Divorcing your Ex … cess

For many people, divorce means more than facing a future where you now check the single box. It also includes a future where you must now check the bottom line, as in live on a budget. And even though budgeting is now necessary, not many people do it. According to a 2013 Gallup poll, only one in three Americans prepare a detailed household budget.

As a CDFA® practitioner, I’ve seen cases where a spouse has not had to consider the household finances for many years so facing that change can feel intimidating. Where do you start? How do you go from a carefree lifestyle where you had more than enough for the ends to meet, to watching every penny? One of the first places to start is in your mind. Take the leap and go from looking at your budget as a punitive chore that you have to face because of divorce, to a new chance to set your future financial goals.

As you probably know by now, part of the divorce process includes looking at your spending and earnings to see if maintenance is needed or even possible. Use this opportunity to do a deep personal dive and look at what you are spending your money on. Is this where you want to spend your money? Are there things that you find more important that you would rather spend your money on? Are the things that you deem necessities really necessary?

 A great benefit of this process is you really identify what is coming in and going out. Now you can truly determine if there is enough and take steps accordingly. Maybe it’s not enough and you need to decide on a course for a new career. Maybe you find that it is enough and now you will hold yourself accountable and save the extra income versus spending it. The beauty part is the choice is now yours and you can use this life changing event as the point where you take a better route to financial empowerment.

Be sure that you have the proper professionals on your team to guide you through the process. You can contact us if you need references or help. But the most important thing you can do is take a step forward. Do not ignore the finances. A lot of times, it may feel like we don’t have enough, but by just paying attention to where the money goes, you may find that you have plenty.