In 2002, Kristen Tate decided that debt free was the way to be. With a debt load of $28,000 that included student loans, credit cards, and a car note, Tate, who earned $65,000 as an account manager for a global public relations firm, began to pay triple the minimum payment of $200 each month....

When Aubrey Whitten and Major LeGrand got engaged in May 2008, they knew they wanted a traditional Saturday evening, sit-down dinner reception. But when Whitten, 27, a marketing manager for a publishing company, and LeGrand, 26, a business administrator for a nonprofit, started pricing their...