Getting my husband out of debt was essential before we got married

The offers and details on this page may have updated or changed since the time of publication. See our article on Business Insider for current information.

Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate personal loans to write unbiased product reviews.

• Before my husband and I got married, it was essential that we had a plan for financial stability.
• We found ways to save on insurance and other bills, and we streamlined our remaining debts.
• We read a lot of books about personal finance and learned as much as we could about our money.

Before my now-husband Marshall and I officially tied the knot, one important stipulation was getting our finances in order.

One way my husband did that was by consolidating his loans to get out of debt. This included consumer spending, auto loans, and health debt.

Within six months, Marshall increased his credit score from 630 to 750, mainly by consolidating multiple credit cards and an auto loan into a debt consolidation loan with a lower interest rate from a local credit union.

Back then, I had a decent credit score and about $18,000 in student loans, and he had a poor credit score and about the same amount in consumer debt and car debt. He also had other small debts he had hanging around because he was a few years older than me.

We agreed to each pay down our own debts before legally getting married, as poor credit scores could hold us back from getting the best interest rates when we bought a car or a home together.

Here's what we did to tackle Marshall's credit score and debt ratio before officially tying the knot in January 2021 and eventually buying a home.

1. We solidified our budget 

We created spreadsheets for monthly and annual budgets, net worth, and retirement projections. We also made a list of every single debt, even tiny debt, such as a $35 bank overage protection that Marshall regularly used — it turned out that it was dinging his credit score, and he was paying a monthly overdraft fee that neither of us was aware of.

Marshall called major credit bureaus to check his credit record. It turned out a few inaccuracies were holding back his credit score, and he was able to get them deleted with just a phone call.

We shopped around for cheap car insurance and more affordable phone plans, internet, and streaming services. It's worth it to shop around at least once a year. We saved $1,800 annually just on our Xfinity internet bill, plus hundreds more by switching to Nationwide car insurance.

Now that we had our budget spreadsheet, goals, and research done, we were able to take action to streamline finances and minimize debt.

2. We read a lot of books

We went to our local library's personal finance books section to browse and picked out any titles that corresponded with our current financial goals. Even if you only learn one thing, it's worth it to me, and sometimes, a certain author can phrase a complicated topic in a way I've never understood before.

Some of the books my husband read to become financially fit for marriage included "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert T. Kiyosaki, "The Simple Path to Wealth" by JL Collins, "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey, "Retire Inspired: It's Not an Age, It's a Financial Number" by Chris Hogan, "Wealth Secrets of the Affluent" by Christopher R. Jarvis & David B. Mandell, and "Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life" by Gary John Bishop.

3. We streamlined our other debts

Once everything was organized, Marshall consolidated his remaining three loans — two high-interest credit cards and a high-interest car loan with separate banks — together into one personal loan from a local credit union with a much lower interest rate and a single monthly payment that was lower than the former three combined.

At first, this lowered his credit score slightly since he was taking out a new loan and also closing out his older loans. However, in the end, it saved us lots of money just on interest alone, making it easier to pay off the personal loan more quickly than having separate loans with higher interest rates through different providers with separate payments and rates.

Now that our finances are simplified, payments are easier to streamline, keeping our credit scores up. Saving money where we can allows us to to make extra debt payments. We use the avalanche method, meaning we pay off our small debt first. When we've paid it off, we add the small payment money to our next smallest debt until we get to the last one.