It doesn’t matter if you’re the husband or the wife, the breadwinner or the dependent spouse, your finances will be impacted by a divorce. If you pay child support or spousal support, you now have that obligation. If you were a stay-at-home parent, you may now have to work and be dealing with childcare costs for the first time.
There’s no question: The last thing you need right now is for you to be broke, or for your credit to be ruined by the divorce. To have a bright future after the divorce, you must focus on your financial health. Often, this comes down to: 1) saving money, and 2) making more money than you did while married. Here’s how to make both of these happen:
Saving Money After Divorce
There are lot of intelligent ways to save money after divorce. You can even make a game of it. After all, by living within your means, you’ll have more control over your situation and that will equate to less stress.
- Make a post-divorce budget so you know exactly what you need to bring in each month to pay your bills.
- Instead of buying coffee every day or every week, brew it at home and bring it with you to work or outings in a travel mug or thermos.
- Pack your own lunch every day.
- Buy in bulk at stores like Costco.
- Look for free entertainment in your community. This can mean free concerts, festivals, or simply taking a hike in the woods.
- Consider cancelling cable and switching to Netflix instead.
- Shop at thrift stores, yard sales, and estate sales for clothing, furniture, dishes, books, and household decorations.
- Clip coupons for everyday items like toothbrushes, cleaning products, and paper towels.
Making More Money After Divorce
Saving money is great, but making more is even better. To that end, here are some tips on increasing the balance in your bank account:
- Consider selling your engagement ring – it could be worth thousands.
- Ask your boss for a raise. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know!
- At work, see if you can become more trained so you’ll be more valuable. This could mean obtaining additional training at work, or through college classes, or an online course or certification.
- If you have a side passion, such as photography, babysitting, working on cars, blogging, or cooking, get a side hustle going or start doing freelance work.
- Go back to school and learn a new trade or skill, or enhance the skills you already have so you can earn more.
- If you’re in a dead-end job, find another one.
Related: Getting Back on Your Feet After Divorce
For more divorce tips, contact Cairns Law Offices to meet with a member of our legal team. Ask about our $299 no-fault divorces!
