Month: October 2019

Home Buying Post-Divorce

Deciding to move after your divorce can be a hard decision to make. However, before you can do any moving, you’ll have to prepare for home buying post-divorce. Taking the time to prepare will help you get a house which will fit you best…

Home Buying Post-Divorce

Organize your finances

Before you can do any home buying post-divorce, you need to organize your finances. Divorce can take a bit of a toll on your financial situation. Not only will you have to worry about costs related to the divorce, but you might also have to adjust to a single-income household.

All of these changes mean that you need to be extra-organized before looking at any homes. Determine what your new budget is going to look like, and how a home might factor into that. Depending on your finances, it might be better to wait a bit to buy a new home.

Pick a good location

It’s also important to remember that home buying post-divorce shouldn’t be done on a whim. Buying a home is not just a big purchase, but it’s also an investment for your future. You need to make sure that your new home is in an area which will benefit you and your family going forward.

For instance, it’s good to see if you can get a home that is close to a new job. Also, if you have kids, you want to make sure the new home is close to some good schools. It’s always helpful to do some extra research and look at what the area around the potential new home is like.

Consider you needs

You’ll need to consider what exactly you need from a home when doing home buying post-divorce. If you have a lot of kids, then maybe you want a home that has enough rooms and space in the yard. However, if it’s just going to be you, you might want something a bit smaller, and in turn, a bit cheaper.

The key thing is you don’t want to get stuck with an expensive new home right after your divorce. Your finances are going to be at their most shaky during this time. Therefore, stick to what you need out of a home versus splurging on something expensive.

Post-Divorce Checklist

Going through a divorce can be pretty tiring. Once things are over, you might you can start putting things behind you. However, there still will be things you’ll need to take care of afterwards. That’s why it helps to set up a post-divorce checklist, which can help you see what you need to take care of, and when…

Post-Divorce Checklist

Cover everything

Your personal post-divorce checklist will be centered around what you’ll need to take care of in the upcoming future. However, it’s key to not to forget anything. Some things might appear to be more important than others. Still, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t include them on your checklist.

An easy way to do this is by going through the main categories of things you’ll need to cover. For instance, this includes things such as asset splitting, financial matters, and anything related to the kids. It always helps to play it safe and write down anything you think will be important on your checklist.

Prioritize the events

Once you have everything down on your post-divorce checklist, you’ll then want to prioritize things. In order to do that, you have to look at what’s time-sensitive and what isn’t. For instance, if something is due in 7 days, versus something that’s due in 2 months, then it’s clear what should be prioritized!

Still, there might be some things you want to prioritize that don’t necessarily have a deadline. Something which falls into this category would be bank accounts. While splitting bank accounts doesn’t really have a deadline, it’s something you’ll want to do quickly for extra financial security.

Remember the small stuff

Most people think their post-divorce checklist should only focus on the big, major items for each category. However, some of those “small” things could end up becoming big deals if you neglect them. Therefore, while they might be low down on your priorities, don’t forget to get around to them!

A checklist is a great way to get things which might seem overwhelming all nice and organized. That way, you can begin to take care of these matters without it becoming too stressful to handle. This will also help you begin to achieve the new goals you set for yourself in your post-divorce life.

Divorce Indicators: Common Signals

For a lot of couples, divorce is something which catches them by surprise. This makes them try and think about if there were any tells they should’ve seen coming. In fact, there’s a handful of divorce indicators which can signal that a divorce might be on the horizon…

Divorce Indicators: Common Signals

Thinking about divorce

One of the most common and most direct divorce indicators is if you’re constantly thinking about leaving your partner. At first, this seems pretty straightforward. If you’re already thinking about splitting up, then divorce might seem like it’s a guarantee. However, many people who think like these don’t see it that way.

A lot of times, these people will put off bringing the topic up. “I’ll bring it up tomorrow” is a common occurring thought which never materializes. Still, once those thoughts begin to become more and more common, it’s in both of your best interests to take things to the next step of action.

Infidelity

Infidelity is also another one of the common divorce indicators. This applies to both you and your partner. If you begin to consider having an affair, or find your spouse is having one, then it shows that the trust in your marriage has been eroded.

Once this trust has been lost, it is very hard to repair it. Many times, it’s also an indicator of some deeper, underlying issue in the marriage. These could be problems about attention, intimacy, happiness, or just feeling valued. It’s always better to end things in your current relationship before engaging in this sort of behavior.

Constant arguments

Divorce indicators don’t just pop up out of nowhere. Often times, they start out small, and gradually become worse and worse until divorce is inevitable. Constant arguing is one of these indicators that’s like this.

At first, things might start small with some more bickering than usually. Eventually, this can involve into constant arguments over even the most trivial of issues. In fact, things can get so bad, that just the sight of your spouse makes you angry. Once things escalate to this point, the healthiest option might be to just call things off.

Moving Post-Divorce: Make It Easier

The time after your divorce might be one full of change. One of the most common changes involves moving post-divorce. However, moves can be a bit tricky to pull off, especially after all that’s happened. That’s why there’s a few areas in particular you want to focus on…

Moving Post-Divorce: Make It Easier

Do some decluttering

Having just too much stuff is a common issue people who plan on moving post-divorce run into. It’s no surprise that the more things you have to move, the harder it’ll be to get it all taken care of. This can especially be a problem if you’re using a moving company, as they may charge you quite a bit to move all those things.

Therefore, it helps to do some decluttering. Use this time to get rid of things you don’t need or want any more. This is especially true for things related to your marriage that you want to get rid of. You can sell these things to get a bit of extra cash, or donate them so others can make use of them.

Don’t forget to clean

Not everyone really enjoys constantly cleaning up around their homes. As a result, you can imagine that those moving post-divorce into a new home especially don’t want to. Cleaning, when it feels like a near-constant occurrence, can cause a lot of stress and frustration. Still, it doesn’t have to be such a pain for you.

One way to make cleaning easier is by setting up a schedule. Pick certain spots of the house to clean each day instead of doing it all at once. That way, it won’t feel so overwhelming. Doing your cleaning this way can help keep you relaxed and your new home looking nice and tidy.

Make it your own

The trickiest aspect of moving post-divorce is making your new home feel like it’s really “your” home. After all, you might’ve just moved from a place you’ve lived at for years. Trying to make a brand new place feel the same can seem like an impossible task at first.

However, you now have the ability to really make your new home into what you want. You won’t have to worry about compromising on room designs and decorations. Take advantage of this and set your house up according to your taste, and soon it’ll feel like it should.