The engaged couple from Mililani certainly had a romantic start: High school friends in Guam, they each found their way to Hawai'i. They got reacquainted — and sparks flew.

By next May, the two 30-year-olds plan to become husband and wife in front of 150 friends and family.

There's just one hitch to their rosy start in married life: They have a mountain of mostly college-related debt, and the wedding would add thousands of dollars more.

"We need help," Santos said. "We're afraid we'll never get out of our debt hole and have money to retire and have a family."

Santos is a counselor for the state government and Cadiz is an AutoCAD operator. Together, they earn more than $55,000 a year. But they have a five-figure debt burden. And while they have an emergency stash and some money in retirement accounts, the couple poured the rest of their savings into a townhouse last year.

Santos and Cadiz would like to pay for their wedding, start a family in two years, buy a car, purchase a house closer to town, pay off their debt and retire with enough money to travel.

Will they be able to pull it off?

"It's going to be a long road. But there's light at the end of the tunnel," said Ryan Holt, an Edward Jones investment representative in Pearl City who met with them recently to sort out their finances. "They have time on their side."

Holt asked the couple to fill out two work sheets — one for their budget, assets and liabilities, the other to list their financial goals. The purpose is to make them aware of where they stand financially, how they are spending their money and to find areas where they can save.

"Most people don't actually know what their net worth is," Holt said.

Your net worth is your financial report card. Net worth takes assets — cash, investments, house, car, furniture, jewelry and other things you own — and subtracts liabilities such as a car loan, mortgage, credit-card debt and other obligations.

Holt's financial snapshot of Santos and Cadiz showed too much debt, given their income. But it's something the couple had expected.

Santos said their debt came largely from college expenses —they not only had student loans, but they purchased textbooks with credit cards. She graduated in 1998 and he finished school in 2001. They also charged car repairs.

The couple doesn't splurge on designer clothing or shoes, and they don't go on expensive vacations. But they do buy small things and eat dinners out; it's easier because they both work in town and have to commute home. Over time, these little costs add up, especially if the credit-card bill isn't paid off every month.

Joven Cadiz and Shirleen Santos are engaged, and they're planning to put on a wedding seven months from now that will cost five figures. Hanging over their heads is a mountain of debt, most of it from their years in college. Photos by Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

They can use the loan to pay off more than half of their credit cards. The home-equity loan would have a lower interest rate, and the interest payment is tax deductible. Consolidating their loans cuts their monthly credit-card payments nearly in half.

The couple could use the extra cash to pay off debt, or deposit it in a special account for wedding costs.

But since the big day is less than eight months away, Holt said, they would have a tough time saving enough for their five-figure wedding day.

So he would like them to consider spending less on the event.

Holt said they can scale back on the food, invite fewer guests or even elope. Santos said they talked about reducing the number of guests, but in the end decided against it. They already tried to save on food by choosing a less-expensive private club for the reception, Santos said.

The two don't know if they'll get much (or any) financial help from their parents, Santos said. They haven't asked for assistance and prefer to leave it up to the families.

The advisor also suggested that they carefully watch their spending on little things — such as buying a cup of coffee every day.

"You get a mocha at Starbucks and it costs $3. You buy a biscuit for $1.50. At work, you get a diet Coke and Snickers. Before you know it, you've spent $10 a day," Holt said. "It's the latte factor."

If you spend $10 daily five days a week, you would be $2,600 poorer in a year.

Instead, he challenged them to save even just $7 a day for a year — they'd end up with $2,555.

To minimize the lure of using credit cards that they'd prefer not to cut up, Holt suggested putting them in a zip-closure bag filled with water and freezing it. It's still there if they need it, but harder to access.

"It's usually impulse buying that gets people in trouble," he said. "Set up barriers to spending."

Alternatively, one spouse could hold the other accountable for any spending, Holt said.

Right now, the couple has paid off both their car loans. But being at least 10 years old, the vehicles could produce hefty repair bills, Holt said. At some point, it would make more sense to replace the cars instead of repairing them. When that time comes, Holt would like the couple to consider buying a used car instead of a new one.

They also might think about putting off starting a family for a few years and delay buying a house closer to town, which tends to be more expensive, Holt said.

If they don't wish to put off certain purchases, or they desire to pay off their debt faster, they might consider getting second jobs, he said.