<prompt> Human: Im a 22 yr old college student looking to figure out how best to approach my financial situation in preparation for marriage. I have some personal loans to family members that I used to get a reliable car a few years back. Ideally my girlfriend would like me to pay off those family members before we got married but I dont know if that will happen. We are thinking about getting married next fall 2013 and would like to start off right. We are willing to postpone a little if it provides more financial security. I havent always been the smartest when it has come to finances but Ive never been afraid of working hard, but while attending school Ive only been able to make ends meet, after financial aid. Just started using mint to budget money and set goals. Girlfriend is graduating this quarter and has a part time gig in HR lined up for the rest of the year. I have 2years at most left in engineering major. Here are the numbers:LOANS:Brother 1600 remainingtold me he is willing to forgive the debt, but Im stubborn and want to pay him, currently paying off at 30monthGrandparents: 2000Sister: 500School loans:24,300 unsubsidized student loan, dont have to start paying back until 6months post graduationGirlfriends student loans: estimated guess: 35,000, dont have to start paying back until 6months post graduationASSETS:2,500 savings7500car worthIncome: student job 700month after taxesPost college: possible job lined up 50,000yr3,500 Girlfriend savingsMONTHLY BILLS:Phone: 35Rent: 285Community dinnerInternettvutility; 80Food budgeted: 100Girlfriend wants simple ring, simple wedding, simple honeymoon. We try to live frugally, cook meals and share food bills with apartment mates. Im really trying to be smart about this. My Parents are fairly well off but lower class according to romney and would help out with weddinghoneymoon. Her parents are not. Would not like to rely on either set.Some of you might say skip out on paying my brother, and wait for grandparents to die, I feel thats morally wrong on both accounts.I would be willing to give investing a try, but from what Ive read Ive got another 5-10yrs before that sounds like a viable option.Need your help in planning, school loan repayment, advice for financially secure marriage cheaper vs more expensive schooling, taxes......I feel like Im in over my head, I dont even know where to start.Sorry for long post, creative spellinggrammar courtesy of iPhone.  <response>: I think it would be a good idea to pay off any personal loans before you plan a wedding. If I had loaned you money for school and saw that you were spending your income on a wedding rather than paying me back, Id be annoyed. I dont think it will take you very long to pay these off and save up for wedding expenses. Youll also want to get your 3-6 month emergency fund in place as an early priority.Be careful with any plans to take wedding money from family. They often take control and make demands that make it not worth it. People go CRAZY with weddings. A pretty common thing is your family will say theyre contributing X, but then want 50 people you barely know to be invited and it completely negates the extra money. I used to hang out on theknot.com boards when I was planning my wedding and problems like this came up all the time. Just plan only a wedding you can afford with the cash you have so no one can pull an ultimatum.Also, this is just a personal opinion so feel free to ignore it entirely, but I would wait until youre both out of school and working for a year before even talking about marriage. Youre both making huge life changes right now in graduating and its a good idea to see what youre both like in your new identities and make sure your future goals are still lines up before settling on a commitment. 