EDITORIAL: Say ‘I do’ to living within your means

It is wedding season again, and across Namibia, young couples are preparing to say “I do” in ceremonies that increasingly resemble competitions in extravagance. The bigger the venue, the longer the guest list, the more elaborate the décor, the greater the perceived status.

But behind the Instagram-worthy photographs and champagne toasts, some newlyweds are quietly walking into marriage carrying something far less glamorous. Debt.

There is nothing wrong with celebrating love. A wedding is an important milestone, and families should be allowed to mark it with joy, culture and dignity. The problem begins when a celebration becomes a public performance – one designed less around the couple and more around impressing friends and social-media audiences.

Namibia is going through difficult economic times. The cost of living is high, household incomes are under pressure and many young people already struggle to establish themselves financially. In such an environment, borrowing heavily to finance a single day of celebration is difficult to justify.

A wedding may last a day. The debt can last for years. And debt does not always remain a financial problem. It can become a relationship problem. 

There is a cruel irony in spending tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars – or borrowing heavily – to celebrate a union, only to spend the first years of that union worrying about how to pay for the celebration.

Social media has made comparison almost unavoidable. We see carefully curated weddings, and are tempted to believe that everyone else is living better than we are. But people rarely post the loan agreements, unpaid bills and family disputes behind the photographs.

A modest wedding is not a lesser wedding. A simple celebration paid for without crippling debt may be a far greater foundation for a marriage than an extravagant ceremony financed by anxiety.