Divorce, budgeting and property division

One of the most difficult logistical aspects of going through a divorce is trying to figure out the finances. Some people think this is going to be a simple transition, but you might soon discover that going down to one income and having the increase in expenses due to the divorce make this challenging. You have to take the time to set a plan in place that works toward stabilizing your financial future.

Whether you have children or not is one of the primary factors that you need to think about when setting up this plan. You might be able to go down to a bare bones budget for yourself but you still need to provide your children with a similar lifestyle that they are accustomed to. Here are a few things for you to consider when you are building your financial plan:

Create a zero-balance budget

Write out your income and all expenses. You need to include recurring expenses like utilities and rent or mortgage and ones that are only temporary, such as divorce expenses. Once you have this in front of you, determine where every dollar of your income will go. This gives you an idea of where you can spend money and where you might need to trim some expenses.

Look at the property division possibilities

One part of divorce that comes with a lot of decisions is the property division process. When you are going through this, you need to think about how every option is going to affect your financial state right away and into the future. Since you know your budget, you can determine if you can afford the payments and costs associated with certain assets. It might seem like a bad idea to let go of specific assets, but they might cause you stress later if you can’t keep up with the costs that attend them.

Build your own credit

You might need credit to do things you want, such as buying a home. If you don’t already have credit, now is the time to start building it. If you had credit established during your marriage, you may need to shore it up because divorce can have a negative impact on it. Start off by getting a credit card or opening a line of credit. Just make sure that you can make the payments, preferably by paying off the balance monthly.

You might find that you need to adjust your method as time progresses. Just make sure that you continue to make decisions that will benefit your future whether you stay in Ohio or go elsewhere.