Plan well and laugh after wedding

Calm is yet to return to Derrick’s household two months after his wedding.

Looking back at his big day, he can hardly remember a task that was harder to accomplish all his life.

He almost lost interest in the event when the escalating budget pushed him to seek additional sources of money to finance the ceremony, despite having already taken a personal loan from his bank for the event.

But even as the occasion drew closer, he was often greeted with pleas from wedding committee members to consider cutting the size of the budget since they too had exhausted their resources — but still the deficit was large.

Like a majority of bridegrooms, he ignored the suggestion and opted to go for another loan from the bank, without informing his bride, to raise the deficit so as not to compromise the standard of his dream wedding.

Fortunately, the bank gave him the loan and he witnessed his dream wedding become reality.

After the wedding, Derrick decided to move into a new residential suite where rent was higher.

Two months down the line and Derrick is now overburdened by debt and is forced to live beyond his means, by borrowing from colleagues to meet his monthly expenses which have surpassed his take home income.

The bank still deducts a big chunk of money from his salary to service the loan.

Derrick’s distress has elicited frequent quarrels with his new bride, with the couple now wallowing in financial difficulty.

Between August and December, the peak wedding season in Kenya, this scenario becomes familiar and is replayed many times over by new couples.

Many new couples have plunged straight into quarrels, or outright divorce, soon after their honeymoon is over.

Often, they enter into the new phase of married life with difficulty beyond their imagination.

This usually emanates from lack of financial planning when it comes to weddings.

Financial planning is not only vital for investments, savings and retirement, but also weddings.