In addition, the study found that 86% of couples married five years or less started off in debt.
We spoke to Josh Hastings, a financial writer who combined his debt with that of his wife Lauren Hastings. Here's how it's gone for them so far.When Josh and Lauren Hastings got married about three years ago, Josh had $21,000 in debt — $14,000 from, $5,000 on his car, and $2,000 on a small personal loan that he used to make a down payment on an investment property.
Hastings said while he doesn't recommend refinancing or consolidating debt, he does recommend treating your finances as one: one marriage, one house. However, Hastings said they are fine-tuning their debt management all the time. For instance, they didn't refinance their student loans until it was financially advantageous.
As of this writing, the Hastings have $123,000 left to pay for their student loans, $9,000 in a home equity line of credit, and $125,000 remaining on their townhome.