Personal Budgeting After DivorcePersonal Budgeting Tips to Help You Get a Handle on Your Finances
After divorce, a woman’s standard of living goes down, in addition to having expenses such as legal fees, full-time daycare, and replacing items that her ex-husband took with him. Unfortunately, there is usually more month left over at the end of the money. Does your money seem to pull a disappearing act each month? Does your credit card statement continually leave you wondering when and how you could have spent that much? What about that cash you took out from the ATM the other day, could you possibly have spent it already?Let's face it. Managing your personal finances can be a difficult task, especially when on a tight budget. Every time you turn around, there's another bill to pay, and before you know it, your entire paycheck has been spent, and then some! Soon, you find yourself drowning in the financial demands of everyday life, and the vicious cycle of living paycheck to paycheck, or worse yet, living on credit has begun. You ask yourself, "How did this happen to me?" If you are finding it increasingly difficult to juggle the many different financial aspects of your life, you are not alone. From mortgage payments and health insurance to childcare services and credit cards, it's no wonder money appears to continually vanish before our eyes. But what if there was a way of reducing the invisibility of your spending? A way of budgeting yourself in a simple, pain-free manner and achieving that so-called state of "financial freedom" once and for all? Thankfully, where there is a will, there is a way. I found a great personal budgeting software program,
an affordable and easy-to use online budgeting system. This unique budgeting concept offers a straightforward method
to reining in your finances, enabling you to spend less and spend more efficiently while still enjoying what matters most to you in life. To get started, check out the Quicken Online Edition and try it out for free!
You can also use plain old paper and pencil to determine your personal budgeting style. This gives you a clear idea of what your expenses and income are. Even if you have more bills than money coming in, there are ways to get it in balance. First, print out and fill in the following sample personal budgeting statement. EXPENSES
Total Expenses:_________________ INCOME Total Income___________________ There will be other sources of money such as tax refunds, gifts, bonuses, and inheritances, but you should not rely on them in your personal budgeting. It is best to use these to pay down debts. To see where you stand on your personal budgeting, subtract your expenses from your income. While this may be a negative number, there are ways to narrow the gap.
If your situation is extremely tight, consider applying
for federally subsidized programs such as AFDC, Medicaid, HUD, and federal daycare assistance.
It may be hard to swallow your pride, but these programs can help you survive until you are
financially stable. If you need help developing a budget, but dislike
using programs such as Quicken or Money, you might consider using a program such
as My Budget Planner,
a personal budgeting system that even a child could use. ©Tracy Achen 2001 For more tips on personal budgeting, read the following topics: Home / Other Articles / Divorce Guide / State Resources Books / Store / Contact Us / Chat / Privacy / Links / Newsletter 
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