I really have no idea why society doesn't put the proper emphasis on the financial side of getting married. Both my parents and my wife's parents taught us nothing about money. Even simple things like the importance of keeping a high credit score never discussed. We had some issues that we found out about after being married, but luckily it wasn't anything that was too expensive and stressful. My wife owed a few grand in student loans that she defaulted on and her debt was taken out of our tax refund last year. We still got a refund, just not the full amount of what we expected, but she's paid off now and we can move forward.
My buddy though, I kinda wish I could tell him that getting married is a huge mistake for him. Both of them work in retail and don't make that great of money. I've overheard that she's six figures in student loan debt, and I don't know how anyone could afford to pay that off in their lifetime working retail. I think she has a degree, but is unmotivated to go out and compete for jobs in that field. Having a great relationship might be something people consider priceless, but jumping into that much debt with someone sure puts pressure on your future.
I couldn't even imagine being married to anyone other than a doctor, lawyer, or some other high earner with that kind of debt. How does someone keep up with the interest payments? I mean if someone owed 100K and their interest rate was 5%, the interest alone would be $417 a month. (My student loans were at 6.8%, which fucking sucked.)
My ex-wife had to pay about $150 in interest each month and every time she missed a payment she was like, "Don't worry there isn't a fee if I don't pay on time." And, I was like, "No, you just added $150 to your principal, every time you are a month late you basically add another month of being in debt."