Posted by Mike Smith :: September 22, 2008 @ 9:07 am

We may think that the process of getting married starts with a proposal, but it actually starts even sooner: picking out (and paying for) the engagement ring. As you will see, this is the first of many expenses that is an ideal candidate for financing via social lending sites.

Buying an engagement ring is likely the largest purchase a young man will have ever made. It certainly was for me. Few men can afford to pay cash for a ring, particularly if they follow the rule of thumb that you should spend about two months’ salary. Financing the purchase with a credit card – or worse yet with a store card from the jeweler – can make an already expensive purchase much larger. A P2P loan can offer a much better rate and most social lending sites allow you to borrow sufficient funds to cover the purchase. For example, a $25,000 loan represents at least two months’ salary for anyone making less than $150,000 per year.

Using a social lending site doesn't need to stop with your engagement ring. All other wedding-related expenses, from the dress to the flowers, the photographer to the reception and even the honeymoon are also popular reasons to turn to peer-to-peer lending. Browsing through loan listings on these sites, you'll see quite a few that are related to wedding expenses. The reason is quite simple: weddings are expensive. Paying for large expenses at the lowest available interest rate will make them as affordable as possible.

They say that arguments over money are one of the largest contributors to the high divorce rate in our country. So get your marriage off to the right financial start and use a P2P lending site to finance your wedding-related expenses.