The other spouse may not know how to budget. Then there's the issue of making sometimes-painful adjustments to one's standard of living. Augusta financial planner Mike Cave recalls working up a budget for a client that called for the sale of the West Lake home she could no longer afford. There was a failure to embrace the reality of her different financial circumstances. Even spouses who continue to work while receiving alimony often discover that they need to cut costs because of the loss of the other spouse's income.
Extra expenses can pop up.
For example, a mother who depended on her husband's life insurance policy should consider buying her own policy because the ex-husband will likely remove her as the beneficiary . The goal in post-divorce budgeting should be to provide for yourself and your dependents without going into debt, which is often the reason many marriages go south in the first place. Apply for a credit card in your own name immediately if you do not already have one. Inform the issuers of credit cards you hold jointly that you are separated. Policies vary, but most companies will let you close the account to prevent new charges.