but you can enroll in Giant Eagle's fuel perks program so anything you buy there will take off a small amount of money the next time you fill up gas at a Giant Eagle gas station.

I was talking with my barber and she said she only buys gift cards from Giant Eagle (the groceries tend to be overpriced) and hasn't paid for gas in a year because of the fuel perks program. At the very least you could probably get a free tank of gas out of it.

[madscientist]

Re: Getting Married in less than 2 months, need advice..

I was 22 when I married my wife, and we just had our 10 year anniversary. We were also a military family when we first got married, so I can sympathize with your situation. The best advice I can give is not to get in debt buying new, state of the art appliances etc. Do not be too proud to contact the Navy about assistance they can provide as far as some things on the cheap. Check out the Goodwill stores, Salvation Army, flea markets, etc. to find good deals on barely used and like new appliances and furniture. Whenever you go into stores like the BX or Wal-mart, etc., check out the clearance sections for good deals. Slickdeals.net is also a good bargain hunting site for EVERYTHING.

Good luck with the marriage, and remember that when things get rough in your marriage (and they will at some point,) don't say anything that you will regret later. When you are arguing and it gets heated, take a step back and ask why are we arguing and is it really that serious to stress each other out? Laugh, and give her a hug and tell her you love her.

[Brandon13]

Re: Getting Married in less than 2 months, need advice..

Run!

Or check Craigslist.

[Jonesy]

Re: Getting Married in less than 2 months, need advice..

Don't listen to all these guys saying run, marriage (if done properly) can be a beautiful thing.

Why don't you consider having a "wishing well" where your wedding guests give you cash rather than have people give you gifts. That way you get money to buy the things you want and you don't end up with 4 of the same crappy toaster etc. My wife and I did that and ended up with nearly 5k from the wedding which helped set us up and buy the big appliances we needed.....

[KG]

Re: Getting Married in less than 2 months, need advice..

Get a credit card at IKEA and go crazy. Their stuff is cheap (price & quality) but it should last you long enough until you can get better stuff.

[DC]

Re: Getting Married in less than 2 months, need advice..

https://www.slickdeals.net

[Hassan Darkside]

Re: Getting Married in less than 2 months, need advice..

If you ain't no punk, holla "WE WANT PRENUPT! WE WANT PRENUPT!"

But for real, just ask/listen to DC.

[N51_rob]

Re: Getting Married in less than 2 months, need advice..

Well what is your pay grade? Are you sure that base housing is the best bet. You can probably search and find a nice small apartment together that will be cheaper than you BAH. What is your current financial situation? You can get a one month advance on your BAH that you can use to purchase needs (like a bed) that will have to be paid back in a year and you have to get command approval through a special request chit. You may also want to set up a meeting with the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society. Also may I ask how old you are? I always counsel my younger sailors when ever they talk about getting married early on in their naval careers. I'm not going to do that to you, but I will still try to provide you with as many resouces as I can.

You may want to look into an Star Card. I don't recommend that at all but it is an available option to furnish you place. You can usually get 10% off first day purchases, but should you start to fall behind they WILL send letters to your command which is a major hassle.

Do you bank with Navy Federal? They have very competitive rates and will work with you and can have your payments deducted every 1st and 15th. Another option to look into.

If you are looking for serious help you can PM me. I am a CFS here at Ft. Meade and would be happy to help you out, before you get married and find yourself in trouble.

[Buckeyes_Doc]

Re: Getting Married in less than 2 months, need advice..

Well what is your pay grade? Are you sure that base housing is the best bet. You can probably search and find a nice small apartment together that will be cheaper than you BAH. What is your current financial situation? You can get a one month advance on your BAH that you can use to purchase needs (like a bed) that will have to be paid back in a year and you have to get command approval through a special request chit. You may also want to set up a meeting with the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society. Also may I ask how old you are? I always counsel my younger sailors when ever they talk about getting married early on in their naval careers. I'm not going to do that to you, but I will still try to provide you with as many resouces as I can.

You may want to look into an Star Card. I don't recommend that at all but it is an available option to furnish you place. You can usually get 10% off first day purchases, but should you start to fall behind they WILL send letters to your command which is a major hassle.

Do you bank with Navy Federal? They have very competitive rates and will work with you and can have your payments deducted every 1st and 15th. Another option to look into.

If you are looking for serious help you can PM me. I am a CFS here at Ft. Meade and would be happy to help you out, before you get married and find yourself in trouble.

I'm a E-4 and I've decided base housing is my best bet. The reasons why... I leave in March of next year. Therefore my lease would only be for 7 months, most places here I've looked at have told they can do only do a minumum of a year. Also I live in Newport, RI and every apartment here I've seen runs at least $1200 per month. My BAH Rate would be 1350 per month so I wouldnt be profiting too much.

Also I'm really impressed with base housing. It's actually located off base, we have 3 small base housing communities located about 5 miles from the main base. 2 bedrooms, bathroom, refrigerator, everything already paid for.

I'm going to have enough to buy already and going to have to make a big adjustment to my budget. I firgure If I live in base housing then thats one less thing I have to worry about because its already taken care.

I'm also 20 yeard old by the way, and my current financial situation is good. I have started saving, I owe nothing on my credit card, I have 4 bills per mont that I can easily pay. I'm not living paycheck to paycheck like a lot of my friends are.

EDIT: And yes I do use NFCU, I have a checking & savings account with them. Also my car loan is with them. I'm thinking of getting a personal load. NFCU is great.

[N51_rob]

Re: Getting Married in less than 2 months, need advice..

Just a quick FYI moreso for the future. On leases. Your orders will get you out of leases at no penalty to you. Many people don't know that.

It sounds like you've got you head on your shoulders from a $$$ stand point. Where will you be stationed next? Have you discussed that with your future wife? Like I said if you have any questions from a navy stand point feel free to fire away. You seem smarter than most E-4's that I deal with on a daily basis, hell even some of my E-5's.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Getting Married in less than 2 months, need advice..

My advice would to be on the look out for garage sales and estate sales. They be having some very good expensive furniture at estate sales for like 1/3 the original price. I got a $600 dinning room table for $180 at an estate sale before. It came with the 8 chairs too.

[TIm]

Re: Getting Married in less than 2 months, need advice..

First off....Congrats on getting Married man!!!! That's really cool.

I would definately hit up yard/garage sales on the weekends. You can find some great stuff. Just have a plan on where to go and get there EARLY!!!!

Craigslist...Meh you can find some good stuff but be careful where you get it and Where you meet the person to pick it up....

Check your local Home improvment warehouses IE Lowes,HDepot. They always have some decent clearance prices. Sometimes ask if you can get more of a discount on their clearance . I Got a Nice side by side Whirlpool gold refr for 899. Regular price was 1599...Still brand new. Just the display model.

[Buckeyes_Doc]

Re: Getting Married in less than 2 months, need advice..

Just a quick FYI moreso for the future. On leases. Your orders will get you out of leases at no penalty to you. Many people don't know that.

It sounds like you've got you head on your shoulders from a $$$ stand point. Where will you be stationed next? Have you discussed that with your future wife? Like I said if you have any questions from a navy stand point feel free to fire away. You seem smarter than most E-4's that I deal with on a daily basis, hell even some of my E-5's.

I'll be stationed with 2nd Marine Division in North Carolina in March and spend 2 years there (If I dont re-enlist) before I get out of the Navy. And yes me and my Fiance have discussed it, and I continue to tell her if she doesnt like it in Rhode Island its only short term because we will be moving within 7 months of us getting married.

Not sure if you can answer this but before I apply to housing do I need a marriage liscense? I mean I know I'll need one to show I'm married but I want to try to get everything settled before she moves up here to make everything easier upon returning from leave. So my question is can I apply for housing now, even though I wont be married for 2 months? Not sure how long this whole process takes. Thanks.