How to Determine Your Post-Divorce Expenses: Keep up to Date Where the Money Goes!
Monday, February 27, 2023
Many are faced with the fact that they cannot immediately identify all their expenses. Not for the first time, not the second time, or even the third. As practice shows, a lawyer has to spend a lot of time to finally get a final answer from a client regarding expenses.
So, in order not to waste your time and time with a lawyer, and the time of an attorney is your money, you should definitely look at the following recommendations. With their help, you can accurately identify costs without much time.
Optimize Divorce Costs
If you are just starting your journey in a divorce proceeding, then you need to think about how you can start saving money already at this stage. It is probably no secret to you that divorce is rarely cheap and fast, especially when using the traditional way. How can you save here?
Consider the option of filing legal divorce documents in online mode. All you need to do is find the relevant company and get acquainted with the solution that they offer. Usually, this helps with filling out all the court divorce forms. Thus, you will spend much less money than with the help of lawyers and even ensure a quick divorce online.
Determine All Expenses for a Month
The first thing you need to do is get a pen, paper, and time. Now you will need to collect your thoughts and reflect on all the expenses that you face every month. Here are the main points that take a lot of money:
Cost of renting or buying a house: If you plan to live in a new house, then you need to understand how much money you will need to pay for the rental. If you want to buy a house, then you also need to consider the cost of the purchase. Only in this way, you will have a complete picture of how much money will go into the house.
Utility bills: Many are unaware that utility bills are the most part of their expenses. This is especially true when the ex dealt with all these issues. So be sure to write down all the items that fall into this category and write out the average figure for each.
Credit card payments: If you have open accounts or loans, then you definitely need to write out all these payments. Even insignificant amounts must be reflected in your records.
Define other costs: this can include food, clothing, medicine, car maintenance, and so on.
Reread Your Records Once Again
Once you have prepared a complete list of your expenses for the month, you will need to set aside a couple of days to make changes. Most likely you forgot to take into account some kind of expense column. This usually happens with small amounts of money that in the total amount can catch up with a particular cost graph. Therefore, read your list for several days until you are completely sure that you have not forgotten anything.
Analyze Your Expenses with A Financial Specialist and Lawyer
If you are just going through a divorce phase, then you will need to notify your lawyer of your expenses. Once you understand that your list of expenses is ready and relevant, you will need to discuss it with both a lawyer and a financial specialist. And of course, start filling out the appropriate forms.
If you compile such a list solely to understand how much money you will need to spend each month, be sure to start optimizing costs. To do this, you need to compare your finished list of expenses with income. It often happens that expenses will prevail or be at the same level as incomes.
And the list will help you clearly understand which column is the one that draws the most money and you can think about how to reduce your costs. Perhaps renting a two-story house in an elite area is far from the best idea. Or, an elite gym membership can be replaced with a more budget option.
P.S. You have to make records of your finances not only after or during a divorce. In fact, many people simply do not notice how much money they spend on things that can be completely excluded from their lives. For example, some may indulge in a cup of gourmet coffee in a cafe three times a day. Let's say one cup will cost $ 5, it’s 15 dollars a day, and as much as 450 dollars a month! Yes, this example is too exaggerated but reflects unnecessary expenses as best as possible.
Follow the above recommendations and then you will not only understand how much money you need, but you can also fill out all the divorce docs without any problems.