Suddenly Single & Thriving

When I was first separated, I was overwhelmed by all the money matters.  I was left with a lot of debt and no child support at first.  I didn't handle the finances before as that was my ex's job--truthfully I had been groomed to believe that I could not handle the money because it was too much for me to do.  So, I was really at a loss of how to proceed when I was suddenly on my own. During  Divorce Care , I was introduced to Dave Ramsey.  He covered just a bit of his  7 Baby Steps  in the course material.  It was easy to understand and helped me to feel like I had a starting point.  I started building up my starter emergency fund, and then used the debt snowball to tackle the debt.   I also learned about budgeting.  I got the basic information I needed about how to make a budget by listing out all of my income and all of my expenses.  Knowing what needed to be paid (or paid off) helped me to feel in control of my money....

I've been thinking about this blog a lot. What I wanted to say and do with it.  The best thing I can do is share what has worked for me. There's no hard and fast rule of what works for anyone. But it helps to know that it's possible to survive and even thrive after being left suddenly. Over the next few weeks, I'll share what I have found helpful and I hope it can help someone else.  My first big tip is Divorce Care . I cannot recommend this program enough. Early in my journey, I called my church to get some support. The receptionist told me that the first session of the next Divorce Care was that night. She told me that I should go and she let me know that there was a program for kids as well, Divorce Care for Kids .  I took my kids and we went. It's a 13 week program and it gives you practical information about divorce, debt management, co-parenting, and more.  You can find all the topics here . It is a Christian program, but the people in my groups w...