Your finances are an important factor in your ability to keep your life together after a divorce. You should start thinking about how you are going to handle money matters as soon as you think that you might have to divorce.
One of the most important things for you to do is to evaluate where your budget stands based on your income and expenses. It is possible that you won’t be able to count on spousal support income from your ex. If you are awarded child support or spousal support, or alimony pendente lite, and if your ex actually pays it, you will have a bit more wiggle room in your finances. Planning to live your life without that money can help make things easier for you, if you don’t count on it to make ends meet.
Make sure that you are keeping up with your credit report and score. This is going to be an important factor if you need to purchase a new home or vehicle. There is a good chance that you will take a hit to your credit at first because your debt-to-income ratio might suffer as a result of the loss of your ex’s income. It should be possible to overcome this with a good payment history. You may also uncover debts which your spouse incurred which you did not even know existed.
Until life settles down after the divorce, you might want to cut down on impulse spending. This could actually help you considerably in the future because you can put the money saved on daily purchases like a cup of coffee into an account for self-care. For example, if you spend $4 on a coffee each day, you can put back $120 every 30 days for a total of $1,460 in 365 days.
Ultimately, you have to protect your future when your marriage ends. Planning for the financial aspects can go a long way to ensuring ongoing stability. Call us to start helping you with your plan today.
Source: Our Family Wizard, “10 Debt Management Strategies,” accessed May 24, 2018
