Divorce can be rough. In addition to the mental and emotional wringer it can put you through, divorce can also have a huge impact on your pocketbooks.
It’s not uncommon for a divorce to completely imbalance your financial equilibrium, say OK divorce attorneys Strange Law Firm. It can sometimes take years to recover, but the following tips will help you get off to a strong start.
Take Stock of Where You Are Currently
Before you make any financial moves, you’ll want to get your bearings straight. You can start figuring out where you stand financially by tallying up all your current assets, sources of income, and debts. Once you know how much you have, how much you’re bringing in, and what you’re responsible for paying, you can start to plan on how to spend your money.
Make Eliminating Debt a Priority
There’s probably a lot going on in your life, but it will all be made infinitely less stressful once you purge the specter of debt from the background. You might not be able to pay off everything at once, but if you’ve already taken stock of your financial position and know exactly how much you’re able to dedicate to your debts at present.
If you’d like to start paying down your debt more aggressively (which isn’t a bad idea), you might want to see if you have time to dedicate to a side job. Something simple, that you can perform from the comfort of your home, would make for an easy way to bring in extra money so that you can pay your debts faster.
Cut Back on Expenses
Another step you can take to improve your situation is to cut out all your unnecessary expenditures. Tally up your basics — mortgage/rent, car, utilities, internet, health care, and food — then start trimming away all the fat that doesn’t fall into those categories.
If you have any excess that you can sell off, that will help as well. That extra car you aren’t using? Sell it. The fancy hobby stuff you started hoarding while you were married? It might also have to go. Whatever you can do to spend less and earn more will help.
Keep Your Eyes on the Future
It may seem like things are bad at the moment, but these three simple steps can help you improve your situation. Don’t get bogged down by negative vibes, remember that you have friends and family who have your back, and keep pushing forward in your new life.
