Mellody's Mail: Marriage and Money

Ideally, you want to pay off those credit cards with the highest interest rates first and always pay more than the minimum to pay off the debt more quickly. Additionally, you should both start using your debit card or cash for purchases instead of credit cards to ensure that you are only spending what you have in the bank. This approach will force you to finance your purchases from your actual cash flow and prevent you from buying things you cannot really afford.

With regard to your retirement savings, in addition to maxing-out your 401(k) contributions, I recommend that you automatically defer a portion of each paycheck to a mutual fund or other investment account. I refer to this as "paying yourself first" and recommend it to everyone who is interested in saving for the future. With as little as $50 a month, you can start a lifelong practice of saving and investing which will benefit you tremendously over the long term.

Finally, after you pop the question, you may want to consider an extended engagement. A long engagement gives you more time to get your finances in order and pay for items as they arise. And, with the average cost of a wedding around $22,000, the extra time will allow you to avoid going into further debt as a result of wedding expenses. I wish you both the best of luck for a debt-free future together!

E-mail Mellody with your personal finance questions.

Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Capital Management (arielmutualfunds.com) in Chicago, is Good Morning America's personal finance expert. Ariel associates Matthew Yale and Aimee Daley contributed to this report.