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Weddings, on average, are expensive these days. Hugely so. Some would even say ridiculously so, with the average being somewhere around $28,000. That’s a lot of money for a one-day event.

Of course, to many the wedding is the most important day of their lives. They want the big party. The elegance. The amazing food. All of their friends and family in one place, celebrating their happiness. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Unless, that is, you really can’t afford it. Going into huge debt for your wedding is a poor way to start a marriage. Driving your parents into debt for your huge wedding also isn’t so hot an idea.

It’s hugely important that you start planning your wedding by figuring out a reasonable budget, taking into consideration what all contributors can reasonably afford to give. This will very much so vary by family. If you keep up with what you can do, you won’t be starting your lives off together arguing about the debts you’re creating.

One of the challenges to this is that so much of the wedding industry is priced higher than regular services. Just ask around about wedding cakes and compare what you can get regular cakes for. The difference can be significant. Wedding cakes are of course more ornate in most cases, and if they’re tiered they must be made to cope with the weight, but even so the prices can be astounding.

Do not sign on for anything for your wedding without comparing prices first. Sure you may have a dream location, a dream dress, etc., but if they make it so that you cannot stay within your budget there may be more options than you thought at first. And you also may discover that you love a cheaper option just as much as one that cost more.

Check your budget regularly as you do spend money. It’s all too easy for things to get out of hand, and suddenly you have to figure out how to fit the remaining items you want into the budget.

It is, of course, very common to put a lot of these expenses onto credit cards. That’s fine, just make sure that you have a plan for paying them back within a reasonable period. Credit cards are often just the easiest way to pay for things. But debt can be such a strain on a marriage, I really don’t recommend starting out with a lot of it.

Or loading a huge debt onto the bride’s parents. Not terribly fair to them, either.

The simple truth of the matter is that you can plan quite a beautiful wedding on a wide range of budgets. There are always places you can cut back on costs, often family members willing to help out with photography and such, and options all over the place. Don’t force yourself to spend more than is reasonable for your budget.

Most people know that a good credit score can help you in many ways, even if you don’t want to be in debt. It gets you better rates on loans for those purchases for which most of us need a loan, such as car loans and mortgages.

But a lot of people assume that you need to owe money for a time in order to get that credit score. How necessary is that?

I’ll start by noting that a good credit score is a necessity, unless you earn so much money that you can pay outright for every purchase you ever need to make, including a home. But just about everyone needs to borrow money for such a purchase. You should assume that you do need something of a credit history. It goes beyond purchases. It impacts your ability to rent an apartment, insurance rates and sometimes even your career.

However, being in debt is not the only way to build your credit history. You can have credit cards and just pay them off monthly. That’s showing the kind of financial responsibility that lenders want to see too.

Now, if you really, really feel you need to carry a debt to improve your credit score, make it small. As insignificant as possible. At the best interest rate possible. Why should you pay more than you have to if you feel a need to do this?

Do note that I’m not really recommending that, but since many people feel that’s the way to build credit I mentioned it.

The biggest trouble with the theory of carrying debt to build a credit history is that it makes being in debt a comfortable thing. It should never be comfortable, especially if it’s credit card debt. It’s far better to build your credit history without carrying debt if you can manage it.

It is smart to have some credit available to you, but focus more on saving money. A solid savings account can help you through those rough times that would otherwise result in an increase of debt, or even out of control debt.

There are a lot of issues right now with people being so far into debt that they can’t get out. If you don’t have a credit history now, take a lesson from this and think about how you want to manage your credit score over the long term. A habit of debt is not the smartest way to go about it.

News reports now are full of the current credit crunch. Foreclosures are way, way up, and housing prices in some areas are dropping significantly. This is having an impact on all kinds of credit.

But for those of us with credit cards, this is a very good reminder of how carefully we should be using our credit. There’s a right and a wrong way to go about it.

If it hasn’t been a priority before or even if it has, do your best to get your debts paid down. This will give you more flexibility and make you look better if you need credit for something later. Falling home prices can mean good deals when things get a bit better, and if you can continue to manage your credit well, you may be in a good position to take advantage.

The short term impact for many has been that they have to cut spending because they don’t even have access to more credit so they can spend more. Many people have relied for years on credit to keep up lifestyles they couldn’t maintain any other way. It becomes important to spend only on essential items.

This is a time to learn about good spending habits, ones you should keep for a lifetime regardless of the economy. There are right and wrong reasons to use credit.

Good reasons include buying a house. Even if home prices drop significantly, most people would not be able to save enough to buy a home out of their savings. It would take an impractical number of years for most. Doesn’t mean you can’t, but most won’t have that kind of control.

Emergencies are another good reason to use credit. Sometimes there’s just no other way you can get through the situation.

And of course, you should use a little credit just to keep your credit score healthy. Using your credit card and paying it off monthly will help to show that you mean to have good credit.

The bad reasons are of course more fun.

There are the lifestyle reasons, such as keeping up on the latest technology. You NEED that big screen plasma or LCD television, right? The new cell phone even though the old one works? The treadmill you’ll use only as a place to hang your clothes?

Buying something fun isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but particularly now with the credit situation so poor, it’s best to not do so unless you can actually afford what you’re buying. A little extra thought can cut out quite a number of purchases.

Depending on who you ask, this may be an economic hiccup or it could be a much deeper downturn. There’s no way to know which it is yet, but it’s better to plan for the worse situation and be surprised by the better, than to assume the best and get slammed by the worst.