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Nicole

6 Financial Steps To Take When Planning To Divorce

Please note: This post is sponsored by Diamond Bloggers. All opinions are my own.

Divorce. It’s a tough process. Both emotionally and financially. Especially when it comes to untangling two people’s finances at home. Which why long before the discussion of spousal or child support is awarded or your post-divorce budget is in place, you’ll need to prepare your finances for the work ahead. And because each divorce is unique, specific advice can only come from experts familiar with your case. However, the following tips should point you in the right direction.

Take all non-professional advice with a grain of salt.

It goes without saying that divorce laws vary by state, so be cautious of advice, as well-meaning as it may be, that seems to be a one-size-fits-all solution. Whether found online or received from friends. If you’re unsure of any financial, social, or familiar moves to make pre-divorce, consult with an attorney licensed in your state. They will be able to give you advice on the right first steps to make. You can also look into legal clinics in your area for similar advice as well. Qualified firms, including Huntsville AL divorce attorney. Attorneys specialized in helping to make your divorce proceedings go as smoothly as possible.

Track expenses

As soon as you know divorce is inevitable, it’s advantageous to begin the process of tracking your household income and expenses. This will not only help build a budget post-divorce, but it is also crucial for your attorney, arbitrator, and judge, during the final allocation and dissolution of combines personal assets acquired during the marriage. You should be seeking to accumulate a record of the past months, if not years. including household bills, food, clothing, entertainment, home maintenance, transportation, child care, and other notable expenditures.  And you are just beginning to track your expenses, collecting copies of bank and credit card statements to estimate spending from past years is a great place to start.

You’ll also want to consider your future expenses. Including family holiday expenses, travel costs, vacations, and household expenses, including one-time like replacing major appliances, estimates, and service calls. A good guide to follow is to use previous years’ expenses as a guide, but remember, circumstances change. Such as spending on child care, after-school activities, car insurance, and college tuition rates.

Gather documentation

While gathering copies of vital financial records will help speed up divorce finalizations. Necessary to giving others an accurate telling the story of your marriage’s financial health. Gathering these documents can be tedious and time-consuming, so start as early as possible. Documents including:

  • Checking and savings account statements (within the past year)
  • Retirement account statements (current statements, if contributions haven’t changed)
  • Investment account statements (from the past year)
  • Loan ledgers, including your mortgage, auto loans, and personal loans.
  • Credit card statements
  • 12-months worth of pay stubs
  • Lists of assets and debts brought into the marriage.
  • Lists of accumulated assets since the onset of your marriage
  • 3-4 years of finished income tax returns

While gathering and requesting these documents, keep in mind that documents for any shared accounts from financial institutions or advisors can a source of shared information. In so much as financial advisors are under no obligation to keep your requests confidential. Making this information available and usable by both parties and their legal representation. And should your divorce be contested, be prepared for resistance. In amicable divorces, there is a free exchange of information, but in adversarial situations, one spouse might not release documents unless they’re legally forced to do so. Especially if one spouse controlled the household finances. If you find yourself facing such resistance, be sure to ask your attorney about court-ordered options.

Be financially prudent

While preparing for divorce, be sure to refrain from making big, long-standing financial decisions. As divorce proceedings will determine all sorts of other major financial changes. While it might be tempting to get a jump on adjusting life insurance beneficiaries, it’s often best to wait. As changes to beneficiaries, wills, retirement accounts, and the like will be sorted out during the final divorce decree. And rash changes to such items could cause judges to award your spouse instead.  Making such changes without the blessing of the court could be grounds for criminal contempt charges. So be sure to contact your attorney if you’re unsure about any proposed, long-term financial changes.

Also keep in mind, that much of the financial dissolution of a marriage depends on your state laws. As some states treat all income, assets, and debts as a single financial source. And emptying that source in the weeks and months before your divorce could be detrimental to the overall outcome of your divorce. Often there is no advantage to being the first to empty accounts. Moreover, it will often be in your best interest to remain as financially transparent with your spouse as possible.

Continue to use your accounts, both individual and joint, per your usual level of activity. If you don’t have the money set aside for hiring a divorce attorney and other related expenses, try coming to a mutual agreement with your spouse about each spending a conservative and comparable amount for mutual legal fees and expenses, and if your relationship isn’t amicable, ask your attorney about a legal separation, which would dictate how you both use the money until your divorce is finalized.

Bring on help when needed.

When it comes to getting divorced, it’s paramount to know when it’s time to seek help. This is why changing your mindset to seek out legal aid and legal assistance should be viewed as a proactive measure and not an aggressive order. Because no matter if your divorce is amicable or adversarial, dividing one’s life from another is often too weighty an ordeal for a kitchen table discussion. This is where a lawyer can help by helping you sort through the separation of your lives and finances in a more timely, civil manner.

In addition to your attorney, a certified financial analyst can offer expertise concerning your divorce’s effect will likely have on your current and future financial health. CDFAs can help you to even determine if a divorce is financially feasible, sometimes even before contacting an attorney. A licensed, qualified CDFA can also help you to judge the merits of your divorce settlement and how to best structure it.

Ensure You Are Not Left With Nothing

If you are not able to settle things amicably with your spouse, then you need to protect yourself financially. Ideally, you cannot take money from joint accounts that don’t look like usual spending. As such, you have got to ensure that you are not left with nothing if your spouse is currently trying to keep the money from you. It might be the case that you need to find another job to tide you over until this is final. We know that this isn’t fair, but you don’t want to do anything that will go against you in the divorce like emptying the joint account.

Think about starting a side hustle to keep you on your feet for a while. If you’re crafty, you can look at creating things and selling them on a platform like Etsy, just ensure that you check the Etsy seller fees first to ensure that it is worth it for you. This is money that you have earned after divorce is filed for, and keep a record of this so that they can’t come for it.

While divorce is more than simply dividing debts and liabilities, it’s also very important to talk with a financial expert and legal expert to help prepares your life as you continue on your journey in life sans marriage. So if you are considering a divorce, be sure to consider the before-mentioned financial and legal steps before filing a complaint. Steps that will help you be more prepared for the divorce process and ensure your financial needs are protected during the divorce. Because the more organized you are before filing, the easier your divorce process will be. Now I want to ask, for those contemplating divorce or are in the process of divorcing, are you currently securing your finances with any of the steps listed above? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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Sustainable Energy Tips To Save Money

We all know that it is hugely important to do whatever we can to save energy, as it is one of the most important tasks we face as we try to save the world. But the truth is that keeping your energy usage low is also going to be an important and useful way in which you can expect to save money, and for that reason, you will certainly find it is worthwhile to do so.

A lot of people are aware of this link between low energy usage and low cost, but not as many people really know all of the ins and outs of how to make use of that knowledge. In this post, we are going to try and make it considerably clearer how you might be able to save energy in order to save money, by looking at a few especially useful tips for doing so. You might be pleasantly surprised how easy it is to do this, and keep your financial life as stable as possible.

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Keep Up The Repairs

Although it can be all too easy to allow your home to fall into disrepair in a number of ways, it is always a good idea to try and keep up with any repairs that you do have, so that you can hope to keep the energy usage low. This is of course especially important for certain items in the home which are likely to use a lot of energy but might nonetheless be very important to the proper running of the home. If you live in an area which is so hot that you need air conditioning, then you will know this situation all too well. You need to make sure that you do not allow your air-con to get into a bad state of disrepair, otherwise, it will probably not be working as efficiently as you would hope – and that will cost you dearly over time. Get a free estimate ac repair and have it looked at as soon as possible, to be sure.

Use Less

The less that you use in the first place, of course, the better, and this should, therefore, be the most important thing that you focus on. By ensuring and making a point of using less energy in the home, you can make energy-saving much easier and more streamlined, and ultimately you can ensure that you are saving money in the long term as well. This means cutting down on everything from your heating to your use of water, which you can do by focusing on it and making a point of it with your family wherever possible. You might be surprised just how much you can keep the energy usage down in this way.

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Keep Track

If you are finding it hard to save energy, you will find it is probably considerably easier if you make a point of keeping track of your energy usage throughout the year. You might find there are certain triggers that cause a lot of energy use, and by looking at them you should be able to know where to save energy. This is bound to make a huge difference. Especially depending on the region of the country you reside in.

Such as energy expert and Texas native, Douglas Healy, and his work with sustainable energy advocates that focus on Mid-Western areas, like Round Rock, that play a vital role in progressing forward the much-needed discussion as to the role in the ongoing shift towards renewable energy sources will play in the decades to come, 

Friends, what roles are you playing in creating the shift to renewable energy in your own walk of life?

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3 Ways to Protect Your Family Financially

Your main goal in life is to protect your family from all harm. This is why you don’t let your children ride their bicycles without first putting on helmets, and why you insist that your other half put their feet up and relax whenever they are feeling under the weather. To truly provide your family with the level of protection that they need to live happily and comfortably, however, you need to do more than just safeguard them in a physical sense. To keep your family seriously safe, you also have to protect them from a financial standpoint.

To find out how this can be achieved, be sure to read on:

Budget 

Sometimes, you will have to go without certain luxuries and amenities in your personal life if you want to ensure that your family members have everything they want and need to remain comfortable. It is for this reason that you should consider placing a budget upon your spending.

Rest assured, you can still have fun on a budget! This can be achieved by:

  • Staying local and exploring your hometown
  • Enjoying more nights in
  • Taking cash and leaving your debit/credit card at home
  • Making use of vouchers and coupons
  • Booking advance tickets online
  • Learning to say no

Grow an Emergency Fund

As stated by Entrepreneur, it is essential that you have an emergency fund to fall back on at all times. With a rainy day fund in place, you won’t have to worry about your family finances being stretched too thin in the event of a disaster.

To grow a fund that will not prove itself useful in unexpected emergencies, you must:

  • Set yourself monthly saving goals
  • Keep whatever change you are handed
  • Declutter your checking account
  • Pick up a supplemental income
  • Save your tax refunds
  • Assess and adjust your 401(k) contributions

Pay Your Bills

Paying your bills is one of the most important things that you can do in your bid to protect your family from a financial standpoint. First and foremost, staying on top of the money that you owe will allow your family to retain the standard of living that they want, deserve, and are used to. Also, keeping up with your outgoings will keep you away from the sharp end of debt, which will ultimately help you to steer clear of having your family’s worldly belongings repossessed.

Should you ever find yourself in a position where you cannot stump up enough cash to pay off a certain bill, but know you have money coming in soon, you should consider taking out a payday loan. Don’t have a great credit score? That doesn’t need to matter, as the credit broker Cash Lady can help you to secure a loan no matter what state your rating is in.

Your families are your pride and joy, which is why you would do absolutely anything to protect them from danger. To perform this all-important task, it’s essential that you do all you can to keep your family finances on track at all times.

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Cosy Indoor Activities to Enjoy During the Winter

There is nothing better than enjoying a cozy night in when the weather outside is less than appealing. Tucking yourself into warm blankets, making hot chocolate and spending time at home with your loved ones is something you truly love to do. If you’re trying to find something fun to do during a winter weekend, there are so many different activities to choose from. You don’t have to break the bank with anything expensive either. Here is some inspiration for your next cozy night in.

Marvelous Movies

If you’re trying to be savvy and save money, you probably don’t want to venture out to the movies or the theater during the winter months. You can have an equally enjoyable experience in the comfort of your home. Take a look at TroyPoint and you will soon discover how to download your favorite television shows and movies straight to your device. You can have an entire marathon lined up which will make your evening even more enjoyable!

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Brilliant Board Games

If you are spending an evening at home with the family, then why not enjoy a family board game night? You can pull out the classics such as Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit; you will soon start to see everybody’s competitive sides! This is definitely an inexpensive and super fun way to spend your winter evenings at home.

Creative Cooking

Getting creative in the kitchen is not only good for your health but it is so rewarding too. Spending an afternoon cooking and batching your meals will help you to feel super organized. Most people also find cooking very relaxing as soon as you get into the flow of things. If you’re not normally the type of person who enjoys cooking, you might want to try challenging yourself to a new recipe. Choose your favorite home comfort and see if you can recreate it in your own way. You might be pleasantly surprised with the outcome!

Relax and Read

Not only is reading an excellent form of escapism, but it is also really good for your health too. The more you read, the more you expand your vocabulary and stimulate your imagination. If you haven’t read a book in a while and you’re not sure what type of genre you like, why not step out of your comfort zone? If you would usually indulge in chick-lit, then try a crime mystery; if you’re normally a sci-fi lady, try an autobiography or comedy read. You will be surprised at how much you enjoy something a little bit different.

It is so easy to get into the habit of going out and paying for expensive activities such as the movie theatre, ice skating, and dinner at a restaurant. You don’t have the brave the cold anymore, because there is so much fun to be had in your own home! Embrace these cozy evenings in and enjoy partaking in fun family activities as often as possible.

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10 Goals To Boost Your Mental Health This Year

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We all want to feel happy, yet it’s not uncommon for life to throw stress and setbacks at us from time to time. The important thing is that we have tactics to cope during tougher times. We must all learn to value our mental well-being as much as our physical. Perhaps you’re looking for a few tips on how to give your mental well-being a boost. If so, these nine ideas will give you plenty to think about. 

1. Cook mindfully

Mindful cooking is all about being aware of what you put into your body and considering which foods you need to eat depending on your mood and energy levels. Apps like Yogic Foods, are helpful to get a head start on mindful cooking. In each recipe, the app tells you the health properties of every single ingredient. You’ll also get details about how each recipe is related to a chakra ( these are thought to be the connected energy centers of the body). With the Yogic Foods app, you can learn about which foods will benefit your mood and emotions, plus learn some tasty vegetarian and vegan recipes.

2. Quit A Bad Habit

Oftentimes in life, removing negatives is even more impactful than making positive additions. Aside from directly improving your health, it is a great way to prove that you are capable of achieving your goals. In turn, this can create a snowball effect that truly allows you to transform your life. The key is to set a realistic challenge and establish a clear strategy that can help you achieve it. Waving goodbye to cigarettes is a common choice, which is why asking “How long do zyns last?” should be on the tip of your tongue Similarly, putting the right preventions in place to avoid destructive habits will boost your hopes of success.

3. Social media breaks

To improve your emotional health, reducing your time spent on social media can be a good way to do so. One study cited in Forbes magazine reports that excess time spent on social media has adverse mental health effects. Try to limit your consumption to just fifteen minutes a day, or take a break for a week or so altogether. When you do use social media, ask yourself- which content makes you feel positive, and which content makes you feel negative? Doing so can allow you to make better choices in terms of who you follow and which articles you read.

4. Keep on learning

Lifelong learning refers to the process of always continuing to seek out new knowledge, throughout your entire life. It’s easy to get comfortable in a job or a family role and then, unintentionally, not push yourself to learn new things. When you learn consistently, you increase your chances of improved positivity in your social life, emotional life, and work life. Depending on your aspirations, your learning goal could arrive in many forms; it could simply be reading widely across different genres. It could also be practicing a language learning app or even taking a postgraduate degree. Institutions like Regis College offer some excellent online courses to study from the convenience of your own home.

5. Use a journal 

Writing in a journal is a wonderful gift to yourself, with both practical and emotional benefits. You could start by using a journal simply to plan your schedules and to-do lists. Gaining improved organization over your life can help you to feel more calm and productive. Journals are also a great space to write down positive memories or deal with difficult feelings that have been troubling you. Many feel that writing is both calming and therapeutic during times of stress, whether it’s a letter to yourself, a poem or a simple health goal for the day.

6. Give something back

One study reported on Web MD reports that altruism offers positive mental health benefits. To enhance your own mental health, helping others is the key. There are plenty of charities out there that you can support. Take a look at ’‘This Is My Brave’, a charity that helps individuals with mental illnesses to share their stories via creative means such as poetry or music. The website offers details of how you can get involved by ‘becoming a brave champion’. You’ve likely heard of Women’s Aid, a charity that works to protect women and children against domestic violence. This organization also offers many opportunities to help by campaigning or fundraising. There may also be local charities close to home that you could reach out to. 

7. Get back to nature

The natural world is the perfect space for us to lift our endorphins and reduce tension levels within the body. Ask yourself how much time you spend in nature. Think about how you could increase this with a few simple steps. It could be adding a bike ride to your weekend regime or perhaps taking up a sport that involves being outdoors. Another great way to get back to nature is by trying a foraging class or course. Foraging involves going to a woodland area, gathering wild foods from the earth, and then using them in cooking. Typical foods you’d look for include herbs, berries, nuts, mushrooms, wild garlic, etc. You’ll get a lovely stroll in the forest plus you’ll get to learn all about wild foods and cooking.

8. Gratitude

Practicing gratitude is a really simple way that all of us can improve our mental health. True gratitude is about valuing everything you have, especially the small things that you take for granted. Start by writing yourself a list of the things that you are grateful for. Make it part of your daily routine to look over the list, so that you can be more mindful. Put small practices into your routine that help you reflect on all of the good things in your life.

9. Home improvements

Our homes are the spaces where we want to feel relaxed and at peace, so we have to ensure that we create a welcoming space. You don’t have to blow the budget to improve your home. One of the easiest things that you can do is to clear out your unwanted items and give everything a deep clean. Next, invest in a few health-boosting decorations; from indoor plants to aromatherapy candles. Hang inspirational quotes on the walls and pictures of your loved ones. Invest in comfy blankets and huge pillows for those chill-out times on the sofa. If you want to feel more relaxed, simple touches to our home can make all the difference.

10. Make a book of memories

Do you ever feel like all your lovely pictures only end up on social media? Make it your mission this year to print out all of your favorites and put them into a photo album. It’s nice to have tangible memories to look back on in years to come. Spending time to make a book of memories just for you is a great gift of self-care.

Friends, what are your goals to boost your mental health this season at home? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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How To Make Meal Planning Easier On Yourself

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Having to feed you and your family member’s three meals a day isn’t always an easy task. There’s a lot to think about and do to ensure everyone is satisfied and well-fed.

If you work or have a busy schedule, then meal planning becomes even more of a burden. The last task you want to think about when you get home at the end of a long day is what to put on the table for your loved ones to eat. Therefore, be proactive and plan so that you can make meal planning as effortless as possible for yourself.

Research Easy Recipes in Advance

The key here is to research and find easy meal ideas from trusted sources such as looking into some of the recipes from themediterraneandish.com. The more work you do upfront and ideas you have collected, the better so that you can begin to plan out your week of meals. Narrow it down by thinking about what types of foods you and your family like to eat and which recipes are the least complicated and involved. Save which recipes you enjoy so that you can remake them at a later date and add them to your rotation.

Grocery Shop & Cook on the Weekend

There’s a lot of time on the weekends to take advantage of if you plan your days right. Therefore, consider using Saturday and Sunday to grocery shop and cook for the week. There are certain meals that freeze well and that you can pull out in the future when you’re short on time. Make meal planning easier on yourself by not leaving all of the heavy lifting to the days during the week when your schedule is more chaotic.

Ask the Kids to Pitch in

You don’t have to do all the meal planning yourself and should ask for help from your loved ones. For example, ask the kids and your spouse what meals and types of foods they enjoy eating to help you gather some additional dinner ideas to make. You can also engage them more by assigning out duties and tasks such as setting the table or helping you cook so that everyone is pitching in and helping with getting food on the table each night.

Schedule A Lazy Night

You can also make meal planning easier on yourself by scheduling on a lazy night. Pick a day of the week when you know you’re going to be swamped and eat leftovers or get takeout food. You can’t be afraid to admit when you’re low on energy and need a simple solution that won’t cause you any additional headaches. You may also want to gather up your family members and pick one night to go out to eat and use it as a chance to have fun and visit with each other over dinner.

Conclusion

These are a few ways that you can make meal planning easier on yourself and avoid feeling stressed out about it. You’ll find that the task of getting everyone fed isn’t so bad when you have a plan in place for how to approach the situation. Be happy to know that you can now look forward to and enjoy mealtime instead of dreading it.

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Fad Diets: A Quick Fix or Best Avoided?

We all want to make sure our diet is as healthy as possible. Sure, we’ll indulge in the occasional treat, but chances are we have health goals that we want to pursue and altering a diet will form a big part of that. If we want to lose weight, we may follow diets that cut fat or carbs. If we want to build muscle, we might follow diets that boost protein and cut fats. Whatever your goals, there’s bound to be some sort of fad diet out there that promises to give you results quickly and easily. But should you buy into them?

Being Wary of Fad Diets

It’s generally acknowledged that fad diets are simply a quick fix. They might give you the immediate results you want, but they’re often unsustainable and can’t be carried out as a permanent lifestyle change – whether that’s because they’re unhealthy in the long run or unenjoyable. This is why it’s absolutely essential that you don’t see them as a fix-all solution. Generally, fad diets shouldn’t be relied on as something that will change your life. Instead, the actual solution to reaching your health goals will be a combination of a healthy diet and meeting recommended amounts of exercise. The infographic below will help you to find the right diet for your overall health and wellbeing. If you want any further advice, always remember you can consult your doctor, who will be able to recommend which diets will best suit your personal needs and dietary requirements and preferences.


Infographic Design By USC

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