Everyone told us that once we were married, things would change. They said that we wouldn’t spend as much time together, we would act differently around one another because we would be more comfortable with each other, and that we would disagree on lots of little things. Now, perhaps I am a bit too optimistic, but none of these things have happened, and I don’t forsee them happening any time in the near future. Is it too early in our marriage for any of these things to pop up? I wish there was someone I could get advice from, someone who has been in a happy marriage for many, many years. But every time I try and talk to a family member, they just say “oh honey, you don’t want my advice.”

Anyway, things are going fantastically. We are both still riding the high of being freshly married, still getting used to saying things like “my husband” and “my wife”. It’s new, and exciting, and absolutely amazing. Of course, there have been more things that popped up without warning. For instance, our first big money decision. We have one computer, and since my husband is an artist he uses it quite a bit. And since he is an artist, he gets first dibs on it. He needs it for work, I use it for leisure. It’s not even a decision in my mind who gets to use it, but it can get frustrating at times. So, we have decided that we want to get another computer, but we don’t have quite enough money in our bank account to cover it right away. We decided that it is about time we acquire some credit, and therefore decided to apply for a credit card through our bank account.

So, today we walk into the bank, hand in hand, quite giddy and enthusiastic, it’s the first large purchase that we have made together! We know exactly which computer we want, and we have largest smiles on our faces; smiles that have been there since the “you may now kiss the bride”. The person behind the desk at the bank takes our information, gives us a congratulations on our recent marriage, and tells us that our application has been declined. The reason: we don’t have any credit. Now, we don’t need this computer, it is purely something that we would use for leisure, but now it has become about the principle of the issue. The sheer nonsense of it struck us both at the same moment. The issuance of credit cards has become such a business unto itself that even bad credit is better than no credit. Does this make any sense? It surely doesn’t to either of us.