Financial Fresh Start

Divorce fundamentally changes your financial picture. Before you can plan forward, you need to understand where you stand now.

Take inventory:

• Income: Your salary, support received, investment income, any other sources
• Assets: What you received in the divorce—cash, investments, retirement, property
• Debts: What you're responsible for—mortgage, credit cards, loans, etc.
• Monthly expenses: What your actual costs are now (housing, utilities, food, transportation, etc.)

Key questions to answer:

• Is your income enough to cover your basic expenses?
• Do you have an emergency fund?
• Are you contributing to retirement?
• What debts need attention?
• How has your credit been affected?

Common financial challenges after divorce:

• Reduced household income (from two earners to one)
• Increased expenses (maintaining separate households)
• Depleted savings from divorce costs
• Lost credit history if accounts were in spouse's name
• New expenses (childcare, insurance)

Get organized:

Create a financial filing system and gather all relevant documents: bank statements, bills, retirement statements, tax returns, insurance policies.